THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATIONEnvironment and Heredity

Socialization Socialization: continuing process

whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behaviour, and social skills appropriate to his/her social position.

What is the Role of Socialization?

What makes us who we are? Is it determined by genetics? Or is it our environment?

Divide into groups of 3 or 4 Create a list of 5 reasons to justify each

position

NURTURENATURE VS

Nature vs. Nurture Debate Traditional clash over the relative

importance of biological inheritance and environmental factors in human development

Heredity vs. environment Most social scientists have moved

beyond this debate Acknowledge interaction of these

variables in shaping human development

Nature: Influence of Heredity

Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia

maternal grandmother strict Catholic

upbringing Member of Hitler

Youth Learned to hate Jews

Trinidad Jewish father Joined Israeli

kibbutz (collective settlement) at 17

Served in Israeli army

Oskar Jack

Brothers reunited in middle age

wearing wire-rimmed glasses and moustaches

wore pocket shirts with epaulets like spicy foods and sweet liqueurs are absent-minded have a habit of falling asleep in

front of the TV Think it’s funny to sneeze in a

crowd of strangers Flush the toilet before using it Store rubber bands on their wrists Read magazines from back to front Dip buttered toast in their coffee

(Holden 1980)

Jack = workaholic Oskar = enjoyed leisure time Jack = traditional liberal who

was much more accepting of feminism

Oskar = traditionalist who was domineering toward women

Jack = extremely proud to be Jewish

Oskar = never mentioned his Jewish heritage

Similarities Differences

Heredity and Environment Separated twins studies Minnesota Center for Twin and Adoption

Research Similarities

Characteristics (temperament, voice patterns, and nervous habits) = linked to heredity

Tendency toward leadership and dominance Difference

Attitudes, values and types of mate chosen, drinking habits = linked to environment

Need for intimacy, comfort, and assistance

Sociobiology Systematic study of the biological bases of social

behaviour Apply Charles Darwin’s principles of natural

selection to study social behaviour Assume that particular forms of behaviour

become genetically linked to a species if they contribute to its fitness to survive

In its extreme form, sociobiology suggests that all behaviour is the result of genetic or biological factors and that social interactions play no role in shaping people’s conduct.

Sociobiology continued… Focus on how human nature is affected

by the genetic composition of a group of people who share certain characteristics

Many sociologists are highly critical of sociobiologists’ tendency to explain, or seemingly justify, human behaviour on the basis of nature and ignore its cultural and social basis.

Nurture: Environment and the Impact of Isolation

The Case of Isabelle Lived in almost total seclusion until age 6 Darkened room Only contact with deaf, mute mother, and

grandparents who kept her hidden Discovered by Ohio authorities when her

mother escaped the grandparents

Isabelle

Communication

Could not speak

Croaking soundsSimple

gestures to communicate with mother

Socialization

Deprived of interaction and

socialization experiences

Saw few people

ReactionsInitially showed strong fear of

strangersReacted like a

wild animalAs grew

accustomed became

apathetic

Training Isabelle At first believed she was deaf, but soon

became to react to sounds Specialists develop a systematic training

program to help her adapt to human relationships and socialization

Quickly passed over six years of missed development

Isabella’s progress

Few days •Speaking first words

2 months •Speaking in complete sentences

9 months •Identifying words and sentences

9 years •Ready to attend school with others children

14 years •6th grade and well adjusted

Cases of neglect Romania (former communist Eastern Europe) Romanian orphanages Babies in cribs 18 or 20 hours Feeding bottles, little adult care for 1st 5

years Many orphans fearful of human contact Prone to unpredictable antisocial behaviour Huge adjustment problems for 20% of

orphans adopted to NA families

Importance of Early Socialization

Not enough to care for an infant’s physical needs

Parents must also concern themselves with children’s social development

Primate Studies Harlow’s experimentation – rhesus

monkeys Raised away from their mothers and

away from contact with other monkeys Fearful and frightened, did not mate artificially inseminated female became

abusive mother

Harlow’s “Artificial Mothers” Two substitute mothers

Cloth-covered replica Wire-covered that had the ability to offer milk

Went to wire one for milk but spent more time clinging to cloth “mother”

Monkeys valued the artificial mother that provided a comforting physical sensation more than the one that provided food.

Appears that the infant monkeys developed greater social attachments from their need for warmth, comfort, and intimacy.