other people view us, and this in turn influences our view of ourselves. How has your sense of your ability to succeed in college been influenced by the feedback you have processed from those around you (particularly teachers, peers, and family members)?2 Socialization occurs throughout the life cycle. Into what role have you been socialized most recently? Who were the primary agents in this socialization process? Did you find the process relatively easy or difficult? Why?
3 Sociological studies have shown that middle-class and working-class parents tend to socialize their children differently. Explain the differences and describe how they relate to how you were socialized by your family of origin.
4 How has your socialization been influenced by television, video games, and other electronics? Do you think the extent to which these informal agents of socialization influence children these days has a positive or a negative impact on our society? Why?
5 If you were asked to create government policies to promote positive socialization experiences that would strengthen our society, what might you propose? Why?
Key Terms
agents of socialization 105
formal agents of socialization 107
game stage 102
generalized other 102
I 101
imitation stage 101
informal agents of socialization 107
interaction 93
looking-glass self 99
Me 101
peer groups 106
play stage 101
resocialization 104
role-taking 99
self 98
significant others 101
social class 108
socialization 92
Contributing to Our Social World: What Can We Do?
At the Local (Micro) Level
In every community, numerous opportunities exist for volunteer work helping children from economically and otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in school. Opportunities to help disadvantaged children succeed in school include tutoring or mentoring in the local schools.
Head Start centers for poor preschool children often have opportunities to do something concrete to help children. An education faculty member at your college can give you contact information or go to the association’s website at www.nhsa.org.
Help in a local Boys and Girls Club that provides socialization experiences for children through their teens. You can find a club near you by going to www.bgca.org/whoweare/Pages/FindaClub.aspx.
Take service learning course credits. Locate the service learning office at your college or university to learn about service learning programs on your campus that help disadvantaged children.
At the National or Global (Macro) Level
Literacy is a vital component of socialization yet remains an unmet need in many parts of the world, especially in the less-developed countries of Africa and Asia.
World Education provides training and technical assistance in nonformal education in economically disadvantaged communities worldwide. Go to the organization’s website at www.worlded.org to learn about its wide variety of projects and volunteer or work opportunities.
CARE International (www.care-international.org) and Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) provide funding for families to send children to school and to receive specialized training.
WE Charity (wecharity.org) is a Canadian-based organization that empowers young people to help other young people. Through its “award winning development model” they have been “changing lives in more than eight countries around the world.” Go to the organization’s website to learn how you can work with others to help create more educational opportunities for children. This organization provides multiple ways to track the impact of your donation.
UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) promotes literacy around the world in many ways. Learn more about its efforts at en.unesco.org/themes/éducation. Opportunities exist for fund-raising, internships, and eventually jobs with these organizations.
Get the tools you need to sharpen your study skills. SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of free tools and resources.
Access practice quizzes, eFlashcards, video, and multimedia at edge.sagepub.com/ballantine7e
Descriptions of Images and Figures
Back to Figure
An illustration shows two circles named, self and others on opposite ends. Numbered arrows goes two and fro between the circles and this explains the looking-glass-self process of self-development.
1 Arrow from self to others: “We imagine how we want to appear to others.”
2 Arrow from others to self: “Others make judgments and respond.”
3 Arrow from self to others: “We experience feelings and react based on our interpretations.”
Back to Figure
A line graph illustrates the different social media that’s in use by adults in the U.S. The survey question is, “Percentage of U.S. adults who say they use the following social media sites online or on their cellphone”. Y-axis shows the percentage from 0 to 80 in increments of 20 percent and X-axis shows the years from 2012 till 2018. The different social media and their percentage of use is as follows.
WhatsApp: There is no line for this media, but only a mark at 22 percent in 2018.
Twitter: This line starts approximately at 14 percent in 2012 and climbs slowly and steadily. In 2018, the percentage of use is at 24 percent.
LinkedIn:
