Deck 6: B: Socialization and Social Interaction

Question 1

According to Goffman,what are the three important characteristics that define total institutions?

Answer 1

Administrative staff supervise all aspects of inmates' or residents' lives;every activity is controlled and standard so a formal schedule defines everything that occurs.Formal rules or policies define everything about inmates' or residents' daily lives.

Question 2

Define the specific functions of Mead's I and Me.

Answer 2

Mead's Me refers to the socialized self,whereas the I is spontaneous,creative,and impulsive.The Me and I interact;the Me helps to control the spontaneous impulses of the I.

Question 3

According to the text,what is our most important agent of socialization,and why?

Answer 3

Families are by far the most important agents of socialization because they are the centre of children's lives.During the important formative period,families provide children with nourishment,love,and protection and guide their first experiences with the social world.In the first years of life,families are largely responsible for children's emerging identities,self-esteem,and personalities.In fact,the first values and attitudes that a child embraces are generally simple reflections of his or her family's values and attitudes.

Question 4

What capacity has developed by the time of the game stage,as theorized by Mead? Give an example.

Question 5

How does the hidden curriculum reinforce gender roles in society? What can be the social outcome of this process?

Question 6

Describe the "looking-glass self." Who developed this concept? What is its importance to the development of the self?

Question 7

Why does Elizabeth Kübler-Ross warn against the use of her own model as a prescription for how we should die? State an additional concern that has been raised regarding her model.

Question 8

What are the two distinct stages of resocialization according to Erving Goffman? Give examples of what occurs at each stage.

Question 9

Mead distinguished between primary and secondary socialization.Explain each and give an example.

Question 10

How do parents socialize gender roles? Provide an example of how a parent or family member may reinforce commonly held gender stereotypes.

Question 11

State the significance that education plays in our socialization and give examples from your own educational experience.

Question 12

Explain how the effects of isolation on young children lend support to the importance of socialization.

Question 13

What does the statement,"Sociologists must 'imagine imaginations'" mean? Who made this statement and what concept was he famous for?

Question 14

Discuss the ways in which the life course has shifted in the last 50 years.

Question 15

What is the hidden curriculum,and how is it applied to our social development in the education system? Provide examples to support your answer.