Agents of socialization are important groups that shape who we are.

Agent S
Agents of socialization are groups that we are a part of that shape us significantly throughout our life. Often, the influence these groups have are taken-for-granted so we don't realize the significant impact they have on us.  One way to look at them is secret agents.

Some significant finds regarding agents of socialization are:

Family - the first agent that has often the greatest impact on a person. Families intentionally teach skills, values and beliefs (manifest lessons), but they also can teach unintentional (latent) lessons.   It is funny that with so much opportunity in America, how often students pursue careers related to what their parents do. Is this true for you? How are you shaped by parents or friends? Check out this post about 7 things good parents do that screw up their kids. (and do worksheet)  Humorous, but based on real research.  Research shows telling your kid "you are so smart" is actually harmful to their learning.  The reason is because it creates a "fixed mindset."  Therefore if we are told we are good at math and then we do bad at math-it tells us we really aren't that good and so we quit trying to find ways to learn.  Another example might be if you write a paper and the teacher grades it high.  A student might think they are a good paper writer but then they go to another class and the teacher grade the student's papers low.  The student's "fixed mindset" may prohibit them of looking at the real problem which is their paper and they place the blame on the teacher.


Friends/Peer Groups - Starts especially because of school and peer groups, becomes significant.

School - also teaches both manifest lessons like reading and writing and latent lessons like patriotism  and obedience.

Religion - important even if you are not religiously involved yourself.

Day Care - significant findings that there is less of a bond with mothers if child attends daycare, but daycare kids develop more language skills.

Sports Teaches things like hard work, achievement, teamwork and competitiveness.  Can be good or bad.

Work Work affects adults so much that it becomes a part of their identity. For example, "What do you do?" Is a popular greeting when you meet someone new. When adults retire, they often have trouble adjusting to a new life without work because there is a loss in identity.

Neighborhoods-surrounding/environment

Media
We will watch Merchants of Cool, (click here for video) though a little older, highlights the media's impact on teens.  You may be amazed just how much impact the media plays in our socialization.

Actually an updated version called "Generation Like" is probably something you can relate to more easily.  Answer these questions after watching the video.

“Generation Like” Discussion Questions

 

1. Explain what “Like”ing someone’s post on Facebook means to you.

 

 

 

2. Does knowing others “Like” what you “Like” influence you? Explain.

 

 

 

3. Explain how marketing Oreo along with a current issue helped the sale of Oreo.

 

 

 

 

4. How do companies use social media to advertise?

 

 

 

 

5. How are marketers using social media to build ‘brand “trust”?

 

 

 

 

6. How do celebrities use social media to advertise?

 

 

 

 

7. What is Corporate Sponsorship?

 

 

 

 

8. Are marketers being transparent or invisible when using technology as described in the documentary?

 

 

 

 

9. How is the Hunger Games plot a lot like advertising using social media?

 

 

 

 

10. Explain serendipity by design.    

           (serendipity = the ability to make fortunate discoveries by accident)

Check out this video and do the assignment on agents of socialization.

Agents of Socialization:
 Watch the youtube.com video.  Prepare a list of the aspects of your life for which you have been socialized.  Your list should have a minimum of 5 agents of socialization and a detailed explanation of how each agent of socialization taught or prepared you for society.

And at the end of the video check out the home school vs. public education cartoon.  Jot down your thoughts on just how much school has influenced who you are.

 We will be watching A Bronx Tale as a sort of case study for our first unit.   A Bronx Tale is based on a true story.    Watch movie here.

Day 1 questions

1. Where and when does the story take place?

2. Describe the Anello family: Lorenzo, Rosina, and their son Calogero.

3. Describe Sonny and his friends.

4. After the shooting, what should Calogero have done? Why?

5. If you had been Lorenzo, would you have taken the $150/week from Sonny? Why or why not?

6. How did Sonny influence Calogero?

7. How did Lorenzo react to Sonny�s influence on �C�?

Day 2 questions

1. Describe C�s friends.

2. List two pieces of advice Sonny gives C. How does this differ from Lorenzo�s advice?

3. Describe C as a young man.

4. Describe Jane and her relationship with C.

5. How did C react when his friends attacked the young black men?

6. Describe Sonny�s �door test.�

7. What prevented Jane from having her first date with C?

Day 3 questions

1. What happened to C�s friends? What happened to Sonny?

2. What were the movie�s main themes? Rate the movie on a 1 to 10 scale.

 The racism throughout the film is obvious. What is often taken for granted is where the racism comes from.  Where does the racism come from?    It seems like we never fully understand racism amongst/between other cultural groups until we are thrust into another culture or we move away from our society and learn it somewhere else.  In this movie we see racism between Italians and African Americans.  You are probably not surprised that racism exists between all cultures.  But as I was writing this I thought of the question:  Is racism culturally universal or a Western Idea?  Where did it come from?  When did it start?  Is it everywhere?

So I decided to research some thoughts from Sociologists on this.  I came across an article titled "Is Racism a Western Idea."  Click here for a link to the article.  Dinesh D'Souza is the author of this article.  In the article he makes the statement  "racism is a uniquely white pathology which can be traced to the beginnings of Western civilization."  By the end of the article he has come to the conclusion that because there was a beginning, there can be an end to racism.

I read another article titled "How Racist are We?"  Here is the link.  In the article William Thomas, the author, talks about how racism has transformed into cultural groups-or at least the idea has.  He talks of white culture groups and black culture groups and now the fast growing Latino culture group.

And lastly, I read an article that deals with racism from a psychologist point of view.  The name of the article was "Cultural Bias for Racism."  Here is the link.  The article says "Literature, movies, TV, radio and the Internet all contribute to the problem by exhibiting the same stereotypes that others work so hard to snuff out."  What they did was had subjects take a "free association" test.  The subject hears a word and then quickly says the first thing that comes to their mind.  Psychologists say that because of what people read and hear in American culture, their responses can be prejudice.  (read it to find out more)

So I am interested in what you think after reading and researching this topic.

Part 1:  Read each of the 3 articles above.  In 200 words summarize the main points of the article.  Do this for all three articles.  Be sure not to plagiarize or the whole assignment receives a zero. 

Part 2:  You should have over 600 words now (200+for each article).  In 200 more words answer the following questions.   Is racism culturally universal or a Western civilization concept?  Is it a byproduct of media and western culture.  Where did it come from?  When did it start?  Is it everywhere? Use quotes and examples from all three articles and highlight them in a separate color.

 As far as length you will have a minimum of 800 words.  Anything less is a zero.  My questions and words do not count either towards your final count.  Pay attention to organization on this writing also.  It will count a lot more than normal.  And don't forget to highlight quotes from each of the three articles in different colors.  This assignment is worth about 80 points.  I will use my essay rubric for scoring.

Welfare-Helpful or Hurtful

So I was reading this article on welfare and the myth that welfare is a negative stain on our society.  The article talks about how welfare programs in the United States became popular during the 1930's.   "The years in between were packed with swift and drastic social and economic changes to make Mr. Roosevelt the most controversial figure in American history."

Because of FDR's social programs a lot of the American public place the blame on Democrats for promoting and increasing welfare programs.  But the author argues that Reagan's (Republican) approach  “spider’s web of dependency” failed and Bill Clinton (Democrat) even led  the charge to decrease and end "welfare as we know it.”

In the opinion of the author of this article, The Myth of Welfare's Corrupting Influence on the Poor, Eduardo Porter (the author) argues that the public's opinion of welfare is misguided and that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

What I would like you to do is:

1.  Create a chart or list of 8 myths/8 realities/truths that the author mentions.  (It is the opinion of the author but some of these are good arguments)

2.  Examine Reagan's approach and Clinton's approach and in 200 words tell me if you agree with either of their points.  Your likes/dislikes and if you like a combination approach let me know.
Be able to validate your opinion on the following question in class.  Does welfare corrupt the poor?

In-n-out is not just for burgers!

In and out is not just for burgers, it is also for groups! Sociologists use the terms ingroup and outgroup to refer to groups that you are either a member of or not a member of. It is much easier to feel attached to the groups you are a part of and feel judgmental about your outgroups.

Watch this video clip about the famous "Angry Eye" classroom lesson done in the 1960s by teacher Jane Elliot. Think about how you may have judged out-groups in your own life. Also, think about how you become allied and bonded with your in-groups. Can you see how this happens in society?
Click here for the clip
Can you think of examples in your own life?  You can watch the whole video at Frontline's website.

Summary:    This short clip (Click on picture)demonstrates well  social status, social roles, and role expectations. Also: 1) role strain, or the difficulty of competing demands of motherhood; 2) role conflict, or the difficulty that mothers face in balancing work and family; and 3) status, including privileges extended to mothers because of their position in society.
Click here for momsense 2

    Another interesting discussion could focus on gender role expectations of fathers (Renfroe created a similar rendition called “Dadsense”, with the only words being “go ask your mom”). 

And kids answer back to Momsense
And I can't resist this one
okay payback on the old teacher

Or Tim Hawkins on Teenagers

Status in Society

Your status in society is your defined position-each of these statuses has one or more roles attached to it.

A role is the behavior that is expected of someone who occupies a particular status.

            An ascribed status is one that is assigned-it is not in our control.

            An achieved status is one that we gain by our own efforts

Examples: ascribed-teenager or adult/according to your age. You did not choose this status, it is simply what you are.

                   Achieved-basketball player, Mom, principal

You gained these statuses because of who you are.

Your master status is the greatest role that you play.  It is who you are identified with in society.  (Mom, teacher, wife)

 

Roles:

You occupy a status by the role you play.  Most of the roles you perform have a reciprocal role.  This is a role that goes along with another or compliments another.  For instance if I am a teacher, you are a student.  Ex. spouse.  Other examples:  coach/athlete, parent/child.

 

Socially determined behaviors that go along with a role are defined as role expectations.  These are expected to be performed as part of the role.  For example a doctor is expected to care for his patients, a teacher is expected to teach and care about children. 

 

We all belong to more than one status.  This is known as our role set.  Sometimes a person’s role performance, their actual behavior, does not meet his/her role expectations.  When this happens, role conflict or role strain can occur.  Role conflict happens when it is difficult to fulfill the role expectations of one status because you are trying to complete another.  Role strain happens when a person has trouble meeting the expectations of one role. 

All of your roles in society help to make up various social institutions.  These include education, family, religion, economy and politics. 

 

Sometimes in life your status or role can take a serious turn-sometimes for good and sometimes for bad.  Watch the following ESPN special below.  How did Steve Gleason's status change?  Master Status?  Role?  And it's also a great example of how music can play a role in sociology.
Click here for the full espn report: 

Steve Gleason, Pearl Jam connect

 

Sports and music both have the power to bring people together in real and meaningful ways.

To understand that better, watch this story from ESPN's "E:60" exploring the connection between ex-New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason, who is fighting ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), and the musicians of Pearl Jam, whose music Gleason has loved since he was a teenager.

You'll see Gleason, who is recording a video journal for his young son, share a powerful moment with Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder as they discuss leadership and fatherhood.

Generation Soft or Generation Better-Off

So one topic I have wanted to discuss but have been waiting until the right moment is the topic of participation awards.  I think we have a good enough understanding of culture and society along with Sociology in general to debate this topic.

James Harrison, an NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, made headlines in August when he made his sons give back participation trophies that they had been given. 

This caused a social media uproar.  I would like to know your thoughts.  Has participation awards led to a softer generation/society?  Do you believe participation awards should be given out?  Does the fact that James Harrison's sons are the ages of 6 and 8 make a difference?

Comedian Adam Carolla made headlines when he gave a similar rant a few years ago.  I researched some surveys and other articles and looked at posted comments.  It seems the older generation and millennia's tend to agree with James Harrison.  Look at some of these comments.

Another thought I had is a lot of times at a football or basketball game they give a sportsmanship award to a team.  The thing I notice though is that the majority of the time the award goes to a team that lost or to a player of the losing team.  Sometimes this is deserved but it does seem that a lot of the time it is used as sort of a "good game, better luck next time, thanks for coming, sorry we beat you award."  Anybody else notice this?