Chpt. 4 Sect. 3

Question 1

What are agents of socialization?

Answer 1

Several institutional and other sources of socialization

Question 2

What are formal agents of socialization and examples?

Answer 2

They have a stated purpose to socialize and are often held to societal expectations for that responsibility
Ex:
-Institutions of family and education

Question 3

What are informal agents of socialization and examples?

Answer 3

They influence and shape us but take no responsibility for the outcome
Ex:
-mass media
-peer groups

Question 4

The ways in which our parents socialize us depend on many factors…
What are these factors?

Answer 4

1. Race
2. Social class (most important)
3. Our own biological sex (most important)

Question 5

What are the three ways schools socialize children?

Answer 5

1. Students learn a formal curriculum called the “three R’s”: reading, writing, and arithmetic
   - this phase is necessary for them to become productive members of their society
2. Because students interact every day at school with their peers, they ideally strengthen their ski cual skills
3. They interact with authority figures, their teachers, who are not their parents
   - the learning they gain to these authority figures is another important component of their socialization

Question 6

Functional theorists vs conflict theorists on school socialization

Answer 6

1. Functional theorists- cite all the aspects of school socialization
2. Conflict theorists- emphasize that schools in the US also impart a hidden curriculum by socializing children to accept the cultural values of the society in which the schools are found

Question 7

What do tv shows, movies, popular music, magazines, websites and other aspects of the mass media influence?

Answer 7

• our political views
• our tastes in popular culture
• our views of women
• people of color
• gays
• other beliefs and practices