unit 4, topic 1 Flashcards
(33 cards)
define socialisation
The process learning the beliefs, customs and appropriate behaviours of a society or group.
socialisation is a term that refers to the lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies, providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within his or her own society.
two types - primary and secondary
define norms
unwritten rules that tell us how to behave in various situations.
social guidelines, a set of societal standards for behaviour that represents the consensus about which behaviours are acceptable and encourages and those which are unacceptable.
describe primary socialisation
socialisation that occurs within the home (direct interaction) during the early stages of life, typically from parents and close family members.
children model behaviour of their parents/guardians. includes gender, race, class socialisation
important because it sets groundwork for future socialisation.
describe secondary socialisation
refers to the socialisation that takes place outside the home, within society at large.
children learn how to behave for the situations they are in as well as social norms, the informal rules that govern behaviour in groups and societies. starts when children are exposed to socialising agents (people from other cultures who have different perspectives).
define socialising agent
a person or group that facilitates the process of socialisation.
could be parents, family, peers, school or the media as well as indirect interaction.
propose what could happen if someone only experiences primary socialisation
an individual who only experiences primary socialisation may have very limited views of the world, as they have been exposed only to beliefs, behaviours and attitudes of those closest to them (usually parents or primary care givers). As a result of this, they may struggle with the different experiences that are encounter in the world in the world outside their primary life. however they may also experiences difference in self esteem as they may never have compared their behaviour, attituded and beliefs to another, and this may increase self confidence.
define social influence
what are the two types
the influence of others on the way people think, feel ad behave.
- influences may be intentional or unintentional
the two types of conformity and obedience
what is normative influence and informative influence
is conformity based on one’s desire to fulfil others expectations and gain acceptance.
is conformity under acceptance of evidence about reality which has been provided by others.
describe compliance as a level of conformity
compliance is the lowest level of conformity
- a person changes their public behaviour, they way they act, but not their private beliefs. this is usually a short-term change and if often the result of normative social influence.
eg:
describe identification as a level of conformity
is the middle level.
here a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs, but only while they are in the presence of the group.
this is also normally short term change and normally the result of normative social influence.
eg: a person may decide to become a vegan because all of this new flat mates are vegan. but when they see mcdonalds they cant resist a burger with meat.
identification takes place when we are surrounded by a particular group, we change our private beliefs while in the presence of the group are not permanently.
describe internalisation as a level of conformity
deepest level
here a person changes their public behaviour and their private beliefs. this is usually long term change and often the result of informational influence.
eg: someone converts their faith to a different religion.
- they internalised the new belief structure and conform to its rules
define obedience
obedience is a type of social influence that occurs when we follow the rules or commands of someone with authority (power and status) or the rules or laws of society
discuss asch’s studies of conformity
aim: to investigate under non ambiguous conditions.
participants: 50 male students from a swarthmore college USA.
procedure - participants were lead to believe that they were participating a study investigating visual judgement (deception).
tested with 7 confederates. participants were asked to judge the length of a line (which was longer).
the confederates deliberately answered questions incorrectly.
results: average rate of conformity was 32%. 74% conformed at least once , 26% never conformed.
evaluate ash’s study of conformity
50 male students from Swarthmore college in America - Asch’s sample lacks population validity (gender difference?)
low ecological validity - artificial task, does not reflect conformity in everyday life.
ethically questionable - he broke several ethical guidelines, including, deception and protection from harm. although it is seen as unethical to deceive participants, Asch’s experiment required deception in order to achieve valid results.
define injunctive and descriptive
injunctive - norms reflect people’s perceptions of what behaviours are approved or disapproved by others.
descriptive - norms involve perceptions of which behaviours are typically performed. they normally refer to the perception of other’s behaviour. these norms are based on observations of those around you.
discuss Cialdini (2006) aim, participants, procedure
aim - to investigate the focus theory of normative conduct, which asserts that norms are only likely to influence behaviour directly when they are given attention and are therefore noticeable in consciousness.
participants - the naturalistic experiment was conducted using 2655 visitors to the petrified forest national part in the USA. the park had recently been added to the list of America’s 10 most endangered national parks and had reported the problem behaviour of visitors stealing 14 tons of petrified wood each year.
procedure - Cialdini and his team placed three foot square signs at the start of paths that wound through sections of the park where theft of wood had been a problem. signs were in place for 5 two hour blocks each weekend. during each two hour time block, they placed 20 pieces of petrified wood in designated locations, which were counted by researchers and replaced for each new time period.
discuss Cialdini’s results (2006)
messages that used descriptive normative information was most likely to increase theft, whereas messages that used injunctive normative information was most likely to reduce.
researchers concluded that their findings support the focus theory, and that the type of normative information presented can dramatically alter how people respond to monitoring.
define sex
sex is biologically determined by chromosomes and expressed as male, female or both genitalia, reproductive organs (gonads) and hormones.
a person can be classified as binary - female or male
or
non-binary - intersex: people both with male and female or ambiguous genitals and reproductive organs.
define gender
gender refers to the roles behaviours, activities attributes and opportunities that any society considers appropriate for girls or boys, and women and men.
gender interacts with but is different from, the binary categories of biological sex.
is a social construct
how do gender roles form
they form based on stereotypes and bias. this happens through primary and secondary socialisation, especially media.
gender identity
the psychological sense of oneself as a man or woman. gender identity is achieved around 2-3 years of age, where a child recognises and labels themselves as a boy or a girl.
eg:
transgender people may have a gender identity that differs from their assigned sex.
the extent to which people to which an individual approves of and participates in feelings and behaviours considered as appropriate to their culturally constituted gender.
gender identity and role can conflict.
describe the biological theory of gender role formation
suggests an individual’s gender is biologically predetermined.
evidence: there is evidence from studies that support biological theory and the innate differences between makes and females.
- physical: higher testosterone is associated with greater strength therefore men are more physically capable than women.
- psychological abilities - studies have demonstrated that sex can have the structure and function of brain cells. eg: males have better visuospatial awareness whereas females display increased language abilities. males are more logical and females are emotional.
evidence:
- alexander & Saenz (2012): boys and girls, aged 1 year or less, prefer to play with different types of toys, even if exposed to gender neutral toys or equal access to gender stereotypical toys.
- Campbell (200) found that children have more gender based toy preferences as young as 18 months (suggesting that gender differences are innate).
describe the evolutionary approach to gender role formation
male and female behaviour is teh result of different biological and psychological traits that have developed to increase survival/reproduction.
eg: traits development - men hunted therefore required physical strength, aggression and higher levels of competition. women gathered for foods, socialised and nurtured children and are therefore primed to exhibit these traits.
eval:
- this theory explains how stereotypical traits developed but not why they have persisted in modern society.
describe biosocial approach in gender role formation
the development o gender is the result of the interaction between biological predisposition and social factors. this theory proposes that children are born gender neutral however their socialisation is based on the genitalia they show.
eval:
- this theory explains differences in male and female behavioural differences but not why gender roles are maintained.
