Deck 5: B: Socialization

Question 1

According to Erving Goffman,what key traits define a total institution?

Answer 1

Erving Goffman, a Canadian-American sociologist and writer, introduced the concept of "total institutions" in his seminal work, "Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates" (1961). According to Goffman, total institutions are places of residence and work where a large number of individuals, cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life.

Goffman identifies several key traits that define a total institution:

1. **All-encompassing**: Total institutions take over and control all aspects of the daily lives of their inhabitants. This includes where they sleep, eat, work, and engage in leisure activities.

2. **Barrier to the outside world**: There is a clear barrier to social intercourse with the outside and to departure that is often physically demarcated by barriers such as locked doors, high walls, barbed wire, cliffs, water, forests, or moors.

3. **Batch living**: Inhabitants live and act in a batch; they do the same thing at the same time in the same way because they are treated as a group rather than as individuals.

4. **Formal rules and daily schedules**: Activities are tightly scheduled, with a series of imposed activities carried out in a prescribed order under a single authority and rational plan.

5. **Supervision and control**: There is a strict hierarchy and surveillance system in place. Inmates are constantly supervised by a staff that does not live on the premises and has considerable power and privileges.

6. **Purpose of the institution**: The purpose of total institutions can vary and include the care of persons thought to be incapable, harmless, or dangerous to themselves or others, or the pursuit of some work-like task.

Examples of total institutions include prisons, mental hospitals, convents, military boot camps, and boarding schools. In these environments, the self-identities of the inmates are systematically, though often unintentionally, mortified by the stripping away of external markers of personal identity and autonomy.

Goffman's concept of total institutions is significant in the field of sociology because it provides a framework for understanding how these environments shape the behavior and self-perception of individuals within them, as well as the social dynamics between the institution's staff and its residents.

Question 2

Why are the cases of Anna,Isabelle,and Genie important to social scientists?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

What differences did Carol Gilligan find in how males and females make moral judgments?

Answer 3

Carol Gilligan, an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist, is best known for her work on moral development and ethical relationships. In her influential book "In a Different Voice" (1982), Gilligan challenged the universality of Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development, which were based on studies conducted primarily with male subjects. She argued that Kohlberg's model did not adequately represent the moral reasoning of women.

Gilligan's research suggested that there are differences in how males and females make moral judgments, which she attributed to the different socialization and experiences of men and women. According to Gilligan, these differences can be summarized as follows:

1. **Ethic of Care vs. Ethic of Justice**: Gilligan proposed that males tend to adopt an "ethic of justice" which emphasizes rules, rights, and formal logic. This approach is more abstract and focuses on principles of fairness and equality. In contrast, females are more likely to adopt an "ethic of care," which emphasizes relationships, responsibilities, and compassion. This approach is more contextual and considers the needs of others and the nuances of particular situations.

2. **Response to Moral Dilemmas**: When faced with moral dilemmas, Gilligan found that males were more likely to prioritize abstract principles and the application of justice, whereas females were more inclined to consider the complexities of relationships and the care of individuals involved. For example, in the famous Heinz dilemma, where a man considers stealing a drug to save his wife's life, males might focus on the legality of the action and the importance of upholding the law, while females might focus on the importance of preserving life and the relationships affected by the decision.

3. **Moral Development**: Gilligan argued that Kohlberg's model of moral development, with its emphasis on justice and rights, did not capture the full range of moral reasoning that women employ. She suggested that women's moral development might follow a different trajectory, one that emphasizes the growth of care-based ethics and the understanding of relationships.

4. **Voice and Perspective**: Gilligan contended that women's moral voices were often undervalued or not heard within a society that privileges male-oriented perspectives. She advocated for recognizing the legitimacy and importance of the female moral perspective, which includes empathy, compassion, and an emphasis on maintaining social bonds.

It is important to note that Gilligan's work has been both influential and controversial. Critics have argued that her findings may overgeneralize or essentialize gender differences, and that moral reasoning may not be as gendered as her theory suggests. Subsequent research has shown that both men and women can and do employ both care and justice orientations, and that individual differences in moral reasoning are influenced by a variety of factors, including but not limited to gender.

Nonetheless, Gilligan's contributions have sparked significant discussion and have led to a broader understanding of moral development that includes multiple voices and perspectives. Her work has also had a lasting impact on fields such as ethics, psychology, education, and gender studies.

Question 4

What did George Herbert Mead mean by "self"? What are the steps in the development of the self?

Question 5

Provide evidence in support of the position that stages of the life course are socially constructed.

Question 6

Outline Freud's three-part model of the human personality.

Question 7

Why did Sigmund Freud see human culture (superego)as a necessary source of repression?

Question 8

Explain Erik Erikson's theory of socialization as a life-long process.

Question 9

Explain how a family's social class position shapes the process of socialization.

Question 10

Cite several ways in which the family is central to the process of socialization.

Question 11

Summarize Jean Piaget's contribution to our understanding of socialization.

Question 12

Discuss socialization as a lifelong process.