At the meso level, the purposes and values of organizations or institutions sometimes directly contrast with one another or conflict with other parts of the social system. From the conflict perspective, the linkages between various parts of the social world are based on competition with or even direct opposition to another part. Socialization into a nation’s military forces, for example, stresses patriotism and ethnocentrism, sometimes generating conflict and hostility toward other groups and countries. Demands from various organizations for people’s time, money, and energy may leave little to give to our religious communities or even our families. Each organization and unit competes to gain our loyalty in order to claim some of our resources.
Conflict can occur in the global community as well. For example, religious groups often socialize their members to identify with humanity as a whole (“the family of God”). However, in some cases, nations do not want their citizens socialized to identify with those beyond their borders. Leaders of nations may seek to persuade Christians to kill other Christians, Jews, or Muslims, whom they define as “the enemy.” If religion teaches that all people are “brothers and sisters” and if religious people object to killing, the nation may have trouble mobilizing its people to arms when the leaders call for war. Quaker, Mennonite, and Amish religious groups, among others, promote peace and refuse to engage in warfare.
Thinking Sociologically
What would happen if all religious groups taught that all people are “brothers and sisters” and that we should not take the life of a fellow human?
Conflict theorists believe that those who have power and privilege use socialization to manipulate individuals so that they will support the power structure and the self-interests of the elite. For example, parents decide how they would like to raise their children and what values they want to instill in them, but as their children enter school, parents must share the socialization process with school personnel who teach curricula established and approved by those in power in society. One reason why some parents choose to homeschool their children is to control external influences on the socialization process.
Whether we stress harmony in the socialization process or conflict rooted in power differences, the development of a sense of self through the process of socialization is an ongoing, lifelong process. Let us now focus on the micro level: How does the self develop? How did you develop your sense of self?
Thinking Sociologically
Although the socialization process occurs primarily at the micro level, it is influenced by events at each level in the social system. Give examples of family, community, subcultural, national, or global events that influenced how you were socialized or how you might socialize your child.
Development of the Self: Micro-Level Analysis
Have you seen a young child, 3 years or under, using a tablet, smartphone, or other interactive device? Some research shows that the impact of mobile devices on preschool children can be detrimental to their social-emotional, sensorimotor, problem-solving, math and science, and reading skills. Preschool children who use such devices do not develop as much empathy as children who spend more time in social interaction during unstructured play with peers. Using mobile devices can also affect their ability for self-regulation of behavior and early literacy skills (Walters 2015).
On the other hand, educational television and mobile device programs can get parents reading to young children and help children who are closer to school age gain technological skills (Pearson 2018). Still, researchers suggest more direct human-to-human interaction, and designated “family time” is beneficial for young children’s socialization. Children under 30 months learn primarily from human interaction. We are talking here about the development of the self.
▲ This child is learning something about technology and no doubt receiving other messages through play. Besides how to work an electronic device, what other messages might this child be learning?
© iStock.com/quintanilla
A baby is born with the potential to develop a self, the main product of the socialization process. Fundamentally, self refers to the perceptions we have of who we are. This process starts at birth. Throughout the socialization process, our self develops largely from the way others respond to us—praising us, disciplining us, ignoring us, and so on. The development of the self allows individuals to interact with other people and to learn to function at each level of the social world.
Humans are not born with a sense of self. It develops gradually, beginning in infancy and continuing throughout adulthood as we interact with others. Individual biology, culture, and social experiences all play a part in shaping the self. The hereditary blueprint each person brings into the world provides broad biological outlines, including particular physical attributes, temperament, and a maturational schedule. Each person is also born into a family that lives within a particular culture, illustrating that nature is shaped by nurture. This hereditary blueprint, in interaction with family and culture, helps create each unique person, different from any other person yet sharing the types of interactions by which the self is formed.
Most sociologists, although not all, believe that we humans are distinct from other animals in our ability to develop a self and to be aware of ourselves as individuals or objects (Irvine 2004). Consider how we refer to ourselves in the first person—I am hungry, I feel foolish, I am having fun, and I am good at basketball. We have a conception of who we are, how we relate to others, and how we differ from and are separate from others in our abilities and limitations. We have an awareness of the characteristics, values, feelings, and attitudes that give us our unique sense of self (W. James [1890] 1934; G. Mead [1934] 1962).
Thinking Sociologically
Who are some of the people who have been most significant in shaping your self at different stages in your life? How have their actions and responses helped shape your self-concept as musically talented, athletic, intelligent, kind, assertive, clumsy, or any of the other hundreds of traits that might make up your self?
The Looking-Glass Self and Role-Taking
Ty: “Hi! What’s up?” (Ty has had his eye on this girl in his class, so he approaches her before class.)
Valerie: “Nothin’ much.”
Ty: “So what do you think of our sociology class?”
Valerie: “It’s OK.” (She turns around, spots a friend, and walks away.) “Hey Julie, did you get your soc assignment done?”
Ty is left to reflect on how to interpret Valerie’s response. Take this common interaction and apply it to interactions you have had. First you approach someone and open a conversation (or someone approaches you); second, the person takes you up on the conversation—or not; third, you evaluate the individual’s response and modify your behavior based on your interpretation. These steps make up the process called the looking-glass self, and they are repeated many times each day. We now explore these seemingly simple interactions that are key to developing our self through the socialization process.
The looking-glass-self idea is part of symbolic interaction theory