Agents of Socialization

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Agents of Socialization

• Individuals, groups, and institutions that enable
  socialization to take place
• Socialization can be both deliberate and
  unintended

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Agents of Socialization

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v526pL1fXmRY

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Deliberate and Unintended Socialization

• Deliberate

• Unintended

• Ex. Tell your children the importance of telling
  the truth

• Might have greater effect than deliberate or
  intended
• Ex. The child sees several situations in which
  the father does not tell the truth.

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Agent of Socialization 1 The Family

• Principal socializer of young children
• You learn the values, norms and beliefs of
  society
• Differs from family to family
• Relationships among family members may vary

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The Peer Group

• Primary group composed of individuals of roughly
  equal age and similar social characteristics
• Particularly influential during the pre-teenage
  and early teenage years
• Goals are sometimes at odds with goals of larger
  society

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The School

• Around 30 weeks a year
• Teaching of basic reading, writing, math,..
• Extracurricular Activities
• Prepare student for society
• Transmits cultural values (ex. Patriotism)
• Contains many peer groups

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The Mass Media

• Instruments of communication that reach large
  audiences
• Does not involve face-to-face contact
• Books, films, Internet, newspapers, radio, TV
• 98 of homes have TVs
• Children watch on average 21.5 hours a week
• Do we watch too much violence?
• Are we less sensitive to violence?
• Does TV show a limited image of society?
• Is it a powerful educational tool?

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Agents of Socialization and Sports

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?voDpzJk3X020
• Family

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vR_1ZZya1-rk
• Sports and Media

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PowerPoint 11 The End