In the past when there was a clear divide in gender

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In the past, when there was a clear divide in gender roles, children who were
attached to a woman did better developmentally
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More recent studies show that gender is not important, the actual attachment
to the caregiver is more important
Diversity in the Family

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Diversity of types of family: single, married, co-habitating, grandparent’s
involvement, divorced
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Diversity of families: racial/ethnic, religious, religion, culture
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These all impact the values and norms emphasized within the home
Peers as Agents of Socialization
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As children get older, they are influenced by their peers much more
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Form relationships on their own terms (choose their own friends)
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Interactions can be spontaneous
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Interactions without direct adult supervision
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Less of a power dynamic than family (need to obey family, parents talk to you
freely but make sure you know who is in charge)
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For a long period of time, this choosing of friends is almost arbitrary. Parents
choosing the friends of their children by organizing ‘playdates’
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Peers have a greater ability to help build one’s identity
School as an Agent of Socialization
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Function of school is to socialize
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Exposure to a different set of skills and expectations
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How to meet deadlines, how to interact with teachers and principals
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Public evaluation and social comparison- often our first experience of being
publically evaluated. Learn to judge our performance against others in the
class
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Learning to improve, learning about fairness, and impacts the sense of self
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Effects the person they are to become
Mass Media as an Agent of Socialization
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Only recently has it become more influential
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Children are much more exposed to media every day (average 2 hours a day)
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Shapes our perceptions and out ‘scripts’
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We are able to see what appropriate behaviours in certain situations are
What is a Script?
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A sequence of behaviours, actions, and consequences that are expected in a
particular situation
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Scripts rely on our prior knowledge to help us navigate our social situations and
include behaviours, roles and props
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Media shows us the proper behaviour, and then you develop a script so you
know what to do in this situation (ex: media showing us a cartoon of someone
getting on the bus: what the bus driver does, what you should do, pulling the
cord when you want to get off)
Processes of Socialization
Instrumental Conditioning

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Aka Operant Conditioning
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A process wherein a person learns what response to make in a situation in order
to obtain a positive reinforcement or avoid a negative reinforcement
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Ex: when a child takes their first steps and sees that their parents are very
happy, they are likely to continue doing this
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We learn proper behaviours and actions through this
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Entrinsic and intrinsic motivation- entrinsic (someone giving a reward or
punishment) and intrinsic (internal rewards, gaining a sense of satisfaction or
pride)
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Self-efficacy- gained through repeated successes of a particular activity
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