Socialization, Social Groups, and Stratification.

Socialization, Social Groups,

and Stratification

Socialization• The process of

learning how to participate in a group

• Begins at infancy

• Agents of socialization

–Family–Peers–Media–Religion–Education–Work

Looking Glass Self

• An image of yourself based on what you believe others think of you

• People shape themselves based on other people's perception, which leads the people to reinforce other people's perspectives on themselves

Self Concept• An image of yourself as having an identity

separate from others

• Contains three parts: 1. Self-esteem it is where one makes judgments

about his or her self-worth.

2. Stability refers to the organization and continuity of one's self-concept.

3. Self-efficacy is self-confidence. It is specifically connected with one's abilities, unlike self-esteem

Social Interactions• The process of influencing each other as

people relate

Significant Other

• Those people whose reactions are most important to your self concept

Social Exchange

• A voluntary action performed in the expectation of getting a reward in return

• Social exchange theory states all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives.

• If I help my mom she will give me gas money

Coercion

• Interaction in which individuals or groups are forced to behave a particular way

Conformity

• Behavior that matches the group’s expectations

Group Think• Self deceptive thinking that is based on

conformity to group beliefs and created by group pressure to conform

Cooperation

• Interaction in which individuals/groups combine their efforts to reach a goal

Conflict

• Interaction aimed at defeating an opponent

Group/”Cliques”

• Composed of people who share several features

• Usually begins in early adolescence• Usually consist of five or six people who are

homogeneous in age, gender, race, social status, and socioeconomic background

• During late adolescence, the clique typically dissolves into associated sets of couples, which then remain the primary social unit into and throughout adulthood.

Features of a group

• Frequent contact with each other

• Similar ways of thinking feeling and behavior

• Similar reaction to one another’s behavior

• One or more interests or goals

Social Category

• People who share a social characteristic

Social Aggregate• People temporarily in the same place at

the same time but do not interact or share the same characteristics

Mechanical Solidarity• People feel connected through similar work,

educational and religious training, and lifestyle

Organic Solidarity• Social cohesion based upon the dependence

individuals have on each other in more advanced societies

• Although individuals perform different tasks and often have different values and interest, the order and very solidarity of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specified tasks

Status

• A position a person occupies within a social structure

Ascribed Status

• Position that is neither earned nor chosen but it assigned

Achieved Status

• A position that is earned or chosen

Master Status

• A position that strongly affects most aspects of a person’s life

Social Stratification• Division of large numbers of people according to

power, property, gender and prestige.• This applies to nations, societies, sexes and other

groups

Social Class• Segment of society whose members hold similar

amounts of resources and share values, norms, and identifiable lifestyles

• Based on money and material things

Income

• The amount of money received by an individual or group over a specific period of time

Wealth• Total economic resources held by a person

or a group

Power• The ability to control the behavior of others

even against their will

Prestige• Recognition, respect, and

admiration attached to social positions

• Jobs that pay more, require more education, entail more abstract thought, offer greater autonomy

• Job prestige brings power- Elite- the top people in corporations, military, politics that make nations major decisions

• Different occupations have different levels of prestige

False Consciousness• Adoption of the ideas of the dominant class by the

less powerful class

Class Consciousness

• Identification with the goals and interests of a social class

Absolute Poverty

• The absence of enough money to secure life’s necessities

Relative Poverty

• Measure of poverty based on the economic disparity between those at the bottom of society and the rest of society

Social Mobility

• The movement of individuals or groups between social classes

Horizontal Mobility

• A change in occupation within the same social class

Vertical Mobility

• A change upward or downward in occupation status/social class

Intergenerational Mobility

• Class status change from one generation to the next