CHAPTER

4Socialization and the Life Course

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Socialization is the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Socialization occurs through human interaction and helps us to discover how to behave properly. It provides for the transmission of a culture from one generation to the next. Socialization ensures the long-term continuance of a society. Personality is influenced by socialization and environmental factors interacting with hereditary factors. Case studies, such as those of Isabelle and Genie, and primate studies support the importance of socialization in development. Conversely, twin studies have addressed the influence of hereditary factors on personality development. The self is a distinct identity that sets us apart from others. It continues to develop and change throughout our lives. Sociologists Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead (pioneers of the interactionist approach), and Erving Goffman have all furthered our understanding about development of the self. Cooley’s looking-glass self results from how we present ourselves to others and how others evaluate us. Mead developed a process by which the self emerges: the preparatory stage, the play stage, and the game stage. Instrumental to Mead’s view are the generalized other (attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society) and significant others (individuals most important in development of the self). Goffman suggested that many of our daily activities involve attempts to convey impressions (impression management) of who we are. His view has been termed the dramaturgical approach.

Psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud, stressed the role of inborn drives in the development of the self. Child psychologist Jean Piaget identified four stages of personality development in his cognitive theory of development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational). Piaget viewed social interaction as key to development.

Lifelong socialization involves many different social forces and agents of socialization. Family is considered the most important of the socialization agents. Schools are another agent of socialization concerned with teaching students the values and customs of the larger society. Peer groups often serve as a transitional source to adulthood. The mass media have an impact

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on the socialization process that sociologists have also begun to consider. Workplaces can serve as socialization agents by teaching appropriate behavior within an occupational environment. Additionally, social scientists have increasingly recognized the importance of religion and the state as agents of socialization because of their growing impact on the life course.

Sociologists use the life course approach in recognizing that biological changes mold, but do not dictate, human behavior. We encounter some of the most difficult socialization challenges and rites of passage in the later years of life. Two types of socialization occur: anticipatory socialization (refers to the process of rehearsing for future roles), and resocialization (refers to discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones). Resocialization is particularly effective when it occurs within a total institution, an institution that regulates all aspects of a person’s life under a single authority. Goffman identified four common traits of total institutions. Goffman suggested people often lose their individuality within total institutions.

The life course affects the manner in which we relate to one another. How we move through the life course varies dramatically, depending on the individual. The first transitional period in the life course begins when an individual gradually enters the adult world. The second transitional period, the mid-life transition, begins at about age 40. Men and women often experience a stressful period of self-evaluation commonly known as the midlife crisis. During the late 1990s, social scientists focused on the sandwich generation, or those adults who simultaneously try to meet the competing needs of their parents and their children. The experience of retirement varies according to gender, race, and ethnicity.

LECTURE OUTLINE

I. The Role of Socialization• Nature v. nurture debate has shifted to general acceptance of interaction between the variables of heredity, environment, and socialization.

A. Social Environment: The Impact of Isolation• The need for human interaction is evident in actual case studies.

1. Isabelle and Genie: Two Cases• Isabelle lived in seclusion for six years. Could not speak and reacted animal-like to strangers. After systematic socialization training was developed, Isabelle became well adjusted.• Genie was confined in isolation from the age of 20 months until she was found at age 13. No one had spoken to her and there was no TV or radio in the house. Despite extensive therapy, she never achieved full

language ability.

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2. Primate Studies• Harry Harlow tested rhesus monkeys for the effects of isolation and concluded that isolation had a damaging effect on the monkeys.

B. The Influence of Heredity• Twins studies reveal that both genetic factors and socialization experiences are influential in human development. Example: Oskar Stohr and Jack Yufe. • The validity of twin studies has been questioned because of small sample sizes.

II. The Self and Socialization• The self is a distinct identity that sets each of us apart from others. The interactionist perspective is useful in understanding development of the self.

A. Sociological Approaches to the Self

1. Cooley: Looking-Glass Self• The self is a product of social interactions with others. Three phases: (1) we imagine how we present ourselves to others; (2) we imagine how others evaluate us; and (3) we develop a feeling about ourselves. Example: a student’s reaction to a teacher’s criticism.

2. Mead: Stages of the Self• The preparatory stage consists of children imitating people around them. Children begin to understand the use of symbols. • The play stage consists of children pretending to be other people, like an actor “becoming” a character. Role taking is the process of mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that imagined viewpoint. • During the game stage, children grasp their own social positions, as well as everyone else’s position around them.• The term “generalized other” refers to the attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of others in society that an individual takes into account before acting in particular way. Example: children learning manners.

3. Mead: The Theory of the Self• Children picture themselves as the focus of everything around them. As people mature, the self changes and begins to consider the reactions of others. • Mead used the term “significant others” to refer to those individuals who are most important in the person’s development.

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4. Goffman: Presentation of the Self• Impression management involves an individual slanting his or her presentation of the self to create a distinctive appearance and to satisfy particular audiences. • The dramaturgical approach is based on people behaving as actors by putting forth an image believed to be pleasing to others. • Goffman’s face-work involves people trying to maintain or save an image or face. Example: feigning employment to avoid embarrassment.

B. Psychological Approaches to the Self• Freud stressed the role of inborn drives. Self has components that work in opposition to each other. Part of us seeks limitless pleasure, while another part seeks rational behavior. • Piaget found that newborns have no sense of a looking-glass self. In his theory of cognitive development, Piaget identified four stages of child development: (1) sensorimotor stage (child uses senses to make discoveries), (2) preoperational stage (child begins to use words and symbols), (3) concrete operational stage (child engages in more logical thinking), and (4) the formal operational stage (adolescent is capable of sophisticated abstract thought, and can deal with ideas and values in a logical manner.). • Social interaction is the key to development.

III. Agents of Socialization

A. Family• Most important socializing agent. Parents minister to the baby’s needs by feeding, cleansing, carrying, and comforting.

• Parents guide children into gender roles deemed appropriate by society.

B. School• Explicit mandate to socialize children to societal norms. • Functionalists indicate schools fulfill a function by socializing children, whereas conflict theorists suggest schools reinforce divisive aspects of society, especially social class. Example: A teacher praising boys may reinforce sexist attitudes.

C. Peer Group• As a child grows older, family becomes somewhat less important in social development, while peer groups increasingly assume the role of Mead’s significant others.

D. Mass Media and Technology• Television can be both a negative and a positive influence on children. • Additional impact of the Internet, cell phones, and pagers.

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E. Workplace• Learning to behave appropriately within an occupation. • The U.S. has the highest level of teenage employment of all industrialized nations, with growing concern regarding adverse effects of work on schooling.• Workplace socialization changes when a person shifts to full-time employment.

F. Religion and the State• State-run agencies increasingly influential in life course. • Government and organized religion have reinstituted some of the rites of passage once observed in earlier societies.

IV. Socialization and Throughout the Life Course

A. The Life Course• Celebrating rites of passage is a means of dramatizing and validating changes in a person’s status. • Socialization continues through the life course. Some of the most difficult socialization challenges are encountered in the later years of life.

B. Anticipatory Socialization and Resocialization• Anticipatory socialization refers to a person rehearsing for a role they will likely

assume in the future. Example: high school students preparing for college by looking at college Web sites.

• Resocialization refers to discarding the former sense of self and behavior patterns and accepting new behavior patterns. Example: prisons, indoctrination camps, and religious conversions. • Goffman suggested resocialization is particularly effective in a total institutional environment (prisons, mental hospitals, and military organizations).• Individuality is often lost in total institutions as the individual becomes secondary in the environment and experiences the humiliations of degradation ceremonies.

C. • Socialization is a lifelong process. • Experiences vary at certain points in the life course. Example: falling in love.• Psychologist Daniel Levinson identified a number of developmental and transitional periods in the life course. Men and women often experience a

midlife crisis at about age 40.

1. The Sandwich Generation• The sandwich generation refers to adults who simultaneously try to

meet the needs of both their parents and their children.

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• Caring for aging parents falls disproportionately on women. Overall, women provide 60 percent of the care their parents receive.

Increasingly, middle-aged women find themselves on “the daughter track.”

2. Adjusting to Retirement• Retirement is a rite of passage. • From 1950 to the mid-1990s, the average age at retirement declined. • In the last few years, the age of retirement has reversed direction. In 2003, 6 percent of women and 12 percent of men over 70 were still working • Gerontologist Robert Atchley identified phases of retirement experiences: preretirement, the near phase, the honeymoon phase, the disenchantment phase, the reorientation phase, the stability phase, and the termination phase.• Retirement is a series of adjustments that varies from one person to another. Examples: Health status and financial status are major factors

as well as gender, race, ethnicity.

V. Social Policy and Socialization: Child Care around the World

A. The Issue• Day care centers have become the functional equivalent of the nuclear family. Seventy-three percent of employed mothers depend on others to care for their children, and 30 percent of mothers who aren’t employed have regular care arrangements.

B. The Setting• Research suggests good day care benefits children. • No significant differences in infants who had received extensive nonmaternal care vs. those cared for solely by their mothers.

C. Sociological Insights• Conflict theorists raise concerns about the cost of day care, especially for lower class families.

D. Policy Initiatives• Sweden and Denmark subsidize childcare for one-third to one-half of children under age three.• In the U.S., where government subsidies are much more limited, child care can cost up to 13,200 per year, per family.

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KEY TERMS

Anticipatory socialization Processes of socialization in which a person “rehearses” for future positions, occupations, and social relationships.

Cognitive theory of development Jean Piaget’s theory that children’s thought progresses through four stages of development.

Degradation ceremony An aspect of the socialization process within total institutions, in which people are subjected to humiliating rituals.

Dramaturgical approach A view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers.

Face-work The efforts of people to maintain the proper image and avoid public embarrassment.

Gender role Expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females.

Generalized other The attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior.

Impression management The altering of the presentation of the self in order to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences.

Life course approach A research orientation in which sociologists and other social scientists look closely at the social factors that influence people throughout their lives, from birth to death.

Looking-glass self A concept that emphasizes the self as the product of our social interactions with others.

Midlife crisis a stressful period of self-evaluation, typically beginning around age 40Personality A person’s typical patterns of attitudes, needs, characteristics, and behavior. Resocialization The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as

part of a transition in one’s life. Rite of passage Ritual marking the symbolic transition from one social position to another. Role taking The process of mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from

that imagined viewpoint. Sandwich generation those adults who simultaneously try to meet the competing needs of their parents and their children.Self A distinct identity that sets us apart from others. Significant other An individual who is most important in the development of the self, such as a

parent, friend, or teacher. Socialization The lifelong process in which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors

appropriate for members of a particular culture. Symbol A gesture, object, or word that forms the basis of human communication. Total institution An institution that regulate all aspects of a person’s life under a single

authority, such as a prison, the military, a mental hospital, or a convent.

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CHAPTER

5 SOCIAL INTERACTION, GROUPS, AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Social interaction refers to the ways in which people respond to one another. Social structure refers to the way a society is organized into predictable relationships. Both social interaction and social structure are central to understanding how different aspects of behavior are related to one another. Our response to someone’s behavior is based on the meaning we attach to his/her actions. Reality is shaped by our perceptions, evaluations, and definitions. The ability to define social reality reflects a group’s power within a society. Sociologists use the term status to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society. A person can hold a number of statuses at the same time. An ascribed status is assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics, generally at birth. An achieved status is attained by a person largely through his or her own efforts. A master status dominates other statuses and thereby determines a person’s general position within society.

A social role is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status. Role conflict occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person. Role strain is a term used to describe the difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations. The process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s self-identity in order to establishment a new role and identity is referred to as role exit.

A group is any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who regularly and consciously interact. Groups play an important part in a society’s structure. Much of our social interaction takes place within groups and is influenced by their norms and sanctions. Sociologists have made distinctions between the various types of groups. A primary group is a small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation. Primary groups play a pivotal role both in the socialization process and the development of roles and statuses. Secondary groups are formal, impersonal groups in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding. In-groups are groups to which people feel they belong, whereas out-groups are groups to which people feel they do not belong. A reference group is used as the standard by which individuals evaluate themselves or their own behavior. A coalition is a temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal. Some coalitions are intentionally short lived.

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Members of different groups make connections through a series of social relationships known as a social network. With advances in technology, we can now maintain social networks electronically; we don’t need face-to-face contact.

Social institutions are organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs. Functionalists view social institutions as necessary for the survival of society in meeting the basic needs of its members. Conflict theorists suggest that social institutions maintain the privileges of the most powerful individuals and groups within a society. Interactionists emphasize that our social behavior is conditioned by the roles and statuses that we accept, the groups to which we belong, and the institutions within which we function.

A formal organization is a group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency. Organizations are structured to facilitate the management of large-scale operations. A bureaucracy is a component of a formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency. Max Weber developed an ideal type of bureaucracy to serve as a standard for evaluating a bureaucracy, which consisted of five basic characteristics: (1) division of labor; (2) hierarchy of authority; (3) written rules and regulations; (4) impersonality; and (5) employment based on technical qualifications. Sociologists have used the term bureaucratization to refer to the process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic. The iron law of oligarchy describes how a democratic organization will develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few (oligarchy). According to the scientific management approach, workers in an organization are motivated almost entirely by economic rewards. By contrast, the human relations approach emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation within a bureaucracy.

Sociological research on formal organizations today is focusing on several new sources of change including more women and minority group members in high-level management, changes in organization structure that lead to broader involvement of employees in decision making, the effects of outsourcing, and the role of the Internet and virtual worlds in influencing business and consumer preferences.

Émile Durkheim developed the concepts of mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity to describe the kind of consciousness that develops in societies where there is a simple or complex division of labor, respectively. Ferdinand Tönnies used the term Gemeinschaft to refer to a small, close-knit community, typical of rural life, where people have similar backgrounds and life experiences. Conversely, the Gesellschaft is an ideal type characteristic of modern urban life. Here, most people are strangers who feel little in common with one another.

In contrast to Tönnies’ perspective, Gerhard Lenski viewed societies as undergoing change according to a dominant pattern known as sociocultural evolution. His view suggests that a society’s level of technology is critical to the way it is organized. The hunting-and-gathering society, the horticultural society, and the agrarian society are three types of preindustrial societies. An industrial society depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services. A

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postindustrial society’s economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information. A postmodern society is a technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods and media images. At the macro-level of analysis, we see society shifting to more advanced forms of technology. The social structure becomes complex and new social institutions emerge to assume some functions previously performed by family. On the micro-level of analysis, these changes affect the nature of social interactions between people. People come to rely more on social networks, rather than solely on kinship ties.

LECTURE OUTLINE

I. Social Interaction and Reality• Social interaction refers to the way people respond to one another. • Social structure refers to the way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships. The linkage of social interaction and social structure is central to sociological study. They are closely related to socialization. • Social reality is literally constructed from our social interactions. • Ability to define social reality reflects a group’s power within society. Example: William I. Thomas’s definition of the situation.

II. Elements of Social Structure

A. Statuses• Status refers to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society. A number of statuses can be held at the same time. Examples: U.S. President, son or daughter, dental technician, neighbor.

1. Ascribed and Achieved Status• Ascribed status is generally assigned at birth without regard to a

person’s unique talents or characteristics. Examples: race, gender, and age.• Achieved status comes to us largely through our own efforts. Examples: lawyer, pianist, convict, and social worker.

2. Master Status• Dominates other statuses and thereby determines a person’s general position within society. Example: Arthur Ashe who died of AIDS.

B. Social Roles

1. What Are Social Roles?• A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status. Roles are a significant component of social structure. Example:

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Police are expected to protect us and apprehend criminals.

2. Role Conflict• Occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person. Example: newly promoted worker who carries on a relationship with his/her former workgroup. • Occurs among individuals moving into occupations that are not

common among people with their ascribed status. Examples: female police officers and male preschool teachers.

3. Role Strain• Difficulty arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations. Example: alternative forms of justice among Navajo police officers.

4. Role Exit• The process of disengaging from a role that is central to one’s self- identity. • Ebaugh’s four-stage model: (1) doubt, (2) search for alternatives, (3) action stage or departure, and (4) creation of a new identity. Examples: graduating from high school or college, retirement, and divorce.

C. Groups• Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who

interact with one another on a regular basis. Examples: sports team, college sorority, hospital business office, symphony orchestra.• Groups play a key role in transmitting culture.

1. Primary and Secondary Groups• Charles Horton Cooley coined the term primary group to refer to a

small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.• Primary groups play a pivotal role in both the socialization process and the development of roles and statuses.• Primary groups are instrumental in a person’s day-to-day life. Examples: family members, sorority sisters, members of a gang.• The term secondary group refers to a formal, impersonal group in

which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding. See Table 5-1.

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2. In-Groups and Out-Groups• An in-group is any group to which people feel they belong. Everyone who is regarded as “we” or “us.”• An out-group is any group to which people feel they do not belong. • Conflict between in-groups and out-groups can be violent. Example: Columbine High School in 1999.• David Stevenson and Barbara Schneider found that young people spend an average of three and one half hours alone each day.

3. Reference Groups• Any group that an individual uses as a standard for evaluating his or herself and his or her own behavior. • Two basic purposes: (1) serves a normative function by setting and enforcing standards of conduct and belief, and (2) performs a

comparison function by serving as a standard against which people can measure themselves and others.

4. Coalitions • A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal. Can be both broad based or narrow and take on many different objectives. • Coalitions can be short-lived. Examples: popular TV shows or political groupings for elections or legislative agendas.

D. Social Networks • A network is a series of social relationships that links people either directly or indirectly to still more people. Can center on virtually any activity. Examples: networking for employment; exchanging news and gossip.• Influence of the Internet (technology) on social networks. Using e-mail rather than sending letters.

E. Virtual Worlds• Recent technological advances allow people to maintain and expand social networks without face-to-face interactions.• Allows interaction without supervision by authority figures. Examples: adolescents, employees.• Participants in virtual world interact via avatars.• Virtual worlds have become politicized and consumer oriented.• Electronic networks affect the workplace. • Electronic networks can help preserve real world networks. Examples: email, digital photos, blogs.

F. Social Institutions• Organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on meeting basic social

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needs such as replacing personnel (the family) and preserving order (the government).

1. Functionalist View• Five major tasks or functional prerequisites: (1) Replacing personnel, (2) teaching new recruits, (3) producing and distributing goods and services, (4) preserving order, and (5) providing and maintaining a sense of purpose. Example: Patriotism assists people in maintaining a sense of purpose. • Social institutions create survival and stability for society.• Social change can be dysfunctional, since it often leads to instability.

2. Conflict View• Does not agree with functionalists that the outcome of meeting basic needs is necessarily efficient and desirable. • Major institutions maintain the privileges of the most powerful individuals and groups within a society, while contributing to the powerlessness of others. Example: Public schools are financed largely by property taxes, so more affluent areas have better equipped schools and better-paid teachers.• Social institutions have an inherently conservative nature.• Social institutions operate in gendered and racist environments.• Social changes are needed to promote equality.

3. Interactionist View• Behavior is conditioned by roles and statuses that we accept, the

groups to which we belong, and the institutions within which we function. Example: The status of a judge is in relation to other statuses.

III. Understanding Organizations

A. Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies• Formal organization: a group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency. Examples: United States Postal Service, McDonald’s, and colleges. • Formal organizations fulfill a variety of personal and social needs. • Ascribed factors such as gender, race, and ethnicity influence how we see ourselves within formal organizations. Example: female lawyers.

B. Characteristics of a Bureaucracy• A component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency. • Max Weber viewed bureaucracy as being different from a family-run business.

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He developed an ideal type of bureaucracy to serve as a standard for evaluation, having these five characteristics: division of labor, hierarchy of authority, written rules and regulation, impersonality, and employment based on technical qualifications. See Table 5-4. Not every formal organization will possess all five.• Through McDonaldization, bureaucratization has reached new heights. The McDonald’s organization provides an excellent illustration of Weber’s concept of bureaucracy.

1. Bureaucratization as a Process• Refers to the process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic. May take place in small or large organizations.

2. Oligarchy: Rule by a Few• Robert Michels originated the idea of the “iron law of oligarchy,” which describes how even a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few (an oligarchy). Example: labor union leaders becoming unresponsive to members.

C. Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture• Classical theory of formal organizations (scientific management approach) suggests workers are motivated by economic rewards. Only physical constraints limit worker productivity; therefore, workers may be treated as a resource.

• Use of scientific planning, performance standards, and careful supervision. Planning involves efficiency studies, not worker attitudes or satisfaction.• Human relations approach emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation within a bureaucracy. Directed toward concerns of the workers. Example: Hawthorne studies.

IV. Social Structure in Global Perspective

A. Durkheim’s Mechanical and Organic Solidarity• Mechanical solidarity exists in societies with a minimal division of labor. A collective consciousness develops that emphasizes group solidarity. • Organic solidarity exists in societies with a complex division of labor. It emphasizes mutual interdependence—in much the same way as organs of the body are interdependent.

B. Tönnies’s Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft• The Gemeinschaft community is typical of rural life. Social interactions are

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intimate and familiar. • The Gesellschaft is an ideal type characteristic of modern life. Most people are strangers and feel little in common with one another. See Table 5-2.

C. Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution Approach• Lenski views human societies as undergoing a process of change characterized by a dominant pattern known as sociocultural evolution: long-terms trends in societies resulting from the interplay of continuity, innovation, and selection. See Table 5-3.• Technology is critical to the way society is organized. As technology advances, a community evolves from a preindustrial to an industrial and finally a post- industrial society.

1. Preindustrial Societies• Hunting-and-gathering societies rely on available foods; technology is minimal.• Horticultural societies plant seeds and grow crops rather than subsist only on available foods. • Agrarian societies increase crop yields, and technological innovations are more dramatic (e.g., the plow).

2. Industrial Societies• Society depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services. • Reliant on new inventions that facilitate agricultural and industrial production, and on new sources of energy.• Need for specialized knowledge.

3. Postindustrial and Postmodern Societies• A postindustrial society is technologically advanced. Its economic system is primarily engaged in processing and controlling information.• Postmodern societies are technologically sophisticated and preoccupied with consumer goods and media images. • Postmodern theorists take a global perspective, noting ways that culture crosses national boundaries. Examples: In the United States, people listen to reggae music from Jamaica, eat sushi and other Japanese foods; and there are Disney Worlds in Paris and Tokyo.

V. Social Policy and Social Interaction: Regulating the Net

A. The Issue• The debate over desirability of regulating the internet and the competing interests of government, business, users.

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B. The Setting•In 2005 online networking sites were used by 87 percent of 12 to 17 year-olds, leaving email as the communication of older people.

C. Sociological Insights• Ease of use can be functional for social connectedness.

• Dysfunctions include invasion of privacy, misdirected email, online predators.• Conflict theorists have documented unequal access related to age, race, and social class.

D. Policy Initiatives•Net neutrality policies preclude regulation of online communication. •Big business interests served by less regulation, while parents want more regulation for family protection and morals issues. • Government and corporate interests can monitor activity of personal

computers, leading to Fourth Amendment concerns.

KEY TERMS

Achieved status A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts. Agrarian society The most technologically advanced form of preindustrial society. Members

are engaged primarily in the production of food but increase their crop yield through technological innovations such as the plow.

Alienation A condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society. Ascribed status A social position that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the

person’s unique talents or characteristics. Avatar A three-dimensional model, two dimensional icon, or constructed personality that is

assumed by the user of an Internet siteBureaucracy A component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to

achieve efficiency. Bureaucratization The process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes

increasingly bureaucratic. Classical theory An approach to the study of formal organizations that views workers as being

motivated almost entirely by economic rewards. Coalition A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal. Formal organization A group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum

efficiency. Gemeinschaft A close-knit community, often found in rural areas, in which strong personal

bonds unite members. Gesellschaft A community, often urban, that is large and impersonal, with little commitment to

the group or consensus on values. Goal displacement Overzealous conformity to official regulations of a bureaucracy. Group Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with

one another on a regular basis.

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Horticultural society A preindustrial society in which people plant seeds and crops rather than merely subsist on available foods.

Human relations approach An approach to the study of formal organizations that emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy and tends to focus on the informal structure of the organization.

Hunting-and-gathering society A preindustrial society in which people rely on whatever foods and fibers are readily available in order to survive.

Ideal type A construct or model for evaluating specific cases. Industrial society A society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services. In-group Any group or category to which people feel they belong. Iron law of oligarchy A principle of organizational life under which even a democratic

organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few individuals. Master status A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person’s general

position in society. McDonaldization The process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to

dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world. Mechanical solidarity A collective consciousness that emphasizes group solidarity,

characteristic of societies with minimal division of labor. Net neutrality The principle that the government shold remain non-selective on neutral toward

online contentOrganic solidarity A collective consciousness that rests on mutual interdependence,

characteristic of societies with a complex division of labor.Out-group A group or category to which people feel they do not belong. Peter principle A principle of organizational life according to which every employee within a

hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence. Postindustrial society A society whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing

and control of information. Postmodern society A technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer

goods and media images. Primary group A small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and

cooperation. Reference group Any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and

their own behavior. Role conflict The situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more

social positions held by the same person. Role exit The process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s self-identity in

order to establish a new role and identity. Role strain The difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting

demands and expectations. Scientific management approach Another name for the classical theory of formal

organizations. Secondary group A formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual

understanding. Social institution An organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs. Social interaction The ways in which people respond to one another. Social network A series of social relationships that links a person directly to others, and

through them indirectly to still more people. Social role A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status.Social structure The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships. Sociocultural evolution Long-term trends in societies resulting from the interplay of continuity,

innovation, and selection. Status A term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions

within a large group or society.

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Technology Cultural information about the ways in which the material resources of the environment may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.

Trained incapacity The tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.

CHAPTER

6THE MASS MEDIA

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The term mass media refers to print and electronic means of communication that carry messages to widespread audiences. The function of the mass media is not limited to entertainment. The mass media also socialize us, enforce social norms, confer status, promote consumption, and keep us informed about our social environment. The media bring members of society together by reporting on ceremonies and other important events such as the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The functionalist view of the mass media emphasizes the role of the media in reaffirming proper behavior by depicting what happens to people who act in ways that violate social expectations. The media play a critical role in shaping perceptions about the risks of substance abuse. The media are capable of conferring status on people, organizations, and public issues. In addition to its functions, the media can perform a dysfunction. The narcotizing dysfunction refers to the phenomenon whereby the media provide such massive amounts of information that the audience becomes numb and generally fails to act on the information.

The conflict view is that the media reflect many of the divisions within society and the world, including those based on gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. Gatekeeping refers to the idea that media material must travel through a series of checkpoints (or gates) before it reaches the public. The conflict view suggests that the gatekeeping process reflects a desire to maximize profits, and that the content that makes it through the gates does not reflect the diversity of the audience.

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In the past, media monitoring referred to the monitoring of media content by interest groups. With new technologies, it now includes monitoring of individuals’ media usage and choices without their knowledge, raising concerns about the invasion of people’s privacy.

The term dominant ideology describes the set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. The media transmit images that virtually define what we regard as the real world. Mass media decision makers are overwhelmingly white, male, and wealthy. Media content may create false images or stereotypes of particular groups, which become accepted as accurate portrayals of reality. Globalization projects the dominating reach of the U.S. media into the rest of the world. The U.S. media have come to rely on the overseas market.

Feminists continue the argument advanced by conflict theorists that the mass media stereotype and misrepresent social reality. The media provide a powerful influence on how we look at men and women. Feminists suggest that women are underrepresented and traditionally viewed as needing rescue by males. Recent studies on the use of the Internet by women and men, suggest that the use of Web sites differs by gender in fundamental ways.

Interactionists are especially interested in shared understandings of everyday behavior. They examine the impact of the media on the microlevel to see how the media shape day-to-day social behavior. The use of the Internet to exchange information and messages about terrorism and hatred is of concern to interactionists. Sexual expression, privacy issues, and censorship are all Internet-related issues that have an impact on social behavior. The media can target certain groups by identifying and segmenting the audience. An opinion leader is someone who through day-to-day personal contacts and communication influences the opinions and decisions of others.

The global reach of the media has indeed begun to create a global village in terms of communication. Consumer goods are vigorously marketed worldwide, and national boundaries are crossed effortlessly with a mere keystroke. However, ownership of the media is getting more and more centralized. There are a handful of multinational corporations that dominate the publishing, broadcasting, and film industries. Some observers think that government should regulate media concentration. Some sociologists question whether the public interest is being served by the growing concentration of media.

LECTURE OUTLINE

I. Sociological Perspectives on the Media

A. Functionalist View• The media socialize us, enforce social norms, confer status, promote

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consumption, and keep us informed about our social environment. • A dysfunction of the media is acting as a narcotic desensitizing agent.

1. Agent of Socialization• The media increase social cohesion by presenting a standardized view of culture. Example: Robert Park’s study of newspapers and immigrants.• Showing of media events can bring people together.• The Internet has become the public commons for many. • The Internet has also become a political arena. Example: In 2008, 24% of U.S. citizens regularly researched presidential candidates on the internet.• Some people blame the media for anything that goes wrong.

2. Enforcer of Social Norms• Media reaffirm proper behavior by showing what happens to people who violate societal expectations. Example: police shows on television.• Media shape perceptions about substance abuse, both in a positive and negative fashion. The 200 most popular movie rentals in 1996 and 1997 depicted alcohol use (93 percent), tobacco use (89 percent), and illicit drug use (22 percent). In 1999, 44 percent of network television programming portrayed tobacco use in at least one episode. • In 1997, a federal law required television networks to provide one free minute of antidrug messages for every minute purchased by the government for public service messages. The networks subsequently bargained with the government to drop the free minutes in exchange for antidrug messages embedded in their programs. Controversy ensued.

3. Conferral of Status• Media confers status on people, organizations, and public issues. See Table 6-2.

4. Promoting Consumption• Advertising has become more and more prominently embedded in the media. • Functions of media advertising: supports the economy, provides information about products, underwrites media costs.• Sociologists are concerned that it contributes to a consumer culture that creates “needs” and raises unrealistic expectations of what is required to be happy, and that advertising has an inappropriate influence on the media content.

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5. Dysfunctional Media: The Narcotizing Effect• Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton created the term “narcotizing dysfunction,” which refers to the media providing such massive amounts of information that the audience becomes numb. Example: coverage of natural disasters creating viewer fatigue and desensitization to the suffering.

B. Conflict View• Emphasizes that the media reflect the many divisions of society and the world, including those based on gender, race, ethnicity, and social class.

1. Gatekeeping• Media constitute a form of big business in which profits are more important than the quality of the programming.• A small number of people control what eventually reaches the audience (gatekeeping).• In many countries, the government plays a gatekeeping role.• Gatekeeping is not as dominant within the Internet. • In gatekeeping, the content that makes it through the gate does not necessarily reflect the diversity of the audience. By 2008, the governments of 21 countries had extended gatekeeping activities to the Internet. Examples: China, Myanmar

2. Media Monitoring• In the past, media monitoring referred to the monitoring of media

content by interest groups. With new technologies, it now includes monitoring of individuals’ media usage and choices without their knowledge. • Critics concerned by the invasion of people’s privacy. Examples: Google’s records of users’ web-browsing activities and government interest therein; federal government authorizing wiretaps

of U.S. citizens’ telephone conversations.

3. The Digital Divide • Advances in communications technology are unequally distributed,

with low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and citizens of developing nations far trailing the privileged significantly.

• Internet access is essential for economic progress and for accessing information of all types and is particularly problematic for developing

countries.

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4. Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality• Conflict theorists argue that mass media serves to maintain the privileges of certain groups.

• Dominant ideology is a set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. • Media transmit images that define what we regard as reality. • Decision makers are overwhelmingly white, male, and wealthy.• Media tend to ignore the lives of some groups and help to create stereotypes through portrayal of false images. Example: gays or minorities. • TV distorts the political process. Candidates with the most money are able to buy exposure and saturate airwaves with messages attacking their opponents and promoting their own agendas.

5. Dominant Ideology: Whose Culture? • Globalization projects the reach of the U.S. media into the rest of the world. Todd Gitlin notes American popular culture is something that “people love, and love to hate.” • U.S. media rely on overseas markets. Many motion pictures earn more abroad than in U.S. Example: Titanic made over a billion dollars overseas.• U.S. producers not always sensitive to foreign audiences. Example: Memoirs of a Geisha.• Many popular U.S. TV shows originated in other countries. Examples: Survivor; Who Wants to be a Millionaire?• Unlike motion pictures, TV is moving away from U.S. domination and is more likely to be locally produced.• In 2005, UNESCO passed a measure to combat cultural homogenization and protect threatened cultures, especially in developing nations. U.S. was one of two dissenters.

C. Feminist View• Media influence how we look at men and women, communicating unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting images.• Feminists see three major problems: (1) Women are underrepresented, which suggests women are insignificant; (2) women are often depicted as needing rescue by males, thus reinforcing the stereotype; and (3) depictions of male- female relationships emphasize traditional roles, and normalize violence against women.. • Jean Kilbourne argues that women are objectified and dehumanized in advertising and media entertainment.• Pornography is a continuing, troubling issue.• Fundamental differences in the way the Internet is used by men and women.

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D. Interactionist View• Media examined on the microlevel to see how media shape day-to-day behaviors. • Media serving as a primary group. Friendship networks emerge from shared viewing habits. Example: Super Bowl parties. • Embracing of symbols through photo-ops. • The Internet has facilitated new forms of communication and social

interaction. • Troubling Issue: Internet used as a platform for extremists and pornographers.• Internet has given people greater control over what they see and hear. Legal scholar Cass Sunstein refers to this as egocasting. Downside of this may be a less tolerant society as people reduce their exposure to other people and ideas.• Disparities in usage of the Internet: See Figure 6-2 for breakdown by gender, age, race, income, and education.

II. The Audience

A. Who is in the Audience?• The audience can be a primary group or a secondary group and can be examined from the microlevel or macrolevel.

B. The Segmented Audience• Increasingly, the media are marketing themselves to particular audiences. To some degree this is driven by advertisers who want to maximize appeal to specific market segments. Thus, content is geared toward special interests. Example: Golf cable channel.• Marketing research can be extremely precise. Specialized targeting of audiences has led some to question the “mass” in mass media.• Segmentation of audiences may reduce the collective nature of an audience.

C. Audience Behavior• An opinion leader is someone who, through day-to-day personal contacts and communication, influences the opinions and decisions of others.• Lazarsfeld et al. pioneered study of opinion leaders in research on voting behavior in the 1940s. Found opinion leaders encouraged relatives, friends, and coworkers to think positively about a particular candidate or situation.

• Audiences are not a passive group, but active consumers. • Interpretations of the audience vary. Example: Race, age, income, education, etc., may influence response of audience members.

III. The Media’s Global Reach• The mass media have created a global village, as predicted by Canadian linguist

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Marshall McLuhan some 40 years ago, although not all countries are equally connected. • Consumer goods are marketed worldwide. Development of brand loyalty. Examples: Nike, Coca-Cola. • The capacity to send audio and video via the Internet will increasingly reach into every part of the world.

IV. Social Policy and the Mass Media: Media Concentration

A. The Issue• Ownership of media production and distribution is highly centralized. Some sociologists question whether the public interest is being served by the growing concentration of the media.

B. The Setting• A handful of multinational corporations dominate publishing, broadcasting, and film industries in the U.S. and other countires.• Concentration of power and gatekeeping is inevitable.• In some countries, the government is the owner and gatekeeper.• The Internet is an exception, with private individuals able to access, create, and distribute media content.

C. Sociological Insights• Functionalists emphasize that consolidation in any industry leads to greater economic efficiency• Conflict theorists believe that concentration stifles opportunity for minority ownership and representation in the media in the U.S. and worldwide• Interactionists are interested in the ways in which the Internet has changed how people get news and using the Internet in place of face-to-face communication.

D. Policy Initiatives• Response by policymakers in 1996 eliminated most restrictions on media ownership, allowing for unprecedented concentration of ownership.• Big business in looking to new media such as the internet as a source for profits. Internet advertising revenue is expected to surpass total television revenues by no later than 2010.

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KEY TERMS

Digital divide The relative lack of access to the latest technologies among low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and the citizens of developing countriesDominant ideology A set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social,

economic, and political interests.Gatekeeping The process by which a relatively small number of people in the media industry

control what material eventually reaches the audience.Mass media Print and electronic means of communication that carry messages to widespread

audiences.Narcotizing dysfunction The phenomenon in which the media provide such massive amounts

of information that the audience becomes numb and fails to act on the information, regardless of how compelling the issue.

Opinion leader Someone who influences the opinions and discussions of others. Stereotype An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize

individual differences within the group.

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