CHAPTER 4 – Socialization and the Life Course

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will."

--Jawaharlal Nehru 

THE BIG DEBATE

Nature vs. Nurture

The Nature vs. Nurture "debate" interests me. From a sociological perspective, what a person becomes results more from social experiences (nurture) while nature sets a certain stage for what is possible and therefore the social realities of our lives is far more important in shaping human experiences and who we become as individuals.

This makes me think of my brother, who I love dearly but you honestly could not find two more different people, neither right or wrong, just different. Remember, it takes all kinds to make the world go round. My brother and I came from the same set of parents, went to the same school, even had some of the same friends but most people wouldn't even know we were related. We dress totally different; have extremely different religious and political views, and even our interpretations of our childhood vary to some degree.

Why? The answer is clearly socialization agents, defined in our text as the people, or sources, or structures that pass on social expectations. THINK – the family, the media, peers, religion, sports, schools, etc. Each with varying in degree of influence they had on us as individuals.


 The following article is an depth decription of the sociological perspective, further addressing the nature versus nurture debate, and defining the socialization agents:

- http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/socpsy-2.html


The following video addresses the social agents (nurture) and the role of DNA (nature) in shaping "what makes us tick".

Going further the following National Public Radio segment from All Things Considered explores the lives of identical twins separated at birth.

- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15629096.


Lastly, the following link addresses and defines socialization agents - What has had the greatest influence in shaping who you are?

- http://www.sociologycentral.com/text/socl/agentssocialization.pdf.

KNOW THE TERMS

CROSSWORD: Socialization and the Life Course

	1			2
						3
	4
													5
										6
							7
								8
	9
	10

ACROSS 4 How one defined oneself. 7 Those whom you interact with on equal terms. 8 The seat of reason and common sense. 9 What is social. 10 The process through which people learn the expectations of society.

DOWN 1 People, or sources, or structures, that pass on social expectations. 2 The expected behavior associated with a given status in society. 3 What is natural. 5 When behaviors and assumptions are learned so thoroughly that people no longer question them. 6 A person's relatively consistent pattern of behavior, feelings, predispositions, and beliefs.