Question

Homework Activity: Consider the ways in which the major social institutions explored in this module affect the process of socialization.

Instructions: Choose one of the following major social institutions: the family, education, politics/government, or the economy/work and consider the ways in which these institutions shape the process of socialization across a person's lifetime.

Summary and Analysis:

Explain which social institution you selected and why.

Analyze the ways in which the institution influences the process of socialization across a person's lifetime. Discuss this generally and give at least three specific examples.

Explain how that process may vary depending on race/ethnicity, socioeconomic class, sex/gender, sexual orientation, and life stage.

Give one example from your own experience.

Answer 1

The state of human life is marked by a social character. That is human beings live in a dynamic relation with each other within a shared space and they are bounded through an idea of a shared set of goals within units called society. Thus, Society as a composite unit represents a large group of people and each society is marked by its own distinct sets of goals and behaviour patterns. Societies come to regulate their functions though a range of sub units called social institutions. These social institutions function in line with the prescribed set of rules or social norms which are genetically held applicable to all the members of the society. This, family, religious community, school, workplaces, and the government are some of the major social institutions which regulate social life.

For the purpose of this answer, I would like to focus on the institution of family because family is the primary point of contact between the individual and the world. It is through the parent-child interactions that a young individual first comes to learn about the ways of the social world and gradually adapt his/her behaviour to survive in the social environment. My choice for focusing on the family as a unit is also influenced by certain unique features of this institution. Although, a formal unit, family is a distinct institution because it is marked by a highly affective component because of the intimate relationships between the members. Parents facilitate in the personal and social development of their child through their caregiving role. They use socialising techniques of direct instructions, modelling socially valued behaviours and appropriate expressions of positive emotions through their own behaviour. Thus for instance, a mother may engage children in pro social behaviour by providing help to an elder person in the queue in a grocery store and explain to the child that it is a valuable habit to extend help to the needy and socially dependent individuals.

Moreover, The monitoring of rewards and punishment contingency in the training of the young individuals towards healthy social and interpersonal behaviour is easier at the level of the Family. Thus, parents may use incentives such special meals or family outings as rewards to encourage their child towards excelling in academic work and maintaining friendly interactions with his/her siblings. At the same time, the may extend mild punishment in the form of removal of privileges such as ‘curfew time’ with adolescent children if they misbehave.

These socialising techniques serves as an example of an introduction to both the nourishing and the policing nature of society. It communicates to the members that their actions and thoughts have repercussions for others around them just as they are influenced by the approval Andy disapproval of their family members. Family as an institution thus earmarks the understanding of a collective living.

However, these methods do not remain the same across the social categories of ethnicity, age and sex. Thus, direct encouragement and modelling is more common and easy with pre-school and young children but not effective with adolescents. This is because there is greater dependence on familial relationships in the formative years of life. However, with adolescence, there is a shift in the needs and the teenage individuals seek gretaer independence from home and explore and develop interpersonal relationships with their peers of the same age outside the family. There are also other nuances such as differences in family interactions based on ethnicity and social class. Thus, studies report that African American, Hispanic and Asian families have a more inclusive family system where the focus is more on controlling rewards and punishment mechanisms to control the members ‘ behaviour. Coincidentally, these communities also fall within the low income families in general in the Developed countries.

The picture becomes further complicated if we consider gender issues within the family as it is seen that both developed and developing societies by Andy large are more accepting towards the male members in tear sof their social mobility and accessibility to resources such as education, competitive and skill based jobs compared to the female memebrs irrespective of the level of ability and age. In my own life, I have recently noticed how it iseasier for young boys to convince their parents to pursue professional sports while it is not so easy for my female neighbour of the same socio-economic background as my own to gain the same acceptance within her family for engaging Ina vigorous physical sport. Thus, on the surface, family MA seem as a homegenous social institution but it is enormously complex and diverse and needs a constant probing.