Download Life Course Theory: Historical Perspective, Components, and Role Transitions and more Exercises Socialization and the Life Course in PDF only on Docsity!
Overview
I. Life Course A. What is it? --> def. -- a progression through time; however, there are several different dimensions of time that we need to talk about before really beginning to investigate progression through the life course
--> examples: -- chronologically aging -- which has its biological and social components to it
-- maturation -- which entails more or less the automatic unfolding of biological potential in a set predictable sequence
-- social time -- a set of norms that specify when particular life transitions or accomplishments are expected to occur in a particular society or social environment
(when you can drive, drink, vote, retire)
-- social time not always meshed with chronological age; it just provides guidelines by which progress along the life course may be assessed in particular cultures or social settings.
-- being A on time@ is a big deal in a lot of social settings -- how many of you know someone who is older than they think they should be to still be single? Or too young to be a parent? or grandparent?
-- historical time -- mirrors societal change; puts life course into historical perspective
-- each generation has different experiences with war, depression, new inventions or technologies and these experiences influence the way in which these folks view the world
-- so historical time adds another facet to the notion of time and our progression through it
B. Components of / Elements of Life Course
1. Biological Component -- our biological make up affects our life course experiences
-- our sex, strength, race, beauty, etc. may restrict or enable someone to
with these biological characteristics to pursue or not pursue particular activities, occupations, goals in life, social roles, etc.
-- these biological elements influence what we do, and how we think about our world and experiences
-- the rate of biological maturation is not the same for everyone and may affect our life course experiences
-- me, I was a A late bloomer@ and this made me think that I was somehow A off time@ and therefore weird and it also made me look very different from the girls who were A on time@ in the eyes of the young hormonal boys in my classes
-- disease and impairment -- is also often determined by biological make up and this will definitely affect life course experiences
2. Sociocultural Context --> culture also affects who we are and how we move through the life course
--> cultures are defined as the set of beliefs, values, and practices that are widely shared by members of a society at any given time
-- living in a particular culture, we take on the culture= s beliefs, values, morals, etc. as our own
-- basically, culture provides for us a lens through which to view the world and our experiences in the world
--> through socialization, we pass culture down from generation to generation -- ???? Does this mean that our culture is static? doesn= t change over time?
-- NO, we are select in what we pass down from generation to generation
--> in complex societies, like the U.S., culture is not only changing, it is also not homogeneous (there is no one overarching culture to which every American subscribes) -- ethnicity, gender, social class, religion influence people= s identities just as much as our biological make up influences our identities
3. Historical Time and Cohort Influences --> as we were saying before, people from different generations have
D. Methodological Issues
1. Age, period, cohort effects
-- Age effect -- as we age, we become more conservative (example); it is an effect of the aging process
-- Period effect -- everyone, regardless of age or cohort, is becoming more conservative over time (example)
-- Cohort effect -- the folks in one cohort are more conservative than the folks in another cohort
--> it is very difficult to sort these three effects out because if old people are more conservative than younger people, we might be tempted to say that this is an age effect. We must be careful because it could be a cohort effect instead. That cohort of people who are older today, may be more conservative than a group of 30 year olds, but a group of 15 year olds might be even more conservative than the oldest cohort in the study.
--> basically, be careful not to assume that an age effect is in place without considering the possibly of a cohort effect or a period effect
2. Retrospective Bias
--> asking someone about attitudes or even experiences in the past is risky because our memories of the past are often clouded by our attitudes and experiences in the present
--> the best way to do research that is investigating some kind of change over the life course is to use data from at least two points in time (longitudinal data).
--> basically, interview a sample of folks at the first point in time, 10 years later (or whatever) you go back and interview those same people
--> this is a panel study which provides longitudinal data which is better when investigating life course experiences and those experiences influences on attitudes or personality for instance. Chapter 2 -- Theories
I. Historical Antecedents to Current Theories about Socialization Over the Life Course
-->theories of life course vary -- some try to deal with the whole span of life and others seek to explain some stage or aspect of life.
A. Freud= s Psychosexual Stage Theory
- Structural Hypothesis -- provides the basis for Freud= s psychoanalytic approach to socialization
--> there are three inborn structures of the mind or personality: id, ego and superego
--> in the newborn, only the id is fully present
--> the ego and superego are differentiated from the id; as the individual matures, the ego and the superego emerge.
-- the development of the ego and superego are the basic tasks of socialization
- Psycho-sexual stages
--> oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages
a. Oral stage -- first year of life, during which the child= s chief source of sensual gratification centers around the mouth.
-- infant= s chief source of pleasure and gratification is through sucking, chewing, and biting.
-- this activity increases security and relieves tension
b. Anal stage -- ages 2, 3, during which the child= s principal source of greatest pleasure is through anal activity. This is the age where the child becomes very interested in eliminative functions, toileting activities, and training.
c. Phallic stage -- ages 4, 5. The center of pleasure shifts to the genitals as children explore their bodies through self-manipulation.
d. Latency stage -- age 6 to puberty -- during which time the child represses sexual urges an devotes time and energy to learning and physical and social activities
-- the source of pleasure shifts from self to other persons as the child becomes interested in cultivating the friendship of others.
a. Piaget became convinced that the mind develops and functions on the basis of cognitive structures.
b. def. - general rules that govern reasoning
c. concluded that cognitive development passes through 4 fundamental stages:
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Formal Operational
Age Cognitive Rule Experiment
Sensorimotor birth - 2yrs Rule of Object
Permanence
Show child
something than put it behind your back
Preoperational 2 yrs - 7 yrs Overcome
egocentrism
Piaget's and Edith Meyer Taylor's mountain
experiment
Concrete Operational 7yrs - 12 yrs
(many people never go beyond
this stage)
Rule of
Conservation
Clay Balls
Glasses of water
Formal Operational 12 yrs - People learn to
think abstractly
"What if?" and be able to trace the
logical implications.
--> movement through these stages represents, in part, a shift from being ego-centered to decentered, and from understanding concrete objects or pairs of objects to comprehending complex relationships
--> Impact -- --> Piaget= s research and the bulk of his theory are concerned with childhood and adolescence
--> Piaget= s work has been more influential in child psychology than in sociology
C. Mead= s Theory of the Self in Social Interaction
--> both Cooley and G.H. Mead were concerned with the emergence of the self through social interaction as the basic process of socialization
--> the self was composed of two components: the A I@ and the A me@
-- the A I@ is the individual as active responder, the spontaneous part of the self
-- the A me@ is the person= s conception of him- or herself
--> Mead asserts that the reflexive self evolves as the individual takes the role of the other and understands how the various social roles encountered are interrelated to each other
--> Mead argues that socialization of the individual is a process of social interaction
--> like Piaget, he emphasizes the active part the individual plays in his or her own socialization and the importance of social interaction in individual development
--> Mead says that the individual will take society= s attitudes, in the form of a generalized other, as her or his own
-- taking the attitudes and roles, both of other individuals and of the generalized other, is the basic process of socialization
-- in many Native American tribes, for instance, the behaviors in childhood and adulthood are much more congruent
-- the idea that cultural arrangements may help or hinder adjustment to life transitions has been quite influential, in the study of adolescent socialization, aging and life crises
--> both works stress socialization over the whole life cycle not just childhood E. Erikson= s Theory of the Self in Social Interaction
--> presents a theory built upon Freud= s observations
--> the ego responds to the social world in particular modes during the various stages of development
--> Erikson presents 8 stages through which individuals pass from infancy to old age -- each stage presents a challenging task that must be accomplished in order to permit further normal development
--> Erikson= s stages of development correspond to notable life transitions, but there appears to be a presumption that each stage must be resolved in a particular way or the individual will experience mental health problems
--> Erikson= s 8 Stages
- Trust vs. Distrust -- (0 to 1 year) Infants learn that they can trust caregivers for sustenance, protection, comfort, and affection, or they develop a distrust because their needs are not met
- Autonomy vs Shame and doubt -- (1 to 2 years). Children gain control over eliminative functions, learn to feed themselves, are allowed to play alone and to explore the world (within safe limits), and develop some degree of independence, or if too restricted by caregivers, develop a sense of shame and doubt about their own abilities
- Initiative vs. Guilt -- (3 to 5 years). Children= s motor and intellectual abilities continue to increase; they continue to explore the environment and to experience many new things, assuming more responsibility for initiating and carrying out plans. Caregivers who cannot accept children= s developing initiative instill a feeling of guilt over misbehavior.
- Industry vs Inferiority -- (6 to 11 years) Children learn to meet the demands of home and school, and develop a feeling of self-worth through accomplishment and interaction with others, or they come to feel inferior in relation to others.
- Identity vs. Role confusion -- (12 to 19 years). Adolescents develop a strong sense of self, or become confused about their identity and their roles in life.
- Intimacy vs Isolation -- (young adulthood: 20s and 30s) Young adults develop close relationships with others or remain isolated from meaningful relationships with others.
- Generativity vs Stagnation (middle adulthood: 40s & 50s) Middle adults assume responsible, adult roles in the community, at work, and in teaching and guiding the next generation, or they become personally impoverished, self-centered, and stagnant
- Integrity vs. Despair -- (late adulthood: 60 and over) Late adults evaluate their lives, and accept them for what they are, or they despair because they cannot find meaning in their life.
F. Levinson= s Model of Seasons of Adulthood
--> like in Erikson= s stage theory, each period of Levinson= s model presents certain developmental tasks to be accomplished.
--> see page 25 of your text for the model of the different periods of the adult life course (stair step looking thing)
--> his central concept is that of the life structure -- def. -- is the underlying pattern of design of a person= s life at a given time; it includes roles, and the quality and patterns of the relationships one has, which are all filtered through one= s personality and temperament
--> life structures are not permanent -- as roles and relationships change, so do life structures
--> Levinson argues that each adult creates a series of life structures at specific ages, with transitional periods in btw when the old life structure is either given up or reexamined and changed.
--> divides the life span into a series of broad eras, each lasting perhaps 25 years with a major transition btw each era.
--> within each era he proposes three periods: the creation of an initial or entry life structure, and a culminating phase life structure created at the end of the era.
--> he also proposes that each phase, transition, or era has a particular content and particular set of issues or tasks
current theory but we will do just that -- mention it
--> he views generation location as a source of social change, in part because individuals who are members of different generations undergo different socialization experiences
--> the unique experiences common to each generation group allow for social change
-- if processes of socialization actually involve different experiences for each new generation, it is possible that individuals in successive generation cohorts will be socialized in very distinctive ways.
II. Current Theory and Research on Socialization over the Life Course
A. Socialization viewed as a continuing process
--> a formal theory of the life course in terms of role sequences has not yet been attained, but we can specify some of the elements in such a theory and some of the consequences
--> Socialization -- def. -- the processes of social interaction, teaching, and learning by which the child comes to take on the ways of a particular society.
--> giving the child the A tools@ to survive in a particular society
--> underlying virtually all of the contemporary sociological views on socialization is the assumption that it is a continuing lifelong process
--> some folks argue that this process develops a personality early on and then is fairly stable the remainder of the life course
--> other folks subscribe to the notion that there is both stability and change throughout the life course (in both childhood and adulthood)
--> while neither all change nor all stability can be attributed to socialization processes, role acquisition, loss, and transition seem to be key factors in both stability and transformation over the life course
B. Role Acquisition --> in past and present views of the life course, the notion that the acquisition of social roles is a key socialization process
--> contemporary work on socialization, especially adult socialization, has revolved around processes of role acquisition, role conflict, and role transitions
--> as individuals mature, they are expected to take on a number of different, sometimes contradictory statuses and roles. --> this expansion of role-sets continues until old age, at which point the number of roles and statuses contracts
***** Reminder** --- -- a status -- a social position that one holds within a society EXAMPLES: race, lawyer, daughter
-- a role -- the expectations of you in your particular position
--> it is often said that because modern industrial society is so complex, differentiated, and rapidly changing, individuals today need to understand and perform many more roles than individuals in earlier periods or in less complex societies.
--> this means that individuals simply cannot become prepared in childhood for all the tasks and roles they will encounter as adults
--> it also implies that role definitions are in flux and that new roles emerge frequently.
--> individuals also often change a role when they acquire it
-- this personal reconception of a role is an important part of the role acquisition process
-- several stages in role acquisition
- Anticipatory socialization -- attitudes & beliefs about the role and what it entails
- Formal socialization -- experience the role
- Informal socialization -- begin to redefine it
- Personal role expectations -- personalize or tailor the role expectations to the individual
C. Role Transitions and Role Discontinuity
--> the discontinuity involved in major role transition may be psychologically stressful
--> the assumption underlying the anticipatory socialization concept is that if the individual is prepared ahead of time for the new role, in the sense of understanding the norms associated with the role, having the necessary skills to carry out the role, and becoming aware of expectations and rewards attached to the role, that her or she will move into the new role easily and effectively
--> ONE EXCEPTION -- a situation that seems to be an exception to this notion of role transition is the case in which role transition involves a loss in status
-- even if one is prepared for such a role transition, it may still be stressful.
-- many of the role transitions of old age are examples of such a situation; as work, activities that depend on health and higher income, and family role relationships are lost
3. The Nature of the Roles Changed
--> we argue that regardless of whether role transitions involve status gains or losses, they are still stressful and problematic
--> both in the case of role loss and of role gain, the individual must not only adjust to new role relationships and expectations, but s/he must A disengage@ from old relationships and expectations
EXAMPLES: becoming someone= s spouse; becoming someone= s parent
-- EXAMPLE: At work you and your peers are all on the same level. You get promoted to be their supervisor which not only removes them from them physically (you get a new office), but also hierarchically. They are not real happy about this and don= t take your requests, demands, orders seriously.
4. Impact of Rites of Passage on role Transition
--> negative effects of discontinuity btw sequential roles and changes in status are believed to be minimized by rites of passage
--> if partners disagree about role expectations, such lack of clarity will make learning the new role problematic
--> sometimes anticipatory socialization doesn= t always provide clarity -- Medical school -- some instructors are Ph.D.= s and others are M.D.= s. The Ph.D.= s value the research and the M.D.= s are practitioners. Hard for students to know which or what to value.
7. Role Conflict
--> the individual meets conflict because s/he occupies multiple statuses
-- EXAMPLE: the time demands placed on him/her by his/her new job may conflict with those placed on him/her by his/her spouse.
--EXAMPLE: from Friends: When Ross, Monica= s brother, had the new girlfriend Julie, but Rachel, Monica= s best friend, liked Ross. Julie asks Monica to go shopping. Monica is both sister to Ross and friend to Rachel.
