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Unit 2 Culture and Social Structures
Section 4
Processes of Socialization
Key Terms
• total institutions • anticipatory socialization
• desocialization • reference group • resocialization
Desocialization and Resocialization
henever change occurs over the course of your life, you will learn
new behaviors and skills. This learning is important to socializa- tion. Symbolic interactionism describes four processes associated with so- cialization after childhood: desocialization, resocialization, anticipatory socialization, and reference groups.
How does desocialization prepare people for new learning? Mental hospitals, cults, and prisons are total institutions—places where residents are separated from the rest of society. These residents are not free to man- age their own lives, but are controlled and manipulated by those in charge. The end purpose of this control and manipulation is to permanently change the residents. The first step is desocialization—the process by which peo- ple give up old norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. For those in total in- stitutions, desocialization often means the destruction of old self-concepts of personal identity.
Desocialization in institutions is accom- plished in many ways. Replacing personal possessions with standard-issue items pro- motes sameness among the residents. It deprives them of the personal items (long hair, hair brushes, ball caps, T-shirts) they have used to present themselves as unique individuals. The use of serial numbers to identify people and the loss of privacy also contribute to the breakdown of past iden- tity. Cult members, for example, may even be denied use of their given names.
How does resocialization begin?
Once the self-concept has been broken down, resocialization—the process in which people adopt new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors—can begin. Those in control of total institutions, using an elaborate system of rewards and punish- ments, attempt to give residents new self-
The starkness of this prison cell with its lack of individual possessions aids in the desocialization process.
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Symbolic interactionism views socialization as a lifelong process. Desocial- ization is the process of hav- ing to give up old norms. Resocialization begins as people adopt new norms and values. Anticipatory so- cialization and reference groups are concerned with voluntary change as when moving from one life stage to another.
total institutions
places in which people are separated from the rest of society and controlled by officials in charge
desocialization
the process of giving up old norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors
resocialization
the process of adopting new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors