5.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Socialization

Introduction

Sociologists all recognize the importance of socialization for healthy individual and societal development. But how do scholars working in the theoretical paradigms of structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism approach this topic?

Structural Functionalism

Structural functionalists would say that socialization is an essential function in society, both because it trains members to operate successfully within it and because it perpetuates culture by transmitting it to new generations. Individuals learn and assume different social roles as they age because different responsibilities and tasks are expected of them. These roles come with relatively fixed norms and social expectations attached, which allow for predictable interactions between people. Nevertheless, how the individual lives and balances their roles is subject to variation (Gecas, 2001).

Conflict Sociology

A conflict theorist might argue that the norms and behaviours that socialization teaches us are those that benefit the dominant groups in society.  In capitalist societies socialization instills values of individuality, hard work, ‘survival of the fittest’ and self-reliance rather than cooperation and social responsibility.  We learn to blame the poor for their situation and to celebrate the success of billionaires.  Socialization reproduces inequality from generation to generation by conveying different expectations and norms to those with different social characteristics. For example, individuals are socialized with different expectations about their place in society according to their gender, social class, and race (Lorene, 2005). Feminist critical sociologists would note that patriarchal attitudes and behaviours, including ideas about childrearing and care work are learned and relearned.  This perspective would also argue that it is through socialization that we learn racist, homophobic and other ideas that harm vulnerable and unequal populations. Most importantly, it is through socialization that we ‘learn’ to accept such inequalities as ‘normal’.  This perspective would also note that it is through interacting with others that we can be ‘resocialized’ to question existing social arrangements a process that happens among friends, when participating in social movements and in sociology classes (Colaner & Rittenour, 2015; Pierce, 1990).

Symbolic Interactionism

A symbolic interactionist studying socialization is concerned with face-to-face exchanges and symbolic communication. For example, dressing baby boys in blue and baby girls in pink is one small way that messages are conveyed about differences in gender roles (Gecas, 2001). For the symbolic interactionist, though, how these messages are formulated and how they are interpreted are always situational, always renewed, and defined by the specific situations in which the communication occurs.  Socialization is not a book of social rules that we are given but an ongoing process of interaction with others in specific situations (Hartley, 1992; Stewart, 1975).