1. Socialization affects the overall cultural practices of a society; it also shapes the images that we hold of ourselves.
2. Heredity and environmental factors interact in influencing the socialization process. Sociobiology is the systematic study of the biological bases of social behavior.
3. In the early 1900s, Charles Horton Cooley advanced the belief that we learn who we are by interacting with others, a phenomenon he calls the looking-glass self.
4. George Herbert Mead, best known for his theory of the self, proposed that as people mature, their selves begin to reflect their concern about reactions from others--both generalized others and significant others.
5. Erving Goffman has shown that in many of our daily activities we try to convey distinct impressions of who we are, a process called impression management.
6. Socialization proceeds throughout the life course. Some societies mark stages of development with formal rites of passage. In the culture of the United States, significant events such as marriage and parenthood serve to change a person's status.
7. As the primary agents of socialization, parents play a critical role in guiding children into those gender roles deemed appropriate in a society.
8. Like the family, schools in the United States have an explicit mandate to socialize people--and especially children--into the norms and values of our culture.
9. Peer groups and the mass media, especially television, are important agents of socialization for adolescents.
10. Socialization in the workplace begins with parttime employment while in school and continues when we work full-time and change jobs throughout our lifetime.
11. The state shapes the socialization process by regulating the life course and by influencing our views of appropriate behavior at particular ages.
12. As more and more mothers of young children have entered the labor market, the demand for child care has increased dramatically, posing policy questions for many nations around the world.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain what is meant by the socialization process.

2. Summarize the impact of isolation on both children and primates.

3. Discuss what the research tells us about the influence of heredity on social development.

4. Identify the three phases of developing a self-identity advanced by Charles Horton Cooley.

5. List and discuss the stages of the self identified by George Herbert Mead.

6. Explain what Erving Goffman meant by the terms impression management, dramaturgical approach, and face-work.

7. Summarize the stages of Piaget's cognitive theory of development.

8. Differentiate between anticipatory socialization and resocialization.

9. Understand the impact of family, school, peer groups, mass media and echnology, workplace, and the state on socialization.

10. Discuss policy initiatives regarding childcare outside the home.