The Autonomous Child: Theorizing Socialization (SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research Book 0)

The social sciences offer a variety of theories on how children develop, and various theories and disciplines apply their own vocabularies and conceptualise different aspects of the processes of socialization. This book looks at the theorizing of socialization in sociology, anthropology, psychology, in the life course approach, and as the interplay of genetics and environmental factors. It analyses the dominant perspectives and viewpoints within each discipline and field, and shows how the various theories and disciplines apply their own vocabularies and conceptualise different aspects of the processes of socialization. It argues that socialization does not represent a fixed trajectory into a static social order, and that different disciplines meet the challenges of complex developmental processes and changing environments in different ways. Socialization is a fundamental concept in sociology, but sociology has only to a limited degree sought to produce a coherent understanding of the processes of socialization, which has to encompass the interplay of societal, psychological and genetic factors. This book draws the threads together and, by doing so, offers a general framework for our understanding of the socialization process. At the centre of this process is the child as a subject, in an interplay with the patterns and significant others of the micro environment as well as with the macro-conditions of the modern knowledge based economies. Acknowledgments 6 Contents 7 1 What Is Socialization 10 Abstract 10 1.1 The Organisation of the Book 10 1.2 Understanding Socialization 11 1.3 The Child as an Object or a Subject; Socialization and the Question of Agency 12 1.4 Basic Dimensions of Socialization 15 References 16 Part I Socialization in the Social Sciences 18 2 Socialization in Sociological Perspectives 19 Abstract 19 2.1 Socialization, Social Structure and Cultural Patterns 19 2.2 Primary Versus Secondary Socialization 21 2.3 Socialization Through Role Models and Roles 23 2.4 Play, Role Play and the Perspective of the Other 25 2.5 Cultural Discourses and Socialization; the Cultural Constitution of the Subject 27 2.6 The Cultural Landscape of Media and Consumption 29 2.7 Socialization and the Images of Children and Childhood 30 2.8 Disciplination and Cultural Release 32 2.9 Individuation and Individualization 33 2.10 Socialization and Class Culture 34 2.11 Socialization and Well-Being 36 2.12 The Constitution of Meaning and Reflexivity 37 2.13 The Social Roots of Motivation 39 References 40 3 Socialization in Anthropological Perspectives 44 Abstract 44 3.1 Socialization and Cultural Variation 44 3.2 Culture and Personality 47 3.3 Institutionalized Socialization 48 3.4 Language Games; Socialization into the Unions of Meaning and Praxes 50 3.5 Transitions, Liminality and Twilight Zones 53 References 55 4 Socialization in Psychological Perspectives 58 Abstract 58 4.1 Socialization in Psychoanalytic Understanding 58 4.2 Cognitive Developmental Psychology 61 4.3 Social Decentering; Taking the Perspective of the Other 63 4.4 Social-Cognitive Development 64 4.5 Phases in Childhood and Adolescence in Psychological Theory 65 4.6 Socialization and the Family 67 4.7 Socialization and Peers 69 References 71 5 Socialization and Life Course Analyses 74 Abstract 74 5.1 Demographics, Life Course Analyses and Socialization 74 5.2 Life Course, Life Phases and Historical Change 76 5.3 Life Course and Identity Construction 78 5.4 Generations and Generation Gaps 79 5.5 Life Course and Generational Exchange 81 5.6 Socialization, Life Course and Well-Being 82 References 83 6 Socialization as Biological-Social Interaction 85 Abstract 85 6.1 The Evolutionary Frameworks of Socialization 85 6.2 Vulnerability and Development 88 6.3 Social Background as a Process 91 References 92 7 Understanding Socialization 95 Abstract 95 7.1 Culturalization, Differentiation and Emancipation 95 7.2 Desire, Language and the Symbolic Order 97 7.3 The Driving Forces of Socialization 98 7.4 The Desire for Recognition 99 7.5 The Will to Meaning 101 References 102 Part II The Knowledge Societies and the Structuring of Socialization and the Life Course 104 8 The Knowledge Society 105 Abstract 105 8.1 The Coming of the Knowledge Society 105 8.2 Socialization in the Knowledge-Based Economies 108 8.3 Capability and Transformative Learning 110 References 111 9 The Knowledge Society and Life Phase Dynamics 113 Abstract 113 9.1 Life Course and Life Phases 113 9.2 Babyhood and Toddlerhood: The Foundation of Development 114 9.3 Middle Childhood: From Latency to Learning 115 9.4 Tweens and Puberty: From Confusion to Navigation 115 9.5 Adolescence: From Liminality to Qualification 116 9.6 Singles, Friends and Navigation: From Instant Family to Emerging Adulthood 117 9.7 Family and Peers in the Knowledge Society 118 9.8 The Restructuring of Girls’ Social World: From Family and Traditions to Peers 119 References 120 10 Understanding Socialization: Some Concluding Reflections 121 Abstract 121 10.1 The Autonomous Child: The Meaning of Agency 121 10.2 Existence Precedes Essence 122 References 123 Annotation "The social sciences offer a variety of theories on how children develop, and various theories and disciplines apply their own vocabularies and conceptualise different aspects of the processes of socialization. This book looks at the theorizing of socialization in sociology, anthropology, psychology, in the life course approach, and as the interplay of genetics and environmental factors. It analyses the dominant perspectives and viewpoints within each discipline and field, and shows how the various theories and disciplines apply their own vocabularies and conceptualise different aspects of the processes of socialization. It argues that socialization does not represent a fixed trajectory into a static social order, and that different disciplines meet the challenges of complex developmental processes and changing environments in different ways. Socialization is a fundamental concept in sociology, but sociology has only to a limited degree sought to produce a coherent understanding of the processes of socialization, which has to encompass the interplay of societal, psychological and genetic factors. This book draws the threads together and, by doing so, offers a general framework for our understanding of the socialization process. At the centre of this process is the child as a subject, in an interplay withthe patterns and significant others of the micro environment as well as with the macro-conditions of the modern knowledge based economies."" Front Matter....Pages i-ix What Is Socialization....Pages 1-8 Front Matter....Pages 9-9 Socialization in Sociological Perspectives....Pages 11-35 Socialization in Anthropological Perspectives....Pages 37-50 Socialization in Psychological Perspectives....Pages 51-66 Socialization and Life Course Analyses....Pages 67-77 Socialization as Biological-Social Interaction....Pages 79-88 Understanding Socialization....Pages 89-97 Front Matter....Pages 99-99 The Knowledge Society....Pages 101-108 The Knowledge Society and Life Phase Dynamics....Pages 109-116 Understanding Socialization: Some Concluding Reflections....Pages 117-119