Socialization

Chapter 12

Socialization

Socialization is the process of learning the culture. Cultures can be quite complex and it takes a long time to master the culture to the point of being able to participate in it. We have to learn our roles and lots of tasks like tying our shoes and driving a car. In presenting this material, I’m going to draw a lot of comparisons between us and other animals. It gives perspective. I’m going to begin by telling you about a couple of classic studies that involve animals.

The first involved placing a hungry chimpanzee in a tall metal cage made of steel bars. At the top of the cage was suspended a bunch of bananas. The chimpanzee immediately saw the bananas and tried to climb the bars to reach the fruit but it was too far away. He tried jumping to touch the bananas but he could not jump high enough. He was getting frustrated. The chimp noticed three metal bars lying on the bottom of the cage. He tried throwing one to dislodge the banana but it didn’t work. The monkey began to get angry. He fumed and fussed and realized after a while that two of the bars would fasten together. He jumped with the two bars but still could not reach the bananas. Finally he determined that all three bars could be connected and he knocked the bananas down and ate.

Day two. They brought in the original chimpanzee and placed him in a second cage. They then brought in a second hungry chimpanzee and placed him in the original cage. Bananas were suspended from the ceiling. He tried jumping to touch the bananas but he couldn’t jump high enough. He tried climbing the walls but he could not reach far enough. He, too, was getting frustrated. He noticed three metal bars lying on the bottom of the cage. He threw one, it didn’t work. He fiddled around and found that two of the bars would interconnect. He jumped, swinging the two bars, but still could not reach the bananas. Finally, he discovered that the three bars would interconnect. He knocked...