Explain socialization over the life course. In your answer, explain how the life stages are determined and in what way they differ. Identify the three stages covered in your text, and discuss the socialization in those stages. Give some examples of how li

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An excellent answer will include: Life stages are determined by society (socially constructed) and differ by culture, race, class, gender, and nationality. For example 15 year olds may be considered adults in some cultures and children in others; 40 year olds may be considered elderly or in the prime of life. In Childhood, the primary socialization agents are family, school, and religion, as well as peers and mass media. Children are socialized to prepare them for adult life, learning cooperation, waiting their turn, organization, and discipline, as well as learning gender roles. In some countries and earlier times children were considered miniature adults and were expected to work alongside adults. Adolescence was defined more recently, in the twentieth century, as a stage between childhood and adulthood, to allow time for children to receive specialized job training. Adolescents can have a great deal of freedom to make choices and explore their identities, however still live under supervision of adults. Adolescents and children both receive a great deal of socialization from peers and the mass media, including gender socialization. The transition to adulthood is typically determined by completion of education, getting a job, getting married, moving out of the parents' home and into one's own, and having a baby, although these milestones are now met later than in earlier times. In adulthood, the primary socialization agents are family and the workplace.