Reflection Paper

(200 points)

(Due end of second week of term—see Topical Calendar for date)

The Reflection Paper focuses on the first phase of organizational socialization, the occupational and role anticipatory socialization phase (Kramer, Ch. 2). Through reflecting on your own experience utilizing the concepts, theories and research from the text you will be able to appreciate the impact of this important and often-overlooked phase that occurs throughout childhood, hand-in-hand with other aspects of socialization and development studied in behavioral science and psychology. Since this phase is one we have all lived through, its analysis through the reflection process will sharpen your lens for studying the more directly “organizational” phases following that we may be less personally familiar with.

Content

1. The text discusses the following four sources of occupational and role anticipatory socialization: family, education, peers and media. Choose three of the sources that you feel had the most impact on you. Describe and reflect on specific situations related to that source in terms of concepts from the readings that you feel help you understand your experience, your reactions (emotional and otherwise), your behavior then and later, and the actions or attitudes of socializing agents.

2. Consider how occupational stereotypes (gender, race/ethnicity, SES) may have contributed to your experience in relation to one or more of the three chosen sources.

Length

The length of the body of the paper is to be 750 – 1000 words (3 – 4 pages, double spaced, plus a Works Cited page).

Citations

Incorporate quotes, including definitions, liberally from the Kramer text (3 – 4 per page or more). For all quotes, cite author and page number in the body of the paper in APA style.