Sociology paper

Project description
As previously identified, sociologists believe that who people become, how they think and feel, and how they behave is a result of the socialization process. The

purpose of this assignment is to help you think about how this process evolves, and more importantly, to understand how the development of your self (or personality)

is influenced by the process. To begin your task, I would like you to think about the following things that have been discussed this semester: How have my important

beliefs, values, and attitudes been influenced by socialization? For example, you might consider how norms, socialization into important roles, sanctions that youve

experienced, and the social stratification that exists in society has influenced the person that youve become thus far. In addition, I would also like you to think

about how the various agents of socialization (e.g., family, education, religion, and media) have also influenced your development. To further explore this, I will ask

you to respond to some specific questions that will help you identify specific attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that youve acquired, and then through further analysis,

attempt to identify how these things were shaped by the process of socialization.

The Initial Process
Here are a number of questions that I would like you to consider. Reading through and answering them should help you to start thinking about how youve been influenced

by the socialization process.
1. What is my present major in school and my future occupational goal? What influenced these choices?
2. What is a political belief or view that I have strong feelings about?
3. If I could choose any kind of car to drive-what kind of car would I select? What factors influence this preference?
4. What pre-judgments have I made about a person or group that is different than me?
5. As I consider my ideas regarding relationships and sexual behavior, what is one belief that I have that I feel strongly about?
6. How would I describe my personal style as it relates to dress or grooming? What factors influence this preference?
7. If I had to identify one value that guides my behavior towards others-what would it be?

Step One
Having thought about all of the questions presented above will help you start to identify some of your personal preferences. I would now like you to choose three of

the questions and provide written responses to them. Be sure to identify the number of the question and provide 2-3 complete sentences for each response.

Step Two
To help you further analyze these preferences, Id like you to determine what factors seemed to most influence their development. Please choose one of your three

written responses and explore it further by answering these questions:
1. Does this preference seem most influenced by the internalization of a norm of a particular group or is it one adopted by society as a whole? Identify the norm,

explain why you believe the choice you made was most influential, and illustrate with a specific example.
2. How has a role that you have played influenced this preference? How did the role influence your behavior?
3. What kinds of sanctions (either positive or negative) influenced the development of these preferences?
4. How did your social class influence this preference?

Step Three
In addition to the influence that norms, roles, sanctions and social class have on our development, we also know that agents of socialization also have a tremendous

influence on the development of our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Think about the influence of family, peer groups, education, religion, media, etc. on the three

questions that you answered in step one. From the two remaining questions, I would like you to choose one of them and answer the following questions about it, making

sure that you illustrate with specific examples to support your response.
1. What agents of socialization have been most influential in the way you responded to the question?
2. How, specifically, did they influence you?
3. Which one, in your opinion, has been the greatest influence and why?

Step Four
Hopefully, thinking and writing about these things has given you a clearer sense of how what you think, feel, and believe, has been shaped by the powerful influence of

socialization. However, as your text suggests, we are not prisoners of socializationeach individual is unique, and can reason and make choices in his/her life. In term

of your own self analysis, discuss this statement by sociologist Peter Berger:
each of us is actively involved in the social construction of the self
What is the meaning of this statement and how does it apply to you personally? Be sure to include a clear example in your response to support your interpretation.

Other Important Information
You should number your responses to correspond with the identified steps. Make sure that you also clearly identify which question that you’re responding to in steps

one through three. Your assignment should be well organized, have correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. The assignment is worth 50 points. Dont wait until the

last minute to do your paper. Although you are the expert in this case, and there are typically no right or wrong answers, you should allow ample time to think about

your responses and make sure that you answer each question and include examples to support your responses.