Describe the nature vs. nurture debate. Which do you think has a greater influence on humans—nature or nurture?
Which of the agents of socialization do you think is most important to teaching culture? Why?
Discuss one way that your family helped to socialize you to your culture’s norms or values. Who was involved? What did you learn?
Cooley argues that our self develops through interactions and our impressions about how other people see us. Do you think that he is correct? Why or why not?
Sociologists argue that we internalize some norms so that we feel guilty or “icky” if we break those norms. What is an example from your own life of a norm that you’ve internalized? Why do you think you’ve internalized this norm? (Think about rules or behaviors that you’d feel guilty breaking or things that you can’t imagine doing because they would be really bad or gross to help you find an example).
