Socialization: Process, Definition, and Theories
What is Socialization
Socialization is an integral part of the process every human being, regardless of gender, culture or geographical location, goes through from childhood through adulthood. It is a never-ending process. But it is especially important during the formative years of a person’s life. In brief, socialization can be described as the process by which an individual acquires his or her own personal identity. He or she learns the values, norms, social behavioral patterns and social skills needed to integrate in and become a functioning member of their particular society.
What are The Major Agents of Socialization?
From this simplified definition it can be seen that any attempt to define a set of factors or agents that contribute to the socialization process must differ from culture to culture. However, despite the differences inherent in unique cultures, a number of socialization factors are common to all cultures or have a similar equivalent.
In Western industrial societies, by way of example, it is generally accepted that their are four central agents of socialization. Some researchers claim that there are actually 10 primary socialization agents. The proponents of the four agent model hold that the additional agents are but subsets of the four main socialization agents.
Family: The Primary Social Group That Teaches Socialization
The family is the first social group that one comes into contact with and from which the individual learns the basic values of living in a family orientated society. Within this grouping many vital social lessons and skills are learned that are essential if the individual is to develop and find a place in society. These include language skills, physical control of one’s body, recognition and control of emotions, accepted behavioral patterns both in the home and the outside environment, and moral and ethical values.
Additional skills and lessons learned in the family include the ability to bond with and empathize with others, building the individual’s picture of “I” which includes self-esteem, character, identity and emotional health, gender roles and ethnic and religious preferences.
These agents, along with others, are the basic building blocks for an individual’s life. The skills and lessons learned and developed during a child’s formative years will be those that enable him or her to grow and develop as an adult. They provide the abilities to build relationships outside of the family, to become a productive member of society and ultimately to fulfill a role in continuing the species by forming and starting their own family unit.
Mass Media: The Second Group That Teaches Socialization
The second major element of socialization is the mass media. This is comprised of television, the Internet, radio, music, movies, books, magazines and newspapers. In Western society, the age at which children are first exposed to mass media, usually in the form of television, is constantly getting younger. Today infants of only a few months of age may well be placed in front of the television. The television may serve as a “baby sitter” for busy parents. Some research shows that in many respects, the mass media, and in particular television and movies, present a serious challenge to the authority of the parents. These elements in today’s culture often contain messages that contradict the values of the parents.
Peer Groups: The Third Group That Teaches Socialization
The third area of socialization are peer groups. These are those people of a similar age or with some other shared characteristic, such as sports preference, place of work, musical taste and so forth. As the child progresses through life, the influence of peer groups grows. Peer group influence reaches its peak during a child’s teenage years. Peer group influence on adults is much weaker.
School: The Fourth Group That Teaches Socialization
School is the fourth major element of socialization. In school, one is taught the basic skills that are needed in the development as functioning, productive adults (e.g., reading, writing and mathematics). School also reinforces lessons learned in the family such as obedience, the need to complete tasks, self-esteem and competitiveness.
How do Social Groups Influence Us?
Social groups can be defined as groups of people who share some social relations. A social group can be found in traditional forms, such as church groups, groups of friends or a group of colleagues. Social groups can also be formed without direct face-to-face contact such as what occurs in Internet chat-rooms.
Social Groups Positive Effect On Society
Social groups are blamed for many negative aspects in society, from street violence and suicide cults to drug and alcohol abuse. Social groups also have a positive effect on society and on the individual. For example, alcoholic support groups and weight loss groups are successful in helping people reach their goals. Social groups also influence how people view consumer products, society and themselves.
The U.K.’s National Health Service uses support groups to help people quit smoking. Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous groups meet in thousands of locations worldwide. They have proven to be highly successful. Research has shown that support received and given by members of Alcoholics Anonymous were consistent contributors to long-lasting (defined as three or more years) abstinence from alcohol. Specialized support groups such as these provide ongoing supportive networks that are conducive for a change in lifestyle. There has been an increase in the use of support groups aimed at preventing chronic disease such as diabetes or heart disease. These groups work on the principle that each participant will gain from and provide support for other members.
Social Groups Influence People’s Attitudes Towards Work
Researchers have found that when teams of colleagues are very heterogeneous in age, there were significant benefits. When employees were of similar ages and they began working for the employer at roughly the same time, they had better levels of technical communication than other groups. Social groups can sometimes affect the work ethic negatively. While collective performance of a group increases with the size of the group, the increase in work output is often lower than the expected total of individual efforts. When people work in larger teams, they are more likely to work less efficiently. Scientists label it “social loafing.”
Making People Better At Their Roles
Social groups can push people to be better at their roles by making them feel part of a wider community. In business, pressure groups push large corporations into being honest about finances, research or environmental issues. Unions allow employees to collectively gain better rights from employers. In individuals’ private lives, the support of other people is valuable in helping people to cope in unfamiliar territory. In a recent study of infant-mother bonding, it was found that in cases of maternal stress or crises, those with support from spouses or close kin were able to overcome issues quicker and with fewer complications than those who felt alienated.
Social groups can influence people negatively. In a recent study of heroin addicts, researchers found that most addicts questioned were introduced to drugs by others. Many used drugs in a group setting and many lived with fellow heroin users or former users. Research has shown that negative behavior can sometimes even stem from support groups. In a recent study of support groups for chronic illness, some members found that they compared their ability to cope with those other members. Some found that they felt their coping ability was inferior to that of others, and it had a negative effect on their ability to cope. A social group can influence what people choose to buy. In 1954, Leon Festinger published his research on social group influence. He concluded that people compare themselves with others in order to judge the potential consequence of their planned actions. Social comparison can confirm or undermine one’s own evaluation. Some theorists suggest that people conform with society in order to avoid some kind of punishment or social exclusion. Recent research suggests that what people really crave is “optimal distinction.” They can satisfy their needs for validation, while at the same time enjoy and value their uniqueness. Social mobility can be defined as the movement of an individual, group or family from one social position in a social hierarchy to another social position, whether lower or higher. The study of social mobility has become increasingly popular among sociologists and anthropologists. These individuals attempt to find a rationalization for social mobility, the causes and reasons behind it and the distribution of individuals into different social strata. While social mobility has been of interest to scholars for many years, its study gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s. During this period, levels of inequality were on the increase and social mobility was seen by many as a mechanism for adjusting inequalities and as a means for increasing social equality and fairness. During the economic crisis of the last years of the first decade of the 21st century, the study of social mobility once again became relevant. Researchers generally differentiate between two types of social mobility. The first is “structural mobility,” a situation where all, or at least the vast majority, of people in a particular society have improved their own social status or the status that their parents hold. The other social mobility classification is “exchange mobility.” Here, there are social mobility changes but these are restricted to a relatively small sector of society. Sociologists who have researched social mobility in the 21st century contend that in the industrialized countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and others, general standards have improved across the board. But the incidence of “exchange mobility” has remained relatively static. Factors influencing changes in structural mobility are primarily influenced by overall developments and changes in the society as a whole. These are frequently based on economic considerations. As the physical state of society as a whole improves, the social mobility of all its parts typically does as well. This is especially true of Western industrial society. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, developed nations have undergone sweeping changes that continue today. They have affected all aspects of their societies. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, society was divided into a very rigid class system. Some researchers have even compared it to India’s rigid caste system. Possibilities for upward social mobility were severely limited. If they existed at all, they were a result of economic considerations such as a person or family achieving great success in business. Even then, the persons who had improved their social standard were never really accepted by the upper classes. Downward social mobility was less of a problem. It was generally only those “at the bottom of the ladder” who could change their place in society. They could improve their situation. But those of a higher standing, despite suffering reversals or other changes in their economic standing, continued to be regarded as being part of the higher class When standards of living, education and health increase, social standards and social mobility generally do as well. In the 21st century, the huge social differences between the poor and the rich have become less extreme. Additionally, the “class structure” has, to a large extent, disappeared or become less obvious. The feeling and, indeed, the reality of there being social equality is prevalent in many societies. Exchange mobility, on the other hand has, according to some sociologists, remained relatively static. The vast majority of individuals retain the social standing of their parents. They are destined to enjoy that standing throughout their lives. Their children, as well, will remain at that social strata. A number of factors can generate social mobility. These, like structural mobility, include education, occupation and financial standing. Another factor that can affect structural mobility is the introduction of a minority group into society, whether nationally or locally. In such circumstances, the minority grouping, by virtue of being “different” either in speech, clothing, looks or culture, is relegated to the bottom of the social ladder. This, in turn, results in those who previously occupied that position enjoying a degree of social mobility and a rise in status. Political socialization is defined as a concept in regards to the matter in which children and young adults are inculcated and/or indoctrinated in the practice and philosophies of political organizations, political parties, and ideological philosophies. It has been explained as a factor in the development of a child’s political awareness, exhibited through the influences around him or her. These are varied, but heavily dependent on what the child absorbs through his own observations in family, school, religious observance, interaction with peers, and the media. Socialization in childhood, more so in adolescence when teenagers become more aware of the news around them, becomes far more evident in their activities, education, and the company they choose to surround themselves with. Of course, there are many factors that might influence a child’s future political behavior and outlook from their own parents’ perspectives, what they learn in school, their peers, and even what they learn in their respective religious practices. Childhood, being the most impressionable stage of life, brings about the most influential period by which a future political awareness takes hold and matures. Inevitably, it is parental influence which is the strongest environmental factor in the political astuteness of a child. An article from the American Sociological Review in 1986 stated, “The agents a child surrounds him/herself with during childhood are crucial to the child’s development of future voting behaviors. Some of these agents include family as a primary influence in the development of a child’s political orientation, mainly due to the constant relationship between parents and child.” The overwhelming significance of the interaction between children and their parents in regards to political socialization and education are often evident in the latter’s behavior. There can be no doubt that the dinner table discussions, the opinions reflected in the normal course of the day when children observe and listen to their elders’ conversations, have a wide ranging effect on the way children will see the world and the events around them and translate that into their political behavior. Of course, there are other significant factors of political socialization that will mold political behavior. One cannot rule out what youngsters will hear from their peers on the playground, the classroom, and when they congregate. Especially as they mature and read the newspaper and watch the daily news, or surf the Internet, they are all going to be forming opinions and discussing these together. The example of the great debates and political activities of the Vietnam era, when college age students were pitted against the “establishment” and were, at time, at odds with each other, over that period in history, is a prime example of political behavior that was more often than not defined by the political socialization given via their parents’ political activities, and no less, their education and the media. Especially in high schools, where courses are taught in American and world history, when political science became debated in civics classes, even in subjects like English and literature, the beginnings of political awareness grew into political behavior. Just witness the demonstrations both pro and anti the Vietnam conflict, the refusal to stand at the playing of the national anthem, or the refusal to say the pledge of allegiance, and the growing movement of civil disobedience, which didn’t happen overnight. It was the development of political socialization, through its many influences, that gave birth to a generation of heightened activities on a scale in the United States that was a new phenomenon. Political socialization via religious practices is a great influence on future political behavior as the most impressionable influence on many families. It is the sermons that they hear from their respective clergymen and the lessons that are culled from their own religious literature. Children of most families also receive instruction in Sunday school atmospheres where their teachers are interpreting the bible stories that they are taught. I am an online writer and soon to be published author. I grew up in Southern California, but I currently live in the Bay Area while I work on my books. I enjoy camping and hiking with my dog Max or just relaxing on the back porch while I write. Stay tuned for my first children’s book to be released about Max.Social Groups Can Influence People To Buy
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What is Social Mobility
How Does Political Socialization Affect Political Behavior?
What is Political Socialization
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