Socialization

In sociology, socialization is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society.
Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultural
continuity are attained". Socialization is responsible for making people responsible members of the
society. Humans need social experiences to learn their culture and to survive. Socialization essentially
represents the whole process of learning throughout the life course and is a central influence on the
behavior, beliefs, and actions of adults as well as of children. Socialization has three primary goals:
teaching impulse control and developing a conscience, preparing people to perform certain social roles,
and cultivating shared sources of meaning and value.
Features of Socialization

 To inculcate basic discipline

Through socialization, people show disciplined behaviour to gain social approval. A person may learn to
control is impulses.

 Helps to control human behaviour

It helps to control human behaviour. An individual from birth to death undergoes training and his,
behaviour is controlled by numerous ways. In order to maintain the social order, there are definite
procedures or mechanism in society. These procedures become part of the man’s/life and man gets
adjusted to the society. Through socialization, society intends to control the behaviour of its-members
unconsciously.

 Socialization is rapid if there is more humanity among the- agencies of socialization

Socialization takes place rapidly if the agencies of socialization are more unanimous in their ideas and
skills. When there is conflict between the ideas, examples and skills transmitted in home and those
transmitted by school or peer, socialization of the individual tends to be slower and ineffective.

 Socialization takes place formally and informally

Formal socialization takes through direct instruction and education in schools and colleges. Family is,
however, the primary and the most influential source of education. Children learn their language,
customs, norms and values in the family.

 Socialization is continuous process

Socialization is a life-long process. It does not cease when a child becomes an adult. As socialization does
not cease when a child becomes an adult, internalization of culture continues from generation to
generation. Society perpetuates itself through the internalization of culture. Its members transmit culture
to the next generation and society continues to exist.

Types of socialization
Although socialization occurs during childhood and adolescence, it also continues in middle and adult
age. Orville F. Brim (Jr) described socialization as a life-long process. He maintains that socialization of
adults differs from childhood socialization.

 Primary socialization
Primary socialization refers to socialization of the infant in the primary or earliest years of his life. It is a
process by which the infant learns language and cognitive skills, internalizes norms and values. The infant
learns the ways of a given grouping and is molded into an effective social participant of that group. The
norms of society become part of the personality of the individual. The child does not have a sense of
wrong and right. By direct and indirect observation and experience, he gradually learns the norms relating
to wrong and right things. The primary socialization takes place in the family.

 Secondary socialization
The process can be seen at work outside the immediate family, in the ‘peer group’. The growing child
learns very important lessons in social conduct from his peers. He also learns lessons in the school.
Hence, socialization continues beyond and outside the family environment. Secondary socialization
generally refers to the social training received by the child in institutional or formal settings and continues
throughout the rest of his life.

 Adult socialization
In the adult socialization, actors enter roles (for example, becoming an employee, a husband or wife) for
which primary and secondary socialization may not have prepared them fully. Adult socialization teaches
people to take on new duties. The aim of adult socialization is to bring change in the views of the
individual. Adult socialization is more likely to change overt behaviour, whereas child socialization
molds basic values.

 Anticipatory socialization
Anticipatory socialization refers to a process by which men learn the culture of a group with the
anticipation of joining that group. As a person learns the proper beliefs, values and norms of a status or
group to which he aspires, he is learning how to act in his new role.

 Re-socialization
Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding former behaviour patterns and accepting new ones as
part of a transition in one’s life. Such re-socialization takes place mostly when a social role is radically
changed. It involves abandonment of one way of life for another which is not only different from the
former but incompatible with it. For example, when a criminal is rehabilitated, he has to change his role
radically.
Agencies of socialization
Socialization is a process by which culture is transmitted to the younger generation and men learn the
rules and practices of social groups to which they belong. Through it that a society maintains its social
system. Personalities do not come ready-made. The process that transforms a child into a reasonably
respectable human being is a long process.
Hence, every society builds an institutional framework within which socialization of the child takes place.
Culture is transmitted through the communication they have with one another and communication thus
comes to be the essence of the process of culture transmission. In a society there exists a number of
agencies to socialize the child.
To facilitate socialization different agencies, play important roles. These agencies are however
interrelated.

 Family
The family plays an outstanding role in the socialization process. In all societies other agencies besides
the family contribute to socialization such as educational institutions, the peer group etc. But family plays
the most important role in the formation of personality. By the time other agencies contribute to this
process family has already left an imprint on the personality of the child. The parents use both reward and
punishment to imbibe what is socially required from a child.

 Peer Group
Peer Group means a group in which the members share some common characteristics such as age or sex
etc. It is made up of the contemporaries of the child, his associates in school, in playground and in street.
The growing child learns some very important lessons from his peer group. Since members of the peer
group are at the same stage of socialization, they freely and spontaneously interact with each other.
Conflict arises when standards of the peer group differ from the standards of the child’s family. He may
consequently attempt to withdraw from the family environment. The peer group surpasses the parental
influence as time goes on. This seems to be an inevitable occurrence in rapidly changing societies.

 Religion
Religion plays a very important role in socialization. Religion instills the fear of hell in the individual so
that he should refrain from bad and undesirable activities. Religion not only makes people religious but
socializes them into the secular order.

 Educational Institutions
The educational institutions not only help the growing child in learning language and other subjects but
also instill the concept of time, discipline, team work, cooperation and competition. Through the means of
reward and punishment the desired behaviour pattern is reinforced whereas undesirable behaviour pattern
meets with disapproval, ridicule and punishment.