Key terms and definitions
Socialization refers to the lifelong social experience by which people develop their
human potential and learn culture.
Identity a person's understanding of who they are, including their race, gender,
language, class position, nationality, ethnicity, religion, occupation, leisure interests
and hobbies.
Personality a person’s fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking and feeling
Nature refers to the biological/genetic predispositions that impact one's human traits
— physical, emotional, and intellectual
Nurture describes the influence of learning and other “environmental” factors on these
traits
Resocialisation is the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors
to match a new situation in life.
Understanding socialisation
• In modern societies, class gender and ethnic differences start to affect the child
from a very young age and these influence patterns of socialisation. Where
gender is concerned, for example, children unconsciously pick up on a range of
gendered stereotypes which inform the actions of their parents, and they
typically adjust their behaviour accordingly.
• In adulthood, socialisation continues as people learn how to behave in relation
to new areas of social life, such as work environments and political beliefs. Mass
media and the internet are also seen as playing an increasing role in
socialisation, helping to shape opinions, attitudes and behaviour. This is
especially the case with the advent of new media, which enable virtual
interactions via chatrooms, blogs and so on.
• Taken together, agencies of socialisation form a complex range of contrary social
influences and opportunities for interaction and it can never be an entirely
directed or determined process: humans are self-aware beings capable of
forming their own interpretations of the messages with which they are presented.
George Herbets theory of Self
Individual, largely through interactions become aware of themselves
The individual in order to get into the picture of himself, play the role of others.
The child tried to understand the relative roles of various individuals in the same social
context. The self is a product of social interaction. It arises in a social experience.
George Herbert Mead's theory of the self proposes that the self develops through social
interactions, specifically through the process of "taking the role of the other". This
means individuals learn to understand themselves by imagining how others perceive
them, a concept also known as the "looking-glass self". Mead also identifies the "I" and
the "me" as two essential parts of the self, representing the individual's subjective
experience and the socialized, externalized self, respectively.
Agents of socialisation
Family
Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers, siblings and grandparents,
plus members of an extended family, all teach a child what he or she needs to know.
Familes, of course, come in all sorts of formations. Whether the young child is living
with a biological parent, adopted by their parents, or exclusively raised by a sibling or a
grandparent, this unit of family is what socializes the young child to the world first.
For example, they show the child how to use objects (such as clothes, computers,
eating
School
Schools enlarge the social world of children to include people with backgrounds
different from their own. Children come to understand the importance of social features
such as race and social class when they encounter people who differ from themselves.
Schools join with families in socializing children into gender roles.
Peer group
Social group whose members have interests, social positions and age in common.
Among peers children learn how to form their own relationships. Peer groups offer
children chance to discuss interest that adults may not share with their children such
as clothing, alcohol and sex
Broader community
Observing broader community’s cultural practices and rituals such as wedding,
initiation, funeral services and religious practices, children internalise the traditions,
norms and expectations of their community and become integrated part of that
community
Mass Media
Mass media are the means for transmitting information from a single source to a vast
audience.
The mass media are important not only because they are powerful, but because their
influence is likely to differ from that of the family, local school and peer group. The mass
media introduce people to ideas and images that reflect the larger society and the
entire world.
Socialisation and life course
Primary socialization: Occurs during early childhood, primarily within the family, where
individuals learn basic skills and values.
Secondary socialization: Begins in adolescence and continues throughout adulthood,
influenced by factors like schools, peer groups, and the media.
Adult socialization: Involves learning new roles and responsibilities as individuals
transition into adulthood, such as marriage, parenthood, and careers.
