TOPIC 6 : SOCIALIZATION, THE FOUNDATION OF SOCIAL

BEHAVIOUR
INTRODUCTION
Socialization is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists,
anthropologists, politicians and educationalists to refer to the process of
inheriting norms, customs and ideologies.
Socialization is thus the means by which social and cultural continuity are
attained.
THE PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION
Socialization is the process by which children and adults learn from others.
We begin learning from others during the early days of life; and most
people continue their social learning all through life (unless some mental
or physical disability slows or stops the learning process).
Natural socialization occurs when infants and youngsters explore, play and
discover the social world around them. Planned socialization occurs when
other people take actions designed to teach or train others -- from infancy
onwards.
Planned socialization is mostly a human phenomenon; and all through
history, people have been making plans for teaching or training others.
Positive socialization is the type of social learning that is based on
pleasurable and exciting experiences.
Negative socialization occurs when others use punishment, harsh
criticisms or anger to try to "teach us a lesson;" and often we come to
dislike both negative socialization and the people who impose it on us.
Human infants are born without any culture. They must be transformed by
their parents, teachers, and others into cultural and socially adept
animals. The general process of acquiring culture is referred to as
socialization.
During socialization, we learn the language of the culture we are born into
as well as the roles we are to play in life. For instance, girls learn how to
be daughters, sisters, friends, wives, and mothers. In addition, they learn
about the occupational roles that their society has in store for them.
Socialization is important in the process of personality formation. While
much of human personality is the result of our genes, the socialization
process can mold it in particular directions by encouraging specific beliefs
and attitudes as well as selectively providing experiences.

 Successful socialization can result in uniformity within a society. If all

children receive the same socialization, it is likely that they will share the
same beliefs and expectations.

This fact has been a strong motivation for national governments around
the world to standardize education and make it compulsory for all
children.
HOW ARE CHILDREN SOCIALIZED?
Socialization is a learning process that begins shortly after birth. Early
childhood is the period of the most intense and the most crucial
socialization. It is then that we acquire language and learn the
fundamentals of our culture. It is also when much of our personality takes
shape. However, we continue to be socialized throughout our lives.
Looking around the world, we see that different cultures use different
techniques to socialize their children. There are two broad types of
teaching methods--formal and informal. Formal education is what
primarily happens in a classroom. It usually is structured, controlled, and
directed primarily by adult teachers who are professional "knowers."
Informal education can occur anywhere. It involves imitation of what
others do and say as well as experimentation
First, socialization practices varied markedly from society to society.
Second, the socialization practices were generally similar among people of
the same society.
We generally socialize our children in much the same way that our parents
socialized us.
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
Family: Family as caregiver is the source of need satisfaction for a child.
So the adult learns how to care effectively for the infant and the infant
forms a strong emotional attachment to the caregiver. Intimate emotional
relationship between infant and caregiver is essential to healthy
personality development.
Peers : As the child grows, his or her peers become increasingly important
as socializing agents. Peer group is composed of status equals. From early
age, the child is taught to treat parents with respect and deference.
Interaction with peers is more open and spontaneous; the child does not
need to be deferential or tactful. This interact ional give-and-take is a basic
aspect of the friendship process.

 School : Unlike the peer group, school is intentionally designed to socialize

children. There is a sharp distinction between teacher and student.
Teachers use rewards at their disposal to reinforce certain personality
traits, such as punctuality, perseverance and tact. Schools teach children
which selves are desirable and which are not.
Gender roles: Every society has differential expectation regarding the
characteristics and behaviour of men and women. Parents employ these
expectation as guidelines in socializing their children and differential
treatment begins at birth.
Linguitic and Cognitive Competency: Language skill is another
outcome of socialization; it involves learning words and the rules for
combining them into meaningful sentences.
Moral Development: The learning of social norms involves parents, peers
and teachers as socializing agents. Children learn that conformity to norms
facilitates social interaction. Children also develop the ability to make
moral judgement.
Work Orientation: Children acquire motives, dispositions that produce
sustained, goal-directed behaviour. Orientation towards work are
influenced primarily by parents, middle-class families emphasize selfdirection, whereas working-class families emphasize conformity.
Conclusion
Socialization continues throughout life. In adulthood, it involves preparing
the person to successfully enact major roles such as intimate partner and parent.