Agents of Socialization

Presented by

◦ Jamil Ahmed Sheikh

◦ Lecturer Department of Sociology
◦ University of Wah
Definition

Socialization: A process whereby human beings:

Learn how to become members of society

Develop a self or sense of individual identity, and

Learn to participate in social relationships with

each others
Cont’d
How do we learn to interact with other
people? Socialization is a lifelong process during
which we learn about social expectations and how to
interact with other people. Nearly all of the behavior
that we consider to be 'human nature' is actually
learned through socialization. And, it is during
socialization that we learn how to walk, talk, and
feed ourselves, about behavioral norms that help us
fit in to our society, and so much more.
Socialization occurs throughout our life, but some of
the most important socialization occurs in childhood.
So, let's talk about the most influential agents of
socialization. These are the people or groups
responsible for our socialization during childhood -
including family, school, peers, and mass media.
SOCIALIZATION: TWO
TYPES
1.Primary socialization:
Family
Immediate Environment
Peer group
Mass Media
Religion
2. Secondary socialization:
Schooling
Law/Police
SOCIALIZATION

1. Primary socialization:
Occurs in childhood (Role Playing)
Lays foundation that influences self-concept and
involvement in social life

2. Secondary socialization:
Learning that occurs after people have
undergone primary socialization
Continues throughout life (Role)
G.H. Mead and socialization

Mead understood socialization through the

symbolic interactionist perspective.
He focused largely on primary socialization,
that portion of the process that takes place
with infants and young children.
Socialization occurs through children
interacting with those around them and
beginning to identify certain roles and
behaviors as patterns.
G.H. Mead and socialization
Through this process, children develop a “me,
” a social self (as opposed to an “I,” the
unsocialized self).
Language is the primary vehicle for this
learning.
Children first take on the roles and
attitudes of their significant others first,
and then those of the generalized other
(which we may understand as culture).
Jean Piaget:
Stages of cognitive
development
1. Sensorimeter (birth–2 years): exploring the
environment
2. Preoperational (2–7 years): egocentric
3. Concrete operational (7–11 years): basic
abstraction
4. Formal operational (11–15 years): further
abstraction and hypothetical reasoning
FAMILY
◦ Should parents get the credit when their children turn out
to be good kids and even go on to accomplish great things
in life? Should they get the blame if their children turn out
to be bad?

◦ HAS THE GREATEST IMPACT ON SOCIALIZATION

◦ THE FIRST TO TEACH SKILLS, VALUES, & BELIEFS

◦ EVEN TEENS CONTINUE TO PLACE THEIR GREATEST TRUST

IN THEIR PARENTS
Family
According to Melvin Kohn (1965; 1977), The
ways in which our parents socialize us
depend on many factor:

◦ social class
◦ and our own biological sex
Neighborhood
Ethnic neighborhoods were important in many
historical cities, and they remain common in modern
cities.
Rural-to-urban migration contributed to
neighborhood distinctiveness and social cohesion in
historical cities.
A community is a group of interacting people, living
in some proximity.Community usually refers to a
social unit—larger than a household—that shares
common values and has social cohesion.
Social capital refers to a sense of connectedness due
to the formation of social networks in a given
community.
Media

STUDY FOUND THAT THOSE AGES 2 – 18,

AVERAGE 5 ½ HOURS PER DAY “CONSUMING on
MEDIA.”
◦ INCLUDES ALMOST THREE HOURS A DAY WATHCING TV
◦ WITH THE REST DIVIDED BETWEEN WATCHING VIDEOS,
PLAYING VIDEO GAMES, ETC.

CHILDREN GROW UP SPENDING AS MANY HOURS

IN FRONT OF A TV AS THEY DO IN SCHOOL OR
INTERACTING WITH THEIR PARENTS!!
Media

IN 1997, THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY ADOPTED A

RATING SYSTEM FOR SHOWS.

◦ WAS THAT A GOOD IDEA?

◦ IS IT EFFECTIVE?
◦ DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO / ABIDE BY THE RATINGS?
WHY / WHY NOT?
Peer Group

‘Peer Group' A group of individuals or

entities who share similar characteristics and
interests. Peer groups, in the case of people,
have characteristics which include
similarities such as socio-economic status,
level of education, and ethnic background
and so on amongst its individual members
Peer Group

Peers influence our tastes in music, clothes,

and so many other aspects of our lives, as
the now common image of the teenager
always on a cell phone reminds us
We rely on them for fun, for emotional
comfort and support, and for companionship
Workplace
Tactics used in the on boarding process include
formal meetings, lectures, videos, printed
materials and computer-based orientations.
Employees with certain personality traits and
experiences adjust to an organization more
quickly. These include employees with a
proactive personality, "Big Five" personality traits,
curiosity, and greater experience levels.
Information seeking occurs when new
employees ask questions of their co-workers to
learn about the company's norms, expectations,
procedures and policies.
Workplace
Also called networking, relationship building
involves an employee's efforts to develop friendship
with co-workers and even supervisors.
Employee experience levels also affect the on
boarding process such that more experienced
members of the workforce tend to adapt to a new
organization differently from, for example, a new
college graduate starting his or her first job.
Information seeking occurs when new employees ask
questions of their co-workers and superiors in an
effort to learn about their new job and the
company's norms, expectations, procedures, and
policies
Religion
Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices, and
organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of
the discipline of sociology.
Agents of socialization differ in effects across religious
traditions. Some believe religion is like an ethnic or cultural
category, making it less likely for the individuals to break from
religious affiliations and be more socialized in this setting.
Belief in God is attributable to a combination of the above
factors, but is also informed by a discussion of socialization.
The biggest predictor of adult religiosity is parental religiosity; if
a person's parents were religious when he was a child, he is
likely to be religious when he grows up.
In their thesis, Altemeyer and Hunsberger found some
interesting cases where secular people converted to religion,
and religious people became secular.
School
The sociology of education is the study of how
public institutions and individual experiences
affect education and its outcomes.
A systematic sociology of education began with
Émile Durkheim's work on moral education as a
basis for organic solidarity.
Socialization is the process by which the new
generation learns the knowledge, attitudes and
values that they will need as productive citizens.
The hidden curriculum is a subtler, but
nonetheless powerful, indoctrination of the
norms and values of the wider society.