Socialization
Socialization
Socialization
The nature versus nurture debate rages over whether an individual's innate qualities or
personal experiences are more important in determining physical and behavioral traits .
In the social and political sciences, the nature versus nurture debate may be
compared with the structure versus agency debate, a similar discussion over whether
social structure or individual agency (choice or free will) is more important for
determining individual and social outcomes.
Historically, the "nurture" in the nature versus nurture debate has referred to the
care parents give to children. But today, the concept of nurture has expanded to refer to
any environmental factor - which may arise from prenatal, parental, extended family, or
peer experiences, or even from media, marketing, and socioeconomic status.
Environmental factors could begin to influence development even before it begins: a
substantial amount of individual variation might be traced back to environmental
influences that affect prenatal development.
The "nature" in the nature versus nurture debate generally refers to innate
qualities. In historical terms, nature might refer to human nature or the soul. In modern
scientific terms, it may refer to genetic makeup and biological traits . For example,
researchers have long studied twins to determine the influence of biology on personality
traits. These studies have revealed that twins, raised separately, still share many
common personality traits, lending credibility to the nature side of the debate. However,
sample sizes are usually small, so generalization of the results must be done with
caution.
The nature versus nurture debate conjures deep philosophical questions about
free will and determinism. The "nature" side may be criticized for implying that we
behave in ways in which we are naturally inclined, rather than in ways we choose.
Similarly, the "nurture" side may be criticized for implying that we behave in ways
determined by our environment, not ourselves.Of course, sociologists point out that our
environment is, at least in part, a social creation.
Sociological theories of self:
Sociological theories of the self attempt to explain how social processes such as
socialization influence the development of the self.
One of the most important sociological approaches to the self was developed by
American sociologist George Herbert Mead. Mead conceptualizes the mind as the
individual importation of the social process. This process is characterized by Mead as
the "I" and the "me. " The "me" is the social self and the "I" is the response to the "me. "
The "I" is the individual's impulses. The "I" is self as subject; the "me" is self as object.
For Mead, existence in a community comes before individual consciousness. First one
must participate in the different social positions within society and only subsequently
can one use that experience to take the perspective of others and thus become selfconscious. Primary Socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and
actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Secondary
socialization refers to the process of learning the appropriate behavior as a member of a
smaller group within the larger society. Group socialization is the theory that an
individual's peer groups, rather than parental figures, influences his or her personality
and behavior in adulthood. Organizational socialization is the process whereby an
employee learns the knowledge and skills necessary to assume his or her organizational
role. In the social sciences, institutions are the structures and mechanisms of social
order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given
human collectivity. Institutions include the family, religion, peer group, economic
systems, legal systems, penal systems, language and the media.
Agents of socialization:
A family serves to reproduce society biologically, through procreation, and
socially, through the socialization of children.
Although a family can fulfill a variety of other functions, not all of these are
universal or obligatory. The incest taboo, which prohibits sexual relations between
family members, is a form of exogamy and may help promote social solidarity. The
family of orientation refers to the role of the family in providing children with a position
in society and socialize them. From the parents' perspective, the family of procreation
refers to the family's role is to produce and socialize children. Exogamy is a social
arrangement according to which marriages can only occur with members outside of
one's social group. Exogamy is a social arrangement according to which marriages can
only occur with members outside of one's social group.
The primary function of the family is to reproduce society, both biologically through
procreation and socially through socialization. Given these functions, the individual's
experience of his or her family shifts over time. From the perspective of children, the
family is a family of orientation: the family functions to locate children socially, and
plays a major role in their socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the
family is a family of procreation: The family functions to produce and socialize children.
In some cultures, marriage imposes upon women the obligation to bear children. In
northern Ghana, for example, payment of bridewealth, which is an amount of money,
wealth, or property paid to the bride's parents by the groom's family, signifies a
woman's requirement to bear children, and women using birth control face substantial
threats of physical abuse and reprisals.
Producing offspring is not the only function of the family. Marriage sometimes
establishes the legal father of a woman's child; establishes the legal mother of a man's
child; gives the husband or his family control over the wife's sexual services, labor,
and/or property; gives the wife or her family control over the husband's sexual services,
labor, and/or property; establishes a joint fund of property for the benefit of children;
establishes a relationship between the families of the husband and wife. None of these
functions are universal, nor are all of them inherent to any one society. In societies with
a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between a husband
and wife, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household. In
modern societies, marriage entails particular rights and privileges which encourage the
formation of new families even when there is no intention of having children.
In most societies, marriage between brothers and sisters is forbidden. In many
societies, marriage between some first cousins is preferred, while at the other extreme,
the medieval Catholic Church prohibited marriage even between distant cousins. The
present day Catholic Church still maintains a standard of required distance for marriage.
These sorts of restrictions can be classified as an incest taboo, which is a cultural
norm or rule that forbids sexual relations between family members and relatives. Incest
taboo may serve to promote social solidarity and is a form of exogamy. Exogamy can be
broadly defined as a social arrangement according to which marriages can only occur
with members outside of one's social group. One exception to this pattern is in ancient
Egypt, where marriage between brothers and sisters was permitted in the royal family,
as it was also the case in Hawaii and among the Inca. This privilege was denied
commoners and may have served to concentrate wealth and power in one family.
Family
Families have strong ties and, therefore, are powerful agents of socialization.
A neighborhood is a geographically localized community within a larger city,
town, or suburb.
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 householdthat 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.
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.
socialization The process of learning one's culture and how to live within it.
the sociology of education The sociology of education is the study of how public
institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes.
hidden curriculum A curriculum that goes beyond the explicit demands of the
formal curriculum. The goals and requirements of the hidden curriculum are
unstated, but inflexible. They concern not what students learn but how and when
they learn.
Education is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people is
transmitted from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any
experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. In its
narrow, technical sense, education is the formal process by which society deliberately
transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, customs and values from one generation to
another. The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual
experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is most concerned with the public
schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher,
adult, and continuing education.
Education has often been seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavor
characterized by aspirations for progress and betterment. It is understood by many to
be a means of overcoming limitations, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth
and social status. Education is perceived as an endeavor that enables children to
develop according to their unique needs and potential. It is also perceived as one of the
best means of achieving greater social equality. Some take a particularly negative view,
arguing that the education system is intentionally designed to perpetuate the social
reproduction of inequality.
A systematic sociology of education began with mile Durkheim's work on moral
education as a basis for organic solidarity. It was after World War II, however, that the
subject received renewed interest around the world: from technological functionalism in
the US, egalitarian reform of opportunity in Europe, and human-capital theory in
economics. These all implied that, with industrialization, the need for a technologicallyskilled labor force undermines class distinctions and other ascriptive systems of
stratification, and that education promotes social mobility.
Structural functionalists believe that society leans towards social equilibrium and
social order. Socialization is the process by which the new generation learns the
knowledge, attitudes and values that they will need as productive citizens. Although this
aim is stated in the formal curriculum, it is mainly achieved through "the hidden
curriculum", a subtler, but nonetheless powerful, indoctrination of the norms and values
of the wider society. Students learn these values because their behavior at school is
regulated until they gradually internalize and accept them. For example, most high
school graduates are socialized to either enter college or the workforce after graduation.
This is an expectation set forth at the beginning of a student's education.
Education also performs another crucial function. As various jobs become vacant,
they must be filled with the appropriate people. Therefore, the other purpose of
education is to sort and rank individuals for placement in the labor market. Those with
high achievement will be trained for the most skilled and intellectually tasking jobs and
in reward, be given the highest income. On the other hand, those who achieve the least,
will be given the least demanding jobs, and hence the least income.
Day care, in which children are cared for by a person other than their legal
guardians,
contributes to their socialization.
Studies have shown that while bad day care can result in physical and emotional
problems, good day care is not harmful to noninfants and may even lead to better
outcomes. The day care industry is a continuum from personal parental care to large,
regulated institutions. Early childhood education is the formal education and care of
young children by people other than their family in settings outside of their homes and
before the age of normal schooling.
Day care is the care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's
legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family.
Day care is typically a service during specific periods, such as when parents are at
work . Child care is provided in nurseries or crches, or by a nanny or family child care
provider caring for children in their own homes. It can also take on a more formal
structure, with education, child development, discipline, and even preschool education
falling into the fold of services.
A mother who works in construction drops her child off at daycare prior to work.
The day care industry is a continuum from personal parental care to large, regulated
institutions. The vast majority of childcare is still performed by the parents, in house
nanny, or through informal arrangements with relatives, neighbors, or friends. Another
factor favoring large corporate day cares is the existence of childcare facilities in the
workplace. Large corporations will not handle this employee benefit directly themselves
and will seek out large corporate providers to manage their corporate daycares. Most
smaller, for-profit day cares operate out of a single location.
Independent studies suggest that good day care for non-infants is not harmful.
Some advocate that day care is inherently inferior to parental care. In some cases, good
daycare can provide different experiences than parental care does, especially when
children reach two and are ready to interact with other children. Bad day care puts the
child at physical, emotional, and attachment risk. Higher quality care is associated with
better outcomes. Children in higher quality child care had somewhat better language
and cognitive development during the first 4 years of life than those in lower quality
care. They were also somewhat more cooperative than those who experienced lower
quality care during the first three years of life.
As a matter of social policy, consistent, good daycare may ensure adequate early
childhood education for children of less skilled parents. From a parental perspective,
good daycare can complement good parenting. Early childhood education is the formal
teaching and care of young children by people other than their family in settings outside
of the home. "Early childhood" is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling five years in most nations, though the U.S. National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC) instead defines "early childhood" as before the age of eight.
A peer group, whose members have interests, social positions, and age in
common, have an influence on the socialization of group members.
This is where children can escape supervision and learn to form relationships on
their own. The influence of the peer group typically peaks during adolescence. However,
peer groups generally only affect short term interests unlike the family, which has long
term influence. Peer groups can also serve as a venue for teaching members gender
roles. Adolescent peer groups provide support for children and teens as they assimilate
into the adult society decreasing dependence on parents, increasing feeling of selfsufficiency, and connecting with a much larger social network. The term "peer pressure"
is often used to describe instances where an individual feels indirectly pressured into
changing their behavior to match that of their peers.
A peer group is a social group whose members have interests, social positions, and
age in common. This is where children can escape supervision and learn to form
relationships on their own. The influence of the peer group typically peaks during
adolescence. However, peer groups generally only affect short term interests unlike the
family, which has long term influence.
Unlike the family and the school, the peer group lets children escape the direct
supervision of adults. Among peers, children learn to form relationships on their own.
Peer groups also offer the chance to discuss interests that adults may not share with
their children (such as clothing and popular music) or permit (such as drugs and sex).
Peer groups have a significant influence on psychological and social adjustments for
group individuals. They provide perspective outside of individual's viewpoints. Members
inside peer groups also learn to develop relationships with others in the social system.
Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents for teaching
members' customs, social norms, and different ideologies.
Peer groups can also serve as a venue for teaching members gender roles. Through
gender-role socialization group members learn about sex differences, social and cultural
expectations. While boys and girls differ greatly there is not a one to one link between
sex and gender role with males always being masculine and female always being
feminine. Both genders can contain different levels of masculinity and femininity.
Adolescent peer groups provide support for children and teens as they assimilate
into the adult society decreasing dependence on parents, increasing feeling of selfsufficiency, and connecting with a much larger social network. Peer groups cohesion is
determined and maintained by such factors as group communication, group consensus,
and group conformity concerning attitude and behavior. As members of peer groups
interconnect, and agree, a normative code arises. This normative code can become very
rigid deciding group behavior and dress. Peer group individuality is increased by
normative codes, and intergroup conflict. Member deviation from the strict normative
code can lead to rejection from the group. The term "peer pressure" is often used to
describe instances where an individual feels indirectly pressured into changing their
behavior to match that of their peers. Taking up smoking and underage drinking are two
of the best known examples. In spite of the often negative connotations of the term,
peer pressure can be used positively.
Tactics used in the onboarding 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. Also called networking, relationship building involves an employee's efforts to
develop camaraderie with co-workers and even supervisors. Employee experience levels
also affect the onboarding 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. Also
called networking, relationship building involves an employee's efforts to develop
camaraderie with co-workers and even supervisors.
The workplace performs its socialization function through onboarding. This is the
mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and
behaviors to become effective organizational members. Tactics used in this process
include formal meetings, lectures, videos, printed materials, or computer-based
orientations. Research has demonstrated that these socialization techniques lead to
positive outcomes for new employees including higher job satisfaction, better job
performance, greater organizational commitment, and reduction in stress. These
outcomes are particularly important to an organization looking to retain a competitive
advantage in an increasingly mobile and globalized workforce .
Workplace Socialization
Every workplace has its own culture, with norms and mores. The workplace
acts as an agent of socialization in inculcating these values upon employees. This
film describes Google's workplace culture and and socialization process. Employees
with certain personality traits and experiences adjust to an organization more
quickly. These traits are a proactive personality, the "Big Five" traits, curiosity and
greater experience levels. "Proactive personality" refers to the tendency to take
charge of situations and achieve control over one's environment. This type of
personality predisposes some workers to engage in behaviors like information
seeking that accelerate the socialization process. The Big Five personality traits
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticismhave
been linked to onboarding success. Specifically, new employees who are extraverted
or particularly open to experience are more likely to seek out information, feedback,
acceptance and relationships with co-workers.
Curiosity also plays a substantial role in the newcomer adaptation process. It
is defined as the "desire to acquire knowledge" that energizes individual exploration
of an organization's culture and norms. Individuals with a curious disposition eagerly
seek out information to help them make sense of their new organizational
surroundings, which leads to a smoother onboarding experience. Employee
experience levels also affect the onboarding process. For example, more
experienced members of the workforce tend adapt to a new organization differently
from a college graduate starting his or her first job. This is because seasoned
employees can draw from past experiences to help them adjust to their new work
settings. They may be less affected by specific socialization efforts because they
have (a) a better understanding of their own needs and requirements at work and
(b) are more familiar with what is acceptable in the work context.
Employees that build relationships and seek information can help facilitate
the onboarding process. Newcomers can also speed up their adjustment by
demonstrating behaviors that assist them in clarifying expectations, learning
organizational values and norms, and gaining social acceptance. Information seeking
occurs when new employees ask questions in an effort to learn about the company's
norms, expectations, procedures and policies. Also called networking, relationship
building involves an employee's efforts to develop camaraderie with co-workers and
supervisors. This can be achieved informally through talking to their new peers
during a coffee break, or through more formal means like pre-arranged company
events. Research has shown relationship building to be a key part of the onboarding
process, leading to outcomes like greater job satisfaction, better job performance
and decreased stress.
Organization Socialization Model
A model of onboarding (adapted from Bauer & Erdogan, 2011). Give us
feedback on this content:
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews
that relate
humanity to spirituality and moral values.
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.
Agents of socialization - Agents of socialization, or institutions that can
impress social norms upon an individual, include the family, religion, peer
groups, economic systems, legal systems, penal systems, language, and
the media.
Sociology of 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.
Parental religiosity - 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.
Religion - an organized collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and
world views that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral
values
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that
relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have
narratives, symbols, traditions, and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning
to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics,
religious laws, or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human
nature.
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. This
objective investigation may include the use of both quantitative methods (surveys,
polls, demographic, and census analysis) and qualitative approaches, such as
participant observation, interviewing, and analysis of archival, historical, and
documentary materials.
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. Parental religious
participation is the most influential part of religious socializationmore so than religious
peers or religious beliefs. For example, children raised in religious homes are more likely
to have some degree of religiosity in their lives. They are also likely to raise their own
children with religion and to participate in religious ceremonies, such as baptisms and
weddings.
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. Children are socialized into religion by their parents
and their peers and, as a result, they tend to stay in religions. Alternatively, children
raised in secular homes tend not to convert to religion. This is the underlying premise of
Altemeyer and Hunsberger's main thesisthey found some interesting cases where just
the opposite seemed to happen. Secular people converted to religion and religious
people became secular. Despite these rare exceptions, the process of socialization is
certainly a significant factor in the continued existence of religion.
Socialization through Religious Ceremonies
Religious ceremonies, such as Catholic mass, socialize members of the faith to the
practices and beliefs of the religion. Give us feedback on this content:
Division of labor is the specialization of cooperative labor in specific,
circumscribed tasks
and roles. Historically, an increasingly complex division of labor is closely associated
with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity
of industrialization processes. Division of labor was also a method used by the
Sumerians to categorize different jobs and divide them between skilled members of a
society.
Emilie Durkheim was a driving force in developing the theory of the division of
labor in socialization. In his dissertation, Durkheim described how societies maintained
social order based on two very different forms of solidarity (mechanical and organic),
and analyzed the transition from more "primitive" societies to advanced industrial
societies.
Durkheim suggested that in a "primitive" society, mechanical solidarity, with
people acting and thinking alike and sharing a collective or common conscience, allows
social order to be maintained. In such a society, Durkheim viewed crime as an act that
"offends strong and defined states of the collective conscience". Because social ties
were relatively homogeneous and weak throughout society, the law had to be
repressive and penal, to respond to offenses of the common conscience.