Agents of Socialization - 2
Agents of Socialization - 2
Agents of Socialization - 2
individual inherits the norms, customs and ideologies of the social order they live in (ie. learns how to behave in society). Socialization is necessary for making an individual capable of interacting within the society . A person learns socialization through Agents of Socialization (AoS specific groups).
We call these agents of socialization. Similar to the concept of a business agent or insurance agent, they represent and act on the behalf of the larger society There's nothing "official" about these agents
Primary Agents The primary agents of socialization include those people that are closest to an individual. family and friends. family, plays an important role in shaping the life and behavior of an individual within the society.
Secondary Agents The secondary agents of socialization are those institutions or places that help an individual find his place within the society. religious institutions, schools, work places, etc school, helps an child in improving social skills that helps the individual in integrating well with the society around him.
Social Classes
are those agents of socialization, that divide an
individual within the society. include the lower class, working middle class and the higher elite class.
Cohort Effect
is a social event that creates a major impact on a
specific group of people. This can be explained by the Hiroshima Nagasaki bombings or the Vietnam War.
Influences of AoS
Individuals responds differently to different agents
of socialization.
Family Mass Media Peers
School (Education)
Family
The family is the earliest and without question the most
influential agent of socialization. It grabs the child at birth, when the child is most helpless and dependent and doesn't let go for a whole lifetime.
Socialization from the cradle to the grave.
emotional health, identity, and personality Origin point of gender roles (masculine and feminine behavior; fundamental division of the social world into men and women) Origin point of ethnocentrisms and racism (racial and ethnic prejudice) Source of original social capital that determines life chances
person during the first years of life and preeminent control during the childhood and adolescent years
Preeminent control = Cultural norms and the law recognize
the parent's right to determine what is best for their children as trumping the rights of almost any institution
As if they had a choice! The child's dependent situation and emotional attachment to parents motivates the child to be socialized.
Without adults, human children are very vulnerable,
family's power as an agent of socialization being steadily eroded by the media, peer subculture and schooling.
Mass Media
In today's world, mass media is one of important
agents of socialization.
People are influenced by the social norms portrayed
in a hard way through the repeated exposure and arguments put forth by the agents of mass media.
Includes:
Television Radio Movies Music
children in our society first encounter the media as an agent of socialization in the form of TV. Socialization comes through from children's shows, cartoons, and, most especially, commercials.
through the characters, images, words, and
socialization (e.g., children's programs such as Sesame Street) Dangers: media seriously challenges the family, with children spending as much or more time in front of the TV as interacting with parents.
Many of the messages and values challenge or
Peers
Peers have great impact on an individual's
thoughts and line of thinking. An individual learns to behave in a manner that they think will be acceptable to their peers. Peer acceptance is an important part of socialization.
stage of development and maturity), similar social identity, and close social proximity.
friends, buddies, pals, troops, etc.
around age three or so. With peers, the child begins to broaden his or her circle of influence to people outside of the immediate family.
closely supervised by parents so it tends to parallel and reinforce what is learned in the family. What is added to socialization are social skills in group situation with social equals.
Before this time children basically dealt with people
in a superior position.
become more autonomous (less observed and supervised by adults). The lessons learned also progress from basic rules of group interaction to more complex strategies of negotiation, dominance, leadership, cooperation, compromise, etc.
School
After family, schools are probably the most
important influence on an individual. Schools help pass on knowledge, create awareness and foster the feelings of tolerance within individuals. The second step to socialization is schools where a child meets different kinds of children and learns to make out the right and wrong in society.
enters the school system in the first grade. Today the process often starts earlier in Kindergarten or day care. Socialization takes three forms in school:
Official Curriculum 2. Social Curriculum 3. Hidden Curriculum
1.
Official Curriculum
What the school system and its teachers announce
history, etc.
transmits it accumulated knowledge and skills from one generation to next. officially pass on our cultural values, tradition, and heritage.
Social Curriculum
learning social behavior appropriate for peer groups
that are not friendship groups, which then become the model for secondary group interactions. now the child learns to communicate, negotiate, dominate, etc. with peers outside of their immediate social circle, often from diverse social backgrounds.
Hidden Curriculum
learning the rules of behavior need to function in
organization and workplace authority, the hidden curriculum stresses such things as formalization and standardization, following instructions, obedience to authority figures that are not Mom and Dad, learning to control behavior and fit into the group, pleasing (even manipulating) authority figures, and working in teams.
Other AoS
Other possible AoS are:
Community and Culture Religion Work Place The State
Military