SN - Agents of Socialization Lesson
Agents of Socialization Lesson
In the previous lesson, we mentioned that family was usually the first source of socialization for people as it was the first group to which people belonged. However, family is not the only agent of socialization. Most sociologists agree on four main agents of socialization: family, peer group, school (or education) and mass media.
Theoretical Perspectives: Religion
However, some sociologists argue that religion belongs in this list of socialization agents. As a social institution, religion involves the beliefs and practices based on recognizing the sacred. The influence of religion on society is often determined by the level of religiosity (importance of religion on one's life) or secularization (decline of religiosity in culture) found within the society itself. Perhaps the varying roles of religion in different societies is why it has not been definitively added to the list of the four agents of socialization. After all, the three main theoretical perspectives of sociology do not agree on the importance or role of religion as a social institution.
|
According to the Structural-Functional Approach, religion is the channel through which people broadcast the power of society. During his study of religion, Émile Durkheim named three functions of religion:
|
|
| According to the Social-Conflict Approach, religion perpetuates social inequality due to many of the reasons Durkheim listed as religion's functions. Karl Marx thought that by promoting conformity, uniting communities and providing big questions on the meaning of life, religion distracted attention away from the social injustice people experienced daily. Later social-conflict theorists pointed out the patriarchal traditions within religion as a source for gender discrimination. | |
| According to the Symbolic-Interaction Approach, religion provides the language and symbolism people use to convey their understanding of the extraordinary meanings of life. Due to the idea that people often seek religion as a source of understanding and comfort during their most puzzling or darkest experiences, religion has special meanings for people. This approach is especially interested in religious rituals as a source to uncover the symbolism used by people to express their attitudes and beliefs. |
Initially, a person experiences natural socialization as he or she is first socialized by the family. As a person ages, they are introduced to more agents of socialization. With this introduction, he or she goes through different processes of socialization. These processes include anticipatory socialization, desocialization, and resocialization. Let's use an example that you might be experiencing now to illustrate these processes:
Anticipatory Socialization
This is the process where a person prepares to experience new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. As a high school student, you might be experiencing anticipatory socialization as you prepare for the next step in your life. In America, many teenagers leave their families and homes upon high school graduation to begin work, join the military or enroll in a college. During this process, you are learning what will be needed as you move on to your next role in life. You've already experienced anticipatory socialization multiple times by now: as a young child preparing to start school for the first time, as a preteen preparing to enter adolescence, as a non-driver preparing to receive your driver's license, and so on... During this process, a person knows that things will be different during the next phase of life and they are anticipating and preparing for that change.
Desocialization
This is the process of giving up old norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. After graduation, when you enter the workforce, the military or college, you will take on a new status. As your status set changes so, too, does your role set. Your role set will include new roles with new role expectations and you will adapt to those expectations by shedding some of the norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors of previous roles. Again, this is a process that you've experienced before as some of the behaviors that were acceptable in childhood were shed as you became an adolescent (no more crying over a skinned knee, for example,) or when you received your driver's license (no more relying on parents to get you to school on time, for example,) and so on...During this process, a person purposefully sheds that which will not be useful or appropriate during their next phase of life.
Resocialization
This is the process where a person adopts new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. Through desocialization, you've made room for new statuses and roles in your life and their accompanying role expectations. During resocialization, you take on those attributes that will help you succeed in the proper performance of your new roles. You will take on those attributes that will distinguish you as an employee, member of the military, or college student. You will take on those attributes that will help you live on your own away from previous primary groups and you will join new groups.
As socialization is a lifelong experience, a person will experience these processes multiple times throughout his or her life. More than likely, the person will not recognize when each process is happening. It's a normal part of the socialization adventure. This adventure spans one's lifetime, including childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age, and death. As these stages of life are social constructs, each stage varies in length and experience based on society. Some societies view people as adults well earlier than the standard American age of eighteen. Also, there is quite a difference in life expectancy between nations which means that people reach "old age" at different times as well. While most people experience the processes of socialization at times of change at various ages, there are other social categories that might initiate the processes. For example, the social categories of gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic class might impact the extent of change created by the processes of socialization. As does the time in history a person lives. Imagine the differences experienced by teenage males versus females "coming of age" in the 1700s- would females of that time have been allowed to shed as many old values, norms, and behaviors as their male counterparts? The same question could be asked with regards to race. Would black Americans living in a time when their future prospects were limited by the laws and norms of the 1700s have been allowed to desocialize and resocialize to the same extent as white Americans at the same time? Even now, do Amish American teenagers experience the same extent of desocialization and resocialization as non-religious American teenagers? As you can see, while the processes of socialization are cultural universals in that all societies experience them, there are cultural particulars that determine the extent to which members of a society participate in the processes.
Types of Socialization Review Activity
For a quick review on the types of socialization, match the following scenarios with the form of socialization experienced below:
IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR OPENSOURCE