Socialization Process
Socialization Process
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SOCIALIZATION PROCESS
According to George Herbert Mead who is popular for his ‘social self theory’, which is founded on the argument that self is a social emergent and human beings are the end result of interaction. He believes that socialization is an integral process in every human society which is not present when a baby is born, it involves learning of norms, regulation, rules, attitude and values of society. Human beings are social being and this is made possible through interacting with others, being knowledgeable, self-awareness and possessing skills which help them match in a given environment and culture. He believes in 3 undertakings through which development of self takes place: language, game and play. Through communication individual tend to take roles of others pretending to be like them, when playing individuals pretend to be like other so as to be like them by this self-consciousness is achieved. In games all individuals works toward a common goal and be obliged to adhere to rules of the game. Mead totally believes that socialization is build up by gestures and participation (Shepard, 2009).
There are two phases of socialization, Primary socialization takes place in childhood stage and is the main extreme phase of cultural learning, the key agent of socialization is the family and this is where the child start to learn how human being socialize by imitating their parents, the way they talk, walk and how they do their things. During this stage a child is very innocent because he or she doesn’t have much information of good virtues and tend to imitate everything she sees or hears, therefore being a delicate stage where a child’s life can be ruined if not well look at by the guidance. Secondary Socialization is acquired during the latter childhood stage and into maturity. During this stage an individual is fully enlightened and he knows what is right for him or not, he or she may erase the values he was brought up with, strengthen or add extra values and this totally depend on the peer group, organizations, schools or institution and sometimes in workplace and not forgetting the media. In institution one meets different people of different races, tribes and believes who may have come from different places in the world they tend to share behaviors hence changing the values they were brought up with. In workplace this is achieved by adhering to the set rules and policy governing the organization, hence the need to adjust in behavior and physical appearance.
Conformity is brought about by five key reasons: craving to be socially acknowledged so as to shun conflict and rejection, many individuals work extremely hard so as to be accepted in their society and class; the desire to be correct in what an individual is doing so as not to harm others and the environment where one lives by doing this an individual avoid commotions and being criticized others; yearning to accomplish organization’s goals, to be in peace with others one need to play his part but not relying on other individuals work, this creates unity and understanding among members working or staying together; aim of setting up and preserving social identity, lastly the alignments of with other individuals.
According to Mead society obliges an individual to behave the way he or she does, by showing up how cultural determinism plays a vital part in shaping up Norms in a community. Societal requirement contribute to the behavior of a husband, wife and children. Family and friend can affect an individual’s decision so one is entitled to respect the custom so as to merge with others, hence depriving free choice for many individuals. Due to these traditional standard individuals who are not ready to conform to them defiles restriction and decide to do what pleases them most (Sangree & Gearing, 1979). For example: if their customs do not allow intermarrying with others, the go ahead to marrying the woman their heart desires; if a girl child is deprived the right to education, the parents makes sure that their daughters pursue in academic. To those communities where female genital mutilation takes place the government enters in and declares no more harassment, this leads to the quest for freedom as the society is now aware of the consequences.
In conclusion therefore Socialization occurs throughout life of an individual being aware of them or not, hence acquiring new behaviors within new situations or groups however. It can be broken down in three major phases; the first is primary socialization, which refers to all the ways a newborn individual gets molded into a social being by being brought up as a person who can be able to interact with others according to the society’s expectations. Primary socialization is mainly depicted in the family setup and other association that have similar interactions. On the other hand, secondary socialization when sibling start to socialize with other persons not present in the family setup (Jackson & Hogg, 2010).
References
Jackson, R, L. & Hogg M, A. (2010). Encyclopedia of Identity, Volume 1. London: SAGE
Sangree, L & Gearing, F. (1979). Toward a Cultural Theory of Education and Schooling. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
Shepard, J, M. (2009). Cengage Advantage Books: Sociology. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning
