Essay on Socialization

Socialization is the process through which the individual learns to become an accepted member of
the society. At birth the neonate is neither social nor unsocial. Because of this helplessness at birth
he has to depend on other social beings for his care and welfare. As he grows in a social
environment and in a social context, he develops various types of behaviour which are called social
and gradually grows to become a social animal.

The interaction of the baby with his environment and particularly mother helps him in the above
process. Thus the learning to adopt to the social norms, values and standards is called socialization.

The human organism is a byproduct of the society and social force. The manner in which the
human child learns to become an accepted member of the society is called the socialization process.
Anyone who does not accept or follow the dos and donots, rules and regulations, values and norms
of the society is not called a socialised individual.

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The socialization of the child takes place through action and reaction between the child and other
individual members of the society. The child begins interaction with his mother first, then with his
father and subsequently with other members of the family.

The process of socialization is quite complex. It involves the multiplicity of processes as it involves
the multiplicity of social norms. It involves the various roles which the individual has to play in
order to fulfil the expectations of the society. Not only the parental influence, and the influence of
other adults but also the neighbourhood is of tremendous value in the socialization of the child.

Through the process of socialization the various values, codes, norms and mores of the society
become a part of his personality, part of his personal values. When he accepts these willingly rather
than as a matter of compulsion he is said to be socialized. The child’s behaviour is modified and
remodified to conform to the expectations held by the members of the groups of which he is a
member.

During the first three four years and before attending school the child is trained to meet the
expectations of family members.

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They teach him to follow the socially accepted behavioural patterns which are considered as good
and reject unacceptable behavioural patterns which are considered as bad. But when he is admitted
to a preschool or a nursery school or a primary school, he is also influenced by teachers and friends.

The child learns to adjust with a wider world of school teachers, class mates and play mates and a
host of other persons. He learns the social norms, how to behave with the teachers and show respect
to them, how to deal with the class mates. In this way as he grows and grows and reaches adulthood
he comes across varied agents of socialization who mould his personality in the manner the society
wants.

Not only the parental influence and the influence of the other adults also the neighbourhood is of
tremendous value in the socialization of the child. Besides the effects of books, radio, TV and
motion pictures are of tremendous value for the moral and social development of the child.

The child is socialized on the basis of his past and present experiences. Thus family,
neighbourhood peers, playmates and classmates etc. mould the personality of the child according
to the pattern of the society. Fundamentally socialization is possible through affiliation.

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The early helplessness of the baby makes him dependent upon others. So he has to affiliate himself
with others for his living. Love, comfort, respect, power, achievement and other secondary needs
cannot be satisfied in isolation. Hence the child acquires many needs through social and affiliation
learning which leads to socialization.

Major Features of the Process of Socialization:

The process of socialization is a continuous one. It continues from birth till death. Results of
various experimental studies, observations of children in day-to-day life, interviews with parents,
studies in different cultures taken together point out the major aspects of the process of
socialization.

The dependency of the new born infant, the need for affiliation, the role of the reference group,
the need for education and therefore admission to school, the effect of reward and punishment
imposed by the parents, school and the society, delay in fulfilment of needs, desires and wishes,
identification with the loved ones all have their respective roles in the socialization of the human
infant.
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The infant’s dependence upon the mother for food, care and nursing provides the essential
condition for socialization of personality. But the help of reinforcement certain responses of the
child are rewarded and certain other responses are not rewarded. Sometimes, the child is punished
for not following the dos of the society. In this manner the dependent and helpless child is taught
to be a member of the society.

The child also learns many values and traditions through imitation and incidental learning since
parents do not always teach like a teacher. When a child sees that his mother is lying at the feet of
God or Goddess he also does the same. When a child sees his mother showing her respect to a
senior person by bowing her head she also learns to do the same.

Sears (1957) is of opinion that through dependence the process of identification develops. The
desire to identify occurs when the child is given food and love and such reinforcements are
periodically withdrawn so that the child will be rewarded by reproducing the mother’s behaviours.

The child also depends upon his parents and close family members for various informations about
his surrounding and about the world at large. He also needs their help to clarify certain matters and
to fulfil his curiosity. For this he has to obey them and follow what they say.

The need for affiliation also develops out of dependency. The desire to remain with others and be
happy when one is in a group is an outcome of the helplessness of the child during early period.
The desire to remain with others throughout one’s life has a direct link with the process of
socialization.

Schachter (1959) found that isolation produces fear and affiliation reduces fear. Thus he concluded
that persons with higher fear would affiliate more than those with low fears as through affiliation
man tries to reduce his emotion of fear.

When a child grows up his socialization process is subject to the influence of outside agents of the
society like the play group, teachers and peers. Now he becomes a member of several groups and
clubs. Those groups which strongly influence the child are called the reference groups. The
individual evaluates himself through the reference groups which serves as the standard for him.

New Comb (1943) while finding out the changes in the attitude of students that accompanied
socialisation in a college observed the important role of reference group on socialisation. Sherif
and Sherif (1964) also observe that like the family group, the reference groups influence the
conduct of the individual.

The reference group serves as a norm, standard or model for the individual. The growing children
and adolescents become a member of many groups and are influenced by the action, model ideal
and values of such groups. A reference group serves as a standard for evaluation.

Out of the socialisation process the ‘self’ develops. The individual then learns to perceive himself
and his self concept affects his social behaviour. A person perceives himself from three aspects i.e.
from the cognitive, effective and behavioural components. His self concept becomes ultimately a
source of motivation to him. The self concept develops out of the interaction of the individual with
others.

When others say some one beautiful, sincere and intelligent, he develops a positive self concept
and when people start saying negative things about one’s action and behaviour, he develops a
negative self concept. A person who becomes regularly unsuccessful in examination perceives
himself as academically poor. Thus the self concept develops through the process of social
interaction and socialization.

When others say that he is an excellent boy he perceives himself as such and tries to repeat these
characteristics in future which have brought him praise and reward. Those actions which bring him
blame are given up and unlearned. A person who continuously become unsuccessful in an
interview also develops negative self-image and inferiority complex.

The development of self therefore depends on continuous learning unlearning and releasing.
Through the process of adjustment and readjustment the individual’s self is socialised.

Some have tried to compare the process of socialization with the procedures by which many human
beings using raw materials construct automobiles. Many human beings interacting with the raw
organism, the human infant, turn him to a socialized personality.

Nevertheless personality is not a mechanical by product of the society. Socialization is never a

passive process and no personality is a mechanical by product of the society. A number of
automobiles of similar type are produced using raw materials.
But no two human personalities are equal. Every personality is unique by itself. Every in the same
family two brothers may have totally different personalities. One brother may have a very high
social status while the other may be a delinquent and disgrace to the society.

Since no two personalities in the world are identically equal it would be erroneous to compare
living human infants with the raw materials of automobiles which are dead materials.

When an infant undergoes the process of socialization he reacts in diverse ways. Sometimes he
resists rules, regulations, traditions and customs of the society. At home, during training of feeding
habits, there may be conflict between the child and the mother.

The child may resist to take certain types of good, to wear dresses of certain designs, he may like
to go naked in summer, he may not like to follow certain traditions and customs which do not give
him pleasure.

Sometimes a child may find it difficult to adjust with the demands and the needs of the society. He
may find it difficult to control his emotions. If he is scolded by parents he is adviced to remain
silent. He is not allowed to react. When he feels hungry he is not allowed to eat. He is allowed to
eat only at a scheduled time and place.

Thus, the more rules and regulations he has to obey, the more disciplines, he has to follow, the
more resistances are found. Since he has to meet a great deal of difficulty to conform to the
expectations and norms of the groups he often resists conformity to social norms during infancy
when it is mostly ‘id’.

But gradually when the ego develops, training of socialisation becomes stronger than the
resistances and when he accepts the social values and norms as a matter of principle as his own
values rather through compulsion, the conflict in the process of socialization is reduced and the
person is said to be socialized.

The individual and society mutually respond to the process of socialization. The society tries to
mould the individual through its rules, regulations, traditions and customs and the individual while
trying to belong to the group, sometimes tries to modify the social standard as far as practicable.

A sense of belongingness helps one to feel secured and satisfied. Thus the process of socialisation
helps one to develop a normal personality. One who is properly socialized, when he becomes a
parent he undertakes the responsibility of socializing his own children and at this time, his attitude
towards the prevalent social norms undergoes tremendous change.

With the change in the socio-cultural values and spirit of time, there is always a continuous change
in the rules, regulations, standards, customs and traditions of the society. As a result, there is
change in the socialisation of the human personality.

The socialization process is therefore never rigid but dynamic. It varies and changes from time to
time and generation to generation. The parents, teachers and individuals have to adjust with the
changing social customs and values and socialize their children accordingly.

They have to develop proper social attitudes and behaviours appropriate to his particular society.
Otherwise there will be conflict due to generation gap. The child must behave in such a way which
is approved by the group or society. Since the aim of socialization is to induce the individual to
conform willingly to the ways of the society and the groups to which he belongs, parents and
teachers should see that his personality is built up accordingly.

Otherwise in future there may be tremendous adjustment problems. Since socialization is a

dynamic process a person who rigidly conforms to the rules and regulations of the society is not
an ideal product of socialization.

A properly socialized person should be flexible and dynamic in approach to conform to the
changing social standards of the society and culture. A person who is unable to adjust with this is
therefore said to be unsocial or a social.

As previously indicated, the socialization practices change constantly. Social class has also an
important role to play in this regard. Middle class mothers in comparison to working class mothers
are more permissive towards the child’s expressed needs and wishes, are more equalitarian in their
handling of the child and are less likely to use physical punishment.

Early learning experiences have a lasting impact on personality and socialization. In various
studies of socialization process child psychologists have tried to investigate the effects of infant
disciplines, child care programmes and post childhood discontinuities on adult personality. They
have found that during the early years the parental influences on child is maximum and have
powerful impact on socialization.
But during the later stage to reshape the unsatisfactory and socially inappropriate behaviours found
in many adolescents, application of desocialization and resocialization processes are found
essential.

Desocialization attempts to remove the previous attitudes and habits which are not conducive to
proper socialization. Many had habits, antisocial and irresponsible, socially unacceptable
behaviours can be reduced by this technique.

Resocialization on the other hand is a process by which the group induces a person to adopt one
set of behaviour standards as a substitute for another. Sometimes after desocialization
resocialization may be a necessary consequence. While removing the old values new values are to
be substituted in their place.