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Why Is Family Considered The Most Important Agent of Socialization

Family is considered the most important agent of socialization for three key reasons: 1) Families are an early, prevalent, and prominent context for socialization that has a lasting effect on how individuals interact in society. 2) Families are responsible for guiding children and showing them how to function, develop close relationships, and share resources from a young age. 3) Families provide children with their primary system of values, standards, and beliefs, which are influenced by the family's social status, religion, ethnicity and more.

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491 views1 page

Why Is Family Considered The Most Important Agent of Socialization

Family is considered the most important agent of socialization for three key reasons: 1) Families are an early, prevalent, and prominent context for socialization that has a lasting effect on how individuals interact in society. 2) Families are responsible for guiding children and showing them how to function, develop close relationships, and share resources from a young age. 3) Families provide children with their primary system of values, standards, and beliefs, which are influenced by the family's social status, religion, ethnicity and more.

Uploaded by

kate remandaban
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Why is family considered the most important agent of socialization?

Socialization is the process where an individual’s standards, abilities, goals, perspectives, and
habits change to adapt to those seen as pleasing and appropriate for his or her present and future
role in any particular society. Every society creates an institutional structure within which the
socialization of the child takes place.

Multiple agents play a part in the socialization process including families, peers,
neighbourhoods, the mass media, schools, and religious institutions. It is assumed that these
different agents work together rather than separately. Families have been recognized as an early
prevalent and highly prominent context for socialization. The socialization that we experience in
childhood has a constant effect on our capability to interact with others in society. There is no more
reliable way to begin than to talk about how important the role of a family is in our social
development since family is usually considered to be a valuable instrument of socialization. The
family presents cultural practices, defines the living environment, and the physical and psychological
characteristics of the children. The reason we turn out much like our parents, for better or worse, is
that our families are such an important part of our socialization process. When we were kids, we are
entirely dependent on other people to survive. Our parents would be the ones to be responsible for
guiding us to function and attend to ourselves. They, along with the rest of our families, also show us
about close relationships, group life, and how to share resources. In addition to that, they also
provide us with our primary system of values, standards, and faiths - a system that is usually a
representation of their social status, religion, ethnicity, and more. Sociologists recognize that race,
social class, religion, and other societal factors play an important role in socialization. For example,
poor families usually emphasize obedience and conformity when raising their children, while
wealthy families emphasize judgment and creativity (National Opinion Research Center 2008).

In conclusion, our direct interactions with social groups, like families and peers, show us
how others expect us to act. Furthermore, a society’s formal and informal organizations socialize its
people. Schools, workplaces, and the media interface and strengthen cultural standards and values.

Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Agents of Socialization | Introduction to Sociology. Introduction to Sociology.


Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/agents-of-
socialization/

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