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What is Socialization?
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What are the major agencies of Socialization?
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How socialization takes place?
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Characteristics of Socialization.
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Types of Socialization.
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Importance of Socialization?
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Theories of Socialization
 Man is not only social but also cultural.
 Culture provides opportunities for man to
develop the personality.
 Personality: Person’s typical patterns of
attitudes, needs, characteristics,
and behavior.
 The development of personality is not an
automatic process.
 Each society provides social training to its
members.
 This social training is known as ‘socialization’.

Socialization: Lifelong process in which
people learn appropriate attitudes, values,
and behaviors.

Little of man’s behaviour
is instinctive.

Rather, man’s behaviour
is ‘learnt’.
Some Definitions
“Socialization is the process by which the
individual learns to conform to the norms of the
group”
William Fielding Ogburn

“Transmission of culture…..the process

whereby men learn the rules and practices of
social groups”
Peter Worsley
“Learning that enables
the learner to perform
social
roles………..process by
which individuals
acquire the already
existing culture of
groups they come
into”

Harry M. Johnson
“Complex processes of
interaction
through which the individual
learns the habits, beliefs,
skills and standards of
judgment that are necessary
for his effective participation
in social groups and
communities”
George Andrew
Lundberg
 It is functional prerequisite for any
society.
 Necessary for cultural and social
reproduction.
 It is a life long process-birth to death.
 Each society has its own culture, so the
process of socialization differ society to
society.
 Socialization is social and cultural in
nature not biological.
 It makes person a functioning member of
society.
 Maintain social order in society.
 Convert biological being into social being.
 It is necessary for the development of
self.
 It helps the individual for internalizations
of norms, values, rules, laws of society.
 It helps individual for ‘self control’.
 It is Learning process.
 It is universal process.
 It is continuous process.
 It proceeds from simplicity to complexity.
 There are basically four types of
socialization exist in each society.
Ian Robertson, Sociology,
1977
 Primary socialization; occurs basically in
family, School neighbors, peers and
relatives etc
 Anticipatory socialization; in
which a person “rehearses” for
future occupations and social
relationships such as IAS, IPS,
IFS etc
 Developmental socialization; it is primarily based
on the achievements of primary socialization.
 “ It builds on already acquired skills and
knowledge as the adult progresses through new
situations such as marriage or new jobs……….
these require new expectations, obligations, and
roles………….. new learning is added to and
blended with old in a relatively smooth and
continuous process of development”.
Ian Robertson,1977, Sociology.
 Re-Socialization; The
process of discarding
former behavior
patterns and accepting
new ones as part of a
transition in one’s life
E.g. Prisoners, New
married female, Drug
addicted, Deviant or
criminals etc
 Charles Horton Cooley
 George Herbert Mead
 Sigmund Freud
 Jean Piaget
 Erving Goffman
 Emile Durkheim
█ Self: Distinct identity that
sets us apart from others

The self is not a static phenomenon

It continues to develop and change


‘Self’ regarded as internalized
object represents one’s own
personality.
 But…..Where does this self arise?
 Are we born with self?
 Is it something that the
individual brings with him as we
confront society?
 “Self and society are twin


born”
Social
Organization(Book)
 We learn who we are by
interacting with others.
 Our ides, loyalties,
attitudes, and points of
view are derived from
Looking-glass self: others.
The self is product of social interactions
with other people
 Cooley argued that during interaction
humans serve as mirrors for one another
 Our view of ourselves comes from not
only our contemplation of personal
qualities, but also from our impressions
of how others perceive us.
 We base our perception of who we are on
how we think other people see us and on
whether this opinion seems good or bad
to us.
• we are prone to look at ourselves through
other’s eyes.
Thus, ‘ I am not what I think I am
and I am not what you think I am……… I
am what I think you think I am’.
Process of self formation include three steps;
 We imagine, How we appear to others

 We wonder, whether other see us in the

same way as we see ourselves.

 We develop a conception of ourselves that

is based on the judgment of others.

 Cooley concludes, “ the self is social and
that self-consciousness would not exist in
the absence of society”.
 According to Mead, in the
early months of life, children
do not realize that they are
separate from others .
 Shortly after birth, infants
start to notice the faces of
those around them
 Gradually, we distinguish
ourselves from our care
givers and begin to perceive
ourselves in contrast to them
 Society is determining factor in the
socialization of the individual.
 He agreed with Cooley ‘ self is social’.
 He said , ‘ the individual, largely through
interaction, becomes aware of himself’.
 That means the individual comes to know
about himself by what is known as ‘role
playing’.
 Role playing, in seeing himself as others
see him, the individual is actually putting
himself in the place of others( parents,
relatives, society), and imagining what their
response might be.
 When we begin to represent ourselves in
our own minds as objects distinct from
everything else, our self has been formed.
 We start likely to think,’ what will people
think if I do this or that?
 These people are significant others.
thus, “the self is the product of
interaction and it arises in social
experience. It is continuously changing and
adjusting as new situations and conflicts
arise…”
the self develops and grows
in a social context.
█ Preparatory Stage:
Children imitate people
around them
– Symbols: Gestures,
objects, and words that
form basis of human
communication
 Up to about the age of 3 kids mimic
social roles
 Children imitate significant others
 They do not yet have a sense of self
separate from others
█ Play Stage: Children develop skill in
communicating through symbols and
role taking occurs

– Role taking:
Process of mentally
assuming perspective
of another and
responding from that
imagined viewpoint
 Children learn to use language and other
symbols which enable them to imitate
the actions of others
 Learn the roles, not just significant others
including parents, teachers, and
schoolmates.
 The child at this stage is capable only of
play and cannot yet engage in the
organized activity
3. Game Stage
 begins in the early school years
 children understand not only their own
social position but also the positions of
others around them
 At this stage, organized play, or team
games
 The significance for the self is that to play
these games the individual must be able to
take multiple roles
Generalized others: Attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations
of society as a whole that a child takes into account

 They understand the repercussions of

their behavior and the effect of them on
others
 Anticipate actions of significant and
generalized others
 Impression Management: The
individual slants the
presentation of the self in
order to create distinctive
appearances and satisfy
particular audiences.
 Dramaturgical Approach:
People resemble performers in
action
 The goal is to create
distinctive appearances and to
satisfy particular audiences.
 Presentation of self some time know as
impression management.
 Goffman argued that roles in life like
those in the theater, have both a stage
and a backstage.
 Face-work is another aspect of the self.
Maintaining the proper image can be
essential to continued social interaction.
 In short he relates theatrical
performances with society.
 His work primarily concentrated towards
human mind rather than socialization.
 But his ideas have contributed much towards
the clarification of the process of socialization.
 He divided human mind into three
compartments.
 Id; concerned only with satisfying the animal
impulses of man.
 Ego; mediator b/w desire and action. Repress
the urges of id when necessary.
 Super ego
 Always holds up the behavior norms of
society.
 Provide ego the idea of moral and immoral.
 Individual’s Super ego is a reflection of his
parents.
 The individual imbibes super ego into his
own personality by identifying himself with
his parents.
 Child adopts the norms of conduct of the
society through the super ego.
 His work centered on human cognition, or
how people think and understand.
 He was concerned with not just what a person
knew, but how the person know something.
 Social interaction key to development
 He identified four major stages of cognitive
development.
 The sensorimotor stage
 The pre-operational stage
 The concrete operational stage
 The formal operational stage
 0 to 2 years
 World is experience only through sensory
contacts.
 The understanding of symbols does not
exist during this period.
 The child experience the world only in
terms of direct physical contact.
 2 to 6 years.
 Language and other symbols first used by
child.
 Children continue to be very egocentric
during this time.
 Having little ability to generalize
concepts.
 7 to 11 years.
 Use of logic to understand objects or
events.
 Cause and effect relationships begin to
be understood during this period.
 The ability to take the perspective of
other people also emerged.
 12 to above
 The level of human development
characterized by highly abstract and
critical thought.
 The ability to think in hypothetical term is
also develop.
 Proposed Structural theory of
socialization.
 Theory holds that the
individual has to behave
according to social institutions.
 The individual has no
autonomy in social life.
 Individual is a mere product of
the social structure.
 He explains individual’s
socialization through social
facts.
 Scholar Key Concepts
and Contributions Major Points of Theory
Charles Horton Cooley Looking-glass self Stages of development not distinct;
1864-1929 feelings toward ourselves developed
(USA) through interaction with others
George Herbert Mead The self Three distinct stages of development;
self
1863-1931 Generalized other develops as children grasp the roles
of
(USA) others in their lives
Erving Goffman Impression management Self developed through the impressions
(1922-1982) Dramaturgical approach we convey to others and to groups
(USA) Face-work
Sigmund Freud Psychoanalysis Self influenced by parents and by
inborn
(1856-1939) drives, such as the drive for sexual
(Austria) gratification
Jean Piaget Cognitive theory Four stages of cognitive development;
(1896-1980) moral development linked to
Switzerland socialization

Emile Durkheim Structural theory individual’s personality is shaped by

 Family: most important agent of
socialization.
 As infants, we are completely dependent
on others to survive.
 family, teach us about close
relationships, group life, and how to
share resources etc.
 provide us with our first system of
values, norms, and beliefs - a system
that is usually a reflection of their own
social status, religion, ethnic group, and
more.
 School
 Schools teach children
the values and
customs of the larger
society.
 Schools have
traditionally socialized
children into
conventional gender
roles.
 Peer Group
 As children grow older, peer groups
increasingly assume the role of Mead’s
significant others.
 Peer groups can ease the transition to adult
responsibilities.
 Peer groups can encourage children to honor
or violate cultural norms and values.
 Peer groups can be a source of harassment as
well as support.
 Mass Media and Technology
 53 percent of all children ages 12 to 18 have
their own televisions.
 Television permits imitation and role playing
but does not encourage more complex forms
of learning.
 Technology is socializing families into
multitasking as the social norm.
Source: Rideout et al. 2005:7.
 Is socialization necessary?
 Dose it really helps the individual to
become a human?
 Is it essential to ensure stability,
conformity and continuity in society?
 Does it hinder the expression of
individuality?
 Will it not make his life more miserable?
 Socialization converts man, the biological
being into man, the social being. E.g. the
story of wolf children.
 Socialization contributes to the
development of personality. E.g. Man is a
social animal-Aristotle.
 Socialization helps individuals to become
disciplined.
 Socialization helps individuals to enact
different roles.
 It provides knowledge of skills in all
spheres of life; Social, Economic, political
etc
 Helps to develop right aspiration or desires
in life.
 Contributes to the stability of the social
order.
 Helps to reduce social deviance.
 Provides scope for building the bright
future.
 Helps the transmission of culture.
Does socialization always leads to right
paths?

No!

We can not assure that socialization would

be a success always.
 Socialization can be positive or negative
depending upon the circumstances.
 Culture can’t be understood completely.
 Damage to self-image.
 Resistance to excessive control.
 Failure to prepare children to face the
challenges of ‘life cycle’.
 Inconsistency in the ways of socialization.
E.g. parents on one side and teacher on
other side.
 Socialization is gradual and long process.
 It happens in different stages.
 At each stage the child internalize a system
of roles, not just one role.
 It consist basically four stages from infancy
to adulthood.
► The oral stage
► The anal stage
► The oedipal stage
► Adsolescence
a
 Time period; 0 to 1 year
 After birth child take breathe, fed food and must
be protected for cold, warm, wet and other
discomforts.
 By means of crying the child establishes its oral
dependency.
 Child also learns signaals for his felt needs.
 At this very stage child involves him/herself with
his mother.
 At this stage child may not able to internalize
two roles.
 Freud called this stage- the stage of primary
identification.
 Time period; 1 to 3
 Child learn in this stage that he can’t depends
entirely on mother. E.g. toilet training etc
 Child able to identify two roles, his own role
and his mother’s role.
 Receive care and love and tries to return
love.
 Enabled to distinguish between correct and
incorrect actions. Correct action is rewarded
and incorrect punished.
 Mother has major role to play in this stage
again.
 Time period is 4 to 12 or 13
 Child becomes a member of family as a whole.
 Freud said at this stage boy develops ‘Oedipus
complex’ – the feeling of jealousy towards
father and love towards mother.
 Girl develops the ‘Electra complex’- the feeling
of jealousy towards the mother and love
towards father.
 Freud believed that the feelings are mainly
sexual.
 He was rejected on this ground for many times
□ In this stage boy makes three identification-
1) he identifies with his father and brothers
2) with all his siblings
3) with whole family as a member.
□ At this stage he knows the dominant
persons in a family structure.
□ He knows how to behave with
others( parents, brother etc)
□ some time starts deciding future goals.
 Importance stage of human life.
 Children tries to become free from parental
control.
 At same time they can’t completely escape
from their parents.
 they learn new responsibilities and roles.
 Internalize norms and rules sharply.
 In traditional society- children are more
bound
 In modern society – children are more
independent.
Thanks!