PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION THE PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION

THE SOCIALIZATION PROCESS- Socialization is the process of learning how to become human and behave in ways which are acceptable to the expectations in others. As a process it begins at birth and continues throughout our lifespan. We never stop learning how to behave due to the ever changing nature of the society in which we live and due to new situations we made find ourselves in. There are two main types of socialization.

PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION- Primary socialization occurs between the individual and those people in their life with whom they have primary relationships. A primary relationship can be categorised as one in which the individual has close, personal, face-to-face contact. The first primary relationship that the vast majority of us form is with our parents or guardians with whom our first primary socialization will occur. As we develop and age we form primary relationships with close friends, and other adults through work, marriage etc

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION- We call the people responsible for socialisation, agents of socialisation and by extension we can talk about agencies of socialisation such as the family, the education system, the workplace and so on. In this way the first agency responsible for primary socialisation is the family and the agents of socialisation are a child’s parents. Through primary socialisation a child learns things such as talking and walking as well as values such as the difference between right and wrong and how to act appropriately with others such as adults and authority figures.

“Societies work or function because each individual member of that society plays particular roles and each role carries a status and norms which are informed by the values and beliefs of the culture of that society. The process of learning these roles and the norms and values appropriate to them from those around us is called socialisation.” (Barnard and Burgess (1996) “Sociology Explained”)

AGENT 001- PARENTS? The majority of children still grow up in a family headed by both natural parents. The process of primary socialization carried out by parents might be split into 4 sub-processes…

1. IMITATION- One way children learn from their parents is through IMITATION. They may copy the way their parents’ talk or their table-manners for example.

As children get older they use their parents as role- models.

2. MANIPULATION Parents also deploy positive and negative sanctions, such as praising a child when they behave in the way the parent wants them to. For example, giving stickers to a young child as a reward. Parents use negative sanctions to discourage unwanted behaviour.

3. CANALIZATION This involves chaneling the child’s interests into toys and activities seen as normal. The most obvious examples are associated with the acquisition of gender identity.

4. VERBAL APPELLATION This is a method of social control which teaches children to identify the appropriate behaviour through the use of voice inflection and the use of terms of endearment.

DIVERSITY- The socialization process may vary according to the particular type of family structure. An absent father may find it difficult to act as a role- model to his children. Factors such as social class an ethnicity are also likely to effect exactly how the process takes place.