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SOCIALIZATION AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Socialization: Active process whereby human beings 
 Learn how to become members of society
 Develop a self or sense of individual identity, and
 Learn to participate in social relationships with others*
DEFINITIONS
Socialization is a process of social interaction through which people acquire
(1) personality and identity and
(2) the way of life of their society.
Through socialization, we internalize the culture of our society.
The result of successful socialization is that the world becomes so comprehensible
that we can take it for granted.

SOCIALIZATION: TWO TYPES

1. Primary socialization:
Occurs in childhood
Lays foundation that influences self-concept and involvement in social life
2. Secondary socialization:
Learning that occurs after people have undergone primary socialization
Continues throughout life*
NATURE VERSUS NURTURE DEBATE
Longstanding debate over whether human behaviour is outcome of biological
inheritance (nature/instincts) or the social environment (nurture)
Sociology emphasizes importance of society and socialization (nurture) in human
behaviour*
EVIDENCE FOR NURTURE
Studies of children raised in isolation: Demonstrate importance of social
interaction in socialization process
Study on infants in orphanage and infants in prison nursery: Demonstrates
importance of social contact in development of human infants
Socialization essential to physical wellbeing, social competence of infants, and
development of self
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
Institutions pass on expectations about appropriate social behavior:
Family
Media
Peers
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Religion
Sports
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
Individuals, groups, and institutions that impart range of information needed for
individuals to interact effectively and participate in society
Include families, schools, peer groups, mass media, religious institutions, etc.
Provide both formal and informal “training”*

FAMILIES:
Through close interaction with parents and small number of others, child:
 Learns to think and speak
 Internalizes norms, beliefs, and values
 Learns gender roles
 Develops capacity for intimate and personal relationships
 Begins to develop a self-image…

Socialization affected by:

 Social class of parents
 Parenting style
 Preparedness of parents for parenting role
 Psychological health of parents (e.g., neglect, abuse, or abandonment of
child)
 Family type (e.g., single parent family, blended family)*

SCHOOLS:
Teach children indirectly to be less emotionally dependent
Adjust children to their social order
Build character through formal curriculum and “hidden curriculum”: Informal
teaching that helps ensure students’ integration into society

PEER GROUPS:
Peer group: Individuals usually of same age who enjoy approximately equal status
In childhood, formed largely by accident of association
 Later in life, tend to choose peer groups based on certain criteria
Only agent of socialization in childhood and youth not controlled mainly by
adults…
Allow children and young people:
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 Opportunities to engage in experiences not provided in family, including

examining feelings, beliefs and ideas not acceptable to family
 Opportunities for self-direction and self-expression
Can strongly shape individual’s aspirations and behaviours through stringent
demands for conformity*

THE MASS MEDIA:

Create, manage, and control impressions of what is deemed important and real
May inadvertently perpetuate stereotypes
May teach individuals to become obedient consumers
Exert powerful socializing influence but effects difficult to measure
 Most effects impersonal and transmitted in one direction
 Research on effects of violence in mass media debated*

OTHER SOCIALIZING AGENTS

Occupational groups
State/Government
Religious institutions: May have effect on moral outlook
Athletic teams: May teach young people about cooperation, competition,
following rules, and establishing friendships
Youth groups: May be instrumental in teaching about group rules and
expectations about conformity and deviance
Conflict both among and within agencies of socialization inevitable in complex
societies*

THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION:

SOCIOBIOLOGY
Sociobiology is the systematic study of the biological bases of social behavior.
In its extreme form, sociobiology suggests that all behavior is the result of genetic
or biological factors and places little emphasis on social interaction.
RESOCIALIZATION
Resocialization: Deliberate attempt to correct or instill particular values and
behaviours in individual or group
Occurs in total institutions:
 Settings in which people are isolated from rest of society for set period
 Where all aspects of person’s life are regulated under one authority
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 Examples: The military, convents, prisons, boarding schools, psychiatric

hospitals*

FACTORS IN THE PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION

Four factors of learning of group norms, habits and ideals
1. Imitation
2. Suggestion
3. Identification
4. Language

1. Imitation: Gabriel Tarde (law of imitation): Means copying by an

individuals of the actions of others. A child copying father or mother
behavior.
2. Suggestion: It is the process of communication resulting in the acceptance
of the message with conviction. It influences our behaviour.
3. Identification: In early age a child can’t make distinction about anything. All
reactions are random as he/she grows older he develops likes, dislikes,
habits and starts to have some sort of identification.
4. Language: It is a way to interact. It is a way of learning and transferring
cultural values.
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
Other Factors
 Physical environment
 Group Experiences
 Unique Experiences