Lesson 1: SOCIALIZATION

Do you see the picture? What do you have in

mind?
Very good! If you think that socialization is very
important in our lives, you are absolutely correct.
But what is meant by socialization really?
Socialization simply means the process of
learning one’s society and its culture. It is
moreover the same as interacting, mingling and
being with other people or groups within/ outside
of your society.
How do you feel in a situation when it seems that
you don’t belong and you are being isolated? Good
thinking! Of course you will feel sad and lonely.
That kind of feeling only shows that socialization
is important to you --- and to all of us.
Through socialization, one learns the culture’s language, their roles in life, and what is expected
from them. Without socialization, a person will develop different physical and mental
disabilities. It is sad to know that individuals with no successful socialization develop mental
illness, abnormal or odd behavior and self -isolation. Do you know that there are different
groups of people that influence your orientations and perspectives to life? These groups are
called agents of socialization. These agents play a crucial role in developing yourself as a
person and a member of the society.

Family is the first agent of socialization. Most of the habits, manners, beliefs and the way we
think are develop in the family. A huge part of your personality is molded by your family
because this is where you spent your childhood. Your family influences you on the way you
behave and act as a person. This is when socialization process is crucial and intense. Do you still
remember your happy moments in school? Of course you do.
School is another agent of socialization.
Here, you interact or socialize with other people- your classmates, teachers, administrators and
others which are outside your family within a society. Your socialization with them has made a
lot of experiences in you. It is in the school that your behavior and attitude are shape to become a
better member of society. So a part of your personality is developed by this agent. Do you agree?

Your circle of friends is also an agent of socialization. It is called peer group. Your peers
usually have similar ages, social status and share interests. Your peer group influences you on
the way you can accept yourself. It is with your peer group that you find yourself belonged.
I’m sure you learned a lot from your friends, didn’t you? So, you are right when you think that
they are also important agent in shaping your personality.

Social media as agent of socialization plays a crucial role in shaping your personality as well.
Majority of us, young and old, are connected through social media. Much of our waking time is
spent on using social media.

So, this agent of socialization influences your way of life intensively thus doing large part in
your personal development. There are other socialization agents who are also important in
molding you as a person: the community, the church and the government.
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You see? What you are now is a product of socialization. You have been socializing from the
time you were born until now. Socialization is a continuing process until we die. Socialization
is really a necessity for it develops you as person.

Lesson 2: ENCULTURATION

We are living in a society of many cultures. Culture is the customary beliefs, social
forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or social group (merriam-webster. com). These
cultures make people different from one another. A group has a set of shared attitudes and
practices which are partially or even totally apart from what others have.
As an individual grows up in a social group, he/she learns to understand his/her identity.
This is where enculturation comes in. Enculturation is the process by which people learn the
requirements of their surrounding culture and acquire values and behaviours appropriate or
necessary in that culture (https://www.definitions.net/definition/Enculturation).
According to Stephen A. Grunland and Marvin K. Mayers (1988) (as cited from
Hoebel, 1982), enculturation is both a conscious and an unconscious conditioning process
whereby man, as child and adult, achieves competence in his culture, internalizes his culture and
becomes thoroughly enculturated. Socializing with people plays a great part in achieving it.
He/she deals with. An individual also learns from observing the surrounding he/she is in.
As a child lives with his family and the community, he/she adapts socially accepted
values (e.g. attending to religious obligations, respecting the elders, etc.) At a very young age, a
child is instilled with values by his/her parents and family. He / She sees the importance of being
together as respected when they eat. Also, he/she learns the foundations of learning; be it
reading the alphabet and counting of numbers.
In school, he/she learns to be socially educated person as he/she observes and adapts the
behaviour of other people (e.g. singing the National Anthem, paying respect to the flag, showing
respect to teachers and valuing friendship among friends and classmates). A person becomes
more civilized as he learns more of culturally accepted behaviour and knowledge in school.
In a community, a person may be inspired to practice social duties and obligations as
observed and learned from those who do great contributions for the welfare of most people. In
these practices, one may also become a steward of goodwill.
A teenager learns to clothe himself/herself like his/her friends or in great chances, adapts
how they behave and act. He / She appreciate the value of friendship, learn to find joy in sharing
commonalities and accepts differences in choices and decisions. His / Her confidence in dealing
with people can be rooted from a well-maintained relationship with friends.
The government upon its imposition of law refines a person’s way of living. Through
which, he/she learns his civil rights and exercises them righteously. Likewise, he/she learns to
respect government policies and abides to them, knowing that every action has limitation.
In his/her dealing with religious affiliations, a person’s belief in Omnipotent Being is
strengthened. This cultivates the idea that everyone like a brother and a sister. Thus, respect
towards one another is valued. He or she learns to respect differences in faith.
Parents and other authorities are called the initiators of enculturation. As one is
enculturated by those initiators, the process is manifested in his/her actions, choices and
decisions. If it is not because of enculturation, a person will not become the way he/she in the
society. One will not be able to discern what is right from wrong or even make actions to handle
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problems encountered. Because of enculturation, an individual knows the boundaries of his/her
actions, words and ideals. As a learned individual, one becomes accepted by the group he/she
belongs with. Enculturation teaches a person of his/her roles in the society. True enough, he/she
becomes functional member of the society.

LESSON 3: CONCEPT OF SOCIAL GROUPS

Everyone belongs to a group; your race, gender, favorite sports team, your college, even
the place where you were born were all examples of groups. Sometimes groupings are
determined by factors related to who we are (sex, age, race/ethnicity) but in many other cases,
they arrive in a somewhat arbitrary fashion. In school, you would likely associate with
classmates who share the same interests as you do like having a common hobby or sports
affiliation or even fashion sense or even love of a certain type of music.
What is a Group?
A group is composed of two or more persons interacting with each other and guided by a
set of norms. It is also defined as specified number of individuals where each recognizes
members as distinct from non-members.
Basic Classifications of Social Groups
1. Primary Groups
Primary groups are marked by concern for one another, shared activities and culture, and
long periods of time spent together. They are influential in developing an individual’s personal
identity. The goal of primary groups is actually the relationships themselves rather than
achieving some other purpose. The examples of a primary group but not limited to be your
family and childhood and close friends.
The concept of the primary group was introduced by Charles Cooley in his book, Social
Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind. (Contreras, Antonio P. et al. “Social Groups”.
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. 2016)
Sample Groups: Family, Play group, Village/Neighborhood, Work-team
2. Secondary Groups
Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties and little personal knowledge of one
another. In contrast to primary groups, secondary groups don’t have the goal of maintaining and
developing the relationships themselves. These groups are based on usual or habitual interests or
affairs. It includes groups in which one exchanges explicit commodities, such as labor for wages,
services for payments, and such.
Sample Groups: Nation, Church Hierarchy, Professional Association, Corporation,
University classes, Athletic teams, and groups of coworkers.

3. In-group
Belonging to the same group as others who share the same common bond and interests
who are more likely to understand each other refers to an in- group. Sample Groups: Sports
team, Unions and Sororities

4. Out-group

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 Those who do not belong to the in-group are part of the out-group, which exist in the
perceptions of the in group members and takes on social reality as a result of behavior by in-
group members who use the out group as a negative point of reference.

5. Reference Groups
A reference group is a collection of people that we use as a standard of comparison for
ourselves regardless of whether we are part of that group. We rely on reference groups to
understand social norms, which then shape our values, ideas, behavior, and appearance. This
means that we also use them to evaluate the relative worth, desirability, or appropriateness of
these things.

By looking to reference groups--be they those of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion,
region, ethnicity, age, or localized groups defined by neighborhood or school, among others-- we
see norms and dominant values, and we choose to either embrace and reproduce them in our own
thoughts, behavior, and interactions with others; or, we reject and refute them by thinking and
acting in ways that break from them. Sample of these groups are parents, siblings, teachers,
peers, associates and friends.

6. Network
A network is a collection of people tied together by a specific pattern of connections.
They can be characterized by the number of people involved, as in the dyad (by twos) and triad
(by threes), but also in terms of their structures (who is connected to whom) and functions (what
flows across ties). Networks indeed, are able to do more things and different things than
individuals acting on their own could. Networks have this effect, regardless of the content of the
connections or persons involved.

Nowadays, the giving of information and establishing of connections and various

relationships can be done through social networking sites. In this manner, it is easier to form
connections, relationships and linkages. Example: Family Members, Friends, Work Colleagues,
Classmates
There is another strong example of a network that has boomed since the beginning of the
21st century. Since 1979, electronic forms of social networking have boomed, starting with
CompuServe and MySpace, and moving to other networking applications such as Facebook,
Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram.