payment page
Socialization is a lifelong process, but the most influential lessons come from people, groups, and experiences that influence our behavior and self-image. These agents of socialization introduce us to the expectations of society and teach us how to interact with others, develop a sense of identity, and navigate social norms. Common agents of socialization for children include family, school, peer groups, and the mass media.
Family
The family is the agent of socialization with the most impact. From infancy through the teen years, most children rely almost solely on their parents or primary caregivers for basic necessities, nurturing, and guidance. The family determines a child’s race, language, religion, class, and political affiliation, all of which contribute heavily to the child’s self-concept.
School
Schools introduce children to new knowledge, order, bureaucracy, and students from family backgrounds different from their own. The school experience also often pressures children to conform to gender roles.
Peer Groups
A peer group is a social group in which members are usually the same age and have interests and social position in common. By becoming part of a peer group, children begin to break away from their parents’ authority and learn to make friends and make decisions on their own. Peer groups have a large impact on a child’s socialization. Pressure from peers to engage in behavior forbidden by parents, such as skipping school or drinking alcohol, can be difficult to resist.
Religion
Through participation in religious rituals, traditions, and teachings, individuals learn societal norms, moral frameworks, and concepts of right and wrong. Religious institutions also provide a sense of community and shared identity. Additionally, religion often reinforces broader societal structures, such as gender roles or authority.
Mass Media
The mass media are methods of communication that direct messages and entertainment at a wide audience. Newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the internet, and movies are all forms of mass media. Numerous sociological studies attest to the profound influence of mass media on children. Racial and sexual stereotypes, violent and sexually explicit images, and unrealistic or even unhealthy beauty standards that appear in the mass media shape the way children think about themselves and their world.
Conflicting Agents of Socialization
Different agents of socialization often teach children conflicting lessons. For example, in the family, children usually learn to respect their elders. Among their friends, however, children may learn that respecting adults makes them unpopular.
Hidden Curriculum in Schools
Beyond teaching academic subjects, schools play a subtle but significant role in shaping students’ social behavior and expectations through lessons that are not explicitly part of the school curriculum. The hidden curriculum refers to the implicit lessons, values, and social expectations that students learn in schools beyond what is learned in textbooks and the classroom. While schools are primarily viewed as institutions for academic learning, they also play a significant role in socializing children into the norms, behaviors, and roles deemed appropriate by society.
Unlike the formal curriculum, which includes subjects like math and science, the hidden curriculum is less obvious but equally influential. It includes aspects such as obedience to authority, time management, competition, social hierarchies, and cultural values. For example, a student might learn the importance of punctuality through the enforcement of school schedules or the value of conformity through standardized testing and uniform policies.
The hidden curriculum can serve both positive and negative functions. On the one hand, it helps integrate individuals into society by teaching cooperation, discipline, and respect for rules. On the other hand, it can perpetuate social inequalities. For instance, schools in affluent areas may implicitly teach students to aspire to leadership roles and innovation, while schools in underprivileged areas might emphasize obedience and rote learning.
Isolated Children
The importance of socialization becomes most apparent in cases where individuals are deprived of it. Children raised in isolation, cut off from all but the most necessary human contact, do not acquire basic social skills, such as language and the ability to interact with other humans. Two of the most famous cases are Anna and Isabelle, both of whom were isolated from other human beings but had enough of their physical needs met to survive.
The Case of Anna
Anna was born in Pennsylvania to an unwed mother. The mother’s father was so enraged at Anna’s illegitimacy that the mother kept Anna in a storage room and fed her barely enough to stay alive. She never left the storage room or had anything but minimal contact with another human for five years. When authorities found her in 1938, she was physically wasted and unable to smile or speak. After intensive therapy, Anna did make some progress. She eventually learned to use some words and feed herself.
The Case of Isabelle
Isabelle was discovered in Ohio in the 1930s at the age of six. She had lived her entire life in a dark attic with her deaf-mute mother, after her grandfather decided he couldn’t bear the embarrassment of having a daughter with an illegitimate child. He had banished both of them to the attic, where they lived in darkness and isolation. When Isabelle was discovered, she couldn’t speak. After about two years of intensive work with language specialists, Isabelle acquired a vocabulary of about 2,000 words and went on to have a relatively normal life.
Isolated Monkeys
In the 1960s, psychologists Henry and Margaret Harlow subjected rhesus monkeys to various conditions of social isolation. The behavior of rhesus monkeys is strikingly similar to the behavior of human beings in many ways. The Harlows found that monkeys placed in complete isolation for more than six months were unable to function normally once returned to the group. These monkeys were nervous and anxious. Their findings mirrored findings about isolated children such as Anna.
Institutionalized Children
Children raised in institutions such as orphanages often have difficulty establishing and maintaining close bonds with other people. Such children often have their physical needs met but little else. They are fed, diapered, and kept warm but are deprived of significant contact with nurturing adults. They are not played with, cuddled, or spoken to. Such children tend to score lower on intelligence tests than children who were not only raised but also nurtured, and their interactions with other people reflect the fact that their emotional needs were not met.
