Nature of Socialization Part -1

Introduction
What is Socialisation?
Socialisation: Norms and Values
Conscious and Unconscious Socialisation

Introduction

We will talk about a variety of socialization-related topics in this blog. It starts off by talking about the idea and process of socialization as well as its purposes. A discussion of various forms of socialization is one of the crucial components of this post. The nature of socialization is thus thoroughly explored in this post.

What is Socialisation?

Human infants are born as biological beings with only animal needs and impulses. All societies are concerned with the question of "How are the raw products or the human infants born into the society to be transformed into workable human objects or trained to become members of their societies?". The child has an innate capacity for learning and communication, so it learns to control bowel movements and regulate hunger as it grows.

It gradually picks up the behaviors and emotions that the group has established. The term "socialization" refers to the method of learning to live in a society or the process through which one learns to internalize the values and norms into oneself. To internalize something is to take it into one's mind and integrate it into one's behavior, for example. g. , politeness. The acquisition of social values and roles by its members is, therefore, the essence of socialization. In other words. the majority of human behavior is learned. It is not a spontaneous occurrence.

Social scientists have referred to the child's capacity for learning and internalization as the plasticity of human nature. Through socialization, this capacity for learning is realized, and through the training they receive in the family, human infants grow into suitable members of human societies. This growth is primarily a learning process. As a result, we want to emphasize how socialization—the process of learning social norms, values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior patterns—determines and shapes what are known as seemingly inborn attitudes.

Shared Meanings and Values

The socialization of children entails teaching them to appreciate the shared meanings and values of the culture as a whole or to use these as models for their own behavior. As the young child matures, he or she learns how to use role-playing to internalize what to expect from others and how to fulfill those expectations for children. Only through the process of socialization does a child learn to recognize and react to the shared meanings and expectations from others.

Birth marks the beginning of the socialization process. Because social learning is ongoing, it is a continuous process. A child internalizes or learns the majority of the values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, and behavioral patterns of its family during the most critical period of socialization, which is childhood. The child can be seen as the one who socializes, and the parents can be seen as the one who socializes. "In the early years of childhood, parents are typically the most powerful socializing force at work on the individual. They influence the child's learning both consciously and unconsciously by pushing him in particular directions. (G. White, 1977 "1) It is viewed by sociologists as a continuous and dynamic process that continues throughout life and necessitates re-socialization (discussed in 8–6) at various stages of one's life.

Thus, socialization prepares a child to join a society by passing along its norms, values, and beliefs. Additionally, it changes the biological entity into a self with a sense of identity, able to control and direct behavior imbued with ideals, values, and aspirations. However, while socialization controls behavior, it also fosters individuality and self-awareness (Broom and Selznick, 1955: 43).

Education and Socialisation

Some societies, particularly tribal societies, educate and socialize their young without the use of extensive formal educational institutions. However, education is a universal process of learning that happens everywhere, whether a person lives in a city, village, jungle, or desert. However, just as not all education is socialization, the universality of learning does not imply that all learning is socialization.

In addition, not all learning is socialization because some learning may not be essential or relevant for participation in specific social roles. One could use the example of learning to smoke a cigar, cigarette, etc. which may not be relevant to the expectations placed on members of a given social group participating in the designated social roles. However, all societies go through a similar process for how people learn these values and norms (also known as culture). They could vary between societies and within particular societies depending on a number of different factors.

In the first place, a child belongs to a family. However, he or she is also a part of a larger kin-group (Blradri, Khandan, etc.). ) made up of the parents' siblings, brothers, and other blood relatives. A nuclear family or an extended family may be the family into which he or she is born (for more information on the differences, see Unit 5 of this course). Additionally, it belongs to a larger society. Each member of these organizations and groups is required to adhere to a set of morals and behaviors. Because of this, we belong to several groups at once. For instance, we consumed a biradri, a khandan, a kunba, a member of the family, a society from a school or college, or all of the aforementioned items simultaneously. There are roles that are played in accordance with these memberships, such as. g. such as a son, daughter, grandchild, or student. These roles are played concurrently. Learning the customs, attitudes, values, and behavioral patterns of these communities is a lifelong process that starts early in life.

Socialisation: Norms and Values

Depending on whether a person lives in a village or a city, belongs to a tribe, or is a boy or girl, the norms and values within a society may vary in different families belonging to different castes, regions, social classes, or religious groups. These social organizations can be seen as socialization organizations. Their function demonstrates that, in accordance with some of the aforementioned affiliations, differences in norms and values exist. According to social class, for instance, the emphasis placed on cleanliness may change. Additionally, one's native language is determined by the region they are from. A child picks up a language after birth rather than being born fluent in it. Again, depending on the religious groups they follow, some people may not eat any meat at all or may limit their meat consumption to beef or pork.

As a result, different adult types can develop from the same human infant. The adult personality developed in one society will be different from the adult personality developed in another society; he or she may be unfit for participation in many others. For instance, in a family where all of these are acceptable, a person who does not consume meat, tobacco, or alcohol may appear odd. There are differing opinions on whether socialization is a one-way process in which the child merely receives from the parents passively without being actively involved. However, in this unit, we believe that it is a mutually interactive, two-way process. It's true that a young child never acts as a passive receiver; rather, they are just as active as an adult.

The goal of the socialization process, as we have emphasized thus far, is to teach the child to conform to societal norms, values, beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral patterns. Various levels of expectation are meant when we talk about societal expectations in this context. The family is a person's first exposure to society when they are born, but as they mature in modern, contemporary societies, their experiences grow. Several organizations accept it as a member. The second organization that kids join is their school. They will eventually join the same religious organizations as their parents. Along with being members of their families' social classes, they will be as well. They will also join the occupational groups. Helping the child internalize these standards and become a contributing member of society is the specific goal of socialization.

Through the methods mentioned above, a child is assimilated into society. Socialization is therefore the process of enforcing social control to improve group dynamics as well as to promote personal growth. It instructs or trains the person to adhere to the standards set forth by the social group or groups. Thus, adhering to group norms and behaviors is essential to the socialization process, which is how society exerts social control over its members individually.

Transmission of Knowledge

Emile Durkheim postulated that as people become more socially integrated, their mental categories change. Knowledge is passed down through socialization to succeeding generations. Respect for the norms, guidelines, and values set forth by the society is necessary for social cohesion. the feelings of solidarity are strengthened when groups come together. g. celebrations like weddings, religious holidays, and funerals. These events serve to demonstrate the kih group and family's unity. However, Republic Day and Independence Day are times to show the unity of the country. Socialization practices refer to the social customs, rituals, social occasions, and social ceremonies that bind members of a group together. These practices help members of human social groups spread knowledge about norms, values, and behavioral patterns. Through socialization, the individual contributes to preserving the social order. As a result, socialization creates social control by teaching a person what to think and what not to think, as well as what to do and what not to do. Aside from feeling a sense of community in this situation, the individual is also afraid of rejection, punishment, etc. which the society administers for various acts of deviation from the proper course of conduct.

Conformity

Although socialization results in some degree of conformity to social norms behavior in every society, some people may still not conform. In other words, socialization might not be able to enforce total conformity among all societal members. Conflict may be sparked by numerous factors. The objectives and roles of the socializing agents and those of the socialized individual may clash. We have already stated that a person is socialized by a variety of institutions, including their family, their school, their playmates, their peer group, their workplace, and in today's society, even by the written word (i.e. e. books, magazines), and by the mainstream media (television, radio, and movies). The individual's conformity to the values of a group or groups will be lessened if they emphasize different values. Students might be encouraged, for instance, to engage with the media. But if fundamentalism and extreme conservatism are promoted by the media, it's likely that fewer students will adhere to liberal values. Deviates from the group norms are the cases of non-conformity (see units 30 on Social Control and unit 3 1 on Social Deviance). Children from low-income families will have values that are different from those of the school. Deviants and, in some cases, juvenile delinquents are terms used to describe these kids.

Conscious and Unconscious Socialisation

A large portion of a child's socialization within a family and at school is conscious. In other words, parents purposefully instill in their children certain values and behavioral patterns that they find desirable. They accomplish this by repeatedly teaching the child the difference between right and wrong behavior, as well as between good and bad behavior. Additionally, they reinforce the child's behavior if it meets these expectations and discipline it when it doesn't. A system of rewards and penalties therefore serves to reinforce the socialization process. For instance, most families place a strong emphasis on cleanliness, obedience, punctuality, manliness, and womanliness from a young age. Given that the socializing agents (parents) are aware of the objectives of the socialization process, this can be considered conscious socialization. However, learning through observation makes up a significant portion of the unconscious socialization process.

In contrast, socialization within the family is both conscious and unconscious. The same is true of educational institutions where mission statements and goals are made clear and are intended to be ingrained in students through text books. For instance, the school's stated purpose is to instruct and support students in achieving academic success. The kids mix or interact with other kids outside the classroom at the same time. Peer groups are compact gatherings they create as they make friends. These are significant influences on children. They also join neighborhood peer groups where they have a select group of close friends with whom they play almost every day. Children occasionally learn social norms and behavioral patterns that conflict with those of their family or their place of education. There will be conflict, for instance, if kids start smoking because their friends do it but their families don't like it. If no one in the family has an intellectual bent, kids might start showing a serious interest in their schoolwork. On the other hand, family members and their friends might share a common interest in studies. Children who learn and the children from whom they learn are not aware of or do not anticipate the effects of their association and interaction in this process of unconscious socialization.

Explicit and Implicit Directions

We have distinguished between explicit and implicit prohibitions against particular behavior patterns, as well as between conscious and unconscious socialization processes. The goals of the process within the family are not deliberate or explicit. Families don't claim to be teaching their kids to be sincere or diligent workers, or to instill fearlessness in boys. the passiveness of girls. The other hand, The educational system's cognitive objectives are well known. The students must read proficiently. succeed in their test, etc. In light of this, there are differences between the two processes that occur within families and those that take place in schools and other formal institutions. We can therefore draw a distinction between the two processes and say that the goals of socialization within secondary groups like schools are deliberate, more explicit, and conscious in comparison to that of the family. Nevertheless, both processes happen at once.

Behaviour Patterns

Unconscious socialization is the process by which people pick up various values and behavior patterns from their friends and peers. In reality, it can be challenging to distinguish between a socializing agent and a socialisee. e. both the socialisee and the peer group. One such instance might be avoiding the school. When a child associates with other kids who frequently skip school and play truant, they may become friends, and the child may pick up these habits from them. On the other hand, a different child who did not at first value punctuality in the classroom may come to value it as a result of making friends with kids who value punctuality a lot. These are illustrations of unintentional socialization. The mass media, including movies, television, comic books, and novels, play a significant role in the unconscious learning that occurs in modern societies (i. e. the print media). College-bound youth's unconscious socialization is well illustrated by their imitation of the heroes in Indian cinema.