Socialisation

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The Socialisation Process

Socialisation refers to the process of learning the culture of any society. Family is the first agent of socialisation - passing culture down the generations.

Socialisation

Socialisation refers to the process of learning the culture of any society.
The formation of identities is an important aspect of this process because it gives people a sense of who they are.
Socialisation is carried out by agencies of primary and secondary socialisation which integrate people into society.

Socialisation and re-socialisation

Factors such as a common language and the learning of norms, values and social roles enable people to communicate with each other and behave in ways that society deems acceptable; this process is known a socialisation.

Re-socialisation

Re-socialisation refers to the process of learning or re-learning appropriate new norms and values in order to help people to operate when they encounter new environments.
People will need to re-socialise if they go and live in another country.

Examples of re-socialisation

If someone from the UK goes to live in Spain, they will most likely learn Spanish and become familiar with the customs, values, and norms appropriate to living in Spain.
Alternatively, if someone goes to prison, they will need to learn about the behaviour that is expected within this new environment.

Nature versus nurture

Nature refers to the elements of the individual that are present at birth, that is, something related to our biology.
Nurture (including socialisation) are those things that people learn as being part of society or of acting on the world; this can include appropriate ways of behaving or understanding or specific roles related to, for example, gender.

Importance of nurture

When people haven’t been given the opportunity to be part of the socialisation process (e.g. feral children) their ability to communicate and respond appropriately is affected.

Primary Socialisation

Primary socialisation refers to the socialisation that takes place in early childhood.

Primary socialisation

Primary socialisation refers to the socialisation that takes place in early childhood.
The family is the main source of primary socialisation but also occurs through pre-school settings and from carers, as well as others in the close community.

Childhood

It is through primary socialisation that children acquire a sense of who they are, that is, their individual identities, as well as elements of their primary social identity (e.g. gender and sexuality).

Functionalists

Functionalists (e.g. Parsons) see this period of socialisation as important for turning newly born children into social beings.
This is achieved by imitating the behaviour of parents and older siblings, learning language, rules, and appropriate behaviour.

Marxists

Marxists see the values children learn in the family as a reflection of the ruling-class ideology, instrumental in turning them into passive conformists who accept the inequalities of society.

Feminists

Feminists view many families as patriarchal institutions, reproducing inequalities between men and women, for example, through the learning of different gender roles.