Socialization
Summary of the chapter
In chapter 5 titled “Socialization,” the main focus is on the norms and beliefs that the society at large has adopted which affects family experiences on a daily basis. Socialization process requires that people be taught on ways in which they can become proficient society members. It is the only way in which people can accept and conform to societal values and beliefs thus ending up becoming proficient in the community. A perfect example of the process of socialization is the case of a child who has to be taught various physical tasks such as standing and walking. However, as the child grows older, he or she comes to learn more about the societal expectations and culture by socializing with various people. It shows the value that social interaction has in providing humans with important skills and knowledge that they need to become useful members of a particular society. Through various self development theories, it is easy to understand the reasons why socialization members.
Reflection and analysis
When I was growing up, I had to learn several things about my community by relating with the people around me who influenced the ways in which I behaved and beliefs that I have today. As an American, I learnt to be hard working because that is the only way in which a person can achieve the American Dream. Through social interaction with my parents, neighbors and friends from school, I learnt the various skills and information that I needed to become competitive through hard work. This is information that I could have not achieved in case I decided to isolate myself. A study which was conducted on monkeys showed that when people socialize, they adopt similar behaves. For instance, monkeys that are raised under mothering circumstances prefer to be in a company of people who are soft in nature to act as substitute to the experience that they had acquired over time in their life as they socialized with other monkeys. However, when the money was isolated with no proper social contact and mothering circumstances, the result showed that they had challenges later in their life. It is, therefore true that there is a possibility that without proper socialization, an individual cannot thrive or survive to meet the expectations of the society.
Psychologists and sociologists came up with various self development theories to explain in detail the role that the society plays in human life. The theory that I found most compelling is moral development and gender theory which was established by Carol Gilligan. It is because this theory tends to explain in details the reasons why different genders behave differently. I was intrigued to learn that the nurturing and caretaking nature of girls is because they have adopted the harmonious home environment where things run smoothly. It explains the reason the monkey in the case study experienced difficulty in its life when it did not have proper mother circumstances. At the same time, it shows the ways in which the society has a strong influence on the behavioral patterns that people adopt in their lives. However, taking for instance the cases of women who are raised in violent and unfriendly environments which are not welcoming, they tend to be rough towards everyone around them. It is because their environment nurtured them that way affecting the ways in which they relate with other people.
It is evident that the behavior patterns of people are influenced by the society. It is the reason I was further surprised by Gilligan’s explanation that the reason women pay more attention to their looks is because the society nurtured them that way. The society has placed much focus on the appearances of girls thus socializing them into believing that the manner in which they look is important. However, since no one pays much attention to men by not commenting regularly on their attractive nature or their good outfits, they therefore fail to put any emphasis on their looks. The main agents of socialization who are responsible of the ways in which girls and boys behaves or view themselves include family, peer groups, school, religion, and mass media. I have seen the ways in which peer groups can greatly influence people to conform to particular behaviors. For instance, the party mentally that most young adults have is because of the social groups which they develop either in schools or in their neighborhoods.
Though peer groups are good socialization processes for self development because they help youths or teenagers to develop a separate identity from that of their parents, it can harm or change their characters in equal measure. The statistics that I found most important is the ways in which schools as agents of socialization can help create positive social life for children. For instance, in a multicultural school, it is easy for students to learn more about other people’s culture and lifestyle through studying. A person like me learnt more about the American Dream in school which I realized is more of a national pride for majority of Americans. In conclusion, socialization is a process that is important for every human because it enables them to uphold their cultures and appreciate their society. Chapter 5 has demonstrated clearly that who we are as individuals and society is mainly affected y nurture which comprise of the social environment where we are raised and also our genetic makeup.