, AGENTS OF~ SOCIALIZATION

The views of Locke, Cooley, and Mead are theo-retical explanations of the socialization process.We still need to consider some specific forces andsituations that shape socialization experiences. Insociological terms, the specific individuals, groups,and institutions that provide the situations inwhich socialization can occur are called agentsof socialization. In the United States, the pri-mary agents of socialization include the family,peer groups, the school, and the mass media.

The fainlly

The family is the most important agent of social-ization in almost every society. The importance ofthe family rests primarily in its role as the principalsocializer of young children. It is within the familythat most children first learn how to behave insocially acceptable ways, to develop close emo-tional ties, and to internalize the values and normsof society.

Experiences within the family help determinethe type of person an individual becomes. Thecases of Anna, Isabelle, and Genie discussed inthe first section of this chapter provide extremeexamples of the negative consequences sometimesbrought by harsh family environments. But evenin stable families, variations in family composition,beliefs, behaviors, and circumstances produce asociety of individuals who share in the patterns ofthe larger culture but who retain unique person-alities and behavioral traits.

Socialization in a family setting can be bothdeliberate and unconscious. A father may teachhis children about the importance of telling thetruth or being considerate to others. A mothermay instruct her children in how to spend andsave money. These are deliberate, or intended,socialization activities.

There also are unconscious, or unintended, so-cialization activities. Many times these activitieshave an even greater effect on children than dodeliberate attempts at socialization. Suppose, forexample, a father carefully explains to his child

112 Unit 2 The Individual in Society

about the importance of being polite. Then a sit-uation occurs in which the father is impolite him-self. Is the child likely to follow what the fathersays or what he actually does? Unintended social-ization is very common. For, every instance inwhich parents deliberately try to influence a childin one direction, there are numerous instances inwhich they send out unintended messages thatpush the child in another direction.

The Peer Group

The family provides many, if not most, of thesocialization experiences of early childhood. In-fants and very young children are particularlylikely to spend almost all of their time in a familysetting. As children grow older, however, theyincreasingly are influenced by forces outside ofthe family. In particular, they begin to relate moreand more to their peer groups. A peer group isa primary group composed of individuals ofroughly equal age and social characteristics.

To have friends and be accepted in society, it isimportant for us to be accepted by our peers. Towin their acceptance, we behave according to theirstandards. Our personality thus is shaped by ourpeer group as we try to be the kind of person wethink the group wants us to be.

Peer group socialization is somewhat unique.Socialization in the family and in the school tendsto be more structured. The emphasis is on ac-quiring the skills that will enable an individual tofit into the larger society. In the case of peergroups, on the other hand, the focus is on groupinterests and acquiring the skills needed to fit intoa subculture. Socialization also tends to be muchmore unstructured in a peer group setting.

Because the focus within peer groups is on thesubculture, group goals sometimes are at oddswith the goals of the larger society. Parents inparticular become alarmed if they believe that thenorms and values of the group are becoming moreimportant to their children than family norms andvalues.

The School

For most young people, the school occupies largeamounts of time and attention-anywhere from13 to 20 or more years. Thus the school plays a

As children grow into teenagers, the peeroup takes on added importance.

major role in socializing individuals. Much of thissocialization process is deliberate. Class activitiesare planned for the deliberate purpose of teachingreading, writing, arithmetic, and other skills. Ex-tracurricular activities, such as school dances,dubs, and athletic events, are intended to trainthe student for life in the larger society. Schools

o attempt to transmit cultural values, such asparriotism, responsibility, and good citizenship.

A large amount of unintentional socializationo occurs within the school. Teachers may be-

orne models for students in such unintendedareas as manners of speech or styles of dress. In

dition, every school contains many peer groupsthat influence the habits of their members.

e Mass Media

ile the family, the peer group, and the schoolrobably are the most important agents of social-

izarion, there are other agents as well. One of themost influential of these is the mass media. The

s media includes newspapers, magazines,::»ooks, television, radio, films, and other forms ofcommunication that reach large audiences with nopersonal contact between the individuals sending- e information and those receiving it.

Of the various forms of mass media, televisionprobably has the most influence on the socializa-'on of children. There is at least one televisionset in 98 percent of the homes in the United- tares, More importantly, research shows that tel-

evision sets are turned on in American homes foran average of seven hours a day.

The effects of television on children is a topicof ongoing debate. On the negative side, researchhas indicated that most children spend more timewatching television than they spend in school. Byage 18, these children will have witnessed count-less fictional acts of murder, rape, robbery, andother forms of crime and violence. This is alarm-ing in view of the fact that many studies havefound a relationship between violence on televi-sion and aggression among viewers, particularlychildren.

Another long-standing criticism of television isthat it presents an image of society that reflectswhite middle-class values. The life experiences ofmany racial, religious, and economic groups oftenare either ignored or portrayed in a negative light.

On the positive side, television expands ourworld. It can be a powerful educational tool. Forexample, television brings far-off places into ourhomes, makes world events immediate, and intro-duces us to subjects we might never experienceon our own.

Other Agents

Religion is another important agent of socializa-tion, particularly in the area of values transmis-sion. Fully 65 percent of the population of the

In all of its varied forms, religion is an influen-tial agent of socialization.

Chapter 5 Socializing the Individual 113

The Function of Fairy TalesParents and teachers have many tools at theirdisposal to assist in the socialization of youngchildren. One of the most effective tools is litera-ture. Of the various forms of literature written forchildren, the fairy tale has enjoyed the longestrun of popularity. What is it about fairy tales thatmakes them such an enduring agent of socializa-tion? Chil<!lpsychologist Bruno Bettelheim has ex-plored this question in his book The Uses of En-chantment: The Meaning and Importance of FairyTales.

According to Bettelheim, the value and appealof fairy tales rests in the fact that they help chil-dren master the problems of growing up. Fairytales do this by stimulating children's imaginationand by allowing them to deal subconsciouslywith their feats.

In modern society, we stress the optimistic sideof life. Humans are portrayed as being basicallygood. A successful life is seen as one that is easyand free from worry. These views of the worldcan be confusing for children. Children know thatthey are not always good and that fife is not al-ways easy. The message of fairy tales is that eviland virtue, good and bad exist in everything.Fairy tales also teach children that difficulties inlife are unavoidable and must be met head on.Children see the fairy tale hero face the imagesof good and evil and find a way for good totriumph through cleverness or bravery.

The socialization lessons contained in fairytales are indirect. however. According to Bettel-heim, children do not identify with the "good"or "bad" act. Rather, they identify with the hero,who happens to be good. The hero serves as arole model for the young child. Children do notask "00 I want to be good?" Instead they ask"Who do I want to be like?" This distinction isimportant because it enables children to acceptsocially sanctioned behavior before they are oldenough to grasp the moral issues involved.

114 Unit 2 The Individual in Society

The structure of the fairy tale is ideally suitedto the way young children think. Children cannotunderstand the complexities of the adult world.They see things in black and white rather than inshades of gray. Situations and people are right orwrong, good or bad. Fairy tales mimic this simpli-fied view of the world. Fundamental issues arepresented in an either/or format that children caneasily grasp. The witch is bad and ugly, the prin-cess is kind and beautiful, and the prince isstrong and brave. Good always triumphs overevil.

More important than the structure of fairytales is the subject matter. Love, fear, death, isola-tion, and abandonment are prominent themes.Rather than being frightening, these themes al-low young children to deal with fears that theymight not be able to express in words.

Fairy tales have the added advantage of tak-ing on new meanings as a child grows. In thecase of Cinderella, for example, very young chil-dren can understand the message of good Cin-derella winning out over her bad stepsisters.Older children also might grasp the notion of sib-ling rivalry contained in the story. Similarly, youngchildren can see in Rapunzel the story of a younggirl escaping her evil,jealous rnothetOlder chil-dren also might recognize the conflict that iscommon between adolescents and parents asteenagers attempt to gain independence fromtheir parents.

In short, the important function of fairy talesrests not in telling a literal story or providing slrn-:pie moral truths. Instead, it rests in allowing chil-dren to grasp the contradictions that exist in hu-man nature and social life. Fairy tales do this in away that is particularly suited to the develop-mental skills of growing children. By capturingchildren's imaginations and allowing them to ex-plore their unspoken fears, fairy tales help tomold social behavior.

United States claims membership in an organizedchurch or synagogue. Other agents of socializationinclude organizations such as the Little League,Camp Fire Boys and Girls, and 4-H clubs. Inaddition, for those who are employed, jobs addanother assist in the socialization process.

One rather unique agent of socialization is theoral institution. A total institution is a setting

in which people are isolated from the rest of so-ciety for a set period of time and are subject tome control of officials of varied ranks. Prisons,military boot camp, monasteries, and psychiatrichospitals are examples of total institutions.

Socialization in a total institution differs frome process found in many other settings. Total

institutions primarily are concerned with resocial-izing their members. Resocialization involvesa break with past experiences and the learning ofew values and norms. In the case of most total

" stitutions, resocialization is directed toward for-ibly changing an individual's personality and so-

cial behavior. This is accomplished by means such

as altering the individual's style of dress, hairstyle,speech, and freedom of movement. Once the in-dividual's sense of self has been shaken, it is easierfor those in power to convince the individual toconform to new patterns of behavior.

SECTION 3 REVIEW

DEFINE agents of socialization, resocializa-tion

1. SummllrizinK IdellS List and describethe main agents of socialization inAmerican society.

2. ContrllStinK IdellS In what ways are to-tal institutions different from otheragents of socialization?

havior patterns of society is called socialization.Several theories have been proposed to explainhow individuals develop into functioning mem-bers of society. Three such theories are those ofJohn Locke, Charles Horton Cooley, and GeorgeHerbert Mead. Locke viewed the newborn infantas a' tabula rasa-a blank slate-on which socialexperiences could write any history. Cooley la-beled the interactive process by which we developan identity the looking-glass self. At the basis ofthe looking-glass self is the idea that we developa self-image based on how we imagine we appearto others. Mead added the notion of role-taking-taking or pretending to take the role of theother-to the theories of socialization.

The individuals, groups, and institutions thatprovide the situations in which socialization canoccur are called agents of socialization. The pri-mary agents of socialization include the family,peer groups, the school, and the mass media.

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY '-

Personality is the set of behaviors, attitudes, be-iefs, and values that are characteristic of an indi-

vidual. Until relatively recently, the origin of per-sonality was a hotly debated topic. The debate wasresented in terms of nature versus nurture. Theture supporters claimed that human behavior is

" tinctual In origin. The nurture supporters, one other hand, attributed personality develop-

ment to the environment and social learning. Onlysociobiologists still place strong emphasis on the

netic basis of personality and human behavior.oday, most social scientists view personality ase result of a combination of factors such as birthder, parental characteristics; the cultural envi-nment, and heredity. The harmful effects thatlation produces in children illustrates how irn-rtant environmental factors are in social andchological development.

The interactive process through which individ-learn the basic skills, values, beliefs, and be-

Chapter 5 Socializing the Individual 115