The essence of socialization
Socialization is the most important type of social interaction, as a result of which the individual is formed as a full-fledged and full-fledged member of society.
The term “socialization” was introduced into law. XIX century sociologist F. Giddings and psychologist G. Tarde, with this concept they designated the process of personality formation and the development of human social nature under the influence of the social environment.
Note 1
Socialization in a broad sense is the determination of the origin and development of the generic nature of man, i.e. phylogenesis is the historical process of human development.
Socialization in the narrow sense is the process of mastering cultural norms and social roles that occurs throughout a person’s life. This is the process of introducing a person into society, assimilating the values and norms of this society, mastering the skills of social behavior.
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On the one hand, in the process of socialization the natural inclinations inherent in a person are realized, and on the other hand, with the participation of society, these inclinations are transformed through education, upbringing, and the introduction of the individual to culture into socially significant personality traits.
The formation of personality in the process of socialization occurs under the influence of institutions and agents of socialization. In the process of this interaction, social mechanisms of imitation and identification, individual and social control are triggered. They are influenced by national, social, moral, professional, and racial differences between people.
Agents of socialization are people who teach cultural norms and contribute to the acquisition of social roles (parents, relatives, educators, peers, teachers, leaders of youth groups, etc.). Socialization institutions are institutions that direct the socialization process and influence it (school, universities, state, enterprises, army, parties, church, courts, television, etc.).
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Course work The essence and signs of socialization 430 ₽ Essay The essence and signs of socialization 240 ₽ Examination The essence and signs of socialization 250 ₽
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The role of social institutions in the process of socialization:
- ensuring a person’s harmonious entry into the social environment;
- mastering social roles;
- developing your own values and orientations.
Socialization can be viewed as the internalization of social norms. These norms become mandatory for a person because he sets them for himself, they become part of his own individuality. Thanks to this, a person feels an internal need to adapt to the social environment.
In the course of socialization, interaction between people takes place on the basis of mastering social roles. Thanks to the assimilation of established norms, values and behavior patterns by new members of society, society is preserved.
Forms of socialization
There are two forms of socialization – directed and undirected.
Directed (spontaneous) – is the spontaneous formation of social qualities as a result of a person’s presence in the immediate social environment (in the family, between colleagues, peers).
Directed socialization represents a system of methods of influence, specially developed by society, its institutions, organizations, with the goal of forming a personality in accordance with the prevailing values, interests, ideals, and goals in a given society.
Education is one of the ways of directed socialization. It is a consciously systematic, organized, purposeful process of influencing a developing personality, her behavior and consciousness, with the aim of developing specific concepts, principles, value orientations and social attitudes and preparing her for active social, cultural and industrial activities.
Both forms (directed, undirected) in certain circumstances can be consistent with each other or, conversely, come into conflict. The contradictions that arise often lead to conflict situations that complicate and impede the process of socialization of the individual.
The spontaneous form of socialization (undirected) is determined by the microsocial environment (close relatives, peers) and often contains many outdated and outdated rules, stereotypes, patterns, patterns of behavior. Along with a positive influence on the individual, it can also have a negative impact on the individual, pushing him towards negative ones that deviate from the norms established by society, which can lead to such a phenomenon as social pathology.
Undirected socialization without the inclusion of directed means can be detrimental to the formation of a person, the social group of this individual and society as a whole. Therefore, it is very important to supplement it and transform it into targeted corrective influences of targeted socialization.
But directed socialization does not always lead to a positive educational result, which is especially evident when it is used for inhumane purposes, such as, for example, the activities of various destructive religious sects, the inculcation of fascist ideology, and the propaganda of racist sentiments. Therefore, a directed form of socialization can lead to a positive formation of personality only if it is carried out in accordance with moral rules, moral criteria, freedom of conscience, responsibility and the principles of a democratic society.
Stages of socialization
The process of socialization begins in the first year of life.
In the process of socialization, the following types of socialization are distinguished:
- Primary, or early socialization, covering the period of childhood (from birth to the formation of a mature personality). It is characterized by the acquisition of general cultural knowledge, the assimilation of initial ideas about the nature of relationships between people and the world as a whole. A special stage of primary socialization is adolescence, during which the child’s abilities and capabilities significantly exceed the prescribed framework of behavior and rules.
- Secondary socialization, or resocialization, includes a period of adjustment to new social conditions of an already mature personality. Includes professional socialization associated with the acquisition of special knowledge, familiarization with a specific subculture, expansion of the range of social roles and social contacts of the individual. Retirement age or loss of working capacity is characterized by changes in lifestyle due to exclusion from the production environment.
Note 2
For a long time it was believed that an individual undergoes only primary socialization, in early and teenage years. However, secondary socialization is inevitable, which is due to the following circumstances.
Changes in the social structure of society that promote orientation towards a certain achieved status of the individual. A professionally successful person, moving up the career ladder, moves to a new social level. This requires mastering new knowledge and skills, i.e. certain changes occur in the personality structure.
The development of society under extreme conditions, during periods of sharp political and socio-economic upheavals, the social structure changes radically. Secondary socialization becomes not just a way to master a new profession. This is the assimilation of a new ideology, the transition to a new social level, the adoption of new political guidelines, the rules of the economic game.
Socialization processes concern the entire lifestyle of a person. Throughout life, the types of socialization activities change: play, studying at school, studying in higher educational institutions, the army, choosing a life path, social work, work activity, transferring experience to young people, etc. The possibilities for choosing behavior expand with age.
Stages of personality socialization
It has been noted that one of the main goals of socialization is to overcome one’s egocentrism. Entering any social group requires an understanding that “you are not alone.” This is considered one of the signs of growing up. It is known that a child up to a certain age perceives himself as the center of the universe, and this is his natural state. Subsequently, we observe what is called youthful maximalism: the teenager continues to consider himself “the very best,” the one and only, but is faced with an abundance of the same “one and only” around him. This leads to conflicts, often serious ones.
Individuals who have not undergone socialization for some reason retain for a long time the characteristics characteristic of children or “newcomers.” Those around them perceive them as infantile and narrow-minded people, but in reality everything is more complicated. If in adulthood the passion inherent in adolescents for learning new things, active communication, and mastering new skills and abilities remains, then this can only be welcomed. At the same time, egocentrism and difficult experiences of one’s failures are clearly undesirable signs for a mature personality.
An example of insufficient socialization in adulthood is belief in “alternative histories” - the writings of Nosovsky and Fomenko, Chudinov and other pseudoscientific freaks. The point here is not only about political, “patriotic” and selfish motives. It’s just that a child, just starting to explore the world and discovering something new, strives to share his discovery with others; parents and other older members of society, to play along with him, share his joy.
During his school years, a teenager is faced with the impossibility of being a pioneer in the modern world: everything he learns about has already been discovered by someone, and his “discovery” is no longer of great value to others. A mentally healthy person gradually gets used to this situation and finds unexplored areas where he can show his skills and give something new to society. And a mentally disabled person experiences rejection from this situation; Instead of searching for unexplored areas, he is eager to “rediscover” what has already been discovered, to create a sensation and receive the laurels of a discoverer, which, as he is sure, simply must belong to him.
The biography of Anatoly Fomenko, the author of the famous pseudoscientific “New Chronology,” very clearly presents us with just such a person - an unsocialized intellectual who, for the sake of the honor of being a discoverer, is ready to commit any lie and achieve his goal by any means. For a long time he eked out the life of a “lesser” mathematician, compiled standard textbooks on geometry for students and was content with a modest salary. In the end, he got tired of it, he realized that the modest and routine work of teaching did not bring happiness, and decided to do something loud and sensational. In his native field, geometry, it is very difficult to become a discoverer, but history is a different matter. Written in collaboration with the equally unsocialized intellectual Gleb Nosovsky, “New Chronology” instantly became a bestseller; Many uneducated readers of this work seriously call Fomenko a “prophet.”
It was said above that school becomes an important environment for primary socialization. Indeed, the task of school is not only to provide some knowledge on various subjects, but also to teach how to live in society
In many countries, special techniques are used for this purpose. For example, in the United States, schools do not have stable classrooms; When a student enrolls in school, he chooses which subjects he will study, and at each lesson he finds himself in a new classroom, in a completely new team. Such socialization is very useful, especially in the USA, because a significant part of the population of this country lives in very small settlements where “everyone knows each other,” but excessive attachment to “one’s own corner” can create problems in the future when it is necessary to change place of residence (in connections with study, work, etc.).
Most Russians live in cities and towns with significantly larger populations, so they do not feel an urgent need for this type of school in our country. At the same time, another type of socialization is required - the ability to work in a stable team, which a Russian-style school can handle quite well.
Socialization and education
Education, in contrast to socialization, which takes place in conditions of spontaneous interaction between the individual and the environment, is considered as a consciously controlled process, for example, religious, family or school education.
Socialization of personality is a process in pedagogy that is studied inseparably from the process of education. The main task of education is the formation of a humanistic orientation in a growing individual, which means that in the motivational sphere of the individual, social motives and incentives for socially useful activities prevail over personal motives. In everything an individual thinks about, whatever he does, the motives for his actions must include an idea of another individual, of society.
Social groups have a great influence on the process of individual socialization. Their influence is different at different stages of human ontogenesis. In early childhood, significant influence comes from the family, in adolescence - from peers, in adulthood - from the work team. The degree of influence of each group depends on cohesion as well as organization.
Education, in contrast to general socialization, is a purposeful process of influencing the individual, which means that with the help of education it is possible to regulate the impact of society on the individual and create favorable conditions for the socialization of the individual.
Socialization of the individual is also an important topic in pedagogy, since socialization is inseparable from education. Education is understood as a social phenomenon that influences the individual through the tools of society. From this emerges a connection between upbringing and the social and political structure of society, which acts as the “customer” for the reproduction of a specific type of personality. Education is a specially organized activity in the implementation of the intended goals of education, in the pedagogical process, where the subjects (teacher and student) express active actions in achieving pedagogical goals.
Famous psychologist S
Rubinstein argued that an important goal of education is the formation of a person’s personal moral position, and not the external adaptation of the individual to social rules. Education must be considered as an organized process of social internalization of value orientations, that is, their transfer from the external to the internal plane
The success of internalization is carried out with the participation of the emotional and intellectual spheres of the individual. This means that when organizing the educational process, the teacher needs to stimulate in his students their understanding of their behavior, external requirements, sensual living of their moral and civic position. Then education, as a process of internalization of value orientations, will be carried out in two ways:
- through the communication and interpretation of useful goals, moral rules, ideals and norms of behavior. This will save the student from a spontaneous search, in which it is possible to encounter errors. This method is based on the content-semantic processing of the motivational sphere and conscious volitional work in rethinking one’s own attitude to the real world;
- through the creation of certain psychological and pedagogical conditions that would actualize interests and natural situational impulses, thereby stimulating useful social activities.
Both ways are effective only with their systematic application, integration and complementarity.
The success of the education and socialization of young people is feasible provided that positive factors embedded in social relations, lifestyle, and the neutralization of factors that interfere with the implementation of the tasks of training, education and socialization are used.
The transformation of the education and upbringing system can only be successful when it really becomes a matter of society. It is worth reorienting social life, the cultural environment, and the system of education and upbringing towards the younger generation.
