SOCIALIZATION - what is it. Personality socialization

Socialization is a term from psychology that describes a set of actions and processes aimed at an individual’s assimilation of the necessary knowledge, skills, values and rules that contribute to his harmonious and conflict-free coexistence with society and successful functioning in society. This definition of the concept under consideration is not the only one in psychology, since authors holding different views interpreted the phenomenon from different points of view.

What is personality socialization?

The psychological dictionary edited by Karpenko says that socialization is, first of all, the acceptance and repetition by an individual of the experience of society, expressed in the assimilation of social roles . This process occurs during a person’s active activity and his communication with people around him, for example, in the workplace, in educational institutions, in the family circle. Socialization can occur spontaneously and uncontrollably when individuals do not explain the generally accepted rules of morality and behavior, and they themselves try to find models to follow, most often falling under bad influence.

Socialization

Another option for the socialization of an individual is in the process of education , which is a purposeful and specific formation of the core of personality.

There is another trend in psychology that considers socialization as a kind of cultural phenomenon , and therefore in different civilizations, for example, Chinese, Indian, Russian or European, it proceeds in its own unique way. Based on this point of view, the concept we are considering is given the following definition: this is a process determined by the cultural characteristics of a nation, people or ethnic group, during which a person studies behavioral patterns, belief systems, rules and norms characteristic of a given community of people.

Interpretation of the concept of “socialization” in various schools of psychology

Humanistic psychology understands socialization as the self-actualization of a person, the manifestation of his self-concept.
Neobehaviorism considers this concept in the context of social learning, as a result of education and imitation of existing social roles.
Symbolic interactionism sees socialization only as the result and consequences of social interaction, during which the agents of socialization and the individual carry out the so-called “interpenetration”.
The Soviet and Russian schools of psychology understand socialization as education and actually equate them. Education can be carried out purposefully and contribute to the formation of values and skills planned by the teacher, or it can be unsystematic, when a person is spontaneously influenced by many factors and conditions not controlled by educators.

Types of socialization in psychology

Primary socialization

It is a process during which a person gains initial knowledge, skills and experience of living in society and interacting with people. It begins at birth and ends, as a rule, when he reaches adulthood (at 18 years old in Russia). From this moment, according to the law, a person has the right to independently decide what actions and actions he will perform, whether his behavior will be socially approved or not, and also bear responsibility for the consequences of his decisions). The importance of primary socialization for a person is priceless, since on its foundation the individual will build relationships with other people. Whether they will be successful or unsuccessful depends on the educators and on what behavior patterns the individual learns.

The main social institutions that influence the individual in a given period are family, kindergarten and school . In the family, a person receives initial ideas about the world, about true and false, from the point of view of parents, beliefs and values, about how to behave around other people. As a rule, many useful skills, for example, hard work, or antisocial beliefs, such as gender discrimination, are learned by a person in the family circle.

In kindergarten and school, the socialization of the individual proceeds somewhat differently than in the family. Here the child for the first time acquires knowledge of how to interact in a large group, as well as with people higher than him in the social hierarchy (educators, teachers). During this period, there is an active assimilation of social roles, psychology and rules of behavior characteristic of a certain status in a social group, for example, an outcast, a “nerd”, a leader, etc.

Resocialization

During this process, the person gets rid of old habits , reflexes and behavior patterns and replaces them with new, more effective and more appropriate to the current life situation.

Why do you want to reconsider your life? For example, a person feels that her usual beliefs and values have led her to a dead end , preventing her from self-realization and achieving her innermost desires. If an individual wanted to become a mountaineer and spend most of his life climbing mountain peaks, and he has to work as an accountant, then, of course, there is no point in dreaming about the mountains when he is busy all day balancing debits with credits.

The way of thinking and behavior patterns of accountants and climbers are radically different, so a person needs to find the environment he needs in order to, through observation and communication, adopt the values and habits of the group of people he is interested in through imitation.

An example of unsuccessful resocialization can be considered attempts to rehabilitate criminals held in prison. If we open the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, we will see that one of the purposes of keeping offenders in prisons is their education in the spirit of social norms accepted in society. However, these goals are rarely achieved.

The fact is that in colonies, criminals spend almost all the time in each other’s company; accordingly, they constantly communicate and interact with each other, spend their free time together and share their views on life, values and skills. Therefore, the very functioning of the correctional system comes into conflict with the declared principles, because in order to rehabilitate an offender, you need either his desire, which is usually not there or it often disappears during his stay in a prison antisocial environment, or his complete isolation from any antisocial influence and purposeful work on introduction of socially acceptable attitudes.

Socialization in a group

In psychology, socialization is a definition that implies the process of accepting and assimilating the rules, traditions, rituals of a particular social group , agreement with its hierarchical structure. Without group socialization, the formation of subcultures among teenagers, such as fans of rock or rap, would be impossible. In adults, it occurs in the form of a division along professional lines (programmers, journalists, chess players) or by hobby (scrapbooking, cross-stitching).

Organizational socialization

Psychology understands this as a process consisting of teaching the knowledge and skills necessary for effective work and fulfilling the social role of an employee of an organization. During organizational socialization, the employee becomes acquainted with his future colleagues, with the values and principles of work accepted in the corporation, norms of behavior and dress code.

Socialization by gender

Society makes certain demands on women and men that they must meet. Thus, society believes that a boy needs to learn concepts such as masculinity, courage, boldness, the ability to control himself and not show his emotions, and determination. At the same time, girls are supposed to be gentle, caring, sensitive, and attentive. Thus, during gender socialization, each individual learns about the accepted social rules that every man and woman must adhere to, and learns to follow them.

Early socialization

This concept refers to the rehearsal of social roles, norms or rules that will be followed in the future . Thus, an individual who dreams of making a career in a large corporation will strive to thoroughly study the culture of the organization, the rules of behavior accepted in it, its traditions before the interview, since this increases the likelihood of successfully passing the interview and getting hired, as well as easy acclimatization in new unusual conditions. This is what reveals the essence, explains what socialization is, the definition of this term.

Another type of early socialization may be the decision of young people to live together for some time before marriage in the same area in order to understand whether they are suitable for each other, whether they can cope with everyday problems, and whether their family life will be happy.

stages of socialization

The process of socialization has its own patterns and characteristics. Its course is subject to strict socio-psychological laws, which are the same for primary, secondary, and permanent socialization. For this process to be considered fully completed, it must go through three stages.

Adaptation stage

This period is characterized by the active assimilation of norms, rules, and mastery of forms of sociotypical behavior.

In children's socialization, it takes place under the guidance of adults; in re-socialization, a person, as a rule, is active himself.

After all, it is very important to become a full member of a new team, so the individual tries to quickly find out what is accepted here, what is not, with whom and how to communicate, and what traditions should be remembered.

Young children follow group norms under the influence of adults. Initially, these norms are external for children, and only then do they undergo a process of internalization. The same is typical for an adult who behaves in a certain way in a new team, just so as not to stand out, not to seem like a stranger.

The internalization of social norms—their transition from the external level to the internal—is the main psychological mechanism of this stage. Becoming like everyone else is the main goal of an individual at the adaptation stage.

The gradual nature of the socialization process is clearly visible in young children, who, as they learn social norms, begin to notice their violations. But, first of all, not for yourself, but for other children.

And when they notice, they snitch, that is, they report the violation to an adult - the main guarantor of correct social behavior. Although it is believed that lying is bad, it is a natural and, from the point of view of social psychology, a normal phenomenon. In children, of course.

For them, it indicates that the adaptation stage is in the active phase.

Individualization stage

This is the most difficult and problematic stage, as it is often associated with the demonstration of antisocial behavior in adolescents. Having mastered the basic norms of society or a social group, a person no longer wants to be “like everyone else.” He feels the need for individualization, for self-expression, for the manifestation of his own “I”.

The child reaches this stage of primary socialization just in time for adolescence, and the crisis characteristic of it is superimposed on the teenager’s desire to prove his uniqueness, demonstrate his abilities and talents.

This manifests itself in changing different hobbies and interests, because you can only understand what you are capable of through activity. Those children who were able to quickly find a sphere of self-expression (sports, fine arts, construction, collecting, etc.

), endure the crisis of adolescence much easier.

A child who has found his way is calmer, because he is confident in himself and feels respect from society. Accordingly, the adults around him also experience fewer problems.

Therefore, an important task of parents and teachers is to help the teenager in search of self-realization, otherwise he will express himself in his own way, for example, in shocking behavior, violation of discipline, antisocial behavior, and aggressiveness.

This stage is also observed when an adult moves to another group, although it is usually less noticeable than in adolescents.

Integration stage

So, if a person has overcome the most difficult stage of socialization and has determined how he can earn the respect of society, then he begins to look for an area to apply his abilities and like-minded people for joint activities. This stage is clearly visible in adolescence, when young people are faced with choosing a professional activity or are just starting one.

They strive to be active and demonstrate their talents, but, unfortunately, they still lack experience and public trust. Therefore, it is easiest for them to be in a circle of like-minded peers.

This is the most “party” period, young people create their own fan clubs, informal groups, communities where they can discuss common interests and engage in a common cause, where they all have equal rights.

This is the final stage of socialization. On it, a person can demonstrate his importance to society and begin his path to success. If, of course, he successfully completed the first two stages.

Unfortunately, often a person fails to find his calling at the stage of individualization, then he begins to feel like a failure and can still look for his path for a long time, changing different occupations and professions, or simply go with the flow.

This person is also a full-fledged member of society, but he is not able to realize himself fully. However, one should not be disappointed and give up; many have found their calling and way of self-realization even in adulthood. And from this they not only felt satisfaction, but even became younger.

Thus, socialization is one of those global processes that underlie the existence of society. Therefore, not only each individual, but also society as a whole is interested in its organization.

We can say that all the forces of society are devoted to this and all its main institutions are engaged in socialization: the state, family, school, religious and public organizations, the media, literature and all types of performing arts.

Definition of socialization

Before discussing this topic, it is necessary to understand what socialization as such is.

Psychological science says that
socialization is the process of an individual entering a social system, mastering its norms, rules of behavior, values, knowledge and skills, and psychological attitudes.
Another, “unofficial” definition says that socialization is what allows a person to live in harmony with the world around him. How is this harmony achieved?

Man is the only creature who, let’s say, is not born by himself. Any animal at birth belongs to a certain species - the same one to which its parents belonged. And only a person, in order to obtain the characteristics inherent to his species, is obliged to undergo a long and complex process of socialization, individual forms of which occur throughout his entire life. In fact, if a newborn is left in the forest and there he randomly survives, then he will not learn to speak, or build, or even hunt. Certain forms of learning, of course, exist in many animals, but they take place only for a short time; an animal that has not undergone “socialization” still has a great chance of surviving and producing offspring, since the basic skills are embedded in its instincts. Long and complex socialization is observed only in higher primates, which proves that this phenomenon did not arise suddenly, but was inherited from our animal ancestors and evolved over thousands of years.