Essay Agents of Socialisation
Agents of Socialisation
Socialisation can be defined as a lifetime process wherein human beings constantly learn to be their unique selves through interactions with significant others in the environment. It is an absolutely essential guide in the navigation of life, establishing a sense of being and role in an ever changing world [1].
The nature versus nurture debate has provided an explanation for how human beings have evolved over time. Nature, the more scientific theory, suggests that hereditary traits found in our genes characterize who we are however when considering the theory of nurture, it is really our interactions with our surroundings and our immediate care givers that play a significant role in identity formation in later years [1].
The process of socialisation can then be viewed as the ‘social order that is involuntarily and coercively transferred onto a clean and shiny newborn baby body and mind’ [2].
George Herbert Mead, social psychologist argued that it is through human interaction that meaning and understanding is first derived. Our first learning experiences allow us to become members of society [1]. We become members of society through our first learning experiences. These experiences are the first building blocks of identity formation and in which the newborn infant plays an interactive role.
Such uniqueness of an individual is defined as self. The self provides the distinct sense of who we are that is developed from social interactions with other individuals which can be changed depending on our different life experiences [3].
The ecological theory by Bronfenbrenner is one of the greatest contributions to our understanding of how external environments influence family operations as critical social contexts and agent of socialisation as well as the implications of such on human development [1]. He discovered these environments, the first being the “microsystem” which describes intimate relations within the immediate family
Socialisation can be defined as a lifetime process wherein human beings constantly learn to be their unique selves through interactions with significant others in the environment. It is an absolutely essential guide in the navigation of life, establishing a sense of being and role in an ever changing world [1].
The nature versus nurture debate has provided an explanation for how human beings have evolved over time. Nature, the more scientific theory, suggests that hereditary traits found in our genes characterize who we are however when considering the theory of nurture, it is really our interactions with our surroundings and our immediate care givers that play a significant role in identity formation in later years [1].
The process of socialisation can then be viewed as the ‘social order that is involuntarily and coercively transferred onto a clean and shiny newborn baby body and mind’ [2].
George Herbert Mead, social psychologist argued that it is through human interaction that meaning and understanding is first derived. Our first learning experiences allow us to become members of society [1]. We become members of society through our first learning experiences. These experiences are the first building blocks of identity formation and in which the newborn infant plays an interactive role.
Such uniqueness of an individual is defined as self. The self provides the distinct sense of who we are that is developed from social interactions with other individuals which can be changed depending on our different life experiences [3].
The ecological theory by Bronfenbrenner is one of the greatest contributions to our understanding of how external environments influence family operations as critical social contexts and agent of socialisation as well as the implications of such on human development [1]. He discovered these environments, the first being the “microsystem” which describes intimate relations within the immediate family
References: [1] Stewart P, Zaaiman J. Sociology A Concise South African introduction. Juta and Company. Concise Edition. 2015 [2] Sosteric M, McGettigan T, Brown O. Unit 4: Socialisation. http://www.sociology.org/courses/sociology-100-introduction-sociology/unit-4-socialization/, Last accessed 19 April 2015. [3] Category Archives:George Herbert Mead. Socialization. https://socl120.wordpress.com/category/george-herbert-mead/, Last accessed 19 April 2015. [4] SparkNotes. Primary Socialization. http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/socialization/section1.rhtml, Last accessed 19 April 2015. [5] Rogell L. Bar Mitsvah 101. http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1912609/jewish/Bar- Mitzvah-101.htm, Last accessed 19 April 2015. [6] Kasper L.F. Socialization and Culture. http://kccesl.tripod.com/hypertextstudy/printtext.html , Last accessed 19 April 2015. [7] Mondal P. Agencies of Socialisation: Family, School, Peer Groups and Mass Media. http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/agencies-of-socialisation-family-school-peer- groups-and-mass-media/35087/, Last accessed 21 April 2015.