
APA Dictionary of Psychology socialization n. 1. the process by which individuals acquire social skills, beliefs, values, and behaviors necessary to function effectively in society or in a particular group.
What are the concepts of socialization?
Understanding Socialization in Sociology
- The Purpose of Socialization. During socialization, a person learns to become a member of a group, community, or society. ...
- The Socialization Process in Three Parts. Socialization involves both social structure and interpersonal relations. ...
- Stages and Forms of Socialization. ...
- Criticism of Socialization. ...
What is the theory of socialization?
Socialization is the means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary to perform as functioning members of their society. Group socialization is the theory that an individual’s peer groups, rather than parental figures, influences his or her personality and behavior in adulthood.
What are the factors of socialization?
What Are Agents of Socialization?
- Family. The family represents a child's first emotional tie, and it is by far the most significant agent of the socialization process.
- Schools. Most children are enrolled in schools for the primary purpose of acquiring education. ...
- Peers. Peer groups are made up of age mates and those children who share a similar status. ...
- Mass Media. ...
What does socialization refer to?
Socialization is the process through which individuals acquire culture to assimilate into society. Socialization is continuous and it happens all through a person's stages of life. A person familiarizes themselves with language, norms, values, roles, customs, and attitudes.

What is the main definition of socialization?
: the process by which a human being beginning at infancy acquires the habits, beliefs, and accumulated knowledge of society through education and training for adult status.
What is socialization and examples?
Interacting with friends and family, being told to obey rules, being rewarded for doing chores, and being taught how to behave in public places are all examples of socialization that enable a person to function within his or her culture.
What are the 4 means of socialization?
Generally, there are five types of socialization: primary, secondary, developmental, anticipatory and resocialization. This type of socialization happens when a child learns the values, norms and behaviors that should be displayed in order to live accordingly to a specific culture.
What is importance of socialization?
Socialization prepares people to participate in a social group by teaching them its norms and expectations. Socialization has three primary goals: teaching impulse control and developing a conscience, preparing people to perform certain social roles, and cultivating shared sources of meaning and value.
What is another term for socialization?
In this page you can discover 7 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for socialization, like: socialisation, individualisation, , socializing, acculturation, enculturation and socialising.
What are the 3 stages of socialization?
In the opinion of Maanen and Schein, “Socialisation can be conceptualised as a process made up of three stages: pre-arrival, encounter and metamorphosis”. Thus, socialisation can be defined as a process of adaption that takes place as individuals attempt to learn the values and norms of work roles.
What are the 3 types of socialization?
Socialization is a very critical part of life as it helps individuals acquire skills and habits that help them fit into and perform as a member of society. Socialization has three major processes: the primary process of socialization, the secondary process of socialization, and the adult process of socialization.
What are the 2 types of socialization?
The socialization process can be separated into two main stages: primary socialization and secondary socialization.
What are the example of content in socialization?
How parents assign chores or tell their kids to interact with police are examples of content and process, which are also defined by the duration of socialization, those involved, the methods used, and the type of experience. School is an important source of socialization for students of all ages.
What are some examples of primary socialization?
A primary agent of socialization is a person, place, or thing responsible for socialization during the early years of an individual's life. Examples of primary agents of socialization include family, daycare, schools, peer groups, and media.
Theories
Clausen claims that theories of socialization are to be found in Plato, Montaigne and Rousseau and he identifies a dictionary entry from 1828 that defines ‘socialize’ as ‘to render social, to make fit for living in society’ (1968: 20-1).
Types
Primary socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture.
Agents of Socialization
Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior.
Socialization for animal species
The process of intentional socialization is central to training animals to be kept by humans in close relationship with the human environment, including pets and working dogs .
What is socialization in childhood?
Definition of socialization. 1 a : the process beginning during childhood by which individuals acquire the values, habits, and attitudes of a society But certainly dealing with shame and its boundaries is soon a constant factor in the socialization of the child, because standards and rules are everywhere ….
Why can't dogs be transferred to the familiar?
Some adult dogs, because of a lack of socialization combined with genetic tendencies, can never transfer certain individuals from the "unfamiliar" to the "familiar" category.
What is socialization in medical terms?
: the process by which a human being beginning at infancy acquires the habits, beliefs, and accumulated knowledge of society through education and training for adult status.
What is socialisation in the context of the social order?
In view of this, Goslin defines socialisation “as the process whereby individuals learn to play various social roles necessary for effective participation in the society i.e. they acquire knowledge, skills and dispositions that enable them to perform in accordance with the expectations of the others, as they move from position to position in the social order, over time, from infant to child, to adult, from student to worker, from son or daughter to husband or wife, to father or mother, and they occupy several positions simultaneously; e.g., adult worker, son, husband, citizen”. This definition tends to highlight two points.
What is the role negotiation?
According to this concept, adaptation situations where the roles or behaviour patterns are not totally and comprehensively spelt out, the process of socialisation involves subtle negotiation and arriving at certain contracts, between the socialised and the socializing. Of course, very often such processes of negotiation are nonverbal and unconscious. The nature of the negotiation varies depending on a number of factors like the infants capacities, level of cognitive skills etc.
What is the process of transformation of a non-social infant into a complex and socialised adult?
This transformation of the non-social or asocial infant into a complex and socialised adult is a result of the impact of continuous and varied interactions and experiences in relation to the environment , particularly the other people in the environment, both directly and indirectly experienced. This process which brings about such a transformation is known as socialisation.
What is the process of socialization?
Brine defines socialisation as “the process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills and dispositions that enable them to participate as more or less effective members of groups and societies”. This above definition lays emphasis on the impact of society and different agencies of society on the changes in behaviour’ occurring in an individual.
How does socialization affect the society?
The process of socialisation enables and empowers a child to live, adjust and deal effectively with others, while at the same time, it also a serves the purpose of the society or the culture by ensuring its continuity. We may therefore describe the process of socialisation as the complex, varied and continuous sets of interactions between an individual and his environment, particularly the human environment, which influence and enable an individual to achieve social competence leading to social effectiveness, while at the same time enabling a particular society or culture to ensure its continuance.
What are the skills that an individual acquires?
On the one hand, the individual gradually acquires social skills, interactional patterns, values, attitudes etc., which make him capable and competent to deal effectively with the environment, particularly in his dealings with others.
Is socialization a two sided process?
They argue that the process of socialisation is a two-sided process and that an adequate definition should clearly bring out this fact. The socialised child, very often causes changes in the behaviour of parents and other socializing agencies. In fact it may be seen that even pet animals influence and condition the behaviour and responses of the masters.
How does socialisation affect a newborn?
The newborn is merely an organism. Socialisation makes him responsive to the society. He is socially active. He becomes a ‘Purush’ and the culture that his group inculcates in him, humanises him, and makes him ‘Manusha’. The process indeed, is endless. The cultural pattern of his group, in the process gets incorporated in the personality of a child. It prepares him to fit in the group and to perform the social roles. It sets the infant on the line of social order and enables an adult to fit into the new group. It enables the man to adjust himself to the new social order.
What does socialisation mean in psychology?
It enables the man to adjust himself to the new social order. Socialisation stands for the development of the human brain, body, attitude, behaviour and so forth.
How do norms of society become part of the personality of the individual?
The child does not have a sense of wrong and right. By direct and indirect observation and experience , he gradually learns the norms relating to wrong and right things. The primary socialisation takes place in the family.
How does socialization help?
Socialisation not only helps in the maintenance and preservation of social values and norms but it is the process through which values and norms are transmitted from one generation to another generation.
Why do we need to acquire group norms?
He must acquire the group norms in order to take the behaviour of others into account. Socialisation means transmission of culture, the process by which men learn the rules and practices of social groups to which belongs. It is through it that a society maintain its social system, transmits its culture from generation to generation.
What is socialization in social studies?
According to Lundberg, socialisation consists of the “complex processes of interaction through which the individual learns the habits, skills, beliefs and standard of judgement that are necessary for his effective participation in social groups and communities”.
Why is socialization important?
Importance of Socialisation: The process of socialisation is important from the point of view of society as well as from the point of view of individual. Every society is faced with the necessity of making a responsible member out of each child born into it.

Theories
- Clausen claims that theories of socialization are to be found in Plato, Montaigne and Rousseau and he identifies a dictionary entry from 1828 that defines ‘socialize’ as ‘to render social, to make fit for living in society’ (1968: 20-1). However it was the response to a translation of a paper by George Simmel concept was incorporated into various b...
Types
- Primary socialization 1. Primary socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. For example if a child saw his/her mother expressing a discriminatory opinion about a minority group, then that child may think this behavior is acceptable and could continue to have this opinion about minority groups. …
Agents of Socialization
- Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior. 1. The Family. Family is responsible for, among other things, determining one's attitudes toward religion and establishing careergoals. 2. Education. Education is the agency responsible for socializing groups of young people in particular skills and values in society. 3. Pe…
Socialization For Animal Species
- The process of intentional socialization is central to training animals to be kept by humans in close relationship with the human environment, including pets and working dogs.
See Also
References
- Chinoy, Ely (1961) Society: An Introduction to Sociology, New York: Random House.
- Clausen, John A. (ed.) (1968) Socialization and Society, Boston: Little Brown and Company.
- Johnson, Harry M. (1961) Sociology: A Systematic Introduction, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
- McQuail, Dennis (2005) McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory: Fifth Edition, London: Sage.