Socialization (Week 6) - Conan Chua

1. Summary

Humans are, by nature, social creatures. Socialization allows humans to achieve 3 main objectives. The first is control of our own instinctual impulses and through that we develop a conscience. The second is to integrate ourselves into the society, by preparing for our respective societal roles, which include occupational, gender and social group roles (marriage/family). Finally, the third objective is that of values, where we learn what is important in society, what we live our lives for and what it means to be human.

Image A: Social Group - Family (By Marie Andersson Skansen (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Socialization can then be subdivided into the various cultures around the world, where each and every one of them affect the way we socialize. While it is true that socialization is a key process by which individuals develop, there are certain skills/traits that seem to be innately possessed by human beings. Empathy for the injured and morality are but 2 aspects of human behavior that may be biologically determined instead of learned. In this sense, there is still a debate on the roots of human behavior, whether it is nature or nurture, or even nurture-induced-nature.

There is an overall division of socialization, even amongst the various cultures, and it is that of Primary and Secondary Socialization. Primary Socialization occurs in the childhood portion of life, while Secondary Socialization occurs in the period after one’s childhood, all the way till the end. The common theory is that Primary Socialization molds one’s core identity, and Secondary Socialization develops it through the individual’s reactions in social situations.

Image B: Social Group - Friends (By ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เทวประภาส มากคล้าย (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons) 

Another form of division in socialization is Broad and Narrow Socialization, with the two terms referring to the range of outcomes certain types of socialization can result in. Broad Socialization deals with the more individualistic aspects such as self-expression, while Narrow Socialization deals with how one reacts with others, affecting aspects such as obedience and conformity.

When a member of society is unable to socialize according to the ways society deems proper, they will be subjected to a Total Institution, where they are taught how to socialize properly. Their daily activities are strictly controlled, everyone is treated the same way by a distinct authority, and their future is often kept unbeknownst to them.

Image C: Total Institution - Prison (By Stiopa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

There are four main theories that attempt to describe the way humans develop social skills:

1. Symbolic Interactionism explains social development as the learning and interpreting of situations, and thus is a process that continues throughout one’s life.
2.  Role Theory sees individuals as part of a social organization, attempting to acquire the necessary skills and beliefs to be able to integrate into the society smoothly.
3. Reinforcement Theory sees social development as a learning process, where one has to constantly decide which skills are beneficial or detrimental to their social needs, and continuously develops those skills actively.
4. Internalization Theory describes social development as a series of stages that one navigates throughout their life, picking up (internalizing) skills related to each stage.

2. Something of interest to me

I think that analyzing the process that human beings acquire social skills and attempt socialization can be made more in-depth by looking at the cultural environment. Depending on the type of culture one is immersed in during the different stages of life, those cultures can affect social development in various ways. Eastern culture may not be as socially diverse as Western cultures, as some are more conservative. The theories of social skill development do not have to apply in the same way when studying subjects of different cultural contexts.

Image D: Cultural Diversity - Flags before UN Building, Geneva (By Yann (talk) 14:23, 28 March 2009 (UTC) (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

3. Discussion Point

With regards to the case of feral children, maybe the investigation can be focused more on how a functional society is able to create such dysfunctional parents. I understand that it is of utmost importance that the feral child is taken care of and slowly integrated into normal society, but if we do not get to the root of the problem, we will not be able to prevent the situation where a feral child is created in the first place.