Socialization is an integrative process of a subject’s entry into the structure of society, through his mastery of social rules, values, orientations, traditions, the knowledge of which helps to become an effective individual of society. From the first days of his existence, a small person is surrounded by many people, he is gradually included in collective interaction. During relationships, a person gains social experience, which becomes an integral component of the individual.
The process of personal socialization is two-way: a person assimilates the experience of society, and at the same time actively develops relationships and connections. A person perceives, masters and transforms personal social experience into personal attitudes and positions. He is also involved in diverse social connections, performing different role functions, thereby transforming the surrounding society and himself. The real conditions of collective life pose the most pressing problem, requiring everyone to be included in the social structure of the environment. In this process, the main concept is socialization, which allows an individual to become a member of social groups and collectives.
The process of socialization of an individual into social strata is difficult and lengthy, since it includes a person’s mastery of the values and laws of social life, and the development of various social roles.
Personality socialization in psychology is a topic that is actively studied by many social psychologists. After all, a person has a social essence, and his life is a process of continuous adaptation, which requires stable changes and updates.
The process of socialization provides for a high level of internal activity of the individual himself, the need for self-realization. Much depends on a person’s vital activity and ability to effectively manage activities. But this process often occurs when objective life circumstances give rise to certain needs in an individual and create incentives for activity.
What is socialization?
Socialization is the process of a person obtaining a set of personal qualities necessary for a full existence in society.
Socialization takes place during the interaction of the individual with the external environment and other members of society. The result of socialization is the transformation of a person into a full-fledged personality. The accumulated experience and knowledge of communication in society lead to personal transformations and the development of certain traits and manners of communication and behavior. At the same time, socialization is an endless process, since a reassessment of views is possible at any age.
It is also necessary to take into account the two-way nature of socialization. It involves not only the accumulation of certain experience and knowledge by a person, but also ensures the formation of relationships. The social experience gained in this way is transformed into personal preferences and preferences. The individual also assumes the role functions characteristic of society.
In conditions of collective life, the question of the individual’s entry into the social structure continues to remain relevant. Socialization is the process that ensures a person’s integration into existing social groups.
Stages
Socialization is a step-by-step process. At each stage, the above-mentioned translators work differently, and special mechanisms are also included that contribute to better mastery of social reality.
In domestic literature, in particular, in textbooks on social psychology by G. M. Andreeva, three stages of socialization are distinguished: pre-labor, labor and post-labor. At each stage, the emphasis changes, and above all, the relationship between the two sides of socialization - in the sense of mastering experience and in the sense of transferring experience.
The pre-labor stage of socialization corresponds to the period of a person’s life from birth to the start of work. It is further divided into two independent periods:
- Early socialization is inherent in the period of time from birth to entry into school. In developmental psychology, this is the period of early childhood. This stage is characterized by uncritical assimilation of experience and imitation of adults.
- The learning stage covers the entire period of adolescence in a broad sense. It definitely includes time spent at school. But the question of which stage to include the student years has become the subject of debate. After all, many university and technical school students are already starting to work.
The labor stage of socialization corresponds to the period of human maturity, although it should be noted that the demographic boundaries of adulthood are very conditional. It covers the entire period of a person’s active labor activity.
The post-work stage of socialization implies the period of a person’s life after the end of the main work activity. It corresponds to retirement age.
Examples of socialization
One of the simplest examples of socialization is the process of a child’s interaction with peers in kindergarten, during which he learns the first rules of communication. The child sees that if you share toys with other children, you can make friends, and if you are greedy, then other children will not want to communicate with you. Such assimilation of the peculiarities of interaction in society is socialization.
Another example is school. At school, a teenager learns the peculiarities of communication with other children, understands the essence and mechanism of conflicts, begins to communicate with the opposite sex, show interest, and think about how to interest him himself. As part of such interaction with peers, the teenager not only learns certain social norms and becomes aware of cultural values, but also begins to better understand himself.
Socialization also manifests itself in everyday life. A person learns the established rules of behavior in society, realizes that giving up a seat to an elderly person in transport is good and correct, that it is important to treat other people with respect, regardless of their nationality, skin color and ethnicity.
Thus, socialization helps a person to learn the basic rules of behavior in society, to become aware of social and cultural values, to better understand other people and to recognize himself.
Mechanisms
Every society has socialization mechanisms through which people convey information about social reality to each other. In sociological terms, there are some “translators” of social experience. These are means that transmit accumulated experience from generation to generation, contributing to the fact that each new generation begins to socialize. Such translators include various sign systems, cultural elements, educational systems, and social roles. Socialization mechanisms are divided into two categories: socio-psychological and socio-pedagogical.
Socio-psychological mechanisms:
- Imprinting is the imprinting of information on the receptor and subconscious levels. More common in infancy.
- Existential pressure - the assimilation of language and norms of behavior at an unconscious level.
- Imitation is following a model, voluntary or involuntary.
- Reflection is an internal dialogue during which a person critically thinks about and then accepts or rejects certain social values.
Social and pedagogical mechanisms:
- Traditional - a person’s assimilation of prevailing stereotypes, which occurs, as a rule, at an unconscious level.
- Institutional - triggered by a person’s interaction with various institutions and organizations.
- Stylized - functions when included in any subcultures.
- Interpersonal - turns on whenever there is contact with persons who are subjectively significant to a person.
Types of socialization
From a sociological point of view, socialization can be primary or secondary. A similar classification was proposed by P. Berger and T. Lukman.
Primary socialization is built around the family acting as an agent. From childhood, a child acquires his first values from his parents and other family members. This stage is considered fundamental, because it is in childhood that the foundation is formed, on the basis of which personal development will be built for the rest of one’s life.
Secondary socialization is realized through a variety of social institutions, including educational institutions. The school plays an important role, where every child acts as an agent of socialization. In fact, any association or group of which an individual is a member influences the participants with its rules and norms.
Features of socialization of older people
Recently, sociologists have begun to pay closer attention to the study of the socialization of older people. The transition to the post-work stage, adaptation to a new way of life does not necessarily imply a process of growth. Personal development may stop or even reverse, for example, due to a decrease in a person’s physical and psychological capabilities. Another difficulty is that for older people social roles are not clearly defined.
The topic of socialization of older people among researchers of this process is currently causing heated discussions, the main positions of which are completely opposite. According to one of them, the concept of socialization is not applicable to the period of life when all social functions of a person are curtailed. An extreme expression of this point of view is the idea of "desocialization" following the working stage.
According to another, a completely new approach to understanding the psychological essence of old age is needed. Quite a lot of experimental research has already been carried out confirming the continued social activity of older people. Only its type changes during this period. And their contribution to the reproduction of social experience is recognized as valuable and significant.
Stages of socialization
Socialization is a multi-stage process that lasts decades. Initially, it takes place, that is, the harmonious entry of the individual into the proposed conditions of the social environment. Adaptation is characterized by three directions: physiological, social and psychological.
- The physiological direction involves getting to know the environment and forming social connections that contribute to self-realization. A person communicates with the environment and learns about the surrounding space, subsequently applying efforts to realize the goals facing the team.
- Individualization is a stage at which a person has already completely decided on his place, has formed as a person with his own positions, beliefs and assessments of what is happening around him. If initially a person in society strives to be similar to other members, then at the stage of individualization a person strives to become different from his environment, but at the same time his personal characteristics must fit within the boundaries of the values accepted in society.
- Integration reflects the process of acceptance of personality by other participants in society. As a result, a kind of consensus is formed - society, accepting an individual into its society, imposes obligations on him to comply with certain norms and rules of behavior. Newcomers who are useful to the social group have a higher integration potential. In such a situation, the possibility of providing the individual with certain preferences and concessions, and the possibility of non-compliance with certain criteria accepted in the group, cannot be ruled out.
The concept of personality socialization
The described process is determined by the social activity of individuals.
The process of socialization of the individual represents the entry of the individual into the social structure, as a result of which changes are made in the structure of the individual himself and society as a whole. As a result of socialization, an individual acquires group norms, values, behavioral patterns, and social orientations, which are transformed into human attitudes.
Socialization of the individual is extremely important for successful functioning in society. This process continues throughout an individual’s life, since the world moves and in order to move with it, it is necessary to change. A person undergoes constant changes, he changes, both physically and psychologically, it is impossible for him to be constant. It is this important concept, how the socialization of personality in psychology is dealt with by many specialists who study personality, society and their relationship.
In this process, no one is immune from problems arising.
Socialization problems are divided into the following three groups. The first consists of socio-psychological problems of socialization, which are associated with the formation of an individual’s self-awareness, his self-determination, self-affirmation, self-actualization and self-development. At any stage, problems have specific content, and various ways to resolve them appear. Only their importance for the individual remains unchanged. She may not be aware of the existence of these problems, since they are deeply “buried” and force her to think, acting in such a way as to eliminate the problem, to find an adequate solution.
The second group is the cultural problems that arise, including each stage. The content of these problems depends on achieving a certain level of natural development. These problems are associated with regional differences that arise in different rates of physical maturation, so in the southern regions it is faster than in the northern ones.
Cultural problems of socialization concern the issue of the formation of stereotypes of femininity and masculinity in different ethnic groups, regions, and cultures.
The third group of problems are socio-cultural, which in their content involve the introduction of the individual to the level of culture. They relate to personal value orientations, a person’s worldview, and his spiritual make-up. They have a specific character - moral, cognitive, value, semantic.
Socialization is divided into primary and secondary.
Primary - implemented in the sphere of close relationships. Secondary socialization is carried out in formal business relations.
Primary socialization has the following agents: parents, close acquaintances, relatives, friends, teachers.
In the secondary, the agents are: the state, the media, representatives of public organizations, the church.
Primary socialization occurs very intensively in the first half of an individual’s life, when he is raised by his parents, attends preschool, school, and acquires new contacts. The secondary one, accordingly, takes place in the second half of life, when an adult has contact with formal organizations.
Socialization factors
We have figured out what socialization is, and it’s time to find out what factors influence the process of its formation. Today, the factors studied are combined into four separate groups.
- Megafactors. A set of global factors that affect the entire population of the Earth.
- Macro factors. Factors affecting the population of a particular state, nationality or ethnic groups living in a certain territory, and guided by common principles.
- Mesofactors. Impact factors at the level of individual groups of people, for example, living in the same locality, belonging to a common subculture, and so on.
- Microfactors. A set of phenomena that directly affect an individual from his immediate environment, for example, family members, classmates at school, public organizations, religious associations.
Features of youth socialization
Young people are the most mobile part of society. This is the group that is most receptive to new trends, phenomena, knowledge and ideas about the world. But it is not sufficiently adapted to its new social conditions, and therefore is more easily influenced and manipulated. It has not yet formed stable views and beliefs, and both political and social orientation are difficult.
Young people also differ from other groups of society in that they are involved in almost all social processes, either directly or indirectly, for example, through their family.
This socio-demographic group includes people aged 16 to 30 years. These years include such important events as obtaining secondary and higher education, choosing and mastering a profession, creating your own family and having children. During this period, serious difficulties at the stage of life start are acutely felt. First of all, this concerns employment issues, housing and material problems.
At the present stage, the problems of psychological adaptation of young people are becoming more complex; the mechanisms for their involvement in the system of social relationships are complicated. Therefore, in addition to general education institutions, special youth socialization centers (YSCs) are being created. The main directions of their activities, as a rule, are related to the organization of socio-cultural and leisure events, the provision of information and consulting services, and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Youth is the main resource of society, its future. Her spiritual values and views, moral character and vitality are very important.
Forms of socialization
For socialization, it is customary to distinguish the presence of two forms.
- Undirected implies the spontaneous formation under the influence of the immediate social environment of certain human qualities. That is why it is called spontaneous. The environment is considered to be relatives, closest friends, and colleagues.
- Directed socialization involves a built-in system of influence methods created by social institutions in order to instill in individuals certain values and ideals characteristic of society as a whole.
Among the methods of directed socialization it is necessary to include education. It is understood as a consistent process of influencing a person during the period of his formation and development in order to develop a certain perception of the world, a set of values and attitudes of a social nature, allowing for the full preparation of a person for a full-fledged independent existence within society.
Existing forms of socialization under certain conditions can be connected with each other, but a complete lack of coordination is also possible. The emergence of contradictions becomes the basis for conflicts, which become an obstacle to the further socialization of the individual.
Spontaneous socialization, formed in the immediate environment, often faces the obsolescence of stereotypes (what is a stereotype?) and forms of perception characteristic of older generations, which have lost some of their relevance in the modern world. In this case, it is capable of carrying a negative aspect along with positive aspects. The result of such influence is the manifestation of social pathologies.
In turn, the implementation of undirected socialization without the use of targeted measures can lead to the disadvantage of an individual or social group. That is why targeted influence is an important element in the socialization of individuals.
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.
The 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.
Interesting examples of socialization of people over 60
Vladimir Yakovlev, as part of his project “The Age of Happiness,” in the book “Wanted and Could,” highlights the stories of women who, through their personal example, proved that it is never too late to start making your incredible dreams come true. The motto of the book: “If it’s possible at 60, then it’s possible at 30.” Here are some inspiring examples of socialization in old age.
Ruth Flowers decided to become a club DJ at the age of 68. At the age of 73, under the pseudonym “Mami Rock,” she already gave several concerts a month, performed in the best clubs in the world and practically lived on airplanes, flying from one end of the world to the other.
Jacqueline Murdoch dreamed of working as a fashion model in her youth. At 82 years old - in the summer of 2012 - she became famous throughout the world, becoming the face of the Lanvin brand.
Evgenia Stepanova, upon reaching 60 years old, decided to start a career as a professional athlete. By the age of 74, she had achieved significant success in this field. Thanks to the large number of competitions for older athletes around the world, she has plenty of opportunities to ride, compete and win.
