Hand-outs UCSP 11 LESSON 5 Becoming A Member of Society

SOCIALIZATION

 Socialization generally refers to the process of social influence through which a person acquires
the culture or subculture of his/her group, and while acquiring these cultural elements, the
individual's self and personality are shaped.
 Socialization, therefore, addresses two important problems of social life: the problem of societal
continuity and the problem of individual development (Gecas, 2001 p.1). Socialization is very
important to the life process of an individual because it enables a person to learn the different
cultural languages, norms, values, and one’s role in the society to fit the group.
 Socialization is also defined “as the process of learning that enables the learner to perform
social roles. Thus, not all learning is socialization, since presumably some learning is irrelevant to
the motivation and ability necessary for participation in the social system” (Johnson, 1960, p.
110.) Similarly, socialization is seen as the learning process which turns a human being from an
animal into a person with a human personality. Stated formally, socialization is the “process
whereby one internalizes the norms of the group among whom one lives so that a distinct self
emerges, unique to this individual" (Horton & Hunt, 1964, p. 67).

ENCULTURATION

 It is “a form of cultural transmission by which society transmits its culture and behavior to its
members by surrounding developing members with appropriate models” (Berry, Poortinga,
Segall, and Dasen, 2002 p.19). Berry et al. distinguish between enculturation and socialization,
the two principal processes of cultural transmission. They declare that socialization involves the
deliberate shaping of an individual while enculturation is a form of cultural transmission because
of the cultural learning that people create, remember, and deal with as a product of innovation.
Through cultural learning, individuals have a chance to communicate and imitate the behavior
of other people.
 Similarly, Herskovits (1948) describes enculturation as a process of socialization to maintain the
norms of one’s heritage and culture, including the salient values, ideas, and concepts. On the
other hand, Kirshner D.H. and Meng L. (2012) state that enculturation and acculturation refer
broadly to the processes whereby newcomers come to participate in the normative practices of
a cultural community.

Goals of Socialization

Jeffrey J. Arnett in is paper entitled “Broad and Narrow Socialization: The Family in the Context of a
Cultural Theory” outlined primary goals of socialization:

 Socialization teaches impulse control and helps individuals develop a conscience. This first goal
is accomplished naturally. As people grow up within a particular society, they pick up on the
expectations of those around them and internalize these expectations to moderate their
impulses and develop a conscience.
 Socialization teaches individuals how to prepare for and perform certain social roles –
occupational roles gender roles, and the roles of institutions such as marriage and parenthood.
  Socialization cultivates shared sources of meaning and value. Through socialization, people learn
to identify what is important and valued within a particular culture.

Major Aspects of Socialization

1. The context in which it occurs - It is like the theater or stage where socialization occurs. The
individual’s behavior is determined by how the context is perceived in culture, language, and
social structures. It also includes social and historical events, power and control in social life, and
the people and institutions with whom the individual comes in contact during his/her
socialization.
2. The content and process people use to socialize others is like the play, the lines, and the actors.
It includes the structure of the socializing activity-- how intense and prolonged it is, who does it,
how it is done, whether it is a total experience or only a partial process, how aware the
individual is of alternatives, and how attractive those alternatives are. Content refers to what is
passed from member to novice while processes are those interactions that convey to new
members how they are to speak, behave, think, and even feel.
3. The results or outcomes arising from those context and processes may be described as what
happens later, after someone has been exposed to content and processes. New members or
individuals may learn the behavior, attitudes, and values that old member hope they would
learn or adopt.

Agents of Socialization and Enculturation

CONFORMITY

 Conformity and deviance are twin processes that flow from the enculturation and socialization
processes. According to Markus and Kitayama (1991), conforming to group norms is viewed
favorably in Eastern or interdependent cultures – it is a form of social glue. Deviance refers to
behaviors that violate social norms. The act of violating a social norm is called deviance.
 Individuals usually have a much easier time identifying the transgression of norms than the
norms themselves.
 Conformity can also be defined as “yielding to group pressures” (Crutchfield, 1955). It reflects a
relatively rational process in which people construct a norm from other people’s behavior to
determine correct and appropriate behavior for themselves (Asch 1952, p.193).

Compliance means conforming to a rule or fulfilling a desire, demand, proposal, regimen, or coercion.
It is the weakest form of conformity. Here, a person usually goes along with the view of the majority,
but he/she still privately maintains his/her own point of view.

 Compliance means conforming to a rule or fulfilling a desire, demand, proposal, regimen, or

coercion. It is the weakest form of conformity. Here, a person usually goes along with the view
of the majority, but he/she still privately maintains his/her own point of view.
 Identification is a process by which an individual aspires to pattern himself/herself after
another, but only while he/she is in the presence of the other person. It is the middle level of
conformity and is usually a short-term change. Here an individual changes his/her behavior and
beliefs, not permanently, due to the influence of someone he/she likes or admires but it does
not necessarily result in a change of a person’s private belief.
 Internalization is the acceptance and incorporation of the standard or belief of other persons or
of the society by the individual. It is the deepest level of conformity. It is usually a long-term
change as the person changes his/her public behavior and private beliefs. When the views of the
group are adopted, they are taken at a permanent level. Here, an individual becomes a part of a
person’s way of viewing the world.

DEVIANCE

 Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate informal social
norms or formally enacted rules. Among those who study social norms and their relation to
deviance are sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists, all of whom
investigate how norms change and are enforced over time.

Theoretical Interpretations of Deviance