0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views33 pages

Agents of Socialization

Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views33 pages

Agents of Socialization

Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 33

Relatively Roles of Heredity

and Environment in
Personality Development
• Heredity and environment (nature and
nature) interact in complex ways in
forming our social identities.
• Heredity provides the raw
materials or the potentialities for
growth and personality formation.
Such genetic materials set the limit for
growth and development.
• Environment, on the other hand,
provides the provides the opportunities,
nurturance and stimulation that would
determine whether the inherited
biological makeup would be developed
or stunted. A rich learning environment
can stretch genetic potential to its limit.
But even so, a rich environment cannot
overcome the limitations imposed by
the genetic endowment.
Theories of
Personality
Development
1. Freud's Theory of
Socialization
• The "id" is the reservoir of sexual and
aggressive urges. It is centered on the
satisfaction of basic needs like food
and sex and dominated by the
pleasure principle.
• The "ego" is the rational part of the self
that interprets information obtained
through the senses and that finds
realistic and acceptable ways of
satisfying biological cravings. The
cognitive and intellectual processes are
controlled by the ego.
• The "superego" or conscience stands
for the internalized ideas of right and
wrong, the traditional values and morals
of the society.
• The id (biological drives) and the superego
(conscience) are continually in conflict, while
the ego mediates between them.
• An adult who frequently displays
infantile behavior like egocentrism, aggression,
or undisciplined pleasure-seeking behavior is
likely to be operating within the "id" principle. A
natural, disciplined, intelligent, rational, and
realistic individual operates under the "ego"
principle, while one who is overly virtuous,
conscionable, overbearing, pious and religious
operates under the "superego" principle.
2. Cultural
Determinism Theory
The cultural determinism theory
held by anthropologists views
culture and the cultural
environment as the main factor
that determines human behavior.
Franz Boas' view that personality development
is a result of learned ways of the group.
Ruth Benedict maintains
that individual
personalities of
members of society are
tiny replicas o their
overall culture, with the
culture as the sum total
of their personalities.
Personality is culturally
conditioned. The is
culturally conditioned.
The personality of a
member of a social
group generally
reflects the culture of
the group to which
he/she belongs.
3. Symbolic
Interactionism
Theory
• The basic idea in this theory is that
personality is the result of the
interaction between individuals
mediated by symbols or lanugage.
Language is crucial in the
development of the social self.
According to George
Herbert, the self
consists of two parts
namely: the "I", which
is active, spontaneous,
and idiosyncratic, and
the "me" refers to the
self which has acquired
a social status through
social interaction and
recognition of the status
and roles of others.
Charles Horton Cooley (1964) calls
that social self the "looking glass
self". This is the conception of the
self or the ability to visualize oneself
through the responses of others.
We acquire our sense of self by
seeing ourselves reflected in
others' behavior and attitude toward
us and by imagining what others
think about us.
Charles Horton Cooley
4. Biological Determinism Theory
This theory views that inherited biological structures as the
main factor that determines human behavior. The
genetic endowments provide the foundations that
determine the type and quality of personality that will be
formed through social interaction. Superior physical and
mental endowments are likely to produce individuals
with better physical attributes and above-average mental
abilities.
Great leaders of men and nations, men and women who
guide that destinies of human history, people who have
contributed outstanding works for the betterment of
mankind like scientist, inventors, philosophers, social
and political thinkers, saints, heroes, and martyrs are
men and women endowed with better genetic potentials.
5. Labeling Theory
In this theory, personality is viewed as the result of
society's labeling on human behavior as either
good or bad. Different forms of behavior are given
labels or tags through the consensus of the
members of the society: Behavior which conforms
to the values, customs, beliefs, and norms of the
society is labeled as good, ethical, acceptable and
appropriate .
Behavior which is unacceptable and inimical to the
groups' welfare is labeled as bad. In fine, the
labeling theory suggests that a particular behavior
is neither good nor bad. It is society's labeling that
makes a particular behavior as either good or
bad.
Functions Of The Socialization
Media (1991) gives the functions of socialization as follows:
• 1. Through the process of socialization, the group transmits
its values, customs and beliefs from one generation to
another. Culture is socially transmitted through formal and
informal education, apprenticeship training or experience.
• 2. Socialization enables the individual to grow and develop
into a socially functioning person. Socialization provides the
knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for his effective
functioning in the society.
• 3. Socialization is a means of social control by which
members are encouraged to conform to the ways of the
group by internalizing the groups' norms and values.
Self-disciplined , conformity to expected behavior,
compliance to codes of conduct, and obedience to the laws
and established values are developed through socialization.
Agents of Socialization

Any person or institution that shapes a


person's values and behavior is an
agent of socialization. Most of the
important socializers in our lives fall
into five major categories- the family,
peer groups, the media, the school,
and the workplace.
1. The Family- in the first few years of the child's
life the parents serve as the mirror in which the
child begins to see his self and the source of
ideas about what is important and what is not.
It is from parents and family that children first
learn values and behaviors. Moreover, the
family reflects the attitudes, values, and
customs of the social class, religion, ethnic
group and region of which it is part.
2. Peer Groups- peer groups refers to
groups whose members are more or
less of the same age, sex, and rank.
According to K. Davis (1949), peers
stand in the same relation to persons
in authority and therefore "see the
world through the same eyes."
3. The Media- for many children,
television has become a major agents
of socialization. It has been observed
that children spend more time
watching television than they do in
school or in direct communication with
their parents.
Among the positive effects of television viewing as reported
by studies and experiments are the following:

• Watching programs that emphasizes sharing, cooperation,


and self-disciplines encourages these types of social
behavior in children.
• Television can also portray good health attitudes, such as
not smoking.
• Television is a major source of stimulation and instruction
especially for children who live in improverished
environments.
• Television is widely used in many schools as an electronic
teaching devices.
• Television is a source of entertainment and reaction.
The negative effects of television viewing are:

• Excessive violence on television leads directly to


aggression and violent behavior among children and
teenagers.
• A strong relationship exists between early of television
violence and aggressive behavior by elementary school
pupil.
• Heavy viewing of television in the pre-school years put a
child at risk for problem behavior on the part of
elementary school pupils.
• Television tends to promotes sex role stereotypes.
• Television promotes spectatorship (viewing instead of
doing) For many children, watching TV has supplanted
such traditional activities as playing outdoors, making
models, collecting, reading, and even talking.
4. The School- is an institution that is
established explicitly for the purpose
of socializing people. The school is
the primary agent for weaning
children from home and introducing
them into the larger society.
5. The workplace- when people start
a new job, they may go through a
formal socialization program or an
"on-the-job" training. They get
informal socialization through their
organizations values and outlook, as
well as written and unwritten codes.
Thank you so much!

You might also like