Agents of Socialization- The Role of a Key Figure in My Growth and Goals
Socialization refers to the process in which individuals learn the values, roles, and norms required to take part in society (Module 2 Course Content, n.d). According to Little (2017), socialization is the process that takes place through socializing, and through this, individuals are taught to be proficient members of society. While learning these values, roles, and norms, a child is typically surrounded by such agents as institutions like the family, school, and the church that help impart the guidelines for adhering to the values and norms of society. Socialization is highly essential as it provides relevant information and teaches impulse control and a conscience. In addition, it helps to prepare individuals for particular social roles, such as gender roles and occupational roles, as well as roles of institutions like parenthood and marriage (Lumen, 2020). Socialization also cultivates shared sources of value and meaning, enabling people to identify what is considered valued and essential within a certain culture. In this paper, I will focus on the role played by my mother (as an agent of socialization) in my development and how she affected my socialization and personal goals, beliefs, and values. Do you need any help for completing your assignment ? Contact us at eminencepapers.com. We endeavor to provide you with excellent service.
Agents for secondary and primary socialization help people socialize and generate the “self.” The self is referred to as a sum of I (biological person) and society (through internalizing with society) and becoming a social person (Module 2 Course Content, n.d). As a primary socialization agent, my mother played a significant role in shaping my beliefs and values from a young age. She would often advise me to be well-mannered whenever I am around other people, telling me to be kind to others and try as much as possible to be accommodating. She also taught me that the world is not exactly a kind place but that my kindness can shed light on one’s life. By treating people well, I can be remembered for how I made them feel. At the end of every week, we would have a picnic, and during that time, my mother would always ask me who and how I had impacted someone’s life in the course of the week. These reflections would help me be more aware of myself and the people around me. I would be more aware of how I made other people feel and how I felt while interacting with them. One of her best quotes was, “Kindness costs you nothing and everything.” She meant that I would not lose anything by being kind, but at the same time, giving too much of it might be draining, so it would be essential for me not to lose myself while helping other people. This has increased my self-awareness and has also formed the basis of my interactions with other people.
The structural-functional theory emphasizes how socialization by schools, churches, and families, among other institutions, helps children learn the values and norms of society and hence become smoothly integrated into the broader culture (Module 2 Course Content, n.d). The initial stage of socialization is at the family, where cultural practices and norms are learned, and then the community, where kids interact with neighbors and other community members and are better prepared to meet society’s expectations. Structural functionalists consider socialization as a way of creating balance and stability in society as individuals form a “social contract” that binds their behaviors in the context of agreed-upon norms and values (Guhin, Calarco & Miller-Idriss, 2020; Merton, 2021).
In conclusion, human beings are social beings, and socialization provides the way through which we can gradually see ourselves through the lens of other people and learn who we are and how we fit into the world around us. Structural functionalists emphasize the need for socialization to generate balance and stability in society by having a social contract with others on common beliefs, goals, and norms. Such beliefs are shaped from childhood. My mother was a primary socialization agent who shaped my current beliefs and helped me become more self-aware in my interactions with others.
References
Guhin, J., Calarco, J. M., & Miller-Idriss, C. (2020). Whatever Happened to Socialization? Annual Review of Sociology.
Little, W. (2017). Introduction to Sociology. OpenStax College Textbook.
Lumen. (2020). The role of socialization. Boundless Psychology. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-role-of-socialization/
Merton, K. (2021). Socialization. University of California.
Module 2 Course Content. (n.d). The Process of Socialization. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/Module%202%20course%
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Question 
Instructions:
Based on your personal experience, discuss a significant person’s role as an agent of socialization in your development and explain how that individual affected your socialization and your values, beliefs, or goals.
Include a brief introductory paragraph that introduces the concept of socialization and describes it.
Explain the role of the significant person/agent in your life who influenced you.
Agents of Socialization- The Role of a Key Figure in My Growth and Goals
Include at least one quote/motto shared by this person and describe the way the person/agent helped shape your values, beliefs, and goals.
Be sure to include at least two concepts from Module 2 course content (highlight in boldface) in your explanation and apply one theory of socialization.
End the essay with a concluding paragraph that sums up your key points. Overall, summarize and analyze in an essay format.
****Additional sources for this paper are below****
The Process of Socialization
Socialization is the process whereby people learn the norms, roles, and values that are needed to participate in society. In the process of learning norms, roles, and values, a child is surrounded by agents; these agents include institutions, which impart the guidelines for adherence to the norms and values of society.
As these are learned, they become part of the self-concept or perception of one’s personality and social role. In other words, they become part of the process of identity development.
Sociologists emphasize the creation of self as being integral to the process of socialization. Agents for primary and secondary socialization help an individual socialize and create a “self.” This progression is interminable or unending. In a sense, socialization is a process that ends only with death.
Sociologists place emphasis on the formation of “self” while at the same time, the socialization process continues being learned. The self is created only when a person internalizes the expectations of society in the form of norms, values, and roles. Self is a sum of “I,” which means “I,” is a biological person, and in the process of internalizing with society, this identity becomes SELF, who is a social person. In this sense, I + Society = Self.
There are thoughts among sociologists about how the three main sociological theories view the idea of socialization. The following information describes socialization as conceived by each theory.
Essential Sociological Theories
The following three theories of sociology are considered the pillars in the forming of the sociological perspective. This is a theory/sociological perspective that applies to all sociological concepts and issues. Applying a macro theory of structural-functional theory and conflict theory gives a holistic perspective to a social issue. Symbolic-interaction theory is a micro-theory that looks at socialization from minute details. These three theories show how socialization can be perceived in unique ways.
Structural-Functional Theory: This theory focuses on how socialization by families, churches, schools, and other institutions helps children learn the norms and values of society, thus being smoothly integrated into the broader culture. The first part of socialization begins within the family, where cultural norms and practices are learned, moving on to the community, where children learn to interact with neighbors and the community and get prepared to meet the expectations of society.
Conflict Theory: This theory analyzes how socialization reinforces inequality and punishes nonconformity as well as how socialization can contribute to social change. An example of conflict theory would be income disparity. For instance, in some cases, lower-income students do not receive the same opportunities due to the inability to pay for extra services or supplemental programs that could help students to perform at higher levels or lack of school resources, If these students are able to make it to college, they may be economically disadvantaged due to student loans and family obligations; this creates inequality with access to education.
Symbolic-interaction Theory: This theory explores how individual identity is constructed through three core concepts: the looking-glass self, the process of learning to see ourselves how others see us; role taking, imagining ourselves in the role of others in order to determine how others will judge us; and role identity, the image we have of ourselves performing a specific role. Symbols and gestures play a role in socialization. A girl child is taught to cover her head in some cultures and not in others; this is symbolic of her culture.