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Socialisation

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Socialisation
Socialisation, according to the Collins dictionary of sociological terms, ‘ is a process of learning how to behave according to the expected norms of your culture’, it includes how one learns to live in the way that others expect of them, and helps social interaction by means of give and take of common values, customs, traditions and languages. This is an ongoing process which not only leads to the all round development of an individual, but also cultivates within a person a sense of belonging with regards to family, friends, people and society as a whole. This is emphasized by Parsons and Bales (1955), ‘socialisation, undertaken in the family and elsewhere, involves both integration into society and the differentiation of one individual from another’.
This essay will discuss socialisation and how it shapes individuals throughout their lives and the process of primary and secondary socialisation, and also analyse a case study of an un-socialised human. I will talk about the main agents of socialisation and try to explain ‘differential’ socialisation by using examples of class, gender or ethnicity. I will evaluate by the use of example, the process of re-socialisation
Theorist Talcott Parsons (in The Three Stages of Socialisation) theorised that there are ‘three steps of socialisation’, primary, secondary and tertiary, each step takes place at different stages of one’s life. The socialisation process begins at birth and continues until we die. Sociologists refer to the process of socialisation in early childhood as ‘’Primary Socialisation’’. This occurs mostly within the family and home. Children learn from their parents, but also from other family members. The family therefore plays a significant and defining role in the primary stage. This process includes such things as a child learning to walk and talk as well as values between right and wrong depending on one’s culture. Socialisation occurs as parents teach their children the basic rules of society. Secondary



Bibliography: Feral Children (2007). Producer Unknown. [Documentary]. Washington DC, USA: National Geographic Fulcher, J Giddens, A. (1993a) Sociology, 2nd edn, Cambridge: Polity Press. Henslin, J.Essentials of Sociology. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2006 http://www.richmond.edu/~pli/teaching/psy333/ling-children.html (accessed: 15TH January 2013 @ 21.00). Mead, G.H, (1934) McCall G.J & Simmons, J.L (1978). Identities and Interactions. Free Press. Mind Self and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press McCrone,J.The Myth of Irrationality- the science of the mind from Plato to Star Trek Newman,D.M, 2000. Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Pine Forge Press, California Simplypsychology.org,( publication date unknown)

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