Question

List the socializing and institutional agents, and describe the roles that these play in your socialization process.

Provide clear examples of how these socializing agents have had an impact on your life.

Answer 1

Socialization is defined as the process by which human beings internalize the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization influences the behavior, beliefs, and actions of adults as well as of children.Socialization as a process is an ongoing process in the life of humans. It starts from the time of birth and ends when a person dies.

The agents of socialization

Family: The family is the first agent of socialization. A family includes mother, fathers, siblings, grandparents, and members of an extended family. My family has taught me how to dress, eat, and talk to others.

Peer Groups: A peer group is a group of people who are similar in age and share interests. Peer group socialization starts from early stages when a child begins to play in the park with other kids. Peer group has important influence among teenage years. Being with my peer group I have learned to like Rap music and hang out in coffee shops.  

Institutional Agents: The social institutions of our culture are also responsible for socialization. Some examples of formal institutions are schools, religion, workplaces, and the government.

School: A school not only makes us literate and knowledgeable but also help us to function in society. My school has socialized me to have discipline and follow a schedule. It has also taught me to be a part of the team and provided me with role models. My Schools has made me more aware of my surroundings, about citizenship and national pride.

Religion: Religion is an important avenue of socialization for many people. The United States has many synagogues, temples, churches, mosques where people gather to worship. These places have taught me how to perform prayers. These places are also used for ceremonies like birth, marriage etc. Organized religion forms an opinion about a common set of socialized values that are passed on through society.

Government: Every one of us have to live our lives as per the norms established by the government. We become adult, taxpayer or a senior citizen as per the governmental norms.

Mass Media: Mass media distributes information to a wide audience, via television, newspapers, radio, and the Internet. People learn about what is happening around them. In our day to day lives, media is influencing our beliefs and values. When media shows a large number of cases of violence happening around the world or even in America, I tend to feel that this is how one is expected to be violent but then my father clarified that it serves the interest of the big media houses and actually the world is not such a violent place and other good and productive things are also happening around the world.