Реферат: Personality and his socialization

Socialization can be distinguished as deliberate and unconscious. Deliberate socialization refers to the socialization process when there is a deliberate and purposeful intent to convey values, attitudes, knowledge, skills etc., for instance, when parents are telling a child to always say “please. ”

Unconscious socialization occurs as a result of spontaneous interaction with no purposeful or deliberate attempt on the part of anyone involved to train, educate or the like. An example of such socialization is when the child learns to use vulgarity in a frustrating traffic situation by observing parents.

The aims of socialization are as follows:

· to instill disciplines, for instance, don’t walk in front of a moving car;

· to develop aspirations and ambitions, for instance, I want to be a banker, rock star, great sociologist;

· to develop skills, for instance, reading, driving etc.

· to enable the acquisition of social roles, for instance, male, student, son, worker etc.

Development of an individual should be considered in connection with the family, social group and culture he belongs to. His socialization begins from the very first hours of his life and traditionally includes five stages:

· childhood – in medieval European paintings children were portrayed as little adults. In modern societies the separate character of childhood is diminishing once more, for instance, some observers point out that even small children may watch the same TV programs as adults;

· the teenager – the concept of a teenager did not exist until recently. In modern societies, teenagers live between childhood and adulthood, growing up in a society subject to continuous change;

· young adulthood – young adulthood seems to be a specific stage in personal and sexual development in modern societies. Affluent youths take the time to travel and explore sexual, political and religious affiliations;

· mature adulthood – in modern societies, midlife crisis is very real for many middle-aged people;

· old age – in traditional societies, the elder people usually had a major say over matters of importance to the community. In industrial societies, they tend to lack authority within the family and the wider social community.

By character socialization can be primary and secondary with their agencies (institutions) or agents. Agencies of socialization are structured groups or contexts within which significant processes of socialization occur.

Socialization is further differentiated as primary and secondary. Primary socialization occurs in infancy and childhood and is the most intense period of cultural learning. Family is the main agent, or agency of socialization during this phase.

Secondary socialization takes place later in childhood and into maturity. Main agents (agencies) of socialization include schools, peer groups, organizations, the media and the workplace.

All agents involved in socialization of individuals are differentiated as informal and formal ones. The family and peers are typical informal agents of socialization and the school and mass media represent formal agents. For instance, peers become especially influential in schools. They provide opportunities to practice social roles, they are an important source of information, and they greatly influence values and attitudes in mate selection, sex relations, and forms of expression in music, sports and the like. It should be noted that some entities can serve as the agents of both primary and secondary socialization, for instance, peers of childhood and teenager period (primary) and peers at work (secondary).

Difference between primary and secondary forms also lies in the character of relations among humans. Primary socialization is the area of interpersonal relations that’s why most intensively it takes place in the first half of human life, although fading and going out slowly, it remains in the second half as well. Secondary socialization is the area of social relations and it occurs in the second half of human life whereby a person is faced with secondary agencies which have a great impact on developing personality.

A principle asserting that development of personality is a lifelong ascending process based on consolidating of the interiorized before, is indisputable. But personal qualities moulded before aren’t stable or unshakable for ever. When a person learns new roles, values or habits instead of those badly learnt before or obsolete, re-socialization occurs. It embraces a lot of activities – from lessons arranged to change the child’s reading skills to vocational retraining of workers.

Development of any person is determined by a number of factors:

· family – in any civilization, it is the main area of primary socialization of personality as it is characterized by a set of social norms, sanctions and patterns of behaviour which regulate interactions and relations among spouses, parents and children, other relatives. As a rule, a child learns those patterns of behaviour typical for its parents;

· relations of equality – including into “groups of equal”(friends, peers of same age) also has a great impact on the process of personal development. Interrelations among peers are more democratic as compared to those among parents and children. In such groups, individuals enter into various contacts with each other creating informal groups; they often keep these relations all their life;

· education – its importance is determined by the fact that the society ensures development of education and upbringing of the growing generations in accordance with the values, ideals, standards of behaviour typical for a given society. Education is a process and result of learning systematic knowledge, skills, and at the same time a necessary condition of preparing a person for labour activities;

· mass media (radio, press, TV, movie) are a most powerful factor of influence on human consciousness and behaviour that means that they influence on the socialization process;

· labour – the working process is an organizational framework within which an individual turns to a member of the labour collective. While turning to a worker, he learns not only professional roles but also gets to know what is to be an executive and subordinate, leader or outsider etc.;

· culture is a specific kind of activity aimed at creating spiritual and material wealth, so its result comes to be a system of ideals, values, norms and patterns of behaviour embodied in the social development of a person and his spiritual world;

· incomes play an important symbolic role. High incomes mean well-being, high professional qualification and good business aptitudes of personality;

· organizations such as youth associations, church, sport clubs also participate in the development of a person.

Thus, the development of a person is determined by a number of socio-economic factors, social factors being dominant.