The Four Agents of Socialization
Many factors shape our socialization. Sociologists have designated certain factors as primary agents of socialization.
You will learn about the four most influential agents of socialization.
Agent One: Family
The family is the most important agent of socialization for infants and young children. Nearly all children are raised by at least one of their parents. Parents often raise children differently based on the child's gender and on the family's economic class. Family socialization also varies based on culture.
Agent Two: School
As a child gets older, schools begin to be a major source of socialization. Schools teach the academic expectations of a culture, and they also teach some of the social expectations of a culture. These lessons in a social expectations are called the "hidden curriculum."
The hidden curriculum is the imparting of social values of society by the schools of that society.
Schools teach societal values like respecting authority, patriotism, teamwork, cooperation, listening, and even about concepts like success and failure.
Agent Three: Peers
Schools often expose young children to more of their peers and thus influence of peers in their lives. Children begin to value the opinions of their peers and regularly compare themselves to their peers. This becomes especially true during adolescence.
Peers are people of roughly the same age (same stage of development and maturity), similar social identity, and close social proximity.
Peers can provide companionship, emotional support and fun. Unfortunately, they can also influence people in a negative direction, as in the case of peer pressure to drink alcohol or take illicit drugs.
After adolescence, peer influence tends to decrease, as people grow older, marry and enter the workforce. That said, studies are showing the increased influence of friendships with co-workers for emotional and practical support.
Agent Four: The Mass Media
The last major agent of socialization is the mass media. The mass media includes television, movies, popular music, magazines, and web sites. All of these have had a profound impact on our opinions, beliefs and practices.
The mass media is when information is distributed to large groups of people through a variety of methods including, but not limited to, television, radio, movies, music, books, magazines, and the Internet.
Studies show that 45% of American watch at least 4 hours of television a day. While it can be educational, the influence of the mass media, like other agents of socialization, can have its downsides. It has been blamed for exposing people to violence, graphic sex, and stereotypes. Even the marketing of products has been questioned by researchers.
