Category: Socialization

Socialization is a process of becoming a member of a social group that accompanies a person throughout their entire life. One acquires the necessary roles, values, and standards as a result. People and institutes that facilitate the process are the agents of socialization, although some, particularly from the former group, may not realize their importance. This paper will discuss each agent and the respective role in-depth.

Socialization logically starts in the family, where a person spends the most time during the early years. Children acquire basic cultural knowledge, acceptable behaviors, and various social skills (Laible et al. 35). The important aspects of early socialization are its quality, characterized by warmth, security, and reciprocity, and relational processes, which directly affect ones behavior (Laible et al. 52). It is not uncommon for relatives to focus on one of those and ignore the other, but it can be detrimental to a childs later development (Laible et al. 35). As for me, the family was responsible for developing my moral qualities and values, and while I rarely received a punishment, I knew what was right or wrong based on my parents reactions and words.

The second agent of socialization moving forward is school, where a person can spend a considerable amount of time if higher education is included. Educations role in the process is to transmit societys cultural legacy and tools, including knowledge and skills, to a new generation (Branco 31). It is done for an individuals development and, ideally, for students to actively participate in the social landscape and shape it (Branco 31). Due to the established goals, school may seem like a conservative institute, but it is not always true (Branco 31). To successfully prepare future citizens, schools should combine traditional and progressive elements, as values may remain static, but knowledge is relatively dynamic (Branco 31). I would say that compared to my family, school as an institute was mostly responsible for developing patriotic feelings and respect for science. It was not always a pleasant experience, as a teachers personality could affect my interest in a subject or an idea, but it also taught me how to communicate with people in a superior position.

Once a person starts interacting with people of their age outside of the family, peer socialization begins. Its intensity and relevance depend on the developmental stage, as communication in kindergarten is vastly different from being involved with teenage peers (Bukowski et al. 263). With the former, the familys influence is still strong, so it does not produce much effect, but in the latter case, a person finds people of the same age more relevant (Bukowski et al. 263). Thus, they acquire new values, emotions, patterns, potentially overriding those that existed formerly (Bukowski et al. 264). While a groups influence can vary, being rejected particularly affects socialization and leads to externalized behavioral issues (Bukowski et al. 238). Out of all agents, peer groups are, perhaps, most unpredictable and dynamic (Bukowski et al. 245). One can go through many peers by changing schools, jobs, or maturing, but they can still leave a lingering impact (Bukowski et al. 245). While I cannot say that any peer group managed to make me a new person, they taught me such concepts and emotions as love, friendship, betrayal, and others.

Religion is another important socialization agent, although it may not be equally relevant for everyone. It is an important source of values, morals, and life orienteers for those who are religious (Pratt and Hardy 665). Sacred texts serve as their source and provide knowledge relevant to the community and unobtainable through other means (Rogoff et al. 483). While my family attended church on Sundays and adhered to the Ten Commandments, they were not overly religious. Regardless, I absorbed those Christian values as a child, and they are an integral part of my moral compass.

During and after school, ones workplace, be it part-time or full-time, becomes an important agent. While starting a new job, people acquire new knowledge, roles, make new connections, and adapt to the so-called organizational culture (Ellis et al. 301). The process is important to make all employees share a common goal and a sense of belonging to the organization while providing the necessary information to make them successful (Ellis et al. 302). As ones identity is more or less formed by working-age age, a person may choose an occupation that facilitates their existing identity (Ellis et al. 303). However, some are not so fortunate and have to do a job that conflicts with theirs, which hinders occupational socialization and adaptation (Ellis et al. 303). I have limited experience working part-time, and my organization taught me nothing except discipline, but in the future, a full-time job will surely influence me.

In conclusion, agents of socialization accompany a person throughout their life and help one acquire the values, skills, roles, and knowledge necessary to exist within a social group. The process starts in the family, which provides the foundation, and continues in school and at work while being surrounded by peers, who either facilitate or complicate socialization. Religion can also be an important agent, even if a person is not very religious. In the end, all of them leave their trace and make someone both a unique personality and a member of society.

References

Branco, Angela Uchoa. Values, Education and Human Development: The Major Role of Social Interactions Quality Within Classroom Cultural Contexts. Alterity, Values, and Socialization: Human Development Within Educational Contexts, edited by Angela Uchoa Branco and Maria Cláudia Lopes-de-Oliveira, Springer International Publishing, 2018, pp. 31-50.

Bukowski, William M., et al. Socialization and Experiences with Peers. Grusec and Hastings, pp. 228-250.

Grusec, Joan E., and Paul D. Hastings, editors. Handbook of Socialization: Theory and Research. New York, The Guilford Press, 2015.

Laible, Deborah, et al. Early Socialization: The Influence of Close Relationships. Grusec and Hastings, pp. 35-59.

Pratt, Michael W., and Sam A. Hardy. Cultivating the Moral Personality: Socialization in the Family and Beyond. Grusec and Hastings, pp. 661-687.

Rogoff, Barbara, et al. Children Develop Cultural Repertoires through Engaging in Everyday Routines and Practices. Grusec and Hastings, pp. 472-498.

Socialization is how individuals, beginning at an early age and continuing throughout their lives, learn about societal norms, values, and beliefs (Luther et al., 2018, p. 16). It serves as an instrument of accord and unity among the members of society to ensure its survival. An agent of socialization is someone or something that serves as a source for what is being learned (DeLamater et al., 2015, p. 71). The agents of socialization include family, peers, school, and mass media. I believe that family and peers have had the greatest impact on me. My parents taught me how to treat others with respect, show compassion, and help people in need. By interacting with peers and friends, I understood the importance of values like friendship, loyalty, and honesty.

The self is the individual observed as the source and the object of his/ her reflexive behavior. The notion of self includes the ability to differentiate ourselves from others, to see ourselves through the eyes of others, and to use a special language for thoughts (DeLamater, 2015). Before the age of 10, my sense of self was mostly formed under the influence of family and friends, and I viewed myself as a member of my family and a loyal friend. However, as I got older, school and mass media started to play a crucial role in my understanding of myself.

My achievements in academics and sport positively affected the way I perceived myself, while mass media hurt my self-esteem. Mass media often assigns specific roles to people of a certain race, ethnicity, and gender, which may lead them to wrong conclusions. Affected by mass media as a teenager, I associated myself with the typical person of my race, gender, and age, which made me confused about who I was. Now I am trying to be unbiased in my interactions with others, and I am convinced that a persons self should be the result of his/ her unique character and history. We should not be the stereotypes mass media wants us to become.

References

DeLamater, J. D., Myers, D. J., & Collet, J. L. (2015). Social Psychology (8th ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Luther, C. A., Lepre, C. R., & Clark, N. (2018). Diversity in U.S. Mass Media (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

In the 21st century, the mass media has become an integral part of the day-to-day activities for human beings. Over the years, this sector has undergone considerable transformation to incorporate almost all aspects that people consider as important in their lives. The mass media has become a tool that defines how people eat, dress and socialize among other things.

The trend of increasing expenditure on mass media and entertainment depicts the high levels of influence of this industry. For example, in America, the average citizen spends more on entertainment than on things like gasoline, household furnishings, and clothing. Most citizens spend nearly the same amount of money on entertainment as on dining out.

According to the research by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, spending on global entertainment and mass media exceeded 1.8 trillion dollars by 2010. The mass media and entertainment industry provide access to the simulated world and virtual realities. A significant portion of the human population model their character and behavior based on the mass media. Mass media and entertainment have become an essential part of society, which drives social behavior.

With the emergence of new media, societal and industrial models compare new standards with the failures of the old ones. The development of multimedia such as CD-Rom, PC games, and Virtual reality devices allowed people to experience all the pre-existing media types as they converged together in one collage of media elements. With the introduction of the World Wide Web, the world realized the logical extension of access to multimedia where entertainment is accessible via the internet.

The internet became the new platform upon which the media and entertainment industry expanded further. The media undergoes a cycle of invention, access limitation and information overflows. One of the factors that facilitate the considerable levels of influence of the mass media on societal behavior is the participatory culture.

This describes the way individuals interact with the media content, media producers, and another consumer as they explore the resources available to them across the media landscape. For example, access to a website like Illuminati, which talks about devil-worshiping, deepens emotional investment in the media and expands our awareness on the content.

On the other hand, such information can change someones culture and ways of living. The Internet provides easy access to all information. However, some internet sites are not appropriate for use by society. The disadvantage of the internet is the lack of restrictions, which introduce loopholes and allow everyone who knows how to use a computer to access any information irrespective of its nature and potential harm. An example is pornographic sites, which should not be viewed by teenagers under the age of eighteen. Most pornographic sites have resulted in moral and cultural degradation within society.

The mass media promotes creations that attract audience participation in the form of random and interactive storytelling. An example is the reality TV show Survivor, which appeared in 2000 in the United States. The publicity of the show produced the survivor who sought to discover contest sites before release. It shows how devoted viewers could discover and predict the outcome of the show in online discussion groups.

This is an illustration of how the internet can ultimately influence the production of a TV show. The example illustrates a participatory culture, which exists when media consumers create a new mode of engagement with the media content. After noticing that their content has a great impact on society, a media company can use the content to generate revenue online. This is exploitation by influence.

For example, noticing the viewers enthusiasm, the Fox Network launched American Idol and embarked on campaigns to encourage audiences to participate in choosing the winner by texting their votes. This highlights the indirect approaches that stakeholders in the mass media industry employ to obtain profits for the sustenance of media programs. It demonstrates the convergence behavior of the society with a common interest (Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2008).

Matrix multiplayer online games provide individuals with new ways to participate in their shared fantasy. Enthusiasts of the Matrix become entangled in the philosophies of the story. They create elaborate fictions and seek definitions that are beyond the scope of this world. The universe of media and entertainment is forcing consumers professing old cultures and norms to make snap decisions and create a culture of long-term strategies in their role within the virtual enrolment.

Even in television shows, the content is less appealing than the cognitive work the show elicits on ones mind. Instead of becoming mindless viewers, the audiences are participating in decision-making activities that revolve around TV content episode by episode (Croteaus & Hoynes, 2003).

The mass media has a significant impact on various aspects of life within society. There are several TV shows and magazines with contents of lifestyles. An example is the Lose Angeles magazine. The magazine discusses a luxurious lifestyle, fashions, and personalities. It hurts ordinary citizens who cannot afford expensive commodities. People who survive on meager income develop the notion that individuals within the high class are superior. The nature of the lifestyle that an individual adopts starts from the individuals mindset.

Ones mindset is subject to a variety of factors that influence an individual. One of these factors is the mass media. The media and entertainment industry has both positive and negative effects. One of the advantages of the media industry is that it introduces numerous economic benefits within society. For example, online marketing stores such as Lingerie womens fashion enable women to order for their clothing and foot ware online without having to travel long distances.

Individuals save time and money when using the internet to access relevant information. Appropriate entertainment plays a key role in an individuals well being within society. When one is under distress, he or she needs some form of distraction. The media industry provides a variety of entertainment that suit individual needs. However, the media contributes a lot to moral degradation within society.

An example is pornographic films and websites. These two contents have introduced misadvised notions on sexuality within the society and families. It portrays sex as a game. This contradicts the norms of most societies. Some of the information that individuals obtain from media presents contradictory concepts regarding a particular subject.

A perfect example is the media coverage on the secret society called Illuminati. It is hard to believe someone who attempts to explain an organization that functions based on satanic powers. It introduces the dilemma for the media audience. Viewers do not know whether to believe the media coverage or not. Generally, the media and entertainment industry have impacts that are more positive concerning the societys development.

References

Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2003). Media society: industries, images, and audiences (3rd ed.).Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press.

Shaughnessy, M., & Stadler, J. (2008). Media & society (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press

Socialization is important to individuals and the societies that they live in; it helps to illustrate how human beings are entwined with their social realms. A society is only able to preserve itself by teaching principles to its new members; if values are not taught to new age group then the society will cease to exist. There have been debates about nature versus nurture that ranges over whether a person’s experiences are more important in shaping physical and interactive personalities.

In this case nature is regarded as the hormone founded behaviors, traits and viewpoints while nurture refers to the setting, values and involvements. The modern debate is often aligned on the effects that genetic factors have on human personality as opposed to the effects that early setting and growth might have (Rutter, 2006). Current debates on this issue have been shifting with cultural changes; the theories of behaviourism alleged that human nature is majorly swayed by training and involvement. This debate has changed in recent years through the studies of identical twins separated during birth, that indicate that genetics have a vital role in the development of human behaviour (Rutter, 2006). Even though genes help in defining one’s personality, the society in which one is brought up in affects their social interaction skills. Individual that are brought in well up families tend to be more self-confident, ready to confront systems that are unfair to them and always confident to explain themselves in all situations thus the high capacity for the success in life (Rutter, 2006). On the other hand, children from low income families lack self-confidence and are less likely to question authorities and system that are unfair to them. They lack the confidence to speak up and explain their situations and this affects their capacity to succeed in life (Rutter, 2006).

Theoretical perspectives that help to understand Socialization

There are three primary theoretical perspectives that sociologists employ to help explain socialization. The first one is symbolic interactionist perspective that looks into symbols and facts in normal life, their implications and the manner in which people interact with one another (Lawler, 2008). People attribute meanings to symbols, where they then act according to their subjective clarifications of the symbols. The institution of marriage in American society has symbols such as: the wedding bands, flowers, vows, the white bridal dress and the cake (Lawler, 2008). For some, they symbolize the eternal love and others may look at them as fiscal costs. This perspective has been criticized for missing the large issues in the society and focusing on the minor issue.

The second perspective is the functionalist perspective that illustrate that each aspect of the society is co-dependent and it adds to the running of the society as a whole (Lawler, 2008). A good illustration of this is where the state provides education for the family’s children which in-turn pays taxes that the state needs to run. The family hence depends on the school to augment their children’s growth in-order for them to get jobs that can help them sustain their own families as help pay taxes (Lawler, 2008). The society is held together by social consistency, whereby members of the society work together to sustain the society. Functionalist has been criticized for neglecting the role of encouraging people to change their social environment even when it is for their own benefit.

The third perspective is conflict, which defers from the others because it focuses on negative disputed nature of the society that is ever changing. Conflict perspective argues that the affluent and influential, force social order on those that are weak and poor (Lawler, 2008). A conflict theorist will for instance interpret a decision to raise tuition to pay for a new program to help raise the status of a local college as a selfish decision rather than looking at it as a benefit for the students. Conflict theorists find social conflicts between any groups that have possible disparities for instance racial, religious, gender and economic among many others (Lawler, 2008). They argue that unequal groups always have contradictory standards and agendas, that push them to contest against one another. Conflict perspective has been criticized for its negative view on the society.

Agents of Socialization

An individual’s self-concept, values and behaviour are always shaped by various agents of socialization including; family, peers and media among others. Family for instance serves to replicate the society organically through reproduction and communally through the socialization of children (Brinkerhoff, 2008). Marriages help to establish formation of families with or without the intention of having children; it establishes relationships between the families of the wife and the husband. Marriages establish the joint fund of property all for the benefit of the children and the partners (Brinkerhoff, 2008). There are prohibitions against marriages between family members in most societies, what is known as incest taboo.

Peer groups also have a great influence on socialization, peer groups allow children to escape supervision and give them an opening to form relationships on their own (Brinkerhoff, 2008). Peer groups unlike family only have short term impact on their interests. Peer groups allow children to discuss matters like current music and fashion that the adults do not share; they also permit activities such as sex and drug use (Brinkerhoff, 2008). Peer groups greatly influence the mental and social regulation of an individual; they provide viewpoints outside of individual standpoints.

The fact that mass media has enormous effects on people’s attitudes and behaviour; it contributes greatly to the socialization process. Media bias is one factor that affects socialization an it is widely distributed in the world, it happens in the manner in which the selection of events and stories are reported and covered in order to appeal to various audiences (Brinkerhoff, 2008). What this means is that the stories that affect a large number of people on a universal gage tend to have less coverage than the local stories that the people are more interested in because that is what they relate with. Video gaming is another element that is associated with socialization. Video game violence influences real life violence, it upsurges an individual’s opinions and behaviours (Brinkerhoff, 2008). Children regularly act out the violence that they see in the games and it has serious consequences.

Socialization is important as it familiarizes individuals with the norms of a particular society. It helps prepare individuals to be a part of teams by helping them understand what is expected from them by those teams. Socialization is particularly important for children who begin the socialization process at home after which they proceed to school and later on at work as grownups with various responsibilities. Both nature and nurture contribute greatly to an individual’s socialization growth, the way that one is brought up defines some important traits like confidence.

References

1. Brinkerhoff, D. B. (2008). Essentials of sociology. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
2. Lawler, S. (2008). Identity: Sociological perspectives. Cambridge: Polity Press.
3. Rutter, M. (2006). Genes and behavior: Nature-nurture interplay explained. Malden, Mass: Blackwell.

Sociology- socialization, and culture

1. Read the item below and answer the following questions.

All social groups, whether small or large, have to find ways of ensuring their members follow norms and values. In society, different groups use social control to maintain order. Teachers, for example, use detention if students go against the norms and values of the school. Social control may also be achieved by using rewards.

(a) With reference to the item and sociological knowledge, explain the meaning of the term social control. [5]

Social control is the use of rules and certain standards that are put in place to keep groups and individuals bound to conventional norms, values and behaviors. The item describes it as ensuring members follow norms and values, and the item also uses the example of the education system. This is a good example because teachers and staff use social control to make sure students stay within the rules, so they do not become deviant and join anti-school cultures. Social control can also be described as the control of society over the individual.

(b) Using material from the item and sociological knowledge, explain how any two agents of socialization control behavior.

Agents of socialization have the ability to enforce social norms and values on an individual. These include the family and peer groups. The family in known by functionalists as the most important agent of socialization as it teaches young children the basic norms and values that is expected by society. If socialization at this stage fails, then the children will become feral. The family works as an agent of socialization by impressing ideas and behaviors upon a child. For example, parents will pass on behaviors such as dress as well as gender ideologies.

(c) Discuss the relationship between ethnicity and youth culture

Society includes many different ethnic groups. Ethnicity can be a vital part of identity and culture. For example, in Britain, ethnic minorities are often people whose families arrived from former Ethic minority groups and commonly use youth subcultures as an escape of racism and discrimination. For example, you could argue that black, Asian and minority ethnic youths join youth cultures to avoid discrimination, especially in schools or education environments. Gilborn found that black children of ethnic minorities were being very harshly penalized by teachers and other staff for ‘deviant’ behavior. This can be easily backed up as there are higher exclusion rates for black boys than any other group. This understandably has led to more conflict and caused children to fall into anti-school subcultures, as a defense mechanism to racism within the education system. A counter-argument of Gilborn’s findings are from a 1997 study conducted by Sewell, it is argued that a culture of hyper-masculinity ascribed to by some (but not all) black boys is one of the main factors explaining the poor performance of black boys in the education system. Sewell found that an extremely high proportion of Black Caribbean boys are raised in a single-mother household, with the father not being present or absent for some years of the child’s development. In the late 1990s when Sewell carried out his study, 57% of Black Caribbean families with dependent children (any person aged 0-15 in a household) were raised by a single parent. On the other hand, only 25% of white children were raised by single parents. This means that many black boys do not have a father figure to act as a role model and provide discipline while they are growing up, which makes this group in particular more vulnerable to factors such as peer pressure which is already common enough within youth cultures. Young black men are disproportionately drawn into gang culture from an increasingly young age which in turn emphasizes an aggressive, macho form of masculinity that heavily promotes the use of violence as a way to gain respect. Gang culture also values materialist displays of wealth such as the latest expensive clothing brands and crime, rather than actual ‘hard work as a quick and easy route to financial well-being, rather than a proper career. This is seen as a result of lack of a father figure. So, from this evidence, it is clear that those of ethnic minorities may join youth cultures to be able to cope and protect themselves against discrimination. This study is a direct counterpoint to previous studies such as those by Wright and Gilborn because it puts Gilborn put the emphasis on negative teacher labeling as the main explanation for differential achievement depending on ethnicity, while Sewell argued that other things like hyper-masculinity and home life were to blame.

Similarly, ethnic minority youth cultures also develop in response to negative labeling outside of the education system. Gilroy found that the police wrongly label ethnic youth groups as a problem. This is known as a moral panic. A moral panic is a widespread fear, very often a false one, that someone holds a possible threat to the norms, values and interests of a community. Usually, a moral panic is spread by the news and media, furthermore, driven by politicians. An article I have found published by Scott Poynting in 2001 details a moral panic in the years 1998–2000 about something called “ethnic gangs” in Sydney’s southwestern suburbs and studies the ideologies of the links between ethnicity, youth and crime. It documents the labeling and targeting of immigrant young people which misread mainly class-related social realities as racial, and then the distribution of these representations by media, and police. The data used in this analysis mainly contained interviews with Lebanese-Australian youth, Lebanese immigrant parents, ethnic community workers, community leaders and police. Other, more well-known labeling includes the moral panic that caused police to stop and search black youths a lot more. This is very evident in some first-world countries like the US and England as black men are 7x more likely to be stopped. This has partly led to the creation of deviant youth cultures, as people become angry and increasingly more hostile with the police due to the apparent racism within the system. Gilroy also argued that crime amongst Black British ethnic groups was a reaction to the white dominance in former colonies such as Jamaica. When early migrants first came to Britain, they immediately faced discrimination and hostility, and subsequently drew upon the tradition of anticolonial struggle to develop cultures of resistance against white-dominated authorities such as police forces. This theory however is heavily criticized by Lea and Young (1984) on several grounds: firstly, first-generation immigrants were in reality very law-abiding citizens and as a result did not resist the colony of Britain and were less likely to pass this anti-colonial stance to their kids (the next generation). Secondly, most crime is against other people of the same ethnic group and therefore cannot be seen as resistance to racism. Lea and Young also criticized Gilroy for romanticizing the criminals as in a way revolutionary. Asian crime rates are similar or lower than whites, which would mean the police were only racist towards blacks, which is highly unlikely. Most crime is reported to the police not completely uncovered by them, so it can be difficult to suggest racism within the police itself. In conclusion to the evidence provided, it is clear that people also join youth cultures in response to negative labeling and to resist the stigma by organizations on ‘BAME’ youths.

Furthermore, some ethnic youth cultures are a response to racism and a form of resistance to white culture. Hebdige argues that the Rastafarians are an example of resistance to white culture. It is seen as not just a political movement, but also a spiritual movement, giving its followers a positive identity and a valid way to oppose racism. Dick Hebdige (1979) however argues that because subcultures stem from deviance, they usually consist of working-class cultures and individuals. Essentially, youth cultures attempt to fix their status problems by creating a new subculture and establishing new norms and values that do not conform to the mainstream culture’s norms. These new norms also contain ideological meanings and contain highly symbolic forms of resistance. Additionally, subcultures often take objects and clothing/ music styles of the mainstream culture and appropriate them in order to demonstrate a new meaning. The Rastafarians for example use their clothing and style as a symbolic form of resistance, such as dreadlocks, reggae music and wearing the colors of the Ethiopian flag. In more recent times, whole movements and cultures have been created by instances of ethnic oppression. Due to the blatant disadvantages that some ethnicities experience in today’s society, resistant movements and cultural groups often form from oppressed ethnic groups. There are currently many examples of active resistance in concerning race/ ethnicity such as the Black Lives Matter movement and pro-immigration marches. Many more people take part in passive resistance through actions such as listening to specific genres of music such as rap or hip-hop, as they tend to criticize the presence of white supremacy in governmental structures. Harrison (2008) argues many artists that produce this music promote the so-called “ghetto lifestyle” which considerably deviates from hegemonic norms of polite and submissive living. Hip Hop artists claim racial authenticity in their work, implying that because of their racial identity, they can best represent oppressed racial groups. Hegemonic cultural values dictate that this music and the people who associate with it are deviant because they challenge the dominance of white culture. It is apparent that some ethnic youth cultures arise to oppose mainstream culture and racism.

Additionally, some youth cultures act simply as an expression of pride and cultural heritage. For example, Johal found that some British Asians celebrate parts of their own parental culture whilst rejecting other aspects of British culture, this is known as Brazilian culture. Johal argues that they have adopted a racially fluid style, so they have the ability to switch between the two cultures to whatever suits them. This could be changing between parts of their diet, marriage traditions, and religious preferences. Johal (1998) has also suggested that religious identity is increasingly important in a multi-cultural and multi-faith society such as Britain. This ties in with Modood’s research about British Muslims and is supported by Grace Davie (1994) who suggests that religious identity provides a sense of belonging and cultural identity. They decide what they like depending on their preferences. So, it is clear that youth culture can be a way for people to stay in touch with their heritage, but also connect with a new culture.

Some on the other hand believe that ethnicity and youth cultures have no real relationship anymore. For example, postmodernists argue that youth cultures are much more fluid than when they used to be in the mid to late 20th century, and they are therefore less important. Postmodern beliefs also say that youth subcultures are no longer relevant in today’s society, and they instead suggest that youth styles have become increasingly broken up and divided, and diverse. Youth styles are now fluid (changing, flowing) and are no longer based and fixed on class lines, gender or ethnicity. Bennett (1999) came up with the term ‘neo tribes’ as he found that young people could move in and out of different youth cultures with others over a period of time. He suggested this was because there was a wider choice of styles, the period of youth was longer, and changing nature of youth. This could also be because of new technology and young people becoming more affluent; they have the ability to discover cultures that suit them more than others and have the money to consume products of the culture.

Introduction

Socialization involves acquisition of skills both physical and social, traits values, knowledge, attitudes norms and depositions that can be learnt in one or more social institutions. Socialization can occur In a variety of social institutions, a variety of social environments, and throughout the life cycle.

Socialization process may vary by gender, social class, ethnic background and even nationally. Specific sport roles can be learnt in more than one institutional setting. According to Bandura (1969) and Walters(1969) they proposed that most social behaviour is learnt by observing and internalizing the behaviour of others.

There are three elements of socialization process and they include

• Personal attributes
• Significant others
• Socialization situations

The process whereby elite athletes becomes interested and involved on sports indicates that interest and participation is aroused early in life, often before the age of six or seven. This initial interest is stimulated in the home,neighbourhood,and school and normally involves exposure to one of the traditional tram sports such as baseball,basketball or football. Later either through the school or voluntary associations, interest and participation in other sports such as gymnastics, tennis or even wrestling.

Most elite athletes participated in a number of sports before they began to specialize,and often their early experience often their early experiences result in a high level of success.

Provided with a favourable opportunity set such as living near the sport facility, the specific stages in the life cycle they receive positive sanctions from a variety of significant others, to whom the family, peer group, coaches appear to be the most influencial. Many of the role models stoll compete or did compete in one or more of the sports being learned by the role aspirant.

For the general population studies suggest that early socialisation is a major factor in involving young adults in sport during the college years or during the early years of adulthood.Those that are socialised early and receive reinforcement from significant others are more likely to continue to be involved in later adulthood.

Primary sport role socialization, occurs during childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.

Secondary roles can occur at any stage of the life cycle.

Socialization into Secondary sport involvement at one stage in the life cycle appears to be highly dependent on the degree of specialisation that has occurred at early stages, there appears to be greater continuity /stability in the consumption of sports than in the degree of involvement in active sport roles.

Being socialized and involved at one stage in the life cycle appears to account for much of the envolvement at the next stage, more so than current situational correlates that may be operating at that point in time.

Factors affecting socialization is sports

FAMILY AND KJNSHIP SYSTEMS

The nuclear family and the extended family are most responsible for the socialization process in the early years. At the childhood years the nuclear family serves as the major socializing institution by providing economic and emotional support.

The family provides a basic frame of reference from who h to view social reality. Positive evaluation of sport by parents is likely to give rise to sports interests among the offspring.

Children are often likely to consume and participate if the parents presently participate in sports or attend sport events, if the parents have expectations for their children in sports.

Sibling interaction also facilitates or inhibits socialization into sports roles.

Birth order, family size, sex and age differences, the systematic differences in the parental interaction with different siblings are some of the factors that influence patterns of sibling interaction.

Studies have showed that birth order creates a particular kind of social structure within the family that may influence psychological and social development patterns. For example theories have shown that parents are often overprotective, anxious and indulgent with their first child and thus the child is more independent.

The peer group and community agencies have increased their interest over the child, thus parents institutionalise their children’s free time activities especially sports.

SCHOOL AND EDUCATION SYSTEM

The education system is functional in socializing individuals into sports roles. Sports is functional for raising educational aspirations.,encouraging academic achievement, fostering social integration.

At the secondary school level, sports becomes an integral part of the youth subculture and tends to be highly valued In most secondary school. Research has shown that non athletes perform better than athletes More over, they noticed that athletes performed get better grades after the end of the sport season.

Values that students aquire in sports are applied in the academic domain. Superior physical conditions improves mental performance in students. Athletes make good use of their of their limited study time. Athletes Re motivated by scholarships. They obtain additional tutoring and advice from peers, coaches and teachers.

Students participating in sports may aqcuaire interpersonal skills, that can be utilized outside athletics.

PEER GROUPS AND VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS

The sooner a hold is given freedom to venture from home and its immediate environment, he or she begins to participate in peer groups then voluntary associations.

Peer groups and voluntary associations influencial socializing institutions throughout the life cycle

Lack of sport oriented peers often leads individuals to reduce their involvement in sports.

Entering a new peer group at work can suddenly revive an earlier interest or stimulate a new interest.

Sports in voluntary associations has been promoted as a mechanism by which children can be socialized into the values and characteristics deemed desirable to the community.

Summary

Play and games are important element of childhood socialisation. Social learning may result from participations in institutionalized sport, both within and outside school. Participation in sports is an element of the socialisation process that contributes to mental and social development. Early socialisation is a major factor in involving young adults in sports.

References

1. Adams, B 1972 birth order:a critical review
2. Bandura, N1969 social learning theory of indentificatory process

The functionalist perspective states that for society to work and have social stability, social structures need to have stable patterns. These social structures can either help maintain social stability or fail to do so. This approach focuses on the macro-level structures in our society (Brym, 2019). School and peer groups function significantly influence the lives of Canadians today. However, the functionalist perspective shows how these two socialization agents are differentiated depending on how they are looked at through this approach.

According to Brym (2019), peer group functions help adolescents and children develop an independent identity when they separate from their families. This agent of socialization has a notable amount of agency in the lives of Canadians today. However, in some cases, peer groups can fail to maintain social stability in society. To explain, multiculturalism is a very important characteristic in Canadian society. Nonetheless, too much multiculturalism in society can affect its social stability. Cultures have different values that sometimes collide, some challenging authoritarian regimes while others are more submissive. Many immigrant families in Canada struggle when trying to implement their values to their family members born in Canada. To elaborate, Hispanic parents tend to be more strict when it comes to letting their daughters and sons go to a party or having a sleepover at a friend’s house. In contrast, Canadian parents tend to be more permissive. Canadians have different values and norms than many other ethnic groups.

The journal article SALVADORIAN ETHNIC PRIDE: A Bridge for Reducing Mother-Daughter Conflict Due to Acculturation Into Canadian Society by Carranza (2012), discusses how Salvadorian immigrant mothers living in Canada try to guide their daughters according to their Salvadorian heritage. Furthermore, it emphasizes the disagreement between mothers raised in El Salvador and their daughters living in a mid-sized city in Ontario. Dina a mother of three, explained how she allowed her daughter to have Canadian friends but she did not agree with the things her daughter’s friends do. After the interviews between mothers and daughters, the daughters comprehended that some practices in Canadian culture that are allowed and normal for young women are not acceptable or ‘decent’ for young women in El Salvador.

Conflict frequently emerges between certain values promoted by parents and those promoted by the adolescent peer group (Brym, 2019). Hispanic families are very strict about drugs, dress styles, curfew times, and many other rules in their culture. About four percent of Canadians between the ages of twelve and seventeen smoke cigarettes daily or often and have five or more drinks per occasion at least twelve times a year (Brym, 2019). Immigrant children and adolescents are actively influenced by the individuals of the settlement country. They can lose the values and norms they learned in their society because they want to fit in with the rest of their peers.

Multiculturalism can indeed affect the social stability of Canadian society when certain values in a culture overlap with other values in a different culture. Not everybody is the same and not every culture implements the same values and norms. Canadians have different norms and values. For example, in Canada, gay marriage is allowed contrary to many countries around the world where gay marriage is not allowed and is seen as a taboo subject. Many immigrants may not agree with this rule in Canadian society. This can cause conflicts when entering the workforce because they can find same-sex couples colleagues. Discrimination can come into place when these differences in norms come to play which can cause social instability in society.

On the other hand, school functions are responsible for socialization outside the family environment after childhood (Brym, 2019). This agent of socialization has had a tremendous impact on Canadian society and it is helping their society to maintain social stability. To explain, Canadians are among the most highly educated people in the world. According to Brym, (2019), today about eighty-seven percent of Canadians between the ages of twenty-five and sixty-four have completed high school and sixty-four percent have a post-secondary degree. Presently, Canada has reasonably high levels of education, however, students who are unable to complete high school persist to be a concern (Hankivsky, 2008). There are various quantities of consequences related to dropping out of high school which include poor health, increased unemployment, delinquency, and many others (Hankivsky,2008). Although recent studies have shown that there has been a decrease in high school dropouts rates, the number of individuals who are not attending school between the ages of twenty to twenty-four years old was twenty-one percent for males and sixteen percent for females during the years of 1990 and 1991. However, the statistics demonstrated a significant decrease in these numbers during the years of 2004 and 2005, the rate of individuals who were not attending high school was fourteen percent for males and nine percent for females (Hankivsky, 2008).

One of the reasons why the Canadian education system is rated among the best in the entire world is because the government focuses significantly on education. The Canadian education system has many programs to help immigrant families. For example, English as a Second Language (ESL) is a program that helps students whose first language is not English to learn how to speak, write, listen and read English. Equally as important, the Canadian education system provides students with the flexibility to attend night school. Lastly, Canada’s education system also provides its population with adult school, which is designed to help skilled immigrants who are trying to continue their careers in Canada. Adult school also allows individuals with the age of twenty two and above to continue their high school studies.

In conclusion, socialization agents through a functionalist perspective can be perceived in different ways. Functionalists focus their attention on how socialization helps maintain order in society through social relations (Brym, 2019). School functions have helped maintain order and social stability in Canadian society. Unlike schools, peer groups can affect social stability and order in Canadian society due to the fact that Canada is a very culturally diverse country. These social structures can either help maintain social stability or fail to do so.

References

1. Brym, R. J. (2019). Soc+. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson.
2. Carranza, M. (2012). SALVADORIAN ETHNIC PRIDE: A Bridge for Reducing Mother-Daughter Conflict Due to Acculturation Into Canadian Society. Canadian Social Work Review / Revue Canadienne De Service Social, 29(1), 61-85. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/43486269
3. Hankivsky, O. (2008). Cost estimates of dropping out of high school in Canada. Canadian Council on Learning.

Part I

When I think about it, I don’t know how to answer the question ‘Who am I’? When you ask people who I am they will probably tell you I am a country girl, I love my family, I’m in the military, I love sports, I’m shy, I’m caring, I work hard, I am a leader and I am determined but I like to think I am more than that. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a sailor, and so much more. My name is Chelsea Lyn Kile and I am a country girl that was born in Virginia but was raised in Washington state. My parents are divorced, and I am an only child while also being the oldest of five. I had to split my time between my parents. With my parents being divorced when I was so young and my mom remarrying soon after it was not the easiest household to live in. My mom and stepdad struggled a lot when I was growing up and it pushed me closer to my dad who today I consider my best friend. I spent all the time I could away from my house and used that time to get good grades in school and well mostly to wrestle. I wrestled for over 6 years when I graduated high school. After I graduated, I went to college and just a few years after that I joined the military.

When I joined the military, I followed in my mom’s footsteps as she joined when she was young and soon after me my sister joined the Navy. My dad was worried for me and did not necessarily want me to join but supported my decision to join the Navy in the end. I have gained and lost a lot of friends since I joined the navy and have faced a lot of adversity but I have learned so much from the navy and learned so many valuable lessons that I can say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I would like to say that I have accomplished a lot in my life so far, but I don’t know if I have and there are some changes, I would like to make. There are still so many goals and other things I want to do with my life when I grow up and a different person I want to be.

Socialization is the way people learn societal norms, values, and the expectations they are expected to follow. Socialization is learned in different ways and affects people in different ways. Socialization has affected me since I could understand what was expected of me by my parents and has helped make me the person I am today. Socialization is learned from family members, friends, peers, school, media, religion/church, personal background and from work. Different agents of socialization that apply to me are family, mass media, peers, and work.

Part II

Family is the biggest agent of socialization that affected your development and is probably considered the most important and influential as well. My parents, grandparents, sisters, brother, aunts, uncles, and all my other family have influenced me in some way as I have grown up around them. When you are born your parents or guardians teach you everything you know because when we are young, we depend on them for help and for them to teach us everything we need to know. We learn stuff like how to talk, walk, religious beliefs, how to care for ourselves, and what is expected of us. As I grew up all of my family taught me social norms, beliefs and what was expected of me in society.

I think that the parents today are very different from the people who raised me even though I was only born in the ’90s and that even different from parents of different generations. I feel like they place different emphasis on different things they think are important to teach kids. I think parent availability has been a big thing that has changed from then to now. Family morals and values were taught to me from the moment I could understand things. They told me there is right and wrong and today’s parents use more of a grey area and are creating more entitled kids than ever before. I grew up in a stricter household than I think kids do today. I was taught morals, values, the importance of respect, working hard, and when I did wrong, I was punished. As we moved further and further towards the newer generations, we get more and more away from that.

Symbolic interactionism is a ‘theory that focuses on interactions between individuals’ (OpenStax). Blumer coined the term symbolic interactionism and described it as people interact with things based on meaning and the meaning of things comes from interactions with others and society (OpenStax). An example of this is taking education seriously and maintaining good grades this might show that you have learned this from your family and they take education very seriously and expects good grades. My parents and family saw grades and getting a higher education very important and now so do I.

Another part of socialization that affected me growing up and even to this day is my peer group. A peer group is ‘The people who are approximately the same age as you and come from a similar social group’ (Cambridge Dictionary). Peer groups allow people to build relationships with others of similar social groups outside of family members. Peers have a huge influence on people when they are very young. Peer socialization begins when many are very young which can include when you’re playing outside with others, daycare, and pre-school as when I was young and attended both daycare and pre-school. When you are young you can learn simple things like taking turns, waiting politely and being nice to others from your peers.

As we grow up teenagers tend to pull away from their parents and build their own sense of self and their own identity and peers can have a big influence on that. When I was getting older, I wanted to spend more and more time away from my parents. Another thing that tends to set in is wanting to fit in and have a feeling of belonging with your peers and this is where I picked up some of my bad habits as a teenager that I outgrew as I got older.

Even today my peers affect me in the military. I grew up a lot when I joined the military and the people that I work with have a profound effect on me. Today I respect my peers and in turn want them to respect me and in that work environment it is important we do. It’s natural that just by being around other people you learn from them and they learn from you and you might not even be aware that it is happening at all. Emile Durkheim was a functionalist and ‘called the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of society the collective conscience’ (OpenStax). He believed that there is a shared set of norms, beliefs, and attitudes common in a social group or society. This concept shows how individuals are brought together into socials groups or societies. This is important because as humans we interact with peers and other people in every part of our lives.

Another socialization agent that affected people in school because we are required to attend school when we are young and school is several hours a day several days a week. The intended job school is to teach us certain topics required by the state and also life skills. School teaches us a lot of skills like listening to rules, paying attention, following orders, deadlines, teamwork, and socialization. Schools and teachers have found many ways to fit life skills into the plans that they teach every day. This is where we learn to work with all different kinds of people of authority like teachers, administration, and even principles.

‘Various parts of society work together to keep society functioning’ (OpenStax) and a critical part of this is school. Functionalism, also called Structural-Functional Theory, ‘sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society’ (OpenStax). In the Functionalist theory, education is very important. Since society values education as a whole, it is important to get your education and succeed to keep the various parts of society working together to keep society functioning properly (OpenStax). In this theory not taking education seriously and getting bad grades and dropping out is called dysfunction (OpenStax) and keeps society from continuing a smooth function.

The last socialization agent that I am going to talk about is mass media. Mass media can be considered television, music, the internet, reading material and can influence people from a very young age. When I was growing up, I wanted to dress like the girls on tv as well as have the same hairstyle as and wear makeup like the girls on my favorite TV shows as well. Besides influencing us that way they can also influence our relationships and the way we interact and socialize with other people. One of the most talked-about debates that I know of today about media is about how much effect media has on teaching children violence since they start to see it from a very young age in TV shows, movies, and games. The sociological imagination theory is the belief that we are more than just the products of the decisions we make but also the beliefs, behavior, and fashion sense influenced by society (Baruch College). Society is a group of people sharing the same geographic location and a lot of the time they share the same beliefs. With the ability of the internet and social media everything changed.

In conclusion, the four socialization agents that I have talked about have had a huge impact on me from the time I was born to the present. We would live in a completely different work without societal norms, values, morales, and the expectations people are expected to follow. Socialization agents from family, school, peers, mass media and so many others make us who we are today. It is crazy to think that we learn so much from others and don’t realize it. So much of who we are as a person comes from learning from other people throughout our lives. Socialization agents are very important.

The process of socialization is one that I believe will never end throughout an individual’s lifetime. It is something that is constantly changing. During this process a person learns and gains their personal identity and is able to learn social skills that they believe are deemed appropriate in society. A person can learn what is important through the different norms, values and behaviors of others. They are taught by those that are close to them, which could involve their parents, family members, teachers, media or even religious leaders. There is a vast amount of people that a person will come in contact with that have an effect on the process of socialization for them.

My name is Kara Spencer. I am 29 years old and I was born in Taipei City, Taiwan. I was adopted by the age of 2 and brought to the United States, where I grew up and still currently live in Boise, Idaho. I was brought up in a suburban home and was fortunate enough to be offered a lot of opportunities, whereas if I were still living in Taiwan I may not have ever been able to experience. I am lucky I was adopted and did not live in a place where there was a lot of crime, violence or transgressions against the female sex. After graduating high school at the age of 17 I started college at a local university and decided to take general courses to get my prerequisites. I chose to do this because at that point in my life I was unsure of what degree I wanted to go for. I stopped attending school about a year later and ended up focusing more on working. In the year 2012 I enlisted into the Idaho Army National Guard. I am currently still enlisted but my contract is coming to an end this coming June of 2020.

I am attending this online university to further my career and support my family. I believe in working hard and I want to have a life that is full of happiness. I want to be able to provide for my family without the stress of money interfering with that. Both of my parents worked full-time jobs when I was a kid. They worked hard to provide for my siblings and myself. My role within my family growing up was to help support my parents when they needed help. This could have easily been done by helping out with chores around the house or simply watching my siblings. I want to instill this into my stepchildren and teach them what it means to give back and help others without any expectation. My role as I am older now with children of my own are to be a good step parent, fiance, sister, and co-worker. As a stepmother, I want to teach my kids what I was taught and help raise them to be the best that they can be. Every person plays many roles in life as I do, this is what leads to shaping who we are in life. There have been four agents of socialization that have impacted my life the most and they are my family, religion, peers and the mass media.

My family has been my number one agent of socialization growing up. Family is the most important because it is what we center ourselves around from the time we are infants. As an infant we are completely dependent and unable to survive without the help of someone. Parents are there to help guide us into knowing what is right and wrong. They are teaching us what good morals are and which bad morals to steer away from. My parents also taught me to not judge others unless I have walked in their shoes. I’ve always thought outside the box and have tried to understand another person’s point of view. Who am I to judge? I was taught by my parents to always work hard for what I want, things in life are not given they are earned. I think that this is a great value to have because it seems that in this day and age this isn’t a value kids are taught. The value of hard work was instilled in me since I can remember. When I joined the military I knew I had to work hard. I always did what was asked of me obeyed orders. I took the required classes and training and then even more so I could become better at my occupation. Going the extra mile and trying harder allowed me to achieve a higher rank in the military. With the higher rank I also earned respect amongst my fellow soldiers and those that were under me. I not only felt good for myself but proud I was able to bring honor to my family.

Another agent of socialization besides my family that has led me to the person that I am is religion. I was involved in a Christian youth group growing up. The group taught me how to have faith, gave me knowledge, and gave me an understanding of the purpose of life. This has helped me to grow into the role that I have within my family and within my church. I appreciate all that has been provided to me whether it is something materialistic or just words to help guide me to be a better person and understand the way things work in life. Being a part of this agent of socialization has been a positive influence on myself and has encouraged me to always do the right thing. Yes my parents taught me this value but religion has also helped me to understand it even better. Religion has helped to shape and form my everyday behaviors. When I would attend my youth group and go to church on Sunday’s this taught me what a safe environment was and directed me down the right path to a happy and healthy lifestyle. I was taught how to overcome fears and issues that I may have had. This agent of socialization can tie into ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is when you have a person that is judging a culture of someone else’s belief but with the view of their own culture. For example, a Christian believes all people should believe that the evolution of Christainity is a true story, whether they are Christians or not. There are many churchgoers that will try to influence those around them that the way of their religion is the one and only. This of course is not true everyone is entitled to believe what they wish.

The next most important agent of socialization as I was growing up was my peers. These were individuals that I was constantly around that also helped shape and mold me like religion did. Interacting with my peers helped me to develop different types of relationships within society. I believe that this is a very important agent of socialization because unlike my family and religious agents I was able to form relationships with others the way I wanted to and with who I wanted. There was no pressure from my family or religious groups. Growing up I had a few close friends. They were like minded with me and our views on things were mostly the same. Peer relationships have helped teach me to understand different points of view. Socializing with my peers also had an influence on my attitude and everyday behaviours. It helped to remind me of what was the right thing to do and what wasn’t right. I would say that those I surrounded myself with helped me to know that drugs and violence were not something I wanted as a part of my life. Having these social interactions also allowed me to soar in academics and get good grades in school. I believe that symbolic interactionism played a huge role at this point of my life. This theory focuses on the social interactions that take place through words, roles, gestures and rituals between people. George Herbert Mead believed that one’s self develops through social interactions.

The last agent of socialization that has influenced my upbringing and so many others is mass media. I believe that this has become even more prominent in this day age in society. Mass media can either have a positive or have a negative effect on an individual’s social skills. A positive influence that mass media has had on me is to teach me that there is such a diversity of people in the world. It has taught me about all the different issues that have happened and that are happening around the world. Mass media has taught me to appreciate what I have and to give when I can back to the community. It has helped to open my eyes to the world and not just what I think the world should be. This in return has taught me to understand and form my own beliefs and what I believe is the norm. Mass media has a huge impact on how a person thinks and how a person acts. As I said before there are negative issues with mass media. The number one negative effect of mass media that I see in today’s society and when I was growing up, is how it makes it seem like a person is supposed to look and act a certain way. The effect of this causes individuals to become insecure about themselves, when there is no need to. All the different images that we see create a tainted picture of what people should look like. In reality those things are not important and don’t necessarily get a person where they want to be. I believe that mass media ties into the theory of deviance. The theory of deviance helps to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Deviance can help individuals define their cultural values and norms in society. As Emile Durkheim argued, deviance is a necessity in society, deviance is what creates social order. Without deviance we would not be aware of what is right and wrong.

Throughout this paper I have been able to successfully illustrate and show the agents of socialization through family, religion, peers, and mass media examples. These agents have affected the last 29 years of my life and I know that it will continue to affect my future as time goes on. The process of socialization is one that is never-ending through a person’s lifetime. There are many people we will come into contact with that will affect our process of socialization.

References

1. Cultural relativism: definition & examples (article). (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/society-and-culture/culture/a/cultural-relativism-article
2. Aboulafia, M. (2016, August 2). George Herbert Mead. Retrieved February 18, 2020, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mead/
3. Vyain, S., Scaramuzzo, G., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Griffiths, H., Strayer, E., Keirns, N., … Little,
4. W. (2014, November 6). Chapter 7. Deviance, Crime, and Social Control. Retrieved February 18, 2020, from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter7-deviance-crime-and-social-control/
5. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2020, from https://www.iep.utm.edu/mead/

Abstract

The process of socialization in continuous in everyday life. There are multiple influences and factors which aid in the development of an individual’s sociological behavior. The process of how I developed as an individual, from birth to the individual I have developed into today will be broken down and analyzed throughout the beginning of this paper. Additionally, four agents of socialization which were the biggest factors in my development will be analyzed, those agents being religion, family, peers, and education.

The Analysis and Process of Socialization

Many social factors influence who a person grows to become from a child to an adult. Socialization is the progression through which individuals are shown to be a capable members of society. Socialization defines the ways individuals come to comprehend societal norms and expectations, to acknowledge society’s beliefs, and to be cognizant of social values (Griffiths, et al., 2017, p.102). My journey to become the man I am today has been long and enlightening. The values and beliefs I hold above all else will be presented throughout this paper and will show how they made an impact on my journey which is still continuing to this day.

Who is Theophilus Purdie Jr.

I, Theophilus Purdie Jr. also known as Theo was born on the 27th of July in 1988, at Metroplex Hospital in Killeen, Texas to Jackie Purdie and Theophilus Purdie. I grew up in the city of Harker Heights which has a current population of 31,857, which has increased 19.2% from 2010 until now (U.S., n.d.). Fort Hood is a United States Army base co-located with the city of Harker Heights and brings many different cultural diversities to the city due to the military nature of the area. The area of Harker Heights I was raised in was low income and suffered from a higher crime rate. My parents were divorced when I was six months old and I grew up in a single parent home due to my father going to prison the majority of my school age years.

As a child I excelled academically consistently maintaining A’s and B’s on my report cards through elementary and middle school. I was introduced to sports in particular football at an early age but was unable to play on a team due to the cost. I was first able to play on a team when I graduated sixth grade and started seventh grade at Eastern Hills Middle School. Playing football introduced me to a whole new group of friend and social status’ of being an athlete. Upon completion of middles school and moving into high school I continued to play football and the groups of friends I associated myself with started becoming a negative influence in my life. I began to lose focus on my academics and allowed my grades to slip while withdrawing from the football team. My focus shifted to being more concerned with money and girls in line with the group of friends I associated with.

Joining the workforce and neglecting sports was probably one of the best decisions I made in my life. Although I missed football and the comradery which came along with the team, I began to be motivated my making money which I never really had much of growing up. With a little help from my brother I got a job working at Taco Bell at age 16 because he knew the manager. I went on to meet the love of my life a couple years later, when she transferred from another store to help train new hires. Little did I know I would go on to marry this woman, have children, and establish a happy fulfilling relationship. I soon after found a better job working at a construction company which provided extremely good benefits and financial stability until the furloughs began a couple years later.

The furloughs caused me to begin looking for a new job, because my hours were getting reduced and people began to get let go from the company. I made a phone call to what I believed to be another construction company, but soon realized I was talking to an Army recruiter. I considered joining the Army years before but was told I did not qualify for entry. The recruiter ensured me he could get me into the Army and made an hour trip from Austin to Harker Heights in order to help me obtain a new found career. I enlisted into the Army in October of 2009 as a Combat Medic and was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for Basic Combat Training. I have enjoyed every moment of my career and my family has been supportive of me throughout my time serving. The Army has given me the opportunity to travel all over the world, observe countless cultures, and meet so many different people along the way. I currently serve at Joint Base San Antonio as a Drill Sergeant and have been entrusted to train, mentor, and certify our newest Combat Medics for the fighting force.

Religion

Religious socialization theory is a significant amount of research covering religion and youth and the importance of influential persons’ in shaping an individual’s beliefs and practices (Religious, n.d.). Growing up religion played a huge role in my life in particular Christianity. My step-grandfather was a pastor and my family as a whole are still currently avid churchgoers. I attended Wednesday and Sunday services every week and any additional services or events that were taking place. My mother most of all was the major influence on my religion. She ensured I was up and dressed and ready to go to church and did not cut me any slack.

Peers such as schoolmates or friends with higher levels of affiliation, beliefs, practices relate to elevated levels of religiosity in youth and adults (Religious, n.d.). One of my closest friends growing up was from a religious family as well, his father is a preacher and his mother is an evangelist. This provided me another strong foundation outside of my home when I was around him and his family. Religion taught me most of my values I hold dear to this day, in particular right from wrong and how to treat other people upon simple interaction. All of the factors mentioned have helped me create my foundation as a person throughout my life long journey of being a Christian.

Family. Everything a child needs to know is taught to them initially by family such as mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and extended family, this is the first agent of socialization (Griffiths, et al., 2017, p.108). My sister was the person I learned from the most, from the start of my life she was always by my side taking care of me. My sister is ten years older than me and was practically a second mom to me, she was the one with me whenever our mother was at work in order to provide for us all. There are countless things I did I remember to this day she had to correct me on and let me know I was going down the wrong path. For example, I relied on others as a young child very often and she taught me how to be independent and to learn by doing so I wouldn’t have to rely on other people to do things for me.

Families who are not as financially stable or poor typically emphasize obedience and conformity when raising their children (Griffiths, et al., 2017, p.109). Without a doubt my sister ensured I remained disciple and obedient when my mother had to go away from the household and couldn’t ensure I maintain it herself. My grandparents owed a wrecking yard and car dealership. My uncles were mechanically inclined and also sold cars, I learned how to work on vehicle at an early age and also observed how to be a salesman. I learned so many things from my family as a whole and one of the biggest things I learned from my grandmother was self-drive. She was a businesswoman and pushed herself daily to earn all the things she achieved in life. She was able to teach all of us kids the value of hard work and discipline.

Peers. Peer socialization is the procedure in which individuals learn about the world surrounding them. They learn by interacting with others, establishing attitudes, beliefs, and comprehending anticipated behavior (Peer, 2017). Growing up I was surrounded with many different people and as time went on some relationships developed while others began to faded away. Not all people have the same values positive or negative and all people have different priorities in life. I was able to see the people I should actually keep around who had a positive impact on my life and the people who did not possess positive energy in which I could maintain in my life.

The people my family and I surrounded myself helped mold the character and person I have grown into today. I learned so much from my family but also learned a lot from my friends and peers around me as well. Without having those outside influences, I wouldn’t have been able to see what I truly found interesting and important to me in life. Seeing outside interactions from peers instead of family opened my eyes to how others were raised. For example, some peers were raised to show elders the upmost respect and some were not. I was raised to show your elders respect and address them as sir or ma’am. Simple gestures go a long way and this is such small example but can make or break the opinion you have of a person.

Education. Schools are not only in place in order to teach science, math, reading and other subjects but those are the core of the system. Educational institutions provide a hidden function in society by socializing kids into activities like performing teamwork, following an agenda placed before them, and utilizing tools and technology (Griffiths, et al., 2017, p.109). Many people do not realize the impact school and education have on children, but many times I have had my children come home and teach me something new which I didn’t know. Having so many other children to aid in sociological development can be positive and negative. Most teachers try to teach good habits and some may have methods that parents would not agree with so much.

School and continuing education was not emphasized by my family as I was growing up because both of my parents and my sister received a GED. I learned to be competitive from my peers in school and this led me to continue to strive to do better and continue to pursue my educational goals. Education was further reinforced due to the importance of education through life and development. Knowledge is a big factor in sociological status and also career development. I learn something new every day and to continue to advance in my job I have to constantly be pursuing education.

Conclusion

Sociological development begins at childhood and continues throughout your life as a whole. You will continue to learn from those who are around you consciously and subconsciously developing new norms and attitudes. Everyone around you aids in your sociological development whether you are learning positive or negative traits, you have to take them and develop yourself into the person you would like to be. For me the foundation for my development has been religion, family, peers, and education.

References

1. Griffiths, H., Keirns, N. J., Strayer, E., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Scaramuzzo, G., Sadler, T., . . . Jones, F. (2017). Introduction to sociology 2e.
2. Peer Socialization 101 – What is Peer Socialization? (2017, December 28). Retrieved from https://thesensorystudio.com/2017/12/28/peer-socialization-101/
3. Religious Socialization. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/religious-socialization
4. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Harker Heights city, Texas. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/harkerheightscitytexas/PST045218