Socialization of Personality - Concept and Nature of Socialization

Concept and nature of socialization

Man is a social being. From his earliest days, he is surrounded by peers and involved in various types of social interactions. A person has his first experience of social communication even before he begins to speak. As a part of society, a person acquires a certain subjective experience, which becomes an integral part of the personality. Socialization is the process and result of the assimilation and subsequent active reproduction of social experience by an individual. The process of socialization is inextricably linked with communication and joint activities of people.

The essence of socialization lies in the combination of adaptation and isolation of a person in a particular society. The process of socialization and adaptation is closely related. Adaptation is understood as the correlation of the requirements and expectations of the social environment for a person with his attitude and social behavior; correlation of a person’s self-esteem and aspirations with his abilities and with the realities of the social environment. Thus, adaptation is the process and result of the transformation of a person into a social being. Separation is the process of individual autonomy in society. The result of this process is a person’s need for his own views (value autonomy), the need for his own attachments (emotional autonomy), the need to solve his own personal problems, the ability to cope with life situations that interfere with his self-transformation, self-determination, self-realization and self-affirmation (behavioral autonomy) . Thus, detachment is the process and result of the formation of human individuality.

It follows that in the process of socialization an internal, unresolved conflict arises between the degree of adaptation of a person in society and the degree of his isolation in society.

Human socialization in the modern world, which has more or less obvious features in one society or another, in each of them has a number of common or similar characteristics.

Stages of socialization.

In every society, human socialization has its own characteristics at different stages. In the most general form, the stages of socialization can be correlated with the age periodization of human life. There are various periodizations, and the following are not generally accepted. It is very conventional (especially after adolescence), but quite convenient from a socio-pedagogical point of view.

A person in the process of socialization goes through the following stages of infancy (from birth to 1 year), early childhood (1-3 years), preschool age (3-6 years), primary school age (6-10 years), early adolescence (10- 12 years), Senior adolescence (12-14 years), early adolescence (15-17 years), adolescence (18-23 years), adolescence (23-30 years), early adulthood (30-40 years) , late maturity (40-55 years), old age (55-65 years), old age (65-70 years), longevity (over 70 years).

Problems of socialization of teenagers

The problem of socialization in adolescence is acute for several reasons. Firstly, a teenager is practically an adult in terms of physical and social capabilities. But he is difficult to cope with, he needs care and control from adults, since he can harm both himself and others. Social risks such as suicide, mass school shootings, fighting, and involvement in illegal activities can lead to catastrophic consequences. A person's actions during adolescence require understanding and careful study.

Secondly, during adolescence a person becomes receptive to everything new. Through adolescence, it becomes possible to notice a renewal of society; old ways of socialization stop working. During adolescence, crises and inconsistencies in the relationship between an individual and society become apparent, which will later lead to changes.

Important age-related tasks that are characteristic of adolescence are directly related to socialization. Formation of self-awareness and acquisition of self-concept. Maintaining and developing one’s personal interests and defining personal norms and values. Formation of selectivity in communication and work with information. Construction of an approximate trajectory of one’s life path in society. The ability to analyze in dialogue the reasons for the actions of other people, mastering social roles in groups and developing responsible and close relationships with different people.

Socialization factors

Socialization occurs in the interaction of children, adolescents and young people with various conditions that more or less actively influence their development. These conditions affecting a person are called factors. In fact, not all of them have been identified, and of those that are known, not all have been studied. Among the factors studied, knowledge is very uneven: quite a lot is known about some, little is known about others, and only a little about some. More or less studied conditions or factors of socialization can be divided into four groups.

The first is megafactors (mega means very large, universal) - space, planet, world, which are influenced to one degree or another by other groups of factors of socialization of all inhabitants of the Earth.

The second group is macro factors (macro-large) - country, ethnic group, society, state, which influence the socialization of all residents of certain countries (this influence is mediated by two other groups of factors).

The third group, mesofactors (meso-intermediaries), are the conditions for the socialization of large groups of people that differ from each other: The place and type of locality in which they live (district, village, town, city); belonging to the audience of certain mass communication networks (radio, television, etc.); belonging to certain subcultures. Mesofactors influence human socialization both directly and indirectly through the fourth group - microfactors. They include factors that directly influence specific people who interact with them - family and home, neighborhood, peer groups, educational organizations, various government, religious, private organizations, micro-society.

The most important role in how a person grows, how he is formed, is played by the people in whose direct interaction his life takes place. They are usually called agents of socialization. At different times, the composition of the products is specific.

In addition to primary and prolonged socialization, agents and institutions of socialization are also divided into primary and secondary.

Agents of primary socialization are close and distant relatives, visiting nannies, family friends, peers, teachers, doctors, coaches, and youth group leaders. The term "primary" in sociology refers to everything that represents a person's immediate or close environment. Agents of average socialization are representatives of the administration of a school, university, business, army, church, state, employees of television, radio, press, party, court, etc. The term “secondary” defines something that has a less significant influence on a person.

Primary socialization is most intense in the first half of a person's life, but continues (in descending order) in the second half. On the contrary, secondary socialization covers the second half of life, when a person comes into contact with formal organizations and institutions called institutions of secondary socialization: Industry, state, media, army, court, church, etc.

Agents of primary socialization perform each set of functions (the father is simultaneously a guardian, educator, administrator, teacher, friend), while agents of secondary socialization perform only one or two. The role of agents of primary socialization and their status are unequal: in relation to the child, the role of parents is higher, and peers are in an equal position with him and forgive him many things that parents do not do, for example, violate moral principles and social norms. In a sense, peers and parents influence the child in opposite directions, with the former denying the efforts of the latter.

In other words, a child learns from adults how to be an adult, and from peers how to be a child: to be able to fight, to be smart, to be friends, to be fair, etc. Therefore, parents perceive their child's peers as competitors in order to influence them. A small group of peers performs a vital social function—it facilitates the transition from a state of dependence to independence, from childhood to adulthood. Parents are unlikely to be able to teach their child to be a leader or achieve dominance over others. The socialization functions of primary socialization agents are interconnected: The child’s relatives often replace parents, taking on their socialization functions, and vice versa; the functions of parents and peers are interchangeable; the latter can replace parents. But the same cannot be said about agents of secondary socialization, because they are highly specialized: a judge cannot replace a foreman or teacher.

In addition, unlike agents of primary socialization, agents of secondary socialization pay to perform their role.

Types of socialization

From a sociological point of view, socialization can be primary or secondary. A similar classification was proposed by P. Berger and T. Lukman.

Primary socialization is built around the family acting as an agent. From childhood, a child acquires his first values ​​from his parents and other family members. This stage is considered fundamental, because it is in childhood that the foundation is formed, on the basis of which personal development will be built for the rest of one’s life.

Secondary socialization is realized through a variety of social institutions, including educational institutions. The school plays an important role, where every child acts as an agent of socialization. In fact, any association or group of which an individual is a member influences the participants with its rules and norms.

Means and mechanisms of socialization

Human socialization occurs through a wide range of universal means, the content of which is specific to a particular society, a particular social class, a particular age of socialized people. These include infant nutrition and care; training in housekeeping and hygiene skills; products of material culture surrounding humans; elements of spiritual culture (from lullabies to sculpture); style and content of communication; as well as methods of reward and punishment in families, peer groups, educational and other socializing organizations; the consistent introduction of a person to numerous types and types of relationships in the main spheres of his life - communication, play, knowledge, fact-practical and mental-practical activities, sports, as well as in the family, professional, social and religious spheres.

Every society, every organization, every social group (small or large) in its history develops a complex of positive and negative, formal and informal sanctions - methods of coercion and persuasion, commandments and prohibitions, measures of coercion and pressure, up to physical violence, methods of recognition, awards and rewards. With the help of these measures and methods, the behavior of a person and entire groups of people is brought into line with the models, norms, and values ​​accepted in the culture.

Human socialization in interaction with various factors and agents occurs through a set of, so to speak, “mechanisms.” There are different approaches to considering the “mechanisms” of socialization. For example, the French social psychologist Gabriel Tarde considered imitation to be the most important. The American scientist Uri Bronfenbrenner considers progressive mutual adaptation (adaptation) between an actively growing person and the changing conditions of his life as a mechanism of socialization, and A.V. Petrovsky sees a natural alternation of stages of adaptation, individualization and integration in the process of personality development. Summarizing the available data, A.V. From a pedagogical point of view, Mudrik identifies some universal mechanisms of socialization that should be taken into account and partially used in the process of teaching a person in different age groups. Psychological and socio-psychological mechanisms include the following.

A print (imprint) is the fixation at the level of receptivity and unconsciousness of the signs of vital objects that affect a person. The impression occurs primarily in infancy. However, in later stages it is also possible to imprint any images and sensations.

Existential pressure - mastery of language and unconscious assimilation of norms of social behavior necessary in the process of interaction with significant people.

Imitation - following an example, a pattern. In this case, this is a form of arbitrary and, as a rule, involuntary acquisition of social experience.

Identification is the process of unconsciously identifying with another person, group, or image.

Reflection is an internal dialogue in which a person considers, evaluates, accepts or rejects certain values ​​contained in various institutions of society, family, mutual aid societies, significant people, etc. Reflection can be an internal dialogue of various kinds: between different selves, with real or imaginary people, etc. Through reflection, a person can be shaped and changed by his awareness and experience of the reality in which he lives, his place in this reality, and himself.

Socialization mechanisms include the following.

The traditional mechanism of socialization is a person’s assimilation of norms, standards of behavior, views, stereotypes characteristic of his family and immediate environment. This assimilation is usually carried out at an unconscious level through memorization, an uncritical perception of prevailing stereotypes. The effectiveness of the traditional mechanism is quite obvious when a person knows “how”, “when”, but this knowledge contradicts the traditions of his environment. In this case, the French thinker Michel Montaigne is right, who wrote: “...We can say our things as much as we like, but the customs and general rules of everyday life tire us of them.” Moreover, the effectiveness of the traditional mechanism is manifested in the fact that certain social elements that were learned, for example, in childhood, but are no longer remembered and are not blocked by changes in living conditions (for example, moving from a village to a city), can reappear in human behavior at the next change in living conditions or at a later age.

The institutional mechanism of socialization, as the name suggests, operates in the process of human interaction with the institutions of society and various organizations that are both specifically created for socialization and perform socializing functions in parallel with their main functions (production, social, associative and other structures, as well as mass communication). In the process of human interaction with various institutions and organizations, relevant knowledge and experience of socially acceptable behavior, as well as experience of imitation of socially acceptable behavior and conflict-free implementation of social norms, are increasingly accumulated.

It should be borne in mind that mass communication as a social institution influences the socialization of a person not only through the transmission of certain information, but also through the presentation of behavioral models of characters in books, films, and television programs. The effectiveness of this influence is determined by the fact that, as the reformer of Western European ballet Jean-Georges Nover noted, “since the passions professed by the heroes are stronger and more definite than the passions of ordinary people, they are easier to imitate.” People with age and individual characteristics tend to identify themselves with certain heroes, at the same time perceiving their characteristic behavior patterns, lifestyle, etc.

The stylized mechanism of socialization operates within a certain subculture. Subculture is understood as a set of moral and psychological traits and behavioral manifestations characteristic of people of a certain age or professional or cultural class, which, as a rule, give rise to a certain style of behavior and thinking of a certain age, professional or social group.

The interpersonal mechanism of socialization works in the process of human interaction with subjectively significant people. Parents (at any age), any respected adult, a friend of the same sex or the opposite sex can be significant to him. However, it is not uncommon for interactions with significant others in groups or organizations to have an impact on a person different from the person in the group or organization.

Human socialization, especially of children, adolescents and young men, occurs through all of the above mechanisms. However, for different genders and age groups, sociocultural groups and specific individuals, the role of socialization mechanisms is different, and sometimes this difference is quite significant.

Examples of socialization

One of the simplest examples of socialization is the process of a child’s interaction with peers in kindergarten, during which he learns the first rules of communication. The child sees that if you share toys with other children, you can make friends, and if you are greedy, then other children will not want to communicate with you. Such assimilation of the peculiarities of interaction in society is socialization.

Another example is school. At school, a teenager learns the peculiarities of communication with other children, understands the essence and mechanism of conflicts, begins to communicate with the opposite sex, show interest, and think about how to interest him himself. As part of such interaction with peers, the teenager not only learns certain social norms and becomes aware of cultural values, but also begins to better understand himself.

Socialization also manifests itself in everyday life. A person learns the established rules of behavior in society, realizes that giving up a seat to an elderly person in transport is good and correct, that it is important to treat other people with respect, regardless of their nationality, skin color and ethnicity.

Thus, socialization helps a person to learn the basic rules of behavior in society, to become aware of social and cultural values, to better understand other people and to recognize himself.

Socialization and education

Education, in contrast to socialization, which takes place in conditions of spontaneous interaction between the individual and the environment, is considered as a consciously controlled process, for example, religious, family or school education.

Socialization of personality is a process in pedagogy that is studied inseparably from the process of education. The main task of education is the formation of a humanistic orientation in a growing individual, which means that in the motivational sphere of the individual, social motives and incentives for socially useful activities prevail over personal motives. In everything an individual thinks about, whatever he does, the motives for his actions must include an idea of ​​another individual, of society.

Social groups have a great influence on the process of individual socialization. Their influence is different at different stages of human ontogenesis. In early childhood, significant influence comes from the family, in adolescence - from peers, in adulthood - from the work team. The degree of influence of each group depends on cohesion as well as organization.

Education, in contrast to general socialization, is a purposeful process of influencing the individual, which means that with the help of education it is possible to regulate the impact of society on the individual and create favorable conditions for the socialization of the individual.

Socialization of the individual is also an important topic in pedagogy, since socialization is inseparable from education. Education is understood as a social phenomenon that influences the individual through the tools of society. From this emerges a connection between upbringing and the social and political structure of society, which acts as the “customer” for the reproduction of a specific type of personality. Education is a specially organized activity in the implementation of the intended goals of education, in the pedagogical process, where the subjects (teacher and student) express active actions in achieving pedagogical goals.

Famous psychologist S

Rubinstein argued that an important goal of education is the formation of a person’s personal moral position, and not the external adaptation of the individual to social rules. Education must be considered as an organized process of social internalization of value orientations, that is, their transfer from the external to the internal plane

The success of internalization is carried out with the participation of the emotional and intellectual spheres of the individual. This means that when organizing the educational process, the teacher needs to stimulate in his students their understanding of their behavior, external requirements, sensual living of their moral and civic position. Then education, as a process of internalization of value orientations, will be carried out in two ways:

- through the communication and interpretation of useful goals, moral rules, ideals and norms of behavior. This will save the student from a spontaneous search, in which it is possible to encounter errors. This method is based on the content-semantic processing of the motivational sphere and conscious volitional work in rethinking one’s own attitude to the real world;

- through the creation of certain psychological and pedagogical conditions that would actualize interests and natural situational impulses, thereby stimulating useful social activities.

Both ways are effective only with their systematic application, integration and complementarity.

The success of the education and socialization of young people is feasible provided that positive factors embedded in social relations, lifestyle, and the neutralization of factors that interfere with the implementation of the tasks of training, education and socialization are used.

The transformation of the education and upbringing system can only be successful when it really becomes a matter of society. It is worth reorienting social life, the cultural environment, and the system of education and upbringing towards the younger generation.

Stages of personality socialization

It has been noted that one of the main goals of socialization is to overcome one’s egocentrism. Entering any social group requires an understanding that “you are not alone.” This is considered one of the signs of growing up. It is known that a child up to a certain age perceives himself as the center of the universe, and this is his natural state. Subsequently, we observe what is called youthful maximalism: the teenager continues to consider himself “the very best,” the one and only, but is faced with an abundance of the same “one and only” around him. This leads to conflicts, often serious ones.

Individuals who have not undergone socialization for some reason retain for a long time the characteristics characteristic of children or “newcomers.” Those around them perceive them as infantile and narrow-minded people, but in reality everything is more complicated. If in adulthood the passion inherent in adolescents for learning new things, active communication, and mastering new skills and abilities remains, then this can only be welcomed. At the same time, egocentrism and difficult experiences of one’s failures are clearly undesirable signs for a mature personality.

An example of insufficient socialization in adulthood is belief in “alternative histories” - the writings of Nosovsky and Fomenko, Chudinov and other pseudoscientific freaks. The point here is not only about political, “patriotic” and selfish motives. It’s just that a child, just starting to explore the world and discovering something new, strives to share his discovery with others; parents and other older members of society, to play along with him, share his joy.

During his school years, a teenager is faced with the impossibility of being a pioneer in the modern world: everything he learns about has already been discovered by someone, and his “discovery” is no longer of great value to others. A mentally healthy person gradually gets used to this situation and finds unexplored areas where he can show his skills and give something new to society. And a mentally disabled person experiences rejection from this situation; Instead of searching for unexplored areas, he is eager to “rediscover” what has already been discovered, to create a sensation and receive the laurels of a discoverer, which, as he is sure, simply must belong to him.

The biography of Anatoly Fomenko, the author of the famous pseudoscientific “New Chronology,” very clearly presents us with just such a person - an unsocialized intellectual who, for the sake of the honor of being a discoverer, is ready to commit any lie and achieve his goal by any means. For a long time he eked out the life of a “lesser” mathematician, compiled standard textbooks on geometry for students and was content with a modest salary. In the end, he got tired of it, he realized that the modest and routine work of teaching did not bring happiness, and decided to do something loud and sensational. In his native field, geometry, it is very difficult to become a discoverer, but history is a different matter. Written in collaboration with the equally unsocialized intellectual Gleb Nosovsky, “New Chronology” instantly became a bestseller; Many uneducated readers of this work seriously call Fomenko a “prophet.”

It was said above that school becomes an important environment for primary socialization. Indeed, the task of school is not only to provide some knowledge on various subjects, but also to teach how to live in society

In many countries, special techniques are used for this purpose. For example, in the United States, schools do not have stable classrooms; When a student enrolls in school, he chooses which subjects he will study, and at each lesson he finds himself in a new classroom, in a completely new team. Such socialization is very useful, especially in the USA, because a significant part of the population of this country lives in very small settlements where “everyone knows each other,” but excessive attachment to “one’s own corner” can create problems in the future when it is necessary to change place of residence (in connections with study, work, etc.).

Most Russians live in cities and towns with significantly larger populations, so they do not feel an urgent need for this type of school in our country. At the same time, another type of socialization is required - the ability to work in a stable team, which a Russian-style school can handle quite well.

Socialization concept

The definition of socialization is the process of a person’s entry into society. First, he becomes familiar with the norms and rules of behavior, traditions and customs, values ​​and morals of the social structure. Inclusion in a team allows the subject to become useful and necessary, develop relationships with others, create new connections and gain experience.

Personal socialization is a process that is considered very difficult and long. Many specialists in the field of psychology have been studying this concept for years and strive to help clients who have a hard time accepting their growing up or a new team.

A person’s whole life consists of constant adaptation to new conditions, while it is important to have time to self-actualize and remain active

Individual, individuality, PERSONALITY

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Certain problems may arise during the process. They are divided into three groups:

• socio-psychological;
• cultural;
• socio-cultural.

The first group is associated with the formation of self-awareness and self-development. These stages are very important for the individual, but often a person neglects the problems that arise and drives them deeper into consciousness. Cultural issues may vary from region to region. They are associated with traditions and customs, gender division. The third group is associated with the introduction of a person to a particular culture. It concerns the worldview, moral and spiritual values, and is of a moral, semantic and cognitive nature.

According to Wikipedia, socialization is divided into two types: primary and secondary. The first consists of relatives, close friends, acquaintances, teachers and colleagues. The second includes the media, public organizations, government, and the church. Primary socialization occurs in the first 15-20 years of life, when a person attends educational institutions and is just learning to communicate with other people. Upon contact with formal groups and organizations, a secondary type occurs.

Forms of socialization

There are two forms of socialization – directed and undirected.

Directed (spontaneous) – is the spontaneous formation of social qualities as a result of a person’s presence in the immediate social environment (in the family, between colleagues, peers).

Directed socialization represents a system of methods of influence, specially developed by society, its institutions, organizations, with the goal of forming a personality in accordance with the prevailing values, interests, ideals, and goals in a given society.

Education is one of the ways of directed socialization. It is a consciously systematic, organized, purposeful process of influencing a developing personality, her behavior and consciousness, with the aim of developing specific concepts, principles, value orientations and social attitudes and preparing her for active social, cultural and industrial activities.

Both forms (directed, undirected) in certain circumstances can be consistent with each other or, conversely, come into conflict. The contradictions that arise often lead to conflict situations that complicate and impede the process of socialization of the individual.

The spontaneous form of socialization (undirected) is determined by the microsocial environment (close relatives, peers) and often contains many outdated and outdated rules, stereotypes, patterns, patterns of behavior. Along with a positive influence on the individual, it can also have a negative impact on the individual, pushing him towards negative ones that deviate from the norms established by society, which can lead to such a phenomenon as social pathology.

Undirected socialization without the inclusion of directed means can be detrimental to the formation of a person, the social group of this individual and society as a whole. Therefore, it is very important to supplement it and transform it into targeted corrective influences of targeted socialization.

But directed socialization does not always lead to a positive educational result, which is especially evident when it is used for inhumane purposes, such as, for example, the activities of various destructive religious sects, the inculcation of fascist ideology, and the propaganda of racist sentiments. Therefore, a directed form of socialization can lead to a positive formation of personality only if it is carried out in accordance with moral rules, moral criteria, freedom of conscience, responsibility and the principles of a democratic society.

Types of socialization

Psychologist and political scientist Nadezhda Radina proposes to separately highlight age-related socialization, which includes cultural norms and ideas about age-related standards for human development. For example, there is an expectation that a child should speak by the age of one, or an expectation of protest behavior in adolescence.

There are types of socialization that differ on the basis of membership in various social groups and the criteria for inclusion in these groups:

— Gender socialization involves correlation and self-relation with certain behavior characteristic of a particular gender of a person.

— Ethnic socialization, the task of which is the formation of ethnic identity.

— Political socialization determines the characteristics of power and subordination and orientation in the system of social hierarchies, dominance and obedience.

— Professional socialization is associated with acquiring and mastering one’s professional role.

Membership in a group can be predetermined or acquired. In the second case, belonging is realized in participation in the activities of a selected group, that is, it can be defined as “activity” socialization Radina, 2005.

Stages of the process of personality socialization according to Erikson

Erik Erikson is a renowned developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst. According to him, there are the following stages of the socialization process:

Of course, this topic is much broader and interesting, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to talk about everything in one article. However, what has been said is already quite enough to get an idea of ​​socialization, as well as draw certain conclusions about your development and the development of your children.

We hope you found this article helpful. We wish you success!

Process stages

A person can socialize in several stages. Each has a corresponding stage. There are five of them in total:

• adaptation;
• identification;
• integration;
• labor;
• post-work.

First of all, a person goes through the stage of identification. It lasts from birth until adolescence. At this time, the child learns from the example of adults, imitates their behavior and habits. The second manifests itself in the desire to show oneself, to become unique. On the third, the first introduction into society occurs. Depending on communication with the team, it can be successful or unsuccessful. During the labor stage, a person himself influences society, and at the last stage - post-labor - he shares his experience with others.

German scientist of Jewish origin Erik Erikson notes that the socialization of an individual consists of more stages:

• infancy;
• earlier childhood;
• childhood;
• junior school age;
• adolescence;
• youth;
• maturity;
• old age.

The first stage lasts up to 1.5 years, when the child is fully cared for by the mother. Trust develops precisely depending on the attitude of the person closest to you. If there is not enough communication with the mother, the child will grow up withdrawn and silent. The next period - up to four years - is associated with the formation of independence; children learn to be neat and tidy. Until the age of six, a child develops a sense of personality, and this may mean that creative thinking and initiative are developing.

From this age, the child begins to attend school, he learns to build relationships with peers and teachers, and adopts their experience and knowledge. Good grades give you the opportunity to believe in yourself, become confident and calm. Then the period of puberty begins, when the teenager is concerned about his appearance and the opinions of others about himself, searches for his calling and shows his first sympathy for the opposite sex.

Lecture 1.4 | Sociology of personality | Marina Arkannikova | Lectorium

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At the stage of adolescence, a person is looking for a permanent job, a life partner and his place in society. At this time, individuality is erased, the individual mixes himself with a certain group. The longest stage—maturity—can awaken in a person a sense of necessity and experience. In old age, people accept their lives and rethink them.