Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-m42fx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T16:14:27.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Get access

Summary

Socialization

Socialization has been defined in a variety of ways, each reflecting theories of the individual and society. According to Wentworth (1980), theories of socialization have swung back and forth in terms of the role assigned to the individual in the process of becoming a member of society. Nineteenth-century theories followed Hobbes's notion of the individual as aggressive, selfish, and asocial by nature and saw socialization as the process of reshaping these natural impulses into pro-social feelings and desires (Ross 1896). Freudian theory in the early twentieth century also emphasized conflict between human nature (the id) and society (the superego) (Freud 1960). Then, with the rise of functionalism in the work of Parsons (1937, 1951) and Merton (1949), the individual is viewed as more passive and more socially directed. Through the process of socialization, individuals internalize the values of society, including those relating to personality and role behavior.

George Herbert Mead's theory of symbolic interactionalism (1956) also emphasized the impact of society on an individual's view of “self”; individuals' perceptions of themselves are influenced by how interactional partners see them and treat them. However, for Mead, the individual is an active agent in his own socialization throughout life; individuals do not automatically internalize how others see them and the rest of the world but rather have the capacity to select images and perspectives. In this sense, individuals and society construct one another through social interaction.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×