Agents of Socialization
HSP3M
What are the “agents” of
socialization?
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The numerous individuals, institutions and
organizations that influence and shape an individual’s
socialization.
Family
School
Peer Groups
Media
Religion
Workplace
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Total Institutions
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Family
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First agent of
socialization
We learn language,
communication
skills, basic survival
techniques, and
normal rules of
acceptable
behaviour
Sibling Rivalry
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Family teaches us
how to “get along”
with other people,
beginning with
parents, siblings and
extended families
Teaches us about
ourselves and our
own personal
qualities
School
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Makes us deal with
formal rules
Teaches us
academic skills
needed to prosper in
society
To socialize us and
cooperate with
strangers (latent
function)
What do you learn in school?
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Rules about being punctual, being
organized, neat, when to speak and
when to listen
How to speak in a formal manner
Respect for authority
Gender roles (intentional vs.
unintentional)
Peer Group
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Social group where
members are about
the same age, share
common interests
and social position
Opportunity to
experiment with
things that are
discouraged by
family
Peer Groups and Gender Roles
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Reinforced in the peer group
Male teenagers feel pressure to develop
athletic skills and perceived toughness
Female teenagers feel pressure to
concentrate on their physical
appearance and adopt mature social
concerns (environment, poverty)
Media
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Advertising tries to
persuade the audience
they can have it all.
Unrealistic gender roles
are created
Excessive exposure
makes individual
susceptible to
stereotyped concepts of
gender
Religion
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Communicate beliefs
about gender roles
Appropriate sexual
contact
Collective
responsibility of
society
The afterlife
Raises moral
questions
Workplace
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Learn specialized
language
Specific procedures,
rules, and codes
Commitment to
employer
Interaction with
colleagues, customers
and competitors
Team-building exercises
Total Institutions
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Goal is to wipe out all
prior socialization
Ex: boot camps,
prisons, religious cults
Attempts to remove
individuality and replace
it with a common group
identity
Identical clothes,
haircuts, strict rules and
routines