Need help preparing for the Psych/Soc section of the MCAT? MedSchoolCoach expert, Ken Tao, will teach everything you need to know about agents of socialization. Watch this video to get all the MCAT study tips you need to do well on the sociology section of the exam!
Socialization is the process by which individuals learn the norms and values of society so that they can function successfully in society. For example, to interact with society you must know what behaviors are taboo. You can’t murder and steal, or you’ll be punished. How does socialization occur? It occurs when individuals interact with agents of socialization. Agents can be categorized as either social groups or institutions. Family is the earliest and most prevalent social group more many individuals. BY interacting with family members and gauging their responses to our behavior, we learn what society deems acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The behaviors that a child learns, however, may vary widely depending on the family that they are in. For example, some families may transmit pro-social behaviors while some may transmit antisocial behaviors. Later in life, peer groups and workplace relationships may become much more important for socialization than family groups.
Next, institutional agents are the other broad sect of agents of socialization. Here, the most common early institutional agents are schools. Schools have a manifest (intended) function of teaching their curriculum, but they also have the latent (hidden) function of teaching conformist behavior. For example, schoolteachers make students walk in straight lines, promoting orderly behavior. Students submit to the authoritative judgments of teachers and administrators, encouraging them to obey authority. The sum total of behaviors and lessons that schools imprint on students is a form of institutional socialization.
Other important institutional agents of socialization include work, religious institutions, and the government. However, one of the most important to consider is the mass media, and its relation to information in this day and age. The mass media includes television, newspapers, radio, and internet. Individuals are taught to acquire information from mass media sources at a very young age. Many mass media sources can present biased viewpoints, and most individuals do not actively seek out credible sources of information. The relationship individuals have with mass media shapes everyday life and informs people about the world, and is therefore an important agent of socialization.
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