Thinking Sociologically
As you read this section, make a list of socializing agents at the micro, meso, and macro levels. Indicate two or three central messages each agent of socialization tries to instill in people. Do these messages conflict, and if so, why?
In early childhood, the family acts as the primary agent of socialization, passing on messages about respect for property and authority and the value of love and loyalty (Handel et al. 2007). Peer groups —people who are roughly equal in some status within the society, such as the same age or the same occupation—are also important, especially during the teenage years. Some writers even argue that the peer group is the most important agent in the socialization process of children and teens (Aseltine 1995; Harris 2009). Each agent has its own functions and is important at different stages of the life cycle, but meso-level institutions play a more active role as one matures. For example, schools and religious bodies become more involved in socialization as children reach 6 years old and older, compared with when they were preschool age (Rosenqvist 2017).
▲ As children become teenagers, peers become increasingly important socializing agents, shaping their norms, values, and attitudes.
© iStock.com/oscarhdez
Formal agents of socialization are official or legal agents (e.g., families, schools, teachers, and religious organizations) whose purpose it is to socialize the individual into the values, beliefs, and behaviors of the culture. For example, a primary goal of families is to teach children to speak and to learn proper behavior. In addition, schoolteachers educate by giving formal instruction, and religious organizations provide moral instruction. (These formal agents of socialization are discussed in Chapters 10–12.)
Informal agents of socialization are unofficial influential agents that shape values, beliefs, and behaviors in which socialization is not the express purpose. Examples include peers, the media, books, advertising, and the Internet. They bring us continuous messages even though their primary purpose is not socialization but entertainment or selling products. Children watch countless advertisements on television, many with messages about what is good and fun to eat and how to be more attractive, more appealing, smarter, and a better person through the consumption of products. This bombardment is a particularly influential part of socialization for children and teenagers.
Lessons from one agent of socialization generally complement those from other agents. Parents work at home to support what school and religion teach. However, at times, agents provide conflicting lessons. For example, family and faith communities often give teens messages that conflict with those of peer groups regarding sexual activity and drug use. This is an example of mixed messages given by formal and informal agents.
Thinking Sociologically
What confusion might be created for children when the formal and informal agents of socialization provide different messages about values or acceptable behaviors? Is this contradiction something that parents should be concerned about? Why or why not?
Micro-Level Socialization
Perhaps the most important micro-level formal agent of socialization is our own family—parents, siblings, and other family members. One way in which families teach children what is right and wrong is through rewards and punishments, called sanctions. Children who lie to their parents may receive a verbal reprimand or a slap on the hand, be sent to their rooms, have a “time out,” or receive a spanking, depending on differences in child-rearing practices among families. These are examples of negative sanctions. Conversely, children may be rewarded for good behavior with a positive sanction, such as a smile, praise, a cookie, or a special event. The number and types of sanctions dispensed in the family shape the socialization process, including development of the self and the perceptions we have of who we are and even whether we are good and clever or bad and stupid. Note that family influence varies from one culture to another.
In Japan, the mother is a key agent in the process of turning a newborn into a member of the group, passing on the strong group standards and expectations of family, neighbors, community, and society through the use of language and emotion. The child learns the importance of depending on the group and therefore fears being cast out. The need to belong creates pressure to conform to expectations, and the use of threats and the fear of shame help socialize children into Japanese ways (Brinkerhoff et al. 2014; Hendry 1987). The social class of the mother and gender of the child affects the socialization experience provided by the mother; for example, many women see their daughters as caregivers of the family in the future, thus influencing the daughters’ type of education and educational attainment (Yamamoto 2015).
Nonconformity is a source of shame in Japan. The resulting ridicule is a powerful means of social control. In some cases, the outcast is physically punished by peers. Thus, to bring shame on oneself or the family is behavior to be avoided. In the most extreme cases, young people have committed suicide because they did not conform to group expectations or succeed in school or a job and felt profoundly ashamed as a result.
▲ A Japanese mother helps her son at Heian Shinto Shrine during Shichi-go-san Matsuri, also called the Seven-Five-Three Festival, a celebration with prayers of long life for children aged 3 to 7.
© Getty Images/Tibor Bognar/Corbis Documentary
Thinking Sociologically
How did agents of socialization influence who you are today, and how did your experience differ from that of the Japanese children just described?
In contrast to the values of conformity and fitting into the group espoused in many Asian countries, in the United States most parents teach their children to value friendliness, cooperation, orientation toward achievement, social competence, responsibility, and independence. However, subcultural values and socialization practices may differ within the diverse groups in the U.S. population. Conceptions of what makes a “good person” or a “good citizen” and varied goals of socialization bring about differences in the process of socialization around the world.
Meso-Level Socialization
Meso-level agents also work to socialize people into specific cultural values and roles they must learn to fulfill. Education and religion are two obvious influences—both being institutions with primary responsibility for socialization. We discuss those in more detail in Chapters 11 and 12; here we illustrate meso-level socialization influences with a focus on social class and the media.
Social Class.
Our education level, our occupation, the house we live in, what we choose to do in our leisure time, the foods we eat, and our religious and political beliefs are just a few aspects of our lives affected by socialization. Applying what we know from sociological research, the evidence strongly suggests that socialization varies by social class (as seen in the example about Japanese children earlier) (Yamamoto 2015).Social class refers to the wealth, power, and prestige rankings that individuals hold in society (Paxton and Pearce 2009). Meso-level patterns of distribution of resources, based, in part, on the economic opportunities created by state and national policies, affect who we become.
Upper-middle-class and middle-class parents in the United States usually have above-average