ABSTRACT
Special attention will be devoted to distinctively sociological contributions to current thought in the field and to the questions of the universality and continuity of processes of socialization. Many of the pioneering theories of socialization stress psychobiological processes rather than social ones. Distinctions between the concepts of maturation, development, and socialization have been stressed in sociological work on socialization. The assumption is that S. Freud theories have had a pervasive influence on the study of socialization from psychological, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. The idea that cultural arrangements may help or hinder adjustment to life transitions has been quite influential, particularly in the study of adolescent socialization, aging, and life crises. Several contemporary perspectives concentrate, to varying degrees, on the age-linked role transitions as the basic events and processes of lifelong socialization. The socialization process envisioned by Gordon depends upon successful completion of age-linked prior stages in order for the individual to progress to new roles.
