ABSTRACT
The process by which humans learn to become members of a culture is socialization, from the Latin socius, ‘‘company,’’ and izare, meaning ‘‘method.’’ Defined in its broadest sense, CULTURE is everything that is
learned, rather than inherited genetically; it is transmitted from one generation to the next primarily through language, changed for future transmission, then changed again, so that it never actually stands still. Socialization has two main phases, primary and secondary; in some cases, there is resocialization; anticipatory socialization refers to preparing for what might happen in future. Phase 1: Primary. This is the initial phase in which language, per-
sonality, and basic cultural competence are achieved. As humans develop in groups of other humans, they learn the characteristics that actually make them human, for example, their PERSONALITY, values, and behavioral traits. Obviously, human development depends on a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors, and much of the argument on the precise balance of influences in the socialization process involves the nature versus nurture debate. Recognizing that there are biological PARAMETERS does not preclude the substantial impress of culture in, for example, cognitive development, including INTELLIGENCE, IDENTITY formation, and SELF-CONCEPT. Phase 2: Secondary. This involves the learning of specialist skills and
capacities. Clearly, certain aspects of us are not conferred by nature. We have no biological predisposition to speak English rather than Punjabi any more than we have to like rock more than classical music. Even GIFTED artists are not literally ‘‘gifted,’’ as in having natural endowments but may have basic propensities that are nurtured and shaped. MODELING enables a person to refine his or her abilities by imitating and, perhaps, innovating on the accomplishments of others. This has obvious applicability in a domain where someone acquires a new vocabulary, a new circle of significant others, and, probably, a new set of goals as well as a new repertoire of behavioral habits. For instance, Chris Harwood’s IDIOGRAPHIC research on athletes from a variety of sports, including soccer, swimming, and tennis, was designed, ‘‘to facilitate an in-depth investigation of those factors underpinning the socialization of both task and ego orientations.’’ People learn achievement orientations and the kind of goals at
which they are aiming as well as the methods they use to pursue them and, in this sense, the sport CONTEXT involves anticipatory socialization: learning a future role to which an athlete aspires, whether it is that of a champion or a routine healthy competitor. Phase 3: Resocialization. This means learning sometimes the most basic
‘‘facts’’ over again. For instance, converts to a new RELIGION sometimes question domain assumptions, such as loving one’s parents and believing in god. The biographical hiatus jolts individuals into interpreting their ‘‘former life’’ so that they can look back and render their lives intelligible
in terms of the new conceptual framework, or SCHEMA. To a lesser extent, being imprisoned or joining the armed forces both involve a resocialization of sorts, because new values, codes, and behaviors are imposed and need to be learned. While the changes are not so dramatic, converts to exercise sometimes acquire an EXERCISE IDENTITY as they immerse themselves in a culture that can facilitate SELF-ACTUALIZATION. They might be using exercise as a part of REHABILITATION from ALCOHOLISM or some other form of DEPENDENCE and experience the exercise environment as a liberating resocialization into new values and behavior. Agents of socialization are varied. While family, close peers, and
sometimes the church are instrumental in primary phases, the media, particularly television, and the school become more prominent later. In secondary socialization, any number of agencies can figure. This is not to suggest that the various agencies exert a one-way influence: the socialization process should be understood as negotiated, that is, a productive interaction between the person and the agencies involved. All socialization takes place in face-to-face interaction, yet, at the same time, both primary and secondary socialization relate the individual to the wider world. ‘‘The attitudes which the individual learns in socialization usually refer to broad systems of meaning and of values that extend far beyond his immediate situation,’’ wrote Peter and Brigitte Berger in what remains one of the most thorough examinations of the process. Claudia Kernan and Patricia Greenfield’s study illustrates this per-
fectly. The authors use the idea of value lenses, which affect how each member of two basketball teams in Los Angeles saw themselves in a common environment. All had different principles and standards of behavior, which were gradually remodeled through their INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the others. Gradually, a ‘‘team culture’’ was created by the participants, though this was never actually complete because such cultures ‘‘are not static essences; instead they are dynamic adaptations to real-world situations.’’
