Socializing agents: what are they, types, characteristics and examples
People learn to live in society thanks to the values, belief systems and behaviors that different elements teach us throughout our lives.
People like our relatives, institutions like the school or simply the group of friends are powerful agents socializers, elements that shape our way of behaving with other individuals and with the whole of society. society.
Next we will see which are the main socializing agents, what is their importance and how are they presented in primary, secondary and tertiary socialization.
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What are socializing agents?
Socializing agents are those elements that largely determine the socialization of people, that is, to be part of a society. These agents can be individuals, groups or institutions that influence individuals and their social behavior.
The interaction of elements such as friends, family, the school or the reference groups are creating mental schemes that will determine the behavior of the person, in addition to shaping the moral values and belief system of it.
The importance of these agents is varied, with the family and the school being two of the most influencing throughout our lives, shaping our personality and determining how adapted we are to society.
Main socializing agents
Any person or institution that influences us and influences how adapted we are to society can be considered a socializing agent. The main socializing agents are those that we will see below:
1. The family nucleus
The main socializing agent of practically everyone in the world is the family. Boys and girls have their first relationships with their parents and siblings, people who have a first-hand influence on their personality and their way of understanding the world around them.
The family nucleus is one of the socialization agents whose influence lasts the longest. This is not only noticeable during the early childhood years, but also in adolescence and adulthood.
The interactions with the rest of the family and the quality of the relationships established with the family nucleus are decisive for the cognitive, social and emotional development of the individual.
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2. Formal education
Boys and girls begin their formal education still very small and therefore very formable. That is why we can say that school is one of the most important socializing agents in our lives.
In kindergartens, colleges and schools, infants meet other children of the same age who, when they just as they will acquire in those places knowledge and norms that society expects them to learn.
The task of schools goes beyond formal teaching, since they also want students to develop morally and develop their intellectual capacities to the maximum.
Going to school offers us the opportunity to connect with other individuals, making us know that there are other people in the world who may behave, have preferences, or think differently. different. For this reason, schools are a socializing agent in which we are taught values such as tolerance.
We can also highlight the school the role of teachers, who act as an authority figure different from that of parents. As a result of this, children begin to understand the existence of institutional hierarchies and how they should behave.
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3. The religion
Although it is not an important socializing agent for all people, it is worth mentioning that religion can be an element of great weight to introduce an individual to his sociocultural environment, although this varies greatly from the type of family and society in which one has been raised.
Religious communities organized as parishes, movements, associations or sects greatly influence the thinking and personality of their followers. Those who are part of these groups or attend their temples receive teachings that shape their worldview, their belief system, their moral values and their behavior.
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4. The reference groups
Any group of people that establishes lasting relationships based on common interests, beliefs or values greatly influences the psychology of its members. Reference groups are important socializing agents at any age, but especially during adolescence.
In many cases, these groups they become a haven for young people who feel they are not understood by their familyThe reference groups being the ideal environment to express their rebellion and disagreement with the norms imposed by their parents.
Virtually any group of people can be considered a reference group, some examples being: sports clubs, political parties, religious communities, marching bands or street gangs.
It should be said that you don't have to be part of one of these groups to be influenced. Both adolescents and adults can adopt some of the values of their reference groups without having to belong to them, simply by documenting their activity, political position or receiving information from them through the media communication.
5. The friendships
Friendships are for practically anyone one of the most influential socializing agents, especially during the adolescence and the first years of adulthood.
During adolescence there comes a time when we begin to become emotionally independent from our parents, giving greater importance to our group of friends, people of our same age and with our same interests. Friendships play a crucial role in the development of our psychology, something that can work as a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, the group of friends has positive aspects such as giving us support, favoring the loyalty of its members and show affection and understanding in an environment in which there are no hierarchies default.
But on the other, negative phenomena such as peer pressure to consume drugs, take various risks or destroy urban furniture, in addition to the group of friends it can evolve in a toxic way in which a hierarchy is formed where its members are not equal.
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6. The media and new technologies
The media have always been important socializing agents. The first were the newspapers, then came radio and television, being until relatively recently the main means of communication that influenced collective thinking.
TV has been a medium that has always been very powerful when it comes to creating customs and changing behavior, which is why it has been subject to regulations to avoid displaying inappropriate content, always recommending that minors watch television accompanied by an adult.
But technological advances have made the media more sophisticated, in addition to democratize by allowing everyone to have access to endless information quickly and comfortably.
Today, the main means of communication that influences the thinking of society is, without a doubt, anyone who uses the Internet to transmit their information. Social networks, video and podcast viewing platforms and other Internet media shape the psychology of youth in real time, with breakneck speed.
The new technologies have exerted a great change in the way of socializing, making there a big difference between how young people communicate and how non-natives communicate digital. The network allows greater interaction, but at the cost of not being in person, which means that the quality of relationships can be affected.
There are those who consider that the influence of new technologies and the media associates is so big today that it has caused the family and the school to lose steam socializing. It could be debated whether this fear is unfounded, since there is still no accurate information to confirm this as it is a relatively new phenomenon.
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Types of socialization
Now that we have seen which are the main socializing agents, we can understand how socialization occurs.
We can define socialization as the process by which people acquire the sociocultural elements of the place in which they live, and it is in most cases an unconscious process. This process occurs through interacting with other people within a society, who influence us and shape our personality, general culture and way of relating to others. With socialization, each individual acquires the values, norms, guidelines and perspectives of the culture where he is.
People we receive different influences throughout our lives, since according to our age and degree of independence some socializing agents exercise greater weight than others. Taking this into account, we can speak of mainly primary, secondary and tertiary socialization.
1. Primary socialization
Primary socialization is what It occurs during the first years of the individual's life, especially during childhood, by relating almost exclusively to her family. This process is fundamental for his personal, emotional, psychological and social development thanks to the fact that the family nucleus helps him to incorporate the social guidelines that will define his identity. Once this stage is overcome, secondary socialization begins.
2. Secondary socialization
In secondary socialization the individual receives a different view of reality, which is no longer monopolized by what her parents teach her but also receives the influence of other socializing agents beyond the family bond. It is considered that this secondary socialization begins during the first years of school, where the infant is influenced by his teachers and, also, forms his first friendships.
As the person gains more independence from her parent, she can establish contact with other reference groups with whom you can share even broader visions of the society.
3. Tertiary socialization
There is discussion about whether there is a tertiary socialization, which would apply to people who are considered dangerous or who have engaged in antisocial behaviors and who have to learn again how to behave in society, which is why which We could also call this process "resocialization" or social reintegration.
The objective of this process is to redirect the behavior of those who have violated the rules, with the help of professionals who will act as socializing agents. These professionals would be the entire body of specialists involved in social reintegration as social educators, psychologists, doctors and psychiatrists, it being common for tertiary socialization to take place in institutions such as reformatories and prisons.