Socialization

The process by which an individual develops through

interaction with other people, his specific patterns of

socially relevant behaviour and experience is called

‘socialization’. It is the family’s primary responsibility

to socialize children into the norms of the society.

In all human groups, the family is an important agent

of socialization. It has a flexible human relationships

in which family members interact informally and deal

with common concerns in mutual respect and love. The

family teaches the child his or her first lessons in social

living and helps him or her form basic attitude patterns,

ideals and style of life. It creates feelings of social

responsibility and teaches the importance of cooperation

and mutual respect.

The human child possesses a tendency towards

imitation and the family provides informal conditions

where customs and traditions can be learnt through

imitation. Accordingly, the child’s personality is formed

and a social identity develops. Socialization develops

the child’s ability to control himself or herself and

realizes his or her responsibility towards the family,

community and the society at large.

Socialization in the Family

The family plays the most important role in the

individual’s socialization. The child finds much to learn

in the behaviour of his family members, parents,

relatives, and friends. He imitates them in their

mannerisms, behaviour, cliches, etc. He tries to avoid

such activities which result in punishment or which

are considered bad in the family. It is the family

environment that forms his good habits and it is in the

family that he acquires criminal tendencies.

Need for Socialization

The question why is socialization necessary for the

development of an individual is best answered by the

example of the human beings who were for some reason,

nurtured outside society. Human beings of this kind

are described by Gessell in his work “Wolf children and

Human Children” and by Davis in his essays. In 1920,

in India two,children were found in a wolf den, of which

one was eight years old and the other a couple of years

younger. The second died after the lapse of only a few

months while the first continued to live for six years.

She was named KamIn, This girl was completely

innocent of the modes and behaviour of human

behaviour. She walked on all fours, growled like a wolf

and could not speak. She became nervous at the sight

of human beings as any undomesticated animals are

bound to be. In this way, due to the absence of

socialization she possesed none of the characteristics

of human beings save for her bodily structure. She was

taught to speak, wear clothes and eat. In this way, she

could learn some human behaviour due to the influence

of socialization after a period of some years.

The self of the individual develops primarily because of

socialization. Every social relationship of the individual

contributes to this process of socialization. The problem

of man’s socialization is very complex and it has not yet

been completely solved in any human society. In the

words of Davis, “The improvement of socialization offers

one of the greatest possibilities for the future alteration

of human nature and human society”.