Socialization Building a Human Being
Socialization: Building a Human Being “They say you are not you except in terms of relation to other people. ... That is a very comforting thought when you are in the car in the rain at night alone, for then you arent you, and not being you or anything, you can really lie back and get some rest. It is a vacation from being you. ... ” ~Robert Penn Warren, All the Kings Men, 1947~ Within the scope of history, socialization is not a recent occurrence but is a new concept within the human vernacular. ... Now with the benefit of 400 years of socio-anthropology we know socialization is key to building fully evolved human beings. Beginning at birth and ending only with our mortality, socialization plays the cardinal role in forging our identities and beliefs while not precluding individuality to thrive. ... Early Socialization There are few similarities with the first and final days of our lives but socialization is one of them. ... Once a child is born socialization takes an enduring hold, ideally beginning with the healthful imprint of child-mother attachment. Attachment parenting so vital to healthy child socialization that had Freud been acquainted with it, his theoretical paradigm, might have been branded by childhood connection instead of conflict. ... It is difficult to understate the importance of early childhood socialization as it has an immeasurable impact on self-development but is only a prelude to a life long process that eternally shapes who we are and who we want to be. Primary agents of early socialization are family, school and peer-group. As adults, marriage, parenthood and occupational affiliations supplant them with mass media being the ever-present social dominion. ... Broad-scope examples of family socialization are a child’s gender orientation and scholastic goals. ... As we absorb information through perpetual exposure to television, various print media and radio: roles, values and biases are being constructed. ... ” Adult Socialization Where socialization is an unconscious experience through our early lives, we are in contrast the conductors of our social journey through adulthood. ... In contrast to self-governed socialization, is resocialization, where individuals are removed from society, not all by choice, to be reprogrammed with new social paradigms. ... Despite being fully cognizant of their true status as middle-class university students, the simple act of being labeled either a guard or inmate compelled most of the volunteers to shed their values overnight. ... Amongst a single human species exists a myriad of laws and statutes covering virtually any possible scenario, approximately 6,000 languages and dialects, 20 major religions and nearly 100 mathematical characters, have flourished.