W9.1 April 29 KimMinJeong(김민정)

 1. Summary

I read some material that explains socialization. Socialization is a fundamental sociological concept that consists of many components. It is the process that prepares humans to function in social life and stresses that it is culturally relative. In other words, people from different cultures and those who occupy different races, classes, genders, sexual, religious, and social positions are socialized differently. These distinctions essentially do not force evaluative judgment, and they should not. It should also be noted that socialization is a key sociological process in the development of individuals who can function in human society, but not all aspects of human behavior are learned.

2. an interesting point

Socialization is a life process, but it is usually divided into two parts. Primary socialization occurs during the early years of life in childhood and adolescence. Secondary socialization refers to socialization that occurs during childhood and when meeting new groups that require additional socialization. Although some scholars argue that only one of these occurs, most social scientists tend to combine the two, arguing that an individual's basic or core identity develops during primary socialization and that later more specific changes occur through secondary socialization. Socialization is, of course, a social process, so interactions between people are involved. As mentioned in the primary and secondary distinctions, socialization can occur as a result of contact with numerous groups in a variety of situations. More important contributors to the socialization process are parents, guardians, friends, schools, siblings, or other family members, social clubs, life partners, and colleagues. Each of these groups contains a culture that needs to be applied to some extent.

3. Question

There are various theories dealing with socialization, including symbolic interactionism, role theory, reinforcement theory, and internalization theory. Symbolic interactionism is the theory that the self develops as a result of interrelated social interaction and interpretation processes, and role theory is the theory that socialization is regarded as the process of acquiring appropriate norms, attitudes, self-images, values, and role behaviors that enable acceptance within a group and effective performance of new roles. Reinforcement theory explains that the self develops as a result of cognitive evaluation of costs and benefits, and internalization theory says that socialization is a series of steps in which individuals learn how to participate in social organizations at different levels.

Of these, which theory do you think is the best fit to explain socialization?