Socialization Agent Essay

In a western culture, as well as various other cultures, family is viewed as being one of the most important aspects in one’s life. This is due to family typically being the first socializing agent in life. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have a group of people which they can label as their family. There are people who stay as orphans up until they are legally adults, and never really have a family. In a case such as this, the individual must look to alternative socializing agents which serve to fulfill the functions that a family would have been expected to fulfill so the child can develop properly. Ideally, a family is meant to provide an individual with affection, companionship, and encourage self-expression. It should also …show more content…
A family is how infants learn and develop life skills that are necessary for them to survive when they are older. Due to this, a family would be a key socialization agent. It is now more widely known that a parent must not only care for a child’s physical needs, but also the child’s social development. If a child is restricted from spending time with peers because of overbearing parents, they can miss out on development that would be obligatory to the development of self in terms of socialization. This was shown to be true by Harry Harlow, a researcher who administered experiments with monkeys raised in isolation, both away from their mothers and other monkeys. His experiment showed that “The monkeys raised in isolation were fearful and easily frightened. They did not mate, and the females who were artificially inseminated became abusive mothers” (Schaefer 80). Harlow further exemplified how important the role of family is when it comes to the development of self, because if a family negatively raises their child in some way, it can lead to problems further on in the individual’s life. This can affect those who the individual comes …show more content…
Not all families satisfy this, and therefore, an individual may turn to peers to fulfill this. Peers can also encourage self-expression similarly to how a family would. School can also serve as an alternative to family as a socialization agent just as peers do. In school, a person can learn about new values in their courses and develop morals based on those values. Also, instructors can teach students self-discipline and a good work ethic over time. Some schools might also have programs which are used to teach its students a strong work ethic and have standards to do so such as developing work habits and personal responsibility. In courses, deadlines are applied to assignments and a student is expected to finish their assignment before the due date given. As the courses become more rigorous and demand more attention from the student, the student will inevitably have to learn self-discipline and a proper work ethic so they can efficiently stay on top of their workload and perform well in their courses. While a family is the first socialization agent that one might think of, it is not always necessary because peers