In the body in the place of moribund cells comes new. And society every second new people are born who don't know anything yet; no rules, no norms, no laws, according to which their parents live. All they need to teach them to become independent members of society, active participants in his life who can teach the new generation.
The process of assimilation by the individual of social norms, cultural values and behavioral patterns of the society to which he belongs, is called socialization.
It includes the transfer and acquisition of knowledge, abilities, skills, formation of values, ideals, norms and rules of social behavior.
In sociological science it is accepted to allocate two basic types of socialisation:
· primary — assimilation norms and values of the child;
· secondary — the assimilation of new norms and values adult.
Socialization is a set of agents and institutions, forming, guiding, stimulating, limiting the personality of man.
Agents of socialization are the specific people responsible for teaching cultural norms and social values. Institutions of socialization — institutions that affect the socialization process and guide it.
Depending on the type of socialization are considered primary and secondary agents and institutions of socialization.
The primary agents of socialization - parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, other relatives, friends, teachers, leaders of youth groups. The term “primary” refers to all that is the direct and immediate environment of man.
Agents of secondary socialisation - the representatives of school administration, University, companies, army, police, churches, employees of mass media. The term “secondary” describes those in the second tier of influence, rendering less important the impact on people.
The primary institutions of socialization — family, school, peer group, etc. Secondary institutions — the state, its agencies, universities, churches, media, etc.
The socialization process consists of several stages, the steps of:
1. Stage adaptation (birth — adolescence). At this stage, the uncritical assimilation of social experience, the main mechanism of socialization is the imitation.
2. The emergence of desire to differentiate themselves from other phase identification.
3. Stage of integration, introduction into society, which may be either safely or dysfunctional.
4. The labor stage. At this stage, the reproduction of social experience, the impact on the environment.
5. Poslerodovaya stage (old age). This stage is characterized by the transfer of social experience to new generations.
In General, we can distinguish five factors that influence the process of socialization:
1. biological heredity;
2. the physical environment;
3. culture, social environment;
4. group experience;
5. the individual experience.
The socialization process covers all layers of society. In the framework of the assimilation of new norms and values replace the old ones called re-socialisation, and loss of personality of social behaviours — the desocialization. The deviation in the socialization called deviation.