Agents of Socialization
What is an Agent of Socialization?
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People
Groups
Institutions
They teach and influence the way in which we
behave within a society
Family
Agent #1: The Family
• The most important of all!
• Develops cognitive (thinking), emotional, and
physical skill sets
• Teach values (cultural & social)
• Main source of emotional support
• Language acquisition, understanding of rules,
how to interact with others, acceptable
behaviour, and relationship skills are all
learned here
School
Agent #2 The School
• Increasingly more and more important
– Rise in single parent/working families
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Fills void left at home
Provides learning experiences
Specific knowledge and skills are taught
Introduces social control
Extended teaching of culture
Peer Groups
Agent #3: Peer Groups
• People linked by interest, social status, age
• Contribute to each others sense of belonging
• Teach and reinforce cultural norms and
behaviours
• Create and distribute culture
Mass Media
Agent #4: Mass Media
• Large scale organizations
• Use print or electronic means of communication
to interact with large groups of people
• Provide information
• Introduce different perspectives
• Make us aware of products and services which
will influence our society
• Entertain us through the experience of others
Other Agents
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Religion
Ethnicity
Work
Government
Clubs & Social Groups
What Role Do They Play?
• With a partner choose a society (be creative)
– Outline some agents responsible for successful survival in that
society
• Example: Rugby Team
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Family: teaches value of healthy lifestyle
School: teaches how to interact with others
Peer groups: friends play on team
Mass Media: Invictus is huge success
Religion: pray before every game
Ethnicity: during Apartheid, Springboks were Whites-only
Work: can’t get hurt or will miss work
Government: represent your country at the olympics
Social: team hangs out after games
Homework
• Create a chart with each agent
– Family, School, Peers, Media, Religion,
Government, Work, Clubs, Ethnicity
• Explain briefly how each of the following
agents has influenced who you are/ how you
see yourself within society
– at least one per category