4.3: Institutions and Socialization

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

• Evaluate the roles of families, peers, and religion in socialization
• Describe how people are socialized through institutions like schools, workplaces, and the government

Figure 4.5: These kindergarteners aren’t just learning to read and write; they are being socialized to norms like keeping their hands to themselves, standing in line, and playing together. (Credit: woodleywonderworks/flickr)

Socialization helps people learn to function successfully in their social worlds. How does the process of socialization occur? How do we learn to use the objects of our society’s material culture? How do we come to adopt the beliefs, values, and norms that represent its nonmaterial culture? This learning takes place through interaction with various agents of socialization, like peer groups and families, plus both formal and informal social institutions.

 

Primary social groups often provide the first experiences of socialization. Families, peer groups, and religious congregations communicate values and reinforce norms. People first learn to use the tangible objects of material culture in these settings, as well as being introduced to the belief systems of their society.

Family

Family is the first agent of socialization we experience. Mothers and fathers (biological or adoptive), siblings and grandparents, plus members of an extended family, all teach child who they are, and what they need to know. For example, they show the child how to use objects (clothes, computers, eating utensils, books, bikes); how to relate to others (some as “family,” others as “friends,” still others as “strangers” or “teachers” or “neighbors”); and how the world works (what is “real” and what is “imaginary”).  Keep in mind, however, that families do not socialize children in a vacuum. Many social factors affect the way a family raises its children. For example, individual behaviors are of course affected by the historical period in which they take place. Sixty years ago, it would not have been considered especially strict for a father to hit his son with a belt if he disobeyed, or for a teacher to hit a misbehaving student with a ruler, but today that same actions might be considered child abuse.

Sociologists recognize that ethnicity, social class, religion, and other societal factors play an important role in socialization. For example, poor families usually emphasize obedience and conformity when raising their children, while wealthy families emphasize assertiveness and creativity (National Opinion Research Center 2018). This may occur because working-class parents have less education and more repetitive-task jobs for which it is helpful to be able to follow rules and conform. Wealthy parents tend to have better educations and often work in managerial positions or careers that require more independence and creative problem solving, so they teach their children skills and attitudes that are beneficial in these positions. This means children are effectively socialized and raised to take the types of jobs their parents already have, thus reproducing the class system (Kohn 1977). Likewise, children are socialized to abide by gender norms, perceptions of race, and religious behaviors.

Peer Groups

A peer group is made up of people who are similar in age and social status, including but not limited to a child's circle of friends. Peer group socialization begins in the earliest years, such as when kids on a playground teach younger children the norms about taking turns, the rules of a game, or how to shoot a basket. As children grow into teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups are important to adolescents in a new way, as they begin to develop an identity separate from their parents and exert their independence. Additionally, peer groups provide their own opportunities for socialization since kids usually engage in different activities and discuss different topics with their peers than they do with their families. Peer groups provide adolescents’ first major socialization experience outside the realm of their families. 

 

Religion

Religious congregations are important avenues of socialization for many people. America is unusual in the world for having what sociologists describe as a "religious marketplace" full of synagogues, temples, churches, mosques, and other religious communities where people gather to worship and learn.  Because the U.S.A. was set up with a legal wall of separation between church and state, there is not an official state religion that can suppress competing religions as happens in many other countries.  Americans enjoy religious liberty, and have many options to find a religious community they like.  In addition to socializing their members with beliefs about the sacred or metaphysical aspects of life, religions also operate like any other institution that teaches participants how to behave, and how to interact with other people. For some people, important ceremonies related to family structure—like marriage and childbirth—are connected to religious celebrations, which may strengthen the stability of those structures by making them seem more meaningful. Many religious institutions also uphold gender norms, and contribute to their enforcement through socialization. From ceremonial rites of passage that reinforce the family unit, to power dynamics that reinforce gender roles, organized religion can foster a shared set of socialized values that are passed on through society.  Even for the non-religious, which includes both atheists as well as those who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious," the major religions in a society are often represented in the media, and can shape mainstream cultural norms and values. 

 

School

Most American children spend about seven hours a day, 180 days a year, in school, which makes it hard to deny the importance school has on their socialization (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Students are not in school only to study math, reading, science, and other subjects, although that is the manifest function of this institution. But schools also serve a latent function in society, by socializing children into normative behaviors like practicing teamwork, following a schedule, and being polite.

School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and authority figures, regularly reinforce what society expects from children. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as the hidden curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools.  For example, in America schools have built a sense of competition into the way grades are awarded and the way teachers evaluate students (Bowles and Gintis, 1976). When children participate in a relay race or a math contest, they learn there are winners and losers in society, and the value of good sportsmanship. When children are required to work together on a project, they practice teamwork and cooperation. This hidden curriculum prepares children for the adult world. Children must learn how to deal with bureaucracy, rules, expectations, waiting their turn, and sitting still for hours during the day, since those are important abilities in the adult world of work. 

Schools also socialize children by teaching them about citizenship and national pride. In the United States, children are taught to say the Pledge of Allegiance for example. Most districts require classes about U.S. history and geography. As academic understanding of history evolves, textbooks in the United States have been scrutinized and revised to update attitudes toward other cultures as well as perspectives on historical events; thus, children of each generation may be socialized into different beliefs about national or world history than earlier generations may have been. For example, information about the mistreatment of African Americans under slavery more accurately reflects those events in modern textbooks than was presented in past eras, but political battles over this kind of content continue to play out.

The Workplace

Figure 4.6 Workplace socialization occurs informally and formally, and may include material and non-material culture (Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture/flickr).

Just as children spend much of their day at school, many U.S. adults at some point invest a significant amount of time at a place of employment. Although socialized into their culture since birth, workers require new socialization into a workplace subculture, in terms of both material culture (such as how to operate the copy machine) and nonmaterial culture (such as whether it’s okay to speak directly to the boss or how to share the refrigerator). In the chapter introduction, Noel did not fully embrace the culture of her new company. Importantly, the obligation of such socialization is not simply on the worker: Organizational consultants and other business experts place responsibility on companies; organizations must have strong on-boarding and socialization programs in order to build satisfaction, productivity, and worker retention (Cebollero 2019).

Different jobs require different types of socialization. In the past, many people worked a single job for decades, until retirement. Today, the trend is to switch jobs every few years. Between the ages of eighteen and forty-six, the average Generation X worker held 11.3 different jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). This means that people must become socialized to, and socialized by, a variety of work environments.

Government

Although we do not think about it, many of the rites of passage people go through today are based on age norms established by the government. To be defined as an “adult” usually means being eighteen years old, the age at which a person becomes legally responsible for him- or herself. And sixty-five years old is the start of “old age” since most people become eligible for senior benefits at that point.

Each time we embark on one of these new categories—senior, adult, taxpayer—we must be socialized into our new role. Seniors must learn the ropes of Medicare, Social Security benefits, and senior shopping discounts. When American males turn eighteen, they must register with the Selective Service System within thirty days to be entered into a database for possible military service. These government dictates mark the points at which we require socialization into a new category.

Mass Media

Mass media distribute impersonal information to a wide audience, via television, newspapers, radio, and the Internet. With the average person spending over four hours a day in front of the television (and children averaging even more screen time), media greatly influences social norms (Roberts, Foehr, and Rideout 2005). People learn about objects of material culture (like new technology and transportation options), as well as nonmaterial culture—what is true (beliefs), what is important (values), and what is expected (norms).

Sociology in the Real World

Girls and Movies

Figure 4.7 Some researchers, parents, and children's advocates are concerned about the effects of raising girls within what they call "princess culture." Many place blame on entertainment companies, such as Disney, for its portrayals of girls in its movies.

Movies aimed at young people have featured a host of girls and women leads. Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty gave way to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Mulan. In many of those cases, if the character is not a princess to begin with, she typically ends the movie by marrying a prince or, in the case of Mulan, a military general. Although not all “princesses” in Disney movies play a passive role in their lives, they typically find themselves needing to be rescued by a man, and the happy ending they all search for includes marriage.

Alongside this prevalence of princesses, many parents are expressing concern about the culture of princesses that Disney has created. Peggy Orenstein addresses this problem in her popular book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter. Orenstein wonders why every little girl is expected to be a “princess” and why pink has become an all-consuming obsession for many young girls. Another mother wondered what she did wrong when her three-year-old daughter refused to do “nonprincessy” things, including running and jumping. The effects of this princess culture can have negative consequences for girls throughout life. An early emphasis on beauty can lead to reduced interest in math and science among girls, as well as avoiding educational scenarios that are "typically feminine" (Coyne 2016).

Others acknowledge these issues, but find princess movies and "princess culture" less alarming. Some remind concerned parents that children have an array of media and activities around them, and the children may be happy wearing their princess outfit while digging for worms or going to hockey practice, which run counter to feminine stereotypes (Wagner 2019). Others indicate that rather than disallowing princess movies and merchandise, engaging with the children as they enjoy them might be more effective. And many people acknowledge that girls and women are often currently portrayed differently than they were in years past.

Disney seems to have gotten the message about the concerns. Its 2009 Tiana and the Frog was specifically billed as "a princess movie for people who don't like princess movies," and features a talented chef and business owner—who didn't need a man to rescue her—as its main character. Brave's Merida and the title character in Moana seem to go out of their way to separate themselves from traditional princesses, and undertake great acts of bravery to help others. Frozen focuses on sisterly love rather than romantic love. And though she was never meant to be a princess, Star Wars' Rey was the go-to girls Halloween costume for years after she was introduced in the movies.