Socialization and its role in human life and society. Hierarchy principle

In the context of the complication of social life, the problem of including a person in social integrity, in the social structure of society, is actualized. The main concept that describes this kind of inclusion is "socialization", which allows a person to become a member of society.

Socialization is understood as the process of entry of an individual into society, which gives rise to changes in the social structure of society and in the structure of the individual. The latter circumstance is due to the fact of a person's social activity, and, consequently, his ability, when interacting with the environment, not only to assimilate its requirements, but also to change this environment, to influence it.

Socialization is a process by which an individual assimilates the norms of his group in such a way that through the formation of his own "I" the uniqueness of this individual as a person is manifested, the process of assimilation by the individual of patterns of behavior, social norms and values ​​necessary for his successful functioning in this society.

The process of socialization is continuous and continues throughout a person's life. The world around us is changing, requiring corresponding changes from us. The human essence is not carved forever from granite, it cannot be completely formed in childhood so that it no longer changes. Life is an adaptation, a process of continuous renewal and change. Three-year-old children are socialized within the kindergarten, students within their chosen profession, new employees within their institution or enterprise, husband and wife within the young family they have created, new converts within their religious sect, and the elderly in within the nursing home. In one way or another, all societies deal with a life cycle that begins with conception, continues through the stage of aging, and ends with death. Based on the rich fabric of organic age, societies weave bizarre social patterns: in one culture, a girl of 14 years old can be a high school student, and in another, a mother of two children; A 45-year-old man may be in the prime of his business career, still moving up the political ladder, or already retired if he is a professional football player, and in some other society a person of this age usually already departs to another world and is revered as an ancestor by younger relatives . It is customary in all cultures to divide biological time into corresponding social units. If birth, puberty, maturity, aging and death are universally recognized biological facts, then it is society that gives each of them a well-defined social significance.

Man is a social being. However, no person is born a ready-made member of society. The integration of an individual into society is a long and complex process. It includes the assimilation of social norms and values, as well as the process of mastering roles.

Socialization proceeds in two mutually intertwined directions. On the one hand, being included in the system of social relations, the individual learns the cultural experience of his society, its values ​​and norms. In this case, he is the object of public influence. On the other hand, by socializing, a person participates more and more actively in the affairs of society and in the further development of its culture. Here he already acts as a subject of social relations (1)

The structure of socialization includes a socializer and a socializer, socializing influence, primary and secondary socialization. A socializer is an individual undergoing socialization. A socializer is an environment that has a socializing influence on a person. Usually these are agents and agents of socialization. Agencies of socialization are institutions that have a socializing influence on the individual: the family, educational institutions, culture, the media, public organizations. The agents of socialization are the persons directly surrounding the individual: relatives, friends, teachers, etc. So, for a student, an educational institution is an agent of socialization, and the dean of a faculty is an agent. The actions of socializers directed at socializers are called socializing influence. (2)

Socialization is a process that continues throughout life. However, its content and focus may change at different stages. In this regard, primary and secondary socialization are distinguished. Primary socialization is understood as the process of formation of a mature personality. Under the secondary - the development of specific roles associated with the division of labor. The first begins in infancy and continues until the formation of a socially mature personality, the second - during the period of social maturity and continues throughout life. As a rule, the processes of desocialization and resocialization are associated with secondary socialization. Desocialization means the rejection of the individual from previously learned norms, values, accepted roles. Resocialization is reduced to the assimilation of new rules and norms to replace the lost old ones.

So, socialization is understood as the whole multifaceted process of humanization of a person, which includes both biological prerequisites and the very entry of an individual into the social environment and implies: social cognition, social communication, mastering the skills of practical activity, including both the objective world of things and the entire a set of social functions, roles, norms, rights and obligations, etc.; active reconstruction of the surrounding (natural and social) world; change and qualitative transformation of the person himself, his comprehensive and harmonious development.

TEST

Personality socialization

Introduction

socialization society personality individual

All his life a person is looking for his place in the world. He cannot exist without society, and it, in turn, without him. When a person is just born, he is small and helpless. And society meets it with norms, rules, restrictions, a well-established system by which it functions, and thousands of years of accumulated experience. Now the little man needs to accept the rules and learn to live in a huge society.

What is the process of a person entering society, how does it go, what does it consist of, what stages is it divided into - these questions will be relevant as long as the world exists.

The individual and society interact in the process of socialization: the society transmits the socio-historical experience, norms, symbols, and the individual assimilates the norms, symbols and socio-historical experience that the society transmits.

The main problems of the sociological theory of personality are connected with the process of personality formation and the development of its needs in close connection with the functioning and development of social communities, the study of the natural connection between the individual and society, the individual and the group, the regulation and self-regulation of the social behavior of the individual. Sociology as a whole contains many theories of personality, which differ from each other in cardinal methodological guidelines.

The problem of studying personality in sociology is one of the central ones, since in order to understand the essence of social phenomena, the system of relationships between people in society, each sociologist must understand what drives the actions of each individual person. Individual behavior is thus the basis for understanding the life of an entire social group or society.

The most traditional in sociology is the study of socialization. In its most general form, socialization is understood as the process of transferring social information, experience, and culture accumulated in society to a person. The concept of "socialization" is used in the sociology of education more widely than any other. Within the process of socialization, it is proposed to take into account two vectors of development, each of which can become the object of primary attention in one or another concept: the direction of information from society, the activity of society and the transformation of society in connection with the inclusion of a new “unit” in the social whole, as well as a range of problems, associated with the "embedding" of the proposed information by the society, the inclusion of the norms of the society's existence in the structure of the individual's worldview. Peculiar approaches to the role of society and the individual lead to the formation of divergent concepts of socialization.

The theme of my test work: "Socialization of the individual."

Object of study is the individual as a social being.

Subject of study: socialization of personality, main stages and features.

aim This work is the study of the socialization of the individual:

Based on the purpose of the work, we set and solve a number of the following tasks:

)we will study the concept of personality and the main factors of its development;

)consider the content of the concept of socialization of the individual,

)we study the essence and features of socialization, its stages, as well as the role of culture in the socialization of the individual.

1. Personality and the main factors of its development

Personality is one of those phenomena that are rarely interpreted in the same way by two different authors. All definitions of personality, one way or another, are determined by two opposing views on its development.

From the point of view of some, each personality is formed and develops in accordance with its innate qualities and abilities, while the social environment plays a very insignificant role. Representatives of another point of view completely reject the innate internal traits and abilities of the individual, believing that the individual is a product that is completely formed in the course of social experience.

These are extreme points of view on the process of personality formation. In the analysis, it is necessary to take into account both the biological characteristics of the individual and her social experience. At the same time, practice shows that the social factors of personality formation are more significant.

The definition of personality given by V. Yadov seems to be satisfactory: "Personality is the integrity of a person's social properties, a product of social development and the inclusion of an individual in a system of social relations through vigorous activity and communication." According to this view, the personality develops from a biological organism solely through various types of social and cultural experience. At the same time, the presence of her innate abilities, temperament and predisposition, which significantly affect the process of forming personality traits, is not denied.

In sociology, it is customary to distinguish between the concepts of "man", "individual", "personality". "Human" means that a living being belongs to the human race. "Individual" includes unique, unique properties of a person that distinguish him from another person. concept "personality" is introduced to highlight, emphasize the non-natural essence of a person and an individual, that is, the emphasis is on the social principle.

In sociology personality defined as:

ü the systemic quality of the individual, determined by his involvement in social relations and manifested in joint activities and communication;

ü the subject of social relations and conscious activity.

The main factors influencing the formation of personality are divided into the following types: 1) biological heredity; 2) physical environment; 3) culture; 4) group experience; 5) unique individual experience.

Biological factors, as well as factors of the physical environment and general cultural patterns of behavior in a particular social group, have a certain influence on the formation of personality. However, the main factors that determine the process of personality formation are, of course, group experience and subjective, unique personal experience. These factors are fully manifested in the process of socialization of the individual.

2. The essence of the process of socialization of the individual

In sociology, personality is considered as the result of the development of the individual, the most complete embodiment of all human qualities. Individual - this is a single representative of the human race, a specific carrier of all social and psychological traits of mankind: mind, will, needs, interests, etc.

The mechanism and process of personality formation is revealed in sociology on the basis of the concept of "socialization".

Socialization - this is the process by which the individual assimilates the basic elements of culture: symbols, meanings, values, norms. On the basis of this assimilation in the course of socialization, the formation of social qualities, properties, deeds and skills takes place, thanks to which a person becomes a capable participant in social interaction.

Socialization is the process of becoming a social "I". The individual and society interact in the process of socialization: society transmits socio-historical experience, norms, symbols, and the individual assimilates them depending on their qualities.

The meaning of the process of socialization in its early stages is the search for its social place.

Socialization is the process of becoming a person, the gradual assimilation of the requirements of society, the acquisition of socially significant characteristics of consciousness and behavior that regulate its relationship with society. Sociologists use this term to describe the process by which and by which people learn to conform to social norms, that is, the process that makes it possible for society to continue and its culture to be passed on from generation to generation. This process is conceptualized in two ways.

Socialization can be understood as the internalization of social norms: social norms become obligatory for the individual in the sense that they are established by him for himself, rather than imposed on him by means of external regulation and are thus part of the individual's own individuality. Due to this, the individual feels an internal need to adapt to the social environment surrounding him.

Socialization can be thought of as an essential element of social interaction based on the assumption that people are willing to raise the price of their own self-image by gaining approval and status in the eyes of others; in this case, individuals are socialized to the extent that they direct their actions in accordance with the expectations of others.

The socialization of the individual begins from the first years of life and ends by the period of civil maturity of a person, although the powers, rights and obligations acquired by him do not mean that the process of socialization is completely completed: in some aspects it continues throughout life. It is in this sense that we are talking about the need to improve the pedagogical culture of parents, about the fulfillment of civic duties by a person, about observing the rules of interpersonal communication. Otherwise, socialization means a process of constant knowledge, consolidation and creative assimilation by a person of the rules and norms of behavior dictated to him by society.

Socialization is usually divided into three stages. At each of these levels, various agents and institutions of socialization operate.

Socialization agents - these are specific people responsible for the transfer of cultural experience.

Institutes of socialization are institutions that influence and direct the process of socialization.

Primary socialization occurs in the sphere of interpersonal relations in small groups: at the primary stage (socialization of the infant), the main agent of socialization is the family. The immediate environment of the individual acts as the primary agents of socialization: parents, close and distant relatives, family friends, peers, doctors, coaches, etc. These people, communicating with the individual, influence the formation of his personality.

secondary stage covers the period of receiving formal education; and the third stage is the socialization of an adult, when social factors enter roles for which primary and secondary socialization cannot fully prepare them (for example, becoming an employee, husband, wife, parent). Secondary socialization occurs at the level of large social groups and institutions. Secondary agents are formal organizations, official institutions: representatives of the administration of the school, the army, the state, etc.

The introduction of the individual intellect to the social takes place in the process of socialization and is an important part of it.

A person receives the first elementary information in the family, which lays the foundations for both consciousness and behavior. In sociology, attention is drawn to the fact that the value of the family as a social institution has not been sufficiently taken into account for a long time. The belittling of the role of the family brought great losses, mainly of a moral nature, which later turned into large costs in labor and socio-political life.

The school takes the baton of socialization of the personality. As they grow older and prepare to fulfill their civic duty, the body of knowledge acquired by a young person becomes more complex. However, not all of them acquire the character of consistency and completeness. So, in childhood, the child receives the first ideas about the Motherland, in general terms, begins to form his own idea of ​​​​the society in which he lives, about the principles of building life. But sociologists are still concerned about the question: why is the initial process of socialization of the individual so different, why does the school produce young people who differ not only in ideas, but also in a set of values ​​that sometimes directly oppose each other?

The socialization of that part of the youth who come to work after graduating from educational institutions (secondary, vocational, higher) continues in the specific conditions that have developed in production under the influence not only of social relations, but also of the specific features inherent in this social institution.

A powerful tool for the socialization of the individual is the mass media - print, radio, television. They carry out intensive processing of public opinion, its formation. At the same time, the implementation of both constructive and destructive tasks is equally possible.

The socialization of the individual organically includes the transfer of the social experience of mankind, therefore the continuity, preservation and assimilation of traditions are inseparable from the daily life of people. Through them, new generations are involved in solving the economic, social, political and spiritual problems of society.

And finally, the socialization of the individual is associated with the labor, socio-political and cognitive activities of a person. It is not enough just to have knowledge, they have to be turned into beliefs that are presented in the actions of the individual. It is the combination of knowledge, beliefs and practical actions that forms the characteristic features and qualities inherent in certain types of personality.

Thus, the socialization of the individual is, in fact, a specific form of appropriation by a person of those civil relations that exist in all spheres of public life.

3. Stages of socialization

It is known that the baby enters the big world as a biological organism and his main concern at this moment is his own physical comfort. After some time, the child becomes a human being with a set of attitudes and values, with likes and dislikes, goals and intentions, patterns of behavior and responsibility, as well as with a uniquely individual vision of the world. Man achieves this state through a process which we call socialization. During this process, the individual becomes a human person.

Socialization - the process by which the individual assimilates the norms of his group in such a way that through the formation of his own "I" the uniqueness of this individual as a person is manifested, the process of assimilation by the individual of patterns of behavior, social norms and values ​​necessary for his successful functioning in this society.

Socialization covers all the processes of familiarization with culture, training and education, through which a person acquires a social nature and the ability to participate in social life. The entire environment of the individual takes part in the process of socialization: family, neighbors, peers in a children's institution, school, the media, etc.

There are the following stages of socialization:

Primary socialization , or stage of adaptation (from birth to adolescence, the child learns social experience uncritically, adapts, adapts, imitates). During the period of primary (children's) socialization, the possibilities of acquiring information from social memory are still largely determined by the capabilities and parameters of biological intelligence: the quality of "sensor sensors", reaction time, concentration, memory. However, the further a person moves away from the moment of his birth, the less role the biological instinct plays in this process and the more important are the factors of the social order. The world of a baby from its very birth is inhabited by other people. Moreover, very soon he becomes able to distinguish them from each other, and some of them become dominant in his life. From the very beginning, the child interacts not only with his own body and with the physical environment, but also with other human beings. The biography of an individual from the moment of his birth is the history of his relations with others.

The typical social situation "inequality of opportunity - unequal start" manifests itself already in the first years of a child's life. In some families, the upbringing and development of the intellect of the baby is engaged almost from the moment of his birth, while in others they are not involved at all. By the time they arrive at school or kindergarten - that is, by the beginning of the stage of secondary socialization - children already differ quite noticeably in their level of development, their ability to read and write, in their literary and general cultural background, and in their motivation to perceive new information.

It is clear that in the family of a professional intellectual, children undergo a significantly different socialization than in the families of parents of a lower intellectual level. Mental abilities and intellect should not be confused: the former are indeed genetically determined to a large extent, the latter, of course, is developed. One could list a huge number of outstanding personalities who received a determining intellectual start precisely from the conditions of their childhood - from parents and that circle of family friends who played the most important role of agents of primary socialization (the youth of Mozart, Bach).

By the time primary socialization is completed, parents (and their immediate environment) have passed on to their children not only a significant amount of information about the world in which they will live, but also the norms, values ​​and goals of their groups and their social class.

Content, character and quality secondary socialization , coinciding in time (and content) with the period of receiving formal education, are already determined by the level of training of teachers, the quality of pedagogical methods, and the conditions in which the educational process takes place. And this cannot but be influenced by social origin, and hence the cultural and material level of the family. It depends on this level which school the child will go to, what books and how much he will read, what is the circle of his daily communication, whether he will have personal mentors and tutors, a computer, etc.

It is at school that the true formation of the intellect begins, that is, its introduction to the world of scientific systematized knowledge. However, the school pursues not only this goal. One of the main functions of the stage of secondary socialization is the general preparation of the individual for his future life activity in social institutions operating within the framework of formal organizations. For these reasons, the school, in addition to forming a stable complex of certain knowledge in its pupils, always sets itself the task of instilling in them the ideological and moral values ​​that prevail in a given society in a given historical period.

Stage individualization (there is a desire to distinguish oneself from others, a critical attitude to social norms of behavior). In adolescence, the stage of individualization, self-determination "the world and I" is characterized as an intermediate socialization, as it is still unstable in the outlook and character of a teenager.

Adolescence (18-25 years) is characterized as a stable conceptual socialization, when stable personality traits are developed.

Stage integration (there is a desire to find one's place in society, to "fit" into society). Integration goes well if the properties of a person are accepted by the group, society. If not accepted, the following outcomes are possible: the preservation of one's dissimilarity and the emergence of aggressive interactions (relationships) with people and society; change yourself, "to become like everyone else"; conformism, external conciliation, adaptation.

In the third period - socialization of an adult - the development of individual intellect and the possibility of its "feeding" from the social intellect, as well as all other abilities of the individual, are already almost completely determined by its social status. The labor stage of socialization covers the entire period of a person's maturity, the entire period of his labor activity, when a person not only assimilates social experience, but also reproduces it through the active influence of a person on the environment through his activity.

Post-labour the stage of socialization considers old age as an age that makes a significant contribution to the reproduction of social experience, to the process of passing it on to new generations.

On the stages of infancy The main role in the life of the child is played by the mother, she feeds, cares, gives affection, care, as a result of which the child develops a basic trust in the world. Basic trust is manifested in the ease of feeding, good sleep of the child, normal bowel function, the ability of the child to calmly wait for the mother (does not scream, does not call, the child seems to be sure that the mother will come and do what is needed). The dynamics of trust development depends on the mother. A pronounced deficit of emotional communication with the infant leads to a sharp slowdown in the mental development of the child.

2nd stage early childhood is associated with the formation of autonomy and independence, the child begins to walk, learns to control himself when performing acts of defecation; society and parents accustom the child to neatness, tidiness, begin to shame for "wet pants".

At the age of 3-5 years, 3rd stage , the child is already convinced that he is a person, since he runs, knows how to speak, expands the area of ​​​​mastering the world, the child develops a sense of enterprise, initiative, which is laid down in the game. The game is very important for the development of the child, that is, it forms initiative, creativity, the child masters relationships between people through the game, develops his psychological capabilities: will, memory, thinking, etc. But if parents strongly suppress the child, do not pay attention to his games, then this negatively affects the development of the child, contributes to the consolidation of passivity, insecurity, guilt.

At primary school age (4th stage) the child has already exhausted the possibilities of development within the family, and now the school introduces the child to knowledge about future activities, transfers the technological ego of culture. If a child successfully masters knowledge, new skills, he believes in his own strength, he is confident, calm, but failures at school lead to the appearance, and sometimes to the consolidation of feelings of inferiority, disbelief in his own strength, despair, loss of interest in learning.

In adolescence (5th stage) the central form of ego-identity is formed. Rapid physiological growth, puberty, concern about how he looks in front of others, the need to find his professional vocation, abilities, skills - these are the questions that confront a teenager, and these are already society's requirements for a teenager about self-determination.

On the 6th stage (youth) for a person, the search for a life partner, close cooperation with people, strengthening ties with the entire social group, becomes relevant, a person is not afraid of depersonalization, he mixes his identity with other people, there is a feeling of closeness, unity, cooperation, intimacy with certain people. However, if the diffusion of identity passes to this age, the person becomes isolated, isolation and loneliness are fixed.

7th - central stage - the adult stage of personality development. The development of identity goes on throughout life, there is an impact on the part of other people, especially children: they confirm that they need you. Positive symptoms of this stage: a person invests himself in good, beloved work and care for children, is satisfied with himself and life.

After 50 years (8th stage) there is a creation of a complete form of ego-identity on the basis of the entire path of personality development, a person rethinks his whole life, realizes his “I” in spiritual reflections about the years he has lived. A person must understand that his life is a unique destiny that does not need to be crossed, a person “accepts” himself and his life, realizes the need for a logical conclusion of life, shows wisdom, a detached interest in life in the face of death.

For successful socialization, D. Smelzer , three facts are needed: expectations, changes in behavior, and striving to meet these expectations. The process of personality formation, in his opinion, occurs in three different stages:

1)stages of imitation and copying by children of adult behavior;

2)the game stage, when children are aware of the behavior as the performance of a role;

)stage of group games, in which children learn to understand what a whole group of people expects from them.

One of the first to single out the elements of the socialization of the child Z. Freud . According to Freud, personality includes three elements: "id" - a source of energy, stimulated by the desire for pleasure; "ego" - exercising control of the personality, based on the principle of reality, and "superego", or moral evaluative element.

Socialization is represented by Freud as the process of deploying the innate properties of a person, as a result of which the formation of these three constituent elements of personality occurs. In this process, Freud distinguishes four stages, each of which is associated with certain areas of the body, the so-called erogenous zones: oral, anal, phallic and puberty.

French psychologist J. Piaget , while retaining the idea of ​​different stages in the development of personality, focuses on the development of the cognitive structures of the individual and their subsequent restructuring depending on experience and social interaction. These stages replace one another in a certain sequence: sensory-motor (from birth to 2 years), operational (from 2 to 7), the stage of concrete operations (from 7 to 11), the stage of formal operations (from 12 to 15).

Many psychologists and sociologists emphasize that the process of socialization continues throughout a person's life, and argue that the socialization of adults differs from the socialization of children in several ways. The socialization of adults rather changes external behavior, while the socialization of children forms value orientations. Socialization of adults is designed to help a person acquire certain skills, socialization in childhood has more to do with the motivation of behavior. Psychologist R. Harold proposed a theory in which the socialization of adults is seen not as a continuation of children's socialization, but as a process in which the psychological signs of childhood are eliminated: the rejection of children's myths (such as, for example, the omnipotence of authority or the idea that our demands must to be the law for others).

Socialization goes through stages that coincide with the so-called life cycles, each stage of which is accompanied by two complementary processes: desocialization and resocialization.

Desocialization is the process of weaning from old values, norms, roles and rules of behavior.

Resocialization is the process of learning new values, norms, roles and rules of behavior to replace the old ones.

Freud singled out a number of psychological mechanisms of socialization: imitation, identification, feelings of shame and guilt.

Imitation is called a child's conscious attempt to copy a certain model of behavior. Identification It is a way of understanding belonging to a particular community. The main influence here is the immediate environment of the child.

Imitation and identification are positive mechanisms, since they are aimed at mastering a certain type of behavior. shame and guilt are negative mechanisms because they suppress or prohibit certain patterns of behavior.

The senses shame and guilt closely related to each other and almost indistinguishable, but there are certain differences between them. Shame is usually associated with feeling exposed and shamed. This feeling is focused on the perception of the actions of the individual by other people. The feeling of guilt is associated with inner feelings, with a person's self-assessment of his actions. Punishment here is committed by itself, conscience acts as a controlling form.

4. Group experience

At the very beginning of life, a person does not have his own "I". It simply continues the life of the embryo as part of the mother's body. Even distinguishing the physical boundaries of his own body from the rest of the world is the result of a rather long, consistent study of the child's environment and the subsequent discovery that the noise and movement around his crib belong to another world, and are not part of his own body, such as fingers or arms.

The isolation of the individual, first from the physical world, and then from the social world, is a rather complex process that continues throughout life. The child learns to distinguish between other people by their names. He realizes that a man is a father, a woman is a mother. Thus, gradually, his consciousness moves from names that characterize statuses (for example, the status of a man) to specific names that designate individual individuals, including himself. At the age of about one and a half years, the child begins to use the concept of "I", while realizing that he becomes a separate human being. Continuing to accumulate social experience, the child forms images of various personalities, including the image of his own "I". All further formation of a person as a personality is the construction of one's own "I" on the basis of constant comparison of oneself with other personalities.

Thus, the gradual creation of a personality with unique internal qualities and at the same time with perceived qualities common to its social environment, which are comprehended through group communication, group experience, is carried out.

The fact that the personality develops not simply through the automatic deployment of natural inclinations is proved by the experience of the social isolation of the human individual. There are cases when a child in childhood was deprived of a human environment and was brought up in an animal environment. The study of the perception by such individuals of themselves as a separate being in the surrounding world showed that they do not have their own "I", since they completely lack the idea of ​​themselves as a separate, separate being in a number of other beings similar to them. Moreover, such individuals cannot perceive their difference and similarity with other individuals. In this case, a human being cannot be considered a person.

Famous American psychologist and sociologist C. Cooley set himself the task of investigating the process of a person's gradual understanding of the difference between his "I" and other personalities. As a result of numerous studies, he determined that the development of the concept of one's own "I" occurs in the course of a long, contradictory and intricate process and cannot be carried out without the participation of other individuals, that is, without the social environment.

Each person, according to Ch. Cooley, builds his "I", based on the perceived reactions of other people with whom he comes into contact. For example, a girl is told by her parents and acquaintances that she is pretty and looks great. If these statements are repeated often enough, more or less constantly, and by different people, then the girl will eventually feel pretty and act like a beautiful creature. But even a pretty girl will feel like an ugly duckling if, from an early age, her parents or acquaintances disappoint her and treat her as ugly. A.I. Kuprin in the story "The Blue Star" perfectly described such a situation when a girl who was considered the ugliest in her country began to be considered the first beauty after moving to another country.

Such reasoning led C. Cooley to the idea that the personal "I" - the image is not born only in connection with objective facts. The most ordinary child, whose efforts are appreciated and rewarded, will feel a sense of confidence in his own abilities and his own talent, while a truly capable and talented child, whose efforts are perceived by his immediate environment as unsuccessful, will feel a painful sense of incompetence, and his abilities can be practically paralyzed. It is through relationships with others, through their assessments, that each person determines whether he is smart or stupid, attractive or ugly, worthy or worthless.

This human self, opening through the reactions of others, became known as the mirror self of Charles Cooley, who first analyzed the process of self discovery. C. Cooley defined three stages in construction mirror "I":

1)our perception of how we look at others;

2)our perception of their opinion about how we look;

)our feelings about this opinion.

The "social mirror" is constantly operating, it is constantly in front of us and also constantly changing. These changes are especially visible when, in childhood, when assessing one's abilities, a person is oriented towards the opinions of those with whom he is constantly in personal contact, and then, growing up, he is already guided by the opinions of individuals who are well versed in the subject of his abilities. Therefore, it can be said that upon reaching maturity, a person pays the most attention to creating an image of the social "I" based on the assessments of competent specialists.

Developing, the personality becomes not only more strict when choosing a group of individuals who act as a social mirror, but also selects images that influence it. A person always pays more attention to some opinions and less to others, he may even ignore some opinions and reactions about his behavior altogether. In this case, there is the possibility of misinterpretation of opinions, or a distorted mirror. For example, we often support pleasant statements about ourselves that turn out to be just flattery, or we can attribute the scolding of the boss to inability or inability, while this simply serves as a manifestation of his bad mood.

Thus, the mirror "I" that forms the personality, due to such distortions, never fully corresponds to the actual state of things. American researchers E. Kelvin and W. Holtsman in 1953 published the results of experiments, from which it follows that there is a very significant difference between an individual's opinion about his abilities (based on the assessments of other individuals) and the actual level of these abilities. The reasons for such differences were, firstly, the selection by individuals of the opinions of others that are beneficial to them, and, secondly, the difference between how people evaluate others in public and what they really think about them.

Determining the possibility of personality formation, "I" - an image based on the mirror "I", C. Cooley, however, did not take into account the activity of the individual. In accordance with his teachings, a person develops only thanks to the opinions of others, limiting himself to an electoral role.

University of Chicago professor, philosopher, sociologist and social psychologist J. Mead developed a theory that explains the essence of the process of perception by an individual of other personalities and developed the concept "generalized other" , to a certain extent supplementing and developing the theory of the mirror "I". In accordance with the concept of J. Mead "generalized other" represents the universal values ​​and standards of behavior of a certain group, which form an individual "I" - an image among the members of this group. An individual in the process of communication, as it were, takes the place of other individuals and sees himself as a different person. He evaluates his actions and appearance in accordance with the presented assessments of his “generalized other”.

Each of us knows the feeling when, after an absurd incident, a person with embarrassment imagines how he looked in the eyes of the others. He puts himself in their place and imagines what they think of him.

This awareness of the "generalized other" is developed through the processes of "role-taking" and "role-playing". Taking on a Role is an attempt to assume the behavior of a person in a different situation or in a different role.

J. Mead distinguished three stages in the process of teaching a child to play adult roles. The first is the preparatory stage(aged 1 to 3 years), during which the child imitates the behavior of adults without any understanding (for example, a girl punishes a doll). Second stagecalled game(at 3-4 years old), occurs when children begin to understand the behavior of those whom they portray, but the performance of the role is still unstable. At one point, the boy pretends to be a builder and stacks toy blocks one on top of the other, but a minute later he starts bombarding his buildings, then becomes a policeman, then an astronaut. Third - final stage(at 4-5 years and beyond), in which role-playing behavior becomes collected and purposeful and the ability to feel the roles of other actors is manifested. A good example or analogue of such behavior can be considered a game of football, when in the course of moving around the field there is a constant change in the role of the players. To interact with partners, each of the players needs to put himself in the place of a partner and imagine what he would do in a particular game episode. A team arises and acts only when everyone learns not only their own role, but also the roles of partners.

American social scientist A. Haller in addition to the theory of J. Mead, he developed the concept "significant other" . The “significant other” is the person whose approval the individual seeks and whose instructions he takes. Such personalities have the greatest influence on the attitudes of individuals and the formation of their own "I". Parents, wonderful teachers, mentors, popular personalities can act as “significant others”. The individual seeks to accept their roles, imitate them and thus carry out the process of socialization through the "significant other".

The two most commonly used terms that reflect a person's sense of his own "I" and the degree of socialization of the individual are identity and self-esteem.

Identity refers to the feeling of being a unique individual, separate from, distinct from other individuals, or the feeling of being part of a unique group, different from other groups in the use of group values. For example, a representative of a certain nation strives for the cultural patterns of his nation, comparing them with the cultural patterns of other nations. An individual's sense of identity with a group largely depends on individual or group needs, the satisfaction of which leads to an increase in his prestige in the eyes of the "generalized other". Often people define identity in terms of race, nationality, religion, or occupation. The presence of these signs in an individual can mean low or high prestige in the eyes of those who matter to this person, who influence her behavior.

5. Unique customized experience

Why do children who grow up in the same family differ so much from each other, even if they have similar group experiences? Because they did not have completely identical group experiences, their experiences were always somewhat similar and somewhat different.

Each child is brought up in a family with a different structure. He may be the only one, or he may have a brother or sister, communication with which gives his personality new features. In addition, children communicate with different groups, perceive the roles of different people. Even twins with the same heredity will always be brought up differently, because they cannot constantly meet the same people, hear the same words from their parents, experience the same joys and sorrows.

In this regard, we can say that each personal experience is unique because no one can exactly repeat it. It can also be noted that the picture of individual experience is complicated by the fact that a person does not simply summarize this experience, but integrates it. Each person not only adds up the incidents and events that happened to him, like bricks in the wall, but he refracts their meaning through his past experience, as well as the experience of his parents, relatives, and acquaintances.

Psychoanalysts argue that some incidents that occurred in the course of personal experience can be critical, since they give a certain color to all subsequent reactions of a person to the environment. For example, there is a case of traumatic significance of a small episode, when a strange uncle took away and threw away her beloved doll from a five-year-old girl. Subsequently, this episode influenced the communication of an adult woman with men.

Thus, while group experience can be similar or even the same in different individuals, individual experience is always unique. That is why there cannot be exactly the same personalities.

6. The role of culture in the socialization of the individual

In modern conditions, the process of socialization makes new demands on the spiritual appearance, beliefs and actions of people. This is due, firstly, to the fact that the implementation of socio-economic, political and spiritual changes can be feasible for people who are highly educated, highly qualified and consciously involved in their implementation. Only a person who is deeply convinced of the need for the planned transformations can be an active, effective force in the historical process.

Culture plays the role of the social memory of society: it provides a link between times, continuity between generations. Each generation mastered the experience accumulated by previous generations, and increased this experience, brought something of its own into it. Every individual who comes into the world must learn from the experience accumulated by people who lived before him in order to be able to live in society. The assimilation of this experience occurs in the process of socialization. This invaluable experience, without which the life of an individual in society is impossible and the integrity of society itself is impossible, is embodied in values, norms, rules and patterns of behavior, in traditions, customs that make up the content of culture. The assimilation of this experience by an individual begins with the fact that parents teach the child to eat with a spoon, drink from a cup, “behave properly”, observe the norms of behavior.

The socialization of the individual occurs in the conditions of interaction between world and national cultures. And although universal human motives are recognized as leading in the structure of social consciousness and behavior, the influence of national characteristics often turns out to be a decisive factor that largely determines the appearance of a person. The phenomenon of the national in the process of socialization, although it put before sociology the question of finding new reserves for its combination with universal values, led to the need for a deeper understanding of the socio-psychological mechanisms of recognizing a special place in the public life of every people, every nation and nationality and each individual representative of them.

The socialization of the individual assumes that the object of research is not one or several, but the whole complex of socially significant qualities of a person in their close unity and interaction. They cover the whole set of features of consciousness and behavior: knowledge, conviction, diligence, culture, upbringing, the desire to live according to the laws of beauty, etc. It is important to overcome stereotypes, atavisms in the minds and behavior of people.

At the same time, in whatever sphere a person acts, the spiritual moment always and in everything accompanies his activity. Moreover, a person does not passively reproduce what society dictates to him. He has the ability to show his creative power and influence the phenomena around him.

The spiritual component is decisive in the socialization of a person, which allows us to consider this branch of sociological science in close connection with the problems of culture, education, science, literature and art. This in no way diminishes the role and importance of economic, social and political relations. But a person is elevated only by the level of culture, wealth and depth of his spiritual world, the degree of development of humanism, mercy and respect for other people.

Every society values ​​certain personality traits above others, and children learn these values ​​through socialization. Methods of socialization depend on which personality traits are valued more, and in different cultures they can be very different. For example, in American society, such qualities as self-confidence, self-control and aggressiveness are highly valued; while India has traditionally developed opposite values: contemplation, passivity and mysticism. Therefore, Americans usually treat famous athletes and astronauts with respect. Indians, on the other hand, tend to respect religious or political figures who oppose violent methods (for example, Mahatma Gandhi).

These cultural values ​​underlie social norms. Norms are the expectations and standards that govern how people interact. Some norms are presented in laws that prohibit stealing, assaulting another person, breaking a contract, etc. Such laws are social norms, and those who violate them are punished. Certain rules are considered more important than others: breaking the law against murder is more dangerous to society than exceeding the speed limit. However, most of the norms are not reflected in the laws at all. Our behavior in everyday life is influenced by many expectations and norms: we must be polite to other people; when we visit a friend's house, we should make a gift for his family; On the bus, you must give up your seat to the elderly or disabled. We have these same expectations for our children.

It's not just norms that affect people's behavior. The cultural ideals of a given society have a huge impact on their actions and aspirations. In addition, since these ideals are formed on the basis of many values, society avoids universal uniformity. For example, we value science, so the name of Albert Einstein is honored and respected. We also highly value sports, giving famous athletes a high social status. Conflicting ideals of coexistence: Americans place great value on the acquisition of knowledge in the name of advancing science and support organizations such as the National Science Foundation; at the same time, they believe that knowledge should be of practical use, which is why they applaud when the Senate awards the Order of the Golden Fleece to scientists who study subjects that, in their opinion, are not interesting or useless.

The lack of uniformity in behavior shows that, in essence, socialization is a two-way, multidirectional process. There is a mutual influence between biological factors and culture, as well as between those who carry out socialization and who are socialized.

Conclusion

A special role in the formation and development of the personality, its individual structures is played by communication, other types of human interaction with the immediate environment and activities, first through communication with parents, and then through various types of joint activities with them, a person learns social experience, masters the norms, rules, ways of behavior and activity, individual actions - the socialization of the individual takes place, its subjectness is formed and develops.

The socialization of a personality is the process of mastering by a person social and socio-psychological norms, rules, functions, values, social experience in general. This is a continuous process of formation and development of material and spiritual culture, social and personal relations, characteristic of the specific conditions of his life and work.

The socialization of the individual is carried out through its interaction with the environment, during which a person not only acquires social experience, but also builds it up, makes appropriate changes in the social and natural environment. The process of socialization of the individual has two interrelated aspects. On the one hand, a person appropriates social experience. On the other hand, the individuality of a person is manifested, the exteriorization and objectification of subjectivity in his deeds, actions, and their results are carried out.

The personality is formed and develops under the influence of the totality of all factors and circumstances of its life and activity, as well as with its direct participation in this. The socialization of the personality, its formation, the formation of a person as a carrier of spiritual and material values, norms, rules, relationships, the emergence and development of subjectivity occur under the influence of social circumstances. The process of socialization of the individual is the main, leading and determining in the emergence, formation and development of the individual.

It is in the process of socialization that a person develops appropriate attitudes to social facts and to the world around him in general, selectivity in the perception and assessment of facts and events, subjectivity develops: a person begins to actively, selectively and purposefully interact with the environment, to show himself, his spiritual and physical potential .

In the process of socialization, a person acquires social experience, begins to understand the meaning of the world around him, he becomes aware of himself in it: systems of semantic formations of the personality are formed. This process begins in the family and then continues in preschool children's institutions, school, university, production, through the media, self-education.

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The importance of socialization in a child's life.

The process of social formation of a person, the formation of his personality is influenced by a variety of social factors, under the influence of which, in some cases, social qualities of a person that are inadequate to a given society can form, subsequently leading to various kinds of social conflicts. Therefore, the process of socialization is basically institutionalized, implemented through a system of certain social institutions designed to correct the formation of the social qualities of the individual in accordance with socially significant values, limit or activate the impact of some factors or neutralize them.

In the modern sense, the term "socialization" has several meanings and is interpreted by different authors ambiguously. The emergence of the term "socialization" is associated with the name of the American sociologist F.G. Giddings, who called this the process of personality formation, which occurs both as a result of the spontaneous influence of the environment, and due to the influence of society according to a conscious plan. Such influences come from the family, kindergarten, school and other institutions of socialization and are educational.

Socialization can be viewed as a process of introducing a child to life, to existing or new social conditions for him. Socialization is the process of assimilation by the individual of the norms and values ​​of society, the inclusion of the individual in the system of social relations, as a result of which a person masters social experience, allowing him to demonstrate through behavior an active value-differentiated attitude to the facts and events of the world around him. Socialization involves the assimilation of socially positive norms and values, but if a child learns inhuman values ​​and antisocial norms of behavior, then we are talking about the process of desocialization of the individual. Any society, making a lot of purposeful efforts of various nature in terms of organizing and managing socialization processes, is interested in the fact that the child, in the future, as a member of this society:

• successfully mastered the roles of a man or a woman (gender-role socialization);
• created a strong family (family socialization);
• competently participated in social and economic life (professional socialization);
• became a law-abiding citizen (political socialization), etc.

From this position, every person (especially in childhood, adolescence and youth) is both an object and a subject of socialization. The life experience of parents, as well as social experience, is not transmitted through the mechanisms of genetic inheritance, therefore, each person acquires his social experience during his lifetime in the process of life.

Throughout life, at each age stage, a person faces tasks, for the solution of which he more or less consciously (and more often unconsciously) sets himself appropriate goals, i.e. shows its subjectivity (position) and subjectivity (individual originality). People in direct interaction with whom a person's life flows (parents, neighbors, teachers, etc.) are usually called agents of socialization.

Socialization can be direct or indirect. In the first case (mainly at preschool age), norms and values ​​are assimilated by a person uncritically, directly ("if mom said so, then it is"). Later, the process of socialization acquires mediation. A new norm or value is rethought by a person from the point of view of life experience, personal significance, influences of the reference environment, the totality of already mastered and accepted norms and values.

A characteristic feature of the process of socialization is its continuity. The process of socialization of the individual is lifetime, it begins with the birth of a person and the beginning of the formation of his consciousness. The result of a person's socialization at each age stage is socialization - the achievement of a certain balance of adaptation and isolation in society (A.V. Mudrik).

The state of socialization is inherently dynamic: new situations, conditions and events that arise in a person's life make the achieved balance ineffective and require the search for new options for socialization.

The pedagogical aspect of socialization is intertwined with the philosophical and psychological. In the process of assimilation of social experience, values, norms, attitudes of society and social groups, not only enrichment of life experience occurs, but also conditions are created for the child to realize himself as a person.

At preschool age, the basic components of psychological health are laid in the child, so the successful living of this period of life is extremely important for subsequent socialization. It is at this time that the formation of the main personal mechanisms and formations takes place. Emotional and motivational spheres closely related to each other develop, self-consciousness is formed.

From a very early age, the child begins to develop an idea of ​​the world around him through contact with parents and other significant people, self-esteem is formed.

When a child is not yet fully fluent in speech, the main source of information about his physical and moral state for others is his emotional reactions. However, in the period of preschool childhood, most parents begin to pay close attention mainly to the cognitive development of the child (development of memory, thinking, attention), sometimes ignoring his emotional background. Prior to this period, the features of emotional life were characterized by the circumstances of the situation in which the child is currently included: possession of a desired object, successful play, help from an adult or its absence. The child is able to distract himself from the current situation, he has experiences that are not related to it: anticipation of the result, the reaction of others to his action. The child emotionally experiences not only the present moment, but also what has yet to be done. Also at this age, the range of emotions inherent in the child is significantly expanding. Aggression, sympathy for another, anxiety, empathy - without them, joint activities and complex forms of communication between children are impossible.

The child is included in new systems of relationships, new activities. Appear, respectively, and new motives. These are motives associated with emerging self-esteem, self-esteem (motives for achieving success, competition, rivalry, motives associated with mastering moral standards).

Thus, the socialization of the child is the result of the efforts of the family, teachers, psychologists and other specialists, it is possible only with an integrated approach, taking into account all the factors influencing the social development of the child.

Survival of the fittest is an aphorism attributed to Herbert Spencer and used by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species as a synonym for natural selection, which is the main driving force behind evolution.

According to the postulates of the theory of evolution, the axioms are the following statements:

Reproduction in any variety involves some degree of natural variation in the characteristics of the result;
- any change that increases the ability of some members of the species to survive relative to others lacking such changes can be positively selected for reproductive opportunities;
- over thousands of years, this process leads to the development of complex organisms from simple ones and to a huge diversification of species from a small number of initial organisms.

The question arises - is socialization a necessary factor for human survival?

Socialization is the process of assimilation by an individual of patterns of behavior, psychological attitudes, social norms and values, knowledge, skills that allow him to successfully function in society. Socialization unites a species into a society, allowing differentiation of roles and ensuring the constant reproduction of the species.

It is believed that, unlike other living beings, whose behavior is determined biologically, man, as a biosocial being, needs the process of socialization in order to survive. It is not entirely true, in my opinion, that animals have no sociality at all, it is simply described in a different order, but the fact that a person is very social is true.

It so happened that people have achieved what they have now, due to the division of roles. Someone was smart and replenished the treasury of human knowledge, explored new territories, looked for new ways to survive. Someone protected the flock from others, hostile. If it weren’t for socialization, then those 90 percent who didn’t really do anything except reproduce would have died, would not have survived the fight for competition, and the species would still be at the level of the Stone Age or even eaten by Neanderthals or other dead end species.

Socialization is the key to the survival of any species in today's world. Otherwise, it is impossible to survive, since the process of destabilization of the biosphere on the part of man is intensively going on, which leads, accordingly, to the extinction of many organisms of a different order. You can, of course, follow the path of domestic animals and thus ensure the future existence of the species, but this process on the part of man is selective.

Any person, despite the fact that he was born and lives in a society of his own kind, needs social adaptation. This is an active adaptation of the individual to the conditions of the social environment; type of interaction of the individual with the social environment.

Adaptation occurs at three levels: physiological, psychological and social. At the physiological level, adaptation means the ability of the human body to maintain its parameters within the limits necessary for normal life when external conditions change (homeostasis). At the psychological level, adaptation ensures the normal operation of all mental structures under the influence of external psychological factors - making informed decisions, predicting the development of events, etc.

Social adaptation ensures a person's adaptation to the current social environment through the ability to analyze current social situations, awareness of one's capabilities in the current social environment, and the ability to maintain one's behavior in accordance with the main goals of one's activity.

Further, two special forms of social adaptation are distinguished: deviant - adaptation to the prevailing social conditions in violation of values ​​and norms of behavior accepted in society; pathological - adaptation to the social environment through the use of pathological forms of behavior caused by functional mental disorders.

This or that form of social adaptation may depend on various factors. In some cases, these special forms can form certain communities of people, bringing under them a kind of foundation, a kind of common platform. For example, in most representatives of therianthropes, social adaptation is deviant and not always successful. For the most part, if you look at it abstractly, only an average gray person with a minimum of needs for knowledge of the world and a maximum of consumer inclinations can normally exist in modern society. Anyone who stands out from the crowd is more likely to suffer or die, making, in the end, a smaller contribution to the development of the species and diluting it with his genome than a drug addict or alcoholic, since from the point of view of the modern community, they are not deviant, but simply sick. Although, it may well be that this modern society is sick from the point of view of a socially deviant individual.

Thus, socialization allows even those who would die quickly in the wild to survive. But, nevertheless, the order of socialization and the quality of ties in society are always important. Any society or community must be healthy in terms of social bonds. Evolution is ongoing and, according to one of its laws, the rate of evolution is growing. Violation of the quality of social ties in society can lead to a decrease in the order of its stability and, accordingly, to negative and irreversible changes in it.

A vivid picture of the current world - trillions are spent on wars, but often modern, rapidly changing viruses do not receive due attention. As long as the armament parity between diseases and medicines is in effect, humanity lives. As soon as something similar to or similar to Ebola (and the laws of evolution also apply to viruses) evolves further, then today's type of consolidation of Homo Sapiens may cease to exist. The law of evolution is that the fittest survive.

In addition to this topic about socialization, I found a suitable passage on the Internet, which, however, was written in the context of politics, but, nevertheless, is true for almost any place where masses of people gather, united by close goals. Including in various religious sects. By the way, such a "crowd" can also be formed through the media.

The text is not mine, I just isolated the part that interests me.

"... The crowd has a very unpleasant property: it draws in the individual, "erases" his personality, "makes decisions" with the collective mind. The individual is involved in the so-called "emotional whirling."

In ordinary communication between people there is always some degree of mutual understanding. Participants in the process come or do not come to an agreement, but in any case, each; remains independent; personality. But emotional whirling blurs individual differences. The role of personal experience, individual, is reduced situationally; and role; identification, common sense. The individual feels and behaviorally reacts "like everyone else." An evolutionary regression takes place: the lower, primitive layers of the psyche are actualized.

This regression can sometimes reach incredible depths.

As a result, people greatly increase their readiness for infection and, at the same time, their tendency to imitate. The reaction to external stimuli is not directed by reflection, but by the first emotional impulse or imitation of the behavior of other people. The disappearance of reflexivity, deindividualization increase the sense of community with the whole crowd.

This entails a weakening of the sense of the importance of ethical and legal norms. The crowd creates a strong sense of the rightness of any action. Emotionally conditioned modes of action are not critically evaluated. The emotional tension prevailing in the crowd increases the feeling of one's own strength and reduces the sense of responsibility for one's actions. The presence of specific opponents (real or imaginary) gives a special strength to the crowd.

Simply put, the crowd is not responsible for their actions and can do things. As a result of all these phenomena, crowd members often act as if under the influence of hypnosis. In any crowd involved in the emotional whirling, a specialist can easily cause a transition to the state of a terrorizing crowd, for example, directed against social groups or institutions that it hates.

This property of the crowd is regularly used by those who know the laws of its behavior and know how to apply them for manipulation. As practice shows, these "experts" are by no means always well-meaning..."

The ability of such deep and thoughtless empathic connections is a retribution for the structure of society that has developed over the course of evolution.

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