Agents of Socialization Quiz

Socialization and Enculturation

• Socialization is the process by which an individual acquires the culture or subculture of their group, shaping their self and personality.
• Enculturation is the process of learning the requirements of one's surrounding culture, acquiring values and behaviors appropriate or necessary in that culture.
• Acculturation is the cultural transformation of an individual or group to adapt to another culture.

Agents of Socialization

• Family: the first agent of socialization, teaches members how to behave, develop emotional ties, and internalize values and norms.
• School: molds beliefs, values, and attitudes of students, teaches citizenship and national pride, and the value of self-improvement and hard work.
• Mass Media: distributes information to a wide audience, enables people to learn about objects of material and nonmaterial culture, and influences the way people look at the world.
• Religion/Church: exerts a great influence on a person's view, legitimizes social practices, provides stability to society, and teaches participants how to interact with the religion's material culture.
• Government: the ultimate source of authority, participates in socialization through law implementation, creates social solidarity, and regulates citizen behavior using sanctions.
• Peer Groups: shapes Identity Formation, provides social identity and group identity, and influences self-concept, cultural identity, ethnic identity, national identity, and religious identity.

Identity Formation and Status

• Identity Formation: development of an individual's distinct personality, shaped by socialization and enculturation.
• Self-concept: the sum of a being's knowledge and understanding of themselves.
• Cultural Identity: one's feeling of identity or affiliation with a group or culture.
• Ethnic Identity: identification with a certain ethnicity.
• National Identity: an ethnical and philosophical concept dividing humans into groups called nations.
• Religious Identity: the set of beliefs and practices generally held by an individual.
• Status: a social position that a person holds, either ascribed (given) or achieved (accomplished).
• Roles: the behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status, with a role set referring to a number of roles attached to a single status.

Test your knowledge on agents of socialization such as family, school, media, and government. Learn about how these factors influence individuals' behaviors, beliefs, and values.