Socializing agents: what are they, types, characteristics and examples?

A summary of the main types of socializing agents and their influence on people.

People learn to live in society thanks to the values, belief systems and behaviors that different elements teach us throughout our lives.

People such as our relatives, institutions such as the school or simply our group of friends are powerful socializing agents, elements that shape the way we behave with other individuals and with society as a whole.

In the following we will see which are the main socializing agentsWhat is their importance and how they are presented in primary, secondary and tertiary socialization.

What are socializing agents?

The socializing agents are those elements that determine to a large extent the socialization of people, that is, being part of a society.. These agents can be individuals, groups or institutions that influence individuals and their social behavior.

The interaction of elements such as friends, family, school or reference groups create mental schemes that will determine the person's behavior, in addition to shaping their moral values and belief system.

The importance of these agents is varied, being the family and the school two of the most influential throughout our lives, molding our personality and determining how adapted we are to society.

Main socializing agents

Any person or institution that influences us and influences how adapted we are to society can be considered a socializing agent. The main socializing agents are as follows:

1. The family nucleus

The main socializing agent for practically all people in the world is the family.. Children have their first relationships with their parents and siblings, people who have a first-hand influence on their personality and their way of understanding the world around them.

The family nucleus is one of the agents of socialization whose influence lasts the longest in the world.. This is not only noticeable during the first years of childhood, but also in adolescence and adulthood.

The interactions with the rest of the family and the quality of the relationships established with the family nucleus are determinant for the cognitive, social and emotional development of the individual.

2. Formal education

Children begin their formal education when they are still very young very young and, therefore, highly malleable.. That is why we can say that school is one of the most important socializing agents in our lives.

In kindergartens, colleges and schools, infants meet other children of the same age who, like them, will acquire in these places the knowledge and norms that society expects them to learn.

The task of schools goes beyond formal education, since they also aim to provide children with the knowledge and norms that society expects them to learn.The task of schools goes beyond formal education, since they also aim to form students morally and develop their intellectual capacities to the maximum.

Going to school offers us the opportunity to interact with other individuals, making us aware that there are other people in the world who may behave, have preferences or think differently. Therefore, schools are a socializing agent in which we are taught values such as tolerance.

We can also highlight the role of the school the role of teachers, who act as an authority figure different from that of parents.. As a result, children begin to understand the existence of institutional hierarchies and how they should behave.

3. Religion

Although it is not an important socializing agent for all people, it is worth mentioning that religion can be a very important element in introducing an individual to his or her sociocultural environment, although this varies greatly depending on the type of family and society in which one has been raised.

Organized religious communities such as parishes, movements, associations or sects greatly influence the thinking and personality of their followers. Those who are part of these groups or attend their temples receive teachings that shape their worldview.Their belief system, their moral values and their behavior.

4. Reference groups

Any group of people that establishes lasting relationships based on common interests, beliefs or values has a strong influence on the psychology of its members. Reference groups are important socializing agents at any age, but especially during adolescence.

In many cases, these groups become a refuge for young people who feel that they are not understood by their families.In many cases, reference groups are the ideal environment to express their rebelliousness and nonconformity to the norms imposed by their parents.

Virtually any group of people can be considered a reference group, examples being sports clubs, political parties, religious communities, music bands or street gangs.

It should be noted that it is not necessary to be part of one of these groups in order to be influenced by them.. Both adolescents and adults can adopt some of the values of their reference groups without the need to belong to them, simply by documenting their activity, political stance or receiving information about them through the media.

5. Friendships

Friendships are for practically any person one of the most influential socializing agents, especially during adolescence and early adulthood.

During adolescence there comes a time when we begin to become emotionally independent from our parents.We are more concerned about our group of friends, people of the same age and with the same interests as us. Friendships play a crucial role in the development of our psychology, which can be a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, the group of friends has positive aspects such as giving us support, favoring the loyalty of its members and showing affection and understanding in an environment where there are no predetermined hierarchies.

But on the other hand, there can be negative phenomena such as peer pressure to consume drugs, to take several risks or to destroy urban furniture, besides that the group of friends can evolve of a toxic form in which a hierarchy is formed where its members are not equal.

6. The media and new technologies

The media have always been important socializing agents. The first were newspapers, then came radio and television, and until relatively recently they were the main media influencing collective thinking.

Television has always been a medium that has been very powerful in creating habits and changing behavior, which is why it has been the object of much attention.For this reason it has been subject to regulations to avoid showing inappropriate content, and it is always recommended that minors watch television accompanied by an adult.

But technological advances have made the media more sophisticated and democratized, allowing everyone to have access to endless information quickly and comfortably.

Today, the main media influencing society's thinking is undoubtedly anything that uses the Internet to transmit information. Social networks, video and podcast platforms and other Internet media are shaping the psychology of young people in real time, with dizzying speed.with dizzying speed.

New technologies have exerted a great change in the way we socialize, making there is a big difference between how young people communicate and how people who are not digital natives do it. The network allows greater interaction, but at the cost that this is not in person, which means that the quality of relationships can be affected.

Some consider that the influence of new technologies and the associated media is so great today that it has caused the family and school to lose their socializing power. It could be debated whether this fear is unfounded, since there is still no reliable information to confirm this as it is a relatively new phenomenon.

Types of socialization

Now that we have seen what the main socializing agents are, we can understand how socialization occurs.

We can define socialization as the process by which people acquire the sociocultural elements of the place in which they live, and it is in most cases the process of socialization.It is in most cases an unconscious process. This process occurs through interacting with other people within a society, who influence us and shape our personality, general culture and the way we relate to others. With socialization, each individual acquires the values, norms, guidelines and perspectives of the culture in which he or she finds him or herself.

As individuals, we are receive different influences throughout our lives, since, depending on our age and degree of independence, some socializing agents exert more weight than others.Depending on our age and degree of independence, some socializing agents exert more weight than others. Taking this into account, we can speak mainly of primary, secondary and tertiary socialization.

1. Primary socialization

Primary socialization is that which occurs during the first years of the individual's life, especially during childhood, when he/she relates almost exclusively to others.It is the process of relating almost exclusively to his or her family. This process is fundamental for their personal, emotional, psychological and social development thanks to the fact that the family nucleus helps them to incorporate the social guidelines that will define their identity. Once this stage is passed, secondary socialization begins.

Secondary socialization

In secondary socialization, the individual receives a different receives a different vision of realitywhich is no longer monopolized by what his parents teach him, but also receives the influence of other socializing agents beyond the family bond. It is considered that this secondary socialization begins during the first years of school, where the infant is influenced by his or her teachers and also forms his or her first friendships.

As the person gains more independence from his or her parents, he or she can establish contact with other reference groups with whom he or she can share even broader visions of society.

Tertiary socialization

There is discussion as to whether there is tertiary socialization, which would apply to people who are considered dangerous or who have engaged in antisocial behavior and have to relearn how to behave in society. This process could also be called "resocialization" or social reintegration..

The objective of this process is to redirect the behavior of the person who has violated the rules, with the help of professionals who will act as socializing agents. These professionals would be the whole body of specialists involved in social reintegration such as social educators, psychologists, doctors and psychiatrists, and tertiary socialization is usually carried out in institutions such as reformatories and prisons.