Norms and Values of Socialization. Discussed

 An introduction

Within a society, norms and values may vary according to caste, region, social class, or religious group. Within a society, norms and values may vary according to caste, region, social class, or religious group. As previously stated, the purpose of socialization is to assist the child in learning to conform to societal norms, values, beliefs, attitudes, and behavioural patterns.

When we speak of societal expectations, we are referring to the fact that there are various levels of expectations.

When an individual is born, his or her first societal experience is through the family. However, as the child grows older in modern, contemporary societies, his or her societal experiences expand. It joins a number of agencies. The school is the second organisation to which children are admitted. They will eventually join the religious groups to which their parents belong. Additionally, they will be members of the social classes represented by their families. Additionally, they will become members of occupational groups. The purpose of socialisation is to assist the child in internalising these norms and developing into an active member of society.

The manner in which a child is integrated into society is discussed above. Thus, socialisation is a process of social control that aims to strengthen group life while also promoting individual development. It teaches or trains the individual to conform to the social group's or groups' expectations. Thus, conformity to group norms and behaviour is critical to the socialisation process, which is how society exerts social control over its members.

Knowledge Transmission

According to Emile Durkheim, individuals' mental categories of thought develop during the course of socialisation. Additionally, socialisation transmits knowledge from generation to generation. Social solidarity necessitates adherence to a society's established norms, rules, and values. When groups come together and reinforce their feelings of solidarity, such as at weddings, religious festivals, or times of mourning, these occasions help express the family's and the group's solidarity. On the other hand, Republic Day and Independence Day are occasions to demonstrate the nation's solidarity. Socialisation practises refer to the social customs, rituals, social ceremonies, and occasions that bring members of a group together. These practises facilitate the transmission of knowledge about social norms, values, and behavioural patterns among members of human social groups.

Through socialisation, the individual contributes to the maintenance of social order. Thus, socialisation enables individuals to exercise social control by teaching them what to think and what not to think, what to do and what not to do. Apart from the sense of group solidarity, the individual is fearful of the disapproval, punishment, and other consequences meted out by society for various acts of deviation from the accepted course of conduct.

Conformity

While socialisation does result in a degree of conformity to social norms, some individuals may continue to defy social norms. In other words, socialisation may be incapable of enforcing total conformity among all members of society. Numerous factors may contribute to conflict. There may be tensions between the socialising agents' and the socialisee's goals and functions. As previously stated, an individual is socialised by a variety of agencies—the family, school, playmates, peer groups, and occupational groups—and, in contemporary society, also by the written word (i.e., books, magazines, and newspapers) and the mass media (television, radio, and cinema). By emphasising different values, they reduce an individual's conformity to the values of a group or groups. For instance, students may be encouraged to become acquainted with the mass media. If, on the other hand, the media promotes fundamentalism and extreme conservatism, students' adherence to liberal values is likely to dwindle.

Cases of non-conformity are referred to as "deviance" from the group's norms (see unit 30 on Social Control and unit 3-1 on Social Deviance). Children from impoverished families will have values that differ from those of the school. These children are classified as deviants and, in some cases, juvenile delinquents.