How Socialisation Shapes People: Agents, Processes and Social Differences

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Summary:

Explore socialisation: learn how agents, processes and social differences shape identity, behaviour and inequality for WJEC AS Sociology students in UK.

WJEC AS Sociology — SY1: How Are People Socialised?

Socialisation lies at the heart of sociology, concerning itself with how individuals come to acquire the values, beliefs, norms, and identities appropriate to their society. Essentially, socialisation is a complex and ongoing process, beginning from early childhood and continuing throughout the life course, whereby people learn how to become functional members of their communities. It is useful to distinguish between primary socialisation, which takes place within the family and forms the foundation of self, and secondary socialisation, which involves wider institutions like schools, peer groups, and the media. The process of internalisation—whereby social norms and values become taken-for-granted parts of the self—is central. This essay will explore the main agents of socialisation, the mechanisms through which it operates, related theoretical perspectives, and the ways that socialisation outcomes vary by class, gender, and ethnicity. Ultimately, socialisation is a multi-faceted, contested, and evolving process, shaped by history and technology and interpreted differently by various sociological theories.

Primary Socialisation: Foundations of the Self

Primary socialisation occurs during the first years of life and is typically mediated by the family. It is here that children first encounter the basic norms, values, and roles that underpin their future participation in society. For example, through daily routines such as bedtimes or shared meals, children internalise the significance of regularity, cooperation, and acceptable behaviour. Language acquisition—a milestone in social development—happens largely through intimate family interactions. Parents model conduct, directly instruct their children, and use sanctions like praise or withdrawal of privileges to steer behaviour, all of which shape trust, emotional stability, and the capacity for social relationships.

Ann Oakley’s research into gender socialisation underlines the ways the family can unconsciously transmit stereotypes—boys and girls can be encouraged to play with different toys, perform certain chores, or even display varied emotions. Similarly, classic studies on attachment (such as those by Bowlby) show that secure emotional bonding with caregivers lays the groundwork for later social competence. However, while the family is a crucial early influence, it is not a deterministic one: class, parental resources, and cultural background all affect the extent and nature of its impact, with children themselves actively interpreting and resisting certain expectations.

Secondary Socialisation: Extending Beyond the Family

As individuals move beyond early childhood, secondary socialisation becomes increasingly important. This phase involves acquiring more specialised norms and roles suited to wider social institutions. Schools are perhaps the most prominent site of secondary socialisation: they do not merely impart formal knowledge, but also foster punctuality, respect for authority, competition, and teamwork—the so-called “hidden curriculum.” School uniforms, assemblies, and the sitting of public exams all reinforce shared social values as well as providing avenues for formal and informal sorting.

Peer groups also become influential, especially during adolescence, as young people experiment with identities and learn the power of both inclusion and exclusion. Socialisation continues later in life through workplaces, where employees must acquire specific codes of conduct, adapt to occupational hierarchies, and internalise the values of their profession. Digital spaces and traditional media now play a central part, rapidly diffusing norms and influencing lifestyles through exposure to news, advertisements, and social media trends. Although these institutions can standardise behaviour across large populations, their impact is often filtered by earlier socialisation in the family and can reproduce or challenge existing social inequalities.

The Family in Detail: Agents, Processes, and Variations

Within the sphere of the family, various processes contribute to socialisation: modelling, imitation, direct teaching, and reward or punishment all work together to instil societal expectations. Yet, families do not exist in a vacuum. Class differences have a profound impact. As Bourdieu argued, middle-class families often transmit greater cultural capital—exposing children to reading, art, or discussion—that aligns well with educational and professional success, while working-class families may have fewer resources to draw upon.

Ethnicity and religion also shape socialisation styles within the family, influencing language use, rituals, rules concerning food, and attitudes toward figures of authority. Gender roles are frequently reinforced early, with different chore assignments or behaviour expectations for sons and daughters: Oakley’s work remains relevant here. Nevertheless, contemporary UK families are highly diverse, and state policies such as expanded paternal leave or the provision of free childcare can significantly alter familial socialisation’s shape and reach.

Schools and Education: The Formal and Hidden Curriculum

Schools play a dual role in socialisation. Through their formal curriculum, they provide literacy, numeracy, history, and citizenship education—offering students the collective knowledge and values deemed essential for national life. However, as many sociologists, such as Bowles and Gintis, have argued, what may be more influential in shaping young people is the hidden curriculum: the routine expectation to arrive on time, submit to teacher authority, compete with peers, and accept the legitimacy of rules. Such practices arguably prepare students for future occupational roles, particularly within bureaucratic and hierarchical work environments.

Yet, education can be a double-edged sword. While schools help create shared cultural reference points and facilitate merit-based mobility, they often reinforce existing class hierarchies. Practices like streaming or setting—where pupils are grouped by perceived ability—can reproduce parental disadvantage and restrict opportunity. Teacher labelling and self-fulfilling prophecies have long been identified in UK classrooms, especially in the differentiation of “academic” and “practical” pathways. Initiatives such as the national curriculum or OFSTED inspections reflect ongoing debates about education’s purpose and the type of socialisation that should occur.

Peers, Youth Culture, and Identity Formation

Peer groups are particularly salient during adolescence, when young people naturally seek independence from family and attempt to carve out their own identities. School cliques, friendship groups, and, more recently, online communities provide contexts for social learning, norm reinforcement, and, sometimes, resistance to parental or school values.

Youth culture is expressed through music, fashion, language, and even political activism—witness the recent climate school strikes or the popularity of subcultures like grime. Conformity to peer expectations, along with mechanisms such as ostracism and bullying, can strongly influence self-esteem and behaviour. On the positive side, peer groups serve as a testing ground for autonomy and mutual support; on the negative, they can reinforce exclusion and negative identities, especially where family or school support is lacking.

Media and Digital Spaces: Acceleration and Fragmentation

The influence of media—both traditional (BBC, newspapers) and new (social platforms, streaming)—has grown exponentially. Media offers representations of what is “normal,” desirable, or possible, fundamentally shaping lifestyle aspirations and social attitudes. The rise of influencers, YouTubers, and micro-celebrities creates new, sometimes age-inappropriate, role models, while personalised algorithms can entrench existing beliefs and create echo chambers.

Contemporary examples include the rapid spread of trends on TikTok or Instagram, the circulation of hashtags around mental health, and debates about body image triggered by exposure to celebrity culture. While media can facilitate cultural innovation and challenge outdated stereotypes, it just as quickly reinforces commercialised values and inequalities in representation. A digital divide persists, with access and digital literacy varying widely by class, region, and generation.

Religion, Work, and the State

For many, religion provides a foundation of moral values, rituals, and community membership. Some British young people receive religious instruction or participate in festivals and rites of passage (e.g., confirmation, Ramadan fasting), while others encounter religious diversity in faith schools or multi-faith communities. As the UK is increasingly secular, the influence of religion is highly variable, but it remains powerful within some families and localities.

Workplace socialisation becomes crucial in adulthood, as people adapt to sets of expectations and standards particular to their profession or organisation—consider the induction rituals in teaching, the use of jargon in law, or health and safety briefings in manual work. The state is also a significant socialising agent, whether through legislation (such as anti-discrimination laws), public health campaigns, or the transmission of national symbols like Remembrance Day ceremonies that foster collective identity.

Theoretical Perspectives: Competing Sociological Approaches

Functionalist sociologists have emphasised socialisation as a mechanism for ensuring order and consensus. Parsons argued that socialisation produces value consensus, thereby providing stability and integration in society. However, this perspective often underestimates conflict and inequality.

Marxists contend that socialisation serves to reproduce class divisions and capitalist relations; schools, in particular, are seen as training grounds for obedience and the acceptance of hierarchy, a point made powerfully by Bowles and Gintis. Critics, however, suggest this view is too deterministic, downplaying individual agency and resistance.

Feminists highlight how socialisation reproduces gender inequalities, whether via the family, media, or education systems. For example, Oakley’s research on differential treatment of boys and girls illustrates how patriarchal attitudes persist.

Interactionists and social constructionists (like Goffman) focus on small-scale, face-to-face encounters, arguing that social roles and identities are continually negotiated and constructed in everyday life. While this highlights personal agency and the power of subjective meaning, it may neglect deeper structural forces.

Finally, postmodern approaches point to the fluidity and multiplicity of contemporary identities, shaped by consumerism, global networks, and intersectionality. These perspectives are increasingly relevant in analysing modern patterns of socialisation, particularly in digital spaces.

Micro-Level Mechanisms and the Life Course

On a more granular level, socialisation operates through a blend of psychological and social mechanisms. Bandura famously demonstrated social learning through imitation and observational reinforcement in his experiments, showing that individuals model behaviour—whether aggression or altruism—witnessed in others. Internalisation refers to the moment when norms and values become part of one’s self-concept, guiding behaviour even in the absence of external sanctions. Labelling, such as that seen with school “troublemakers” or media “heroes,” can have real effects on identity and future conduct. Rituals and rites of passage—like school leaving ceremonies or the shift to adulthood—help mark and facilitate social transitions.

Socialisation persists across the life course: new parents, immigrants, and pensioners all experience “resocialisation” as they adapt to new roles and expectations, sometimes underpinned by profound shifts in values or identity.

Empirical Evidence and Methods

Sociological research into socialisation employs a wealth of methods. Longitudinal studies, such as the British Cohort Studies, track individuals to see how early experiences shape later outcomes, while ethnographies of schools or families (such as those by Ball or Lareau) provide vivid snapshots of lived experience. Experiments offer control but may lack real-world validity, and content analyses of media or surveys of public attitudes add further depth. Each approach has strengths and limits, and ethical considerations are paramount, especially when studying children or vulnerable populations. Triangulation—using multiple methods—yields more robust conclusions.

Limitations, Alternatives, and Evaluation

While sociological explanations for socialisation are rich and varied, no single theory is comprehensive. Individuals are not merely passive recipients of norms; they actively negotiate, reinterpret, and sometimes challenge dominant values. Socialisation is heavily shaped by context—culturally, temporally, and technologically. Global migration, policy shifts, and digitalisation have all transformed the content and pace of modern socialisation, meaning that established frameworks must be continually re-examined. Policy interventions, from media literacy education to family support, play a role in shaping social outcomes and can sometimes offset the more harmful effects of socialisation.

Conclusion

In sum, socialisation is a complex and lifelong process involving a multitude of agents—family, peers, schools, media, religion, work, and the state—each operating through distinct but overlapping mechanisms. Theoretical perspectives provide valuable but partial insights into how and why people are socialised, highlighting both the creation of social order and the reproduction of inequalities. Ultimately, people are socialised through a combination of institutional processes and everyday interactions that reward or challenge certain behaviours, with outcomes varying across class, gender, ethnicity, and time. A full appreciation of socialisation demands attention to both its power to maintain society and its capacity to provoke change and contest existing hierarchies—a task that remains central to the sociological imagination.

Example questions

The answers have been prepared by our teacher

How does socialisation shape people according to agents and processes?

Socialisation shapes people by teaching them society's values, norms, and roles through agents like family, schools, peers, and media. These agents use direct teaching, modelling, and reinforcement to guide behaviour.

What are the main agents of socialisation in how socialisation shapes people?

The main agents of socialisation are family, schools, peer groups, and media. Each plays a distinct role in transmitting norms, values, and social expectations.

How do primary and secondary socialisation compare in shaping people?

Primary socialisation occurs in early childhood mainly within the family and forms basic identity, while secondary socialisation happens later, involving schools and wider society, refining norms and roles.

What role does family play in how socialisation shapes people?

Family initiates socialisation by modelling behaviour, teaching norms, and enforcing rules, laying foundations for emotional stability and social competence from early life.

How do social differences affect how socialisation shapes people?

Social differences such as class, gender, and ethnicity influence the impact and outcomes of socialisation, affecting resources, expectations, and how norms are internalised.

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