Extent of Socialization, Essay Example

Socialization has an overwhelming impact on the growth and development of individuals in today’s society.  The true extent of the impact, however, depends upon a wide array of variables.  According to many experts, the agents of socialization within nature and nurture all work together to form the core of socialization (Ryan-Go Navada, 38).  Nature and nurture cover all possible factors that can impact an individual’s development.  Through these agents of socialization an individual effectively learns how to assimilate within society by acquiring a set of socially acceptable characteristics.

Nature indicates that an individual’s environment both economical and social is responsible for developing the individual.  There is quite a difference in a person’s personality who grew up in the country in Iowa than a person who grew up in New York City.  Each of these two people would go to drastically different schools, be taught different things and experience a different appreciation for finances and personal responsibility.  Through these differences, socialization has a large impact on how an individual assimilates with the rest of society.  He or she learns to fit in quite differently.

Meanwhile, nurture also plays a significant role in the development of a person creating specific traits and characteristics that can be both beneficial and cause a hindrance on a person’s assimilation into society.  For example, a parent and schoolteacher each teaches what is right and wrong to a young person.  The young person grows up learning ethics, morals and how to treat others properly in a society.  Just as a person’s environment has a strong impact on their assimilation to society, so too does a person’s upbringing.

Works Cited

Ryan-Go Navada, Marianne. Principles of Sociology. N.p.: n.p., 2009. Print.