Personal Identity Essay

Socialization across the life course

Socialization is something that every individual shall go through during their life whether they are a child or adult. It is what prepares and teaches us to adjust to the customs and norms of a society. Peer Group is an important factor when it comes to socialization. This is what helps during our earliest years to find our identity. To figure out where it is that we 'fit in'. But next to peer groups, parental influence is also, equally important. I can personally vouch for this factor, because it is what helped me to figure out my true identity as a young adolescent, transitioning into adult hood.

Personal Milestone

Personally, for me it wasn’t easy finding my identity. But, what helped was the influence

He proposed that there are 3 stages a person goes through within their life that help to support this theory. The Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional stages. Preconventional basically is when younger children experience the world around them through their senses, Conventional stage is where I am now, when a person becomes more aware of others feelings and takes that into consideration when determining what is "good" and what is "bad". And Postconventional is where people begin to realize that even though things may seem they are right, they are not always

Charles Cooley suggested that groups could be divided into two categories, Primary groups and Secondary groups.

Primary Groups

A primary group is one that involves face-to-face engagement, along with expressive functions. This group is mainly made up of people who are the most important in our lives, and example of a primary group would be Family.

Secondary Groups

A secondary group is larger in size and less meaningful than a primary one. These groups are often timed and task oriented. They serve an instrumental function. An example of this group would be a graduate seminar or a class study group.

Group Dynamics

Group dynamics depended on three major things. 1, being group size 2, being Leadership and 3, being Conformity. All of these things are important when it comes to the socialization of a group and how well a group can/will function.