The Peers Are the Most Effective Agent

300 Words2 Pages
The process of socialisation is very important as it teaches us how to behave in society. We need to be socialised because without it we wouldn’t know the accepted norms and values within a society. Although people have different norms and values, as we develop and experience changes throughout our life we alter our behaviour according to agents of socialisation. In society we inevitably change the way our norms, values and behaviour to suit individuals or groups. These individuals or groups are called agents of socialisation. There are several agents of socialisation, such as family, education and mass media. Many people believe that peers are the most effective agent as it influences a lot of the decisions we make. Peer groups don’t have to be our friends, and we don’t have to like them but we still act like them. They are often people you share a similar social position to you, same age, lifestyle, status and/or jobs. They are often people you are with frequently – work colleagues, friends and classmates which is why they play big roles in the socialisation process. As peer groups share norms and values it makes us feel accepted. Some peer groups can be bullying and pressurise us but others may encourage us to behave appropriately. A peer group could be the most effective agent of socialisation as during primary socialisation it is becoming more common for children to be enrolled in nurseries while parents work, so children start getting socialising by classmates and friends from a very early age and this continues all through secondary socialisation although it may occur more with the work place. This conveys the reason why people might believe that the peer group is a major part of socialisation as it occurs although our life until we
Open Document