Biological Foundations and the Socialization Process

Biological Foundations of Society

Instinctive determination: Unlike many other animals whose actions are immediate and involuntary, in humans, behavior is learned. This is possible thanks to three factors: permeability (which allows us to be affected by external stimuli and assimilate them), intelligence (which enables us to search for the most adequate solution), and a social body (which retains those responses that have shown to be adaptive).

Long Period of Immaturity

The child is completely helpless and remains so for a long time. Our biological nature makes the company of others a remarkable necessity.

Inexistence of Remarkable Physical Qualities

The human being possesses features that make them physically inferior to other animals in terms of strength or speed. If humans want to survive and thrive, they must come together and work together.

Agents of Socialization

These are all those elements that are actively and directly involved in the process of socialization:

• The Family: The first and most important socializing agent. Although the family model varies from one culture to another, it plays a crucial role in the training and integration of children into the social field. The family leaves an unforgettable mark.
• The School: The institution established with the aim of educating and training new members of society. When culture and knowledge become complicated, they cannot be left solely in the hands of the parents.
• The Peer Group: A group of individuals of the same age. Other individuals who are in a situation similar to yours will provide a vision and understanding of problems different from those offered by the school or family.
• The Media: They occupy a great place in educating new generations.

Definition of Socialization

Socialization is the learning process by which we integrate into the community of which we are part. It consists of the acquisition and internalization of rules, principles, and the customs of the culture in which we live. This assimilation allows us to identify with our group and feel like real members of it. Thanks to socialization, we acquire essential knowledge from those around us and, besides, we form the emotional links necessary for a rich and full life. We model our behavior and personality (recognizing the behaviors that are desirable and which are not, what is right and wrong, the expectations of others, and what they dislike). Socialization is a process of humanization; we are human because we live with others as humans.

The Individual

The individual is the smallest unit that makes up society and is the ultimate goal of its study.

Society

Every human group that has some unity and independence from others is often characterized by occupying its own stable space and having a temporal continuity that exceeds that of its members.

Collectivism

In collectivism, the individual is only a social cog, intended to ensure the vitality and continuity of the whole. The individual is only relevant in relation to the functioning of the social machinery, having no value in themselves, being perfectly substitutable and replaceable.