Heredity and Environment: Agents of Socialization

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What makes you, you? Could it be the genes you were born with, or the environment you were raised in? This long-winded debate over heredity versus environment continues to prevail, while researchers discover both heredity and environment equally contribute to socialization. The process of socialization is better understood when examining how heredity and environment function alone.

Socialization begins in the womb and ends in the grave. Individuals learn attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for a particular culture through human interaction. We learn from those people who matter most in our lives—family members, friends, and teachers. But we also learn from other encounters with people on the street, on television shows, on the internet, and in movies and magazines. Microsociology perspective suggests socialization lends a hand in the discovery of proper behavior and what to expect of society’s norms and values. From a macrosociology perspective, socialization provides an avenue to transmit culture to future generations thereby, guaranteeing the continuation of a society.

The family is the primary agent of socialization and most effective. During the child’s early years of development they are vulnerable and dependant on their parents for guidance. Parental figures lay the foundation for social norms, such as learning to speak (language), body control (toilet training techniques), and proper public conduct (social control). The power of family as an agent of socialization is absolute control in the first few years and exclusive control throughout childhood up until adolescence. By law, parents have preeminent control, recognizing the parent’s right to determine what is best for their children as triumphing the rights of...

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