Free Essay on Anticipatory Socialization and Resocialization

Human beings are social creatures. People socialize in various ways in society. We meet people from different walks of life in our daily activities. Some individuals contribute positively while others impact our life negatively. As such, we should be cautious about how we relate with people in our life. Notably, people anticipate for different things in life, such that they end up spending a lot of time and energy to make their dream come true. People may also do away with their previous behavior to fit in their current roles or environment. Strain can occur to a person when they have difficulty meeting the responsibilities of a particular role in their life.

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Anticipatory socialization is the process of socialization whereby a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships. An example of anticipatory socialization is high school students waiting to go join college. So they can get new grades. It is an example of anticipatory socialization because high school students are willingly preparing themselves to accept new norms.

On the other hand, resocialization is the process of leaving previous behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of change in one's life (Giddens et al., 14). An example of resocialization is when students are on a field trip and their teacher tells them how they are supposed to act and dress. It is an example of resocialization because the students are getting rid of old behavior patterns and are transitioning to new behavior patterns. Resocialization is difficult to accomplish compared to anticipatory socialization because there is little time to adjust.

Levels of Norms

Social norms play a huge role in society and how they set up and improve their’ overall underlying structure. Social norms are rules or expectations that people in a society follow and use to function a certain way based on values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and anything outside of that is considered wrong or unethical. Notably, social norms vary from different cultures and locations and change over time. All social institutions have social norms that govern how they function. Because each social institution has a set of norms that controls the behavior of members of society, every institution is affected by the others one way or another. Without social norms, there would be no social institutions. Social norms are necessary because they simply provide order which is essential for humans to be able to function together in society. Below are different levels of norms;

Folkways are ways and customs that are shared by social groups that are not morally significant. However, research shows that these behaviors can be vital for social acceptance in the community. The groups can come up with different norms but are customized at a societal level.

Mores are also evident in the community. They can lead to violations of morals and ethics in society. Mores are considered as norms of morality. Notably, individuals are encouraged not to violate them. More violations are offensive and illegal. However, mores have to be written down in legislation to be sanctioned in the criminal justice system. An example of a more is attending a church service in a nude.

Lastly, laws are social norms that are inscribed by the state. People are punished for violating the laws. Laws outline rules and regulations in the state. In some countries, individuals who violate laws are subject to fines, incarceration, or even death.

References

Giddens, Anthony, et al. Introduction to Sociology, Seagull. WW Norton, Incorporated, 2018.