Who am I? Where do I fit? Drawing on both your life experiences and academic understandings of the process of socialisation, explore the major influences in the formation of your social identity. Explain why you think these influences are significant. Who am I? Where do I fit? Drawing on both your life experiences and academic understandings of the process of socialisation, explore the major influences in the formation of your social identity. Explain why you think these influences are significant.
The questions of who am I? And where do I fi?Are the types of questions we ask ourselves each day and each day we are most likely to have a different answer for each one. As sociologists of the modern society we study and involve ourselves through social life and social institutions that help fit, piece-by-piece of the social puzzle eventually receiving the full picture of how we as a society function. As we reflect on ourselves and on society, the study of sociology helps us deliver an “analysis of the social forces that shape human behaviour in contemporary social life”. Van Krieken 2000 p. 5)We try to understand what is the meaning to social formations which organise themselves into a way which influence the individual. What unites our social formations is the process of socialisation, which is defined as “ the process by which people learn their culture.
They do so by entering and disengaging from a succession of roles and becoming aware of themselves as they interact with others”. (Furze 2012, 2nd edition, p. 8)This is commonly recognised through life experiences, which helps to crystallise their self-identity of their place in society. It is seen as a form of critical thinking, which perceives taking a fresh look at social formations and carefully analyse the social issues which lie invisible with societies social forces. Agents of socialisations play main importance with our lives that involves us teaching the cultural norms and senses of our identity.
Playing a crucial role in making us a part of a society, group or culture.There is no set age where socialisation begins, though it is said it commences soon after birth through our attributes of us being infants. Sigmund Freud (1856- 1939) a sociologist of the modern world at the time, his main sociological contribution was his insistence that the self-image emerges through early social interaction and that early childhood experience obtain a lasting impact on personality development. He believed that the socialisation of an individual would begin at birth and that they would slowly develop ‘self’ of who one is.
He denoted this as ‘id’ that the individual knew how to function at an early stage and demanded recognition of their ability to self identify themself. Freud later theorisers that the involvement of a superego and ego and unconscious helped create a stronger formation of social identity and that these attributes would stand by as the basis of the individuals life course. Quoting that “Analysis does not set out to make pathological reactions impossible, but to give the patient's ego freedom to decide one way or another”. Though the downfall to this quote was the Freud’s theory would create a complexity which would cause different various beliefs and values therefore not creating a clear perspective of one’s social well-being and that of society.
An agent of socialisation, which is seen as a Marco aspect is that of Family. I consider my family to that of a middle class, the average family where both parents obtain an occupation, and are hard working at what they do, that all the children have a proper education needed for the future.A house that we live in that brings all the necessities, needed for a family of this modern society. As I have grown up through the years and developed a deeper understanding of life, I have come to see the little picture of what drives a family of my class. And that is hard work and determination, my parents tell these words day in and day out. And I have come to put that into perspective wanting to live a life, which pay’s off down the track.
Throughout my life I have moved houses three times, each moving through a different phase of my life.Each house bigger then the other, and I think to myself how did my parents do it at such a young age and now in there 40’s happy at where life is that. Obviously when they were young with their first born with not much money they needed to depend on something and that was work, working hard and keeping the cash flow constant but also saving at the same time for the future. This is what inspires me to work hard in life.
The class of which I consider my family is a class, which also consists of general, thinking, keeping our ideas, beliefs and values general to societies needs.Being able to have those dreams to aspire but knowing that they are far away down the track. Though these are the dreams, which help me keep a positive view on life and try to strive for the best possible outcome for the future. Family is by far the most important resource to an individual, especially the role of a parent, who’s duty is to teach and prepare their child for society wether that be ways of thinking, ways of doing things, using their past experiences and applying it through to me.And I believe that my parents have done this so far, they have given me an insight to society and now at the age of eighteen I now have to apply my learning’s into practice.
As my parents took life risks, risks which where calculated that later paid off in establishing a secure future and having a social structure to know their capabilities. I want to be able to do such things without risking my future, taking these calculated risks and having a taste for what my parents went through at a young age.Slowly becoming independent of my surroundings in order to live a life on my own. Overall I’m happy to be apart of this class which my family is apart of, it is a class which is seen as the foundation to a country’s smooth functioning. A class of where majority are held with various perspectives of societies out view.
Family at a macro level is where an individual exerts an enduring influence over the course of life and that it provides a means of social placement into a class position which influence one’s view on life.In summarising socialisation offers the ability to move beyond the barrier of life to view society differently by entering and disengaging, to be later seen as life experiences, which establish a core understanding to the agents of socialisation. It delivers a way of providing new meanings to modern contemporary life and supplies the tools for its analysis, assisting us to gain a deeper knowledge on a more ‘profound understanding of the aspects which shape us’.
