Socialization
Socialization is the lifelong process through which people learn and internalize the norms, roles, values, and practices of their societies.
Observational learning: Learning that occurs by watching others’ actions and their consequences. People acquire social practices by observing and imitating others.
Social norm: A shared expectation about appropriate behavior within a group or society. Norms are among the central expectations people learn through socialization.
Family: A socially recognized network of kinship, caregiving, or intimate relationships. Families often introduce children to language, norms, values, and social roles.
Enculturation: The process of learning and adopting the culture of one’s own group. It overlaps with socialization but emphasizes cultural learning and transmission.
Social reproduction: The processes through which social structures and inequalities persist across generations. Inherited resources and institutional learning can carry existing advantages and disadvantages forward.
Social learning theory: A theory that explains learning through observation, imitation, and reinforcement. It describes how modeled behavior and its consequences transmit social norms.
Social role: A set of expectations attached to a position within a social group. Learning roles teaches people how to act in positions such as parent, student, or worker.
School: An institution organized to provide formal education. Schools teach formal knowledge alongside schedules, authority, cooperation, and other social expectations.
Acculturation: Cultural change resulting from sustained contact between groups. It highlights cross-cultural adaptation rather than the broader learning of social roles and norms.
Hidden curriculum: Unstated lessons about behavior, authority, and social expectations conveyed by schooling. It reveals how institutions socialize students beyond their formal academic curriculum.