How does socialization shape human behaviors?

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pohnpei397 eNotes educator| Certified Educator

Socialization is the process through which we learn what society expects of us.  We learn the basic values and beliefs of our society and we learn how we are expected to behave.  Naturally, this shapes our behaviors.

Let us take, for example, the way we behave when we are talking to other people.  In some cultures, it is extremely rude for a person of lower status (like a child or an employee) to look into the face of their superior.  This is something that we learn through socialization and which affects the way we behave when talking to a superior.  Similarly, different societies have different customs regarding how close one stands to, and how much one touches, an interlocutor.  We are socialized into these behaviors as we grow up and they shape the way we speak to others.

In this way, socialization shapes our behaviors by teaching us what is accepted and expected in our society.