WJEC AS Sociology - SY1 - What is socialisation?

The term socialisation refers to the process of learning the culture of any given society. When an indivdual has not learned the norms and values of the society in which they live in, they often said to be unsocialised.

Why is socialisation important?

Functionalists believe the process of socialisation to be an essential part of the establishment of social order and social equilibrium. It is vital for the welfare of indivduals and for society as a whole because it enables people to 'fit in' into society. Marxists, on the other hands regard socialisation as a tool that ruling class control to pass on their norms and values which enables them to rule the lower classes; Althusser calls this ideological control.

Feral…