Socialization and Acculturation

This process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one’s society is called socialization. Each society has rules—do’s, don’ts, expectations, and preferences that guide behavior particularly of children as they the mature.2 In Indonesia, for example, children are socialized to value cooperation, group harmony, and emotional restraint. Children are taught to avoid conflicts with others. In France, young people are socialized to appreciate cooking, fine cuisine, and wine.3 The rules of socialization may be explicitly stated—for example, “We don’t do things that way around here”—or they may be implicit, that is, everyone is expected to know how to function at work, at school, with friends, and ...

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