How do people learn the way of life of their society and develop a sense of who they are?
Primary and secondary socialisation, the agencies of socialisation (family, education, peer group, media, religion and workplace), and how socialisation shapes identity.
A focused answer to the Eduqas GCSE Sociology socialisation topic, covering primary and secondary socialisation, the agencies of socialisation and how they shape a person's identity.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to explain socialisation, the difference between primary and secondary socialisation, the agencies that carry it out, and how the whole process shapes a person's identity. This is the central idea of the key concepts topic: that we are made social, and given a sense of who we are, by the groups that teach us our culture.
Primary and secondary socialisation
Socialisation is what turns a biological human being into a member of a particular society. It is lifelong, not something that stops after childhood, because we keep learning the norms of new groups we join, such as a new school, a workplace or a club. Primary socialisation lays the foundation; secondary socialisation builds on it.
The agencies of socialisation
Each agency works differently. The family teaches first language, gender roles and basic values. Education adds the norms of wider society and, through the hidden curriculum, attitudes to authority, punctuality and achievement. The peer group teaches how to fit in with others of the same age and gives a sense of belonging. The media spreads ideas, role models and norms. Religion teaches moral values and a sense of community. The workplace teaches the expectations of working life. Together they build and reshape a person across the life course.
How socialisation shapes identity
Identity is a person's sense of who they are: how they see themselves and how others see them. It includes aspects such as gender, ethnicity, social class, nationality and age. Identity is not fixed at birth; it is built through socialisation as the agencies teach us where we belong and how people like us are expected to behave.
Gender identity is a clear example. Through the family (toys, clothes, expectations), the peer group, the media and school, children learn the norms attached to being a boy or a girl in their society, which sociologists call gender role socialisation. Because these messages are learned rather than inborn, gender expectations differ between cultures and change over time, showing that identity is socially constructed.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20184 marksExplain one way in which the family acts as an agency of primary socialisation.Show worked answer →
A four-mark explain item: name what the family does and develop it.
The family is the agency of primary socialisation, the first and most important agency, where a young child first learns. One way it socialises is by teaching language and basic norms and values, such as the difference between right and wrong, manners and how to behave towards others.
Develop the point: through everyday interaction, imitation and rewards and punishments (sanctions), the child internalises the culture of its society, which is why primary socialisation in the family lays the foundation for all later learning. Markers reward a clear way the family socialises plus development.
Eduqas 20218 marksExplain how different agencies of socialisation shape a person's identity.Show worked answer →
An eight-mark explain item: three developed points on different agencies, no formal evaluation needed.
The family (primary socialisation) shapes early identity by teaching language, gender roles and the values of the home, giving the child its first sense of who it is. Education (secondary socialisation) adds the norms of wider society and, through the hidden curriculum, shapes attitudes to authority and achievement. The peer group shapes identity in adolescence, as friends influence tastes, behaviour and a sense of belonging, sometimes through subcultures.
A third or fourth agency strengthens the answer: the media spreads role models, body images and norms, while religion can shape moral identity and a sense of community. Markers reward three or more developed agencies, each linked explicitly to identity. The strongest answers explain how the agencies work together across the life course.
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Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas GCSE Sociology (C200) specification — WJEC Eduqas (2017)