Socialization is the term used for the process by which individuals learn and perform behavior expected of them by society. In order to survive and work together people have to agree on certain common values and conduct themselves accordingly. They learn most of this from other people. As people interact with each other all involved are affected and in varying degrees change their attitudes and behavior accordingly.
Socialization begins at birth and continues throughout life. Socialization is deliberate when individuals are told what to do or how to act. Much socialization is indirect and simply learned by being with other people. In the beginning, the family is the most important.
From their family most children learn speech, basic health and hygiene, eating habits, beliefs, and a prescribed set of values. They usually learn concepts of God, what it is to be male or female, how they came to exist, why life is the way it is, the difference between right and wrong, and what things are important in life. The atmosphere which the parents provide the child at home has a lot to do with the child's overall progress. It has been often observed that children who have a good environment which is conducive for learning at home end up being the winners in the fields which they choose in their later life. The things which are taught in the childhood remain with the children throughout their lives.
Socialization helps the individual face the realities of life, through the appreciation of their culture practices. The agencies of socialization are the social institutions that pass on to the people these norms, values, beliefs, and attitudes. There are several agencies of socialization such as, peer groups, school, religion and the mass media.
Peers are people of roughly the same age, same stage of development and maturity,
