Everyday people are affected by socialization and culture. One way or another, socialization and culture play an important role in people’s lives. By definition, “socialization is the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate for members of a particular culture.” Although we may not realize it, socialization helps us develop the way in which we as people develop perceptions, feelings, and beliefs. Socialization makes us who we are.

Socialization is accomplished by many different variables; two in particular are their environment and their parents. A person’s environment plays a heavy role in socialization. Naturally, people adapt to their surroundings, this makes environment a key contributor to socialization. For example, a child was raised in an environment where there were no cars, skyscrapers, traffic lights, etc.; growing-up the child never really interacts with anyone other than their immediate family. If this child were put into a city environment for the first time, he or she wouldn’t be able to handle or even comprehend what was going on.

Social roles and groups divide people into groups of people with similar social understandings. Social roles and groups are formed from more than just sororities and fraternities, social roles and groups exist in every company, government, and even countries. There are five main types of social groups: primary, secondary, in-group, out-group, and reference groups. Primary groups are usually small and have intimate and close interactions with each other. Secondary groups do not have the intimacy or close interaction as the primary group does. The secondary group is more of an informal or impersonal group. They really do not have mutual understandings. In-groups are groups in which the people feel they belong to. These people regard themselves as “we” or “us.” Out-groups are the