Socialization in Peer Groups

Socialization in peer groups refers to the process through which individuals, particularly children and adolescents, learn to interact within social contexts that are distinct from their families. This process typically begins around age three, as children start forming connections with peers, which helps them develop essential social skills such as cooperation, leadership, and conflict resolution. While many believe socialization primarily occurs during childhood, it is recognized as a lifelong process, with individuals continuously learning from their social experiences throughout their lives.

Peer groups play a critical role during adolescence, as teenagers often seek independence from their families and engage more with their peers. Within these groups, they explore social norms, identity, and sometimes their sexuality, all while learning behaviors that can influence their future interactions in adult settings. Notably, individuals often exhibit different behaviors depending on whether they are in a familial or peer context, highlighting the importance of the social environment in shaping behavior.

The dynamics of peer socialization can lead to the establishment of unique group cultures, wherein norms and practices are shared and passed down among group members. Additionally, experiences of acceptance or rejection within these groups can significantly impact an individual's emotional and social development, underscoring the profound influence of peer relationships throughout one's life. Understanding the nuances of peer group socialization can provide valuable insights into human behavior and the formation of social identities.

Published in: 2021

By: Gould, Marie

Subject Terms

Socialization in Peer Groups

Abstract

Socialization can be defined as the type of social learning which occurs when a person interacts with other individuals. While some believe that this process is limited to the childhood years, others argue that socialization is a continuous process that stretches over a person's lifetime. It has been found that social learning theory has been especially helpful in understanding socialization and the most appropriate ways to guide a person through the process. Group socialization theory is based on the viewpoints of theorists such as Turner, Tesser, and Brewer. Their theories are founded on four predispositions that humans share with other primates. The manner in which a child reacts to a situation or person tends to be different based on his or her environment. How one behaves at home in the presence of parents and family members tends to be different from how one behaves outside of the home among peers.

Overview

Harris (1995) defines socialization as "the process by which an infant becomes an acceptable member of his or her society—one who behaves appropriately, knows the language, possesses the requisite skills, and holds the prevailing beliefs and attitudes" (p. 461). While some believe that this process is limited to the childhood years, others argue that socialization is a continuous process that stretches over a person's lifetime. People have the capability to continue to learn from every social experience that they encounter, they say.

Psychologists, sociologists, and other researchers have studied socialization and social development since the early twentieth century. As a result of their work, practitioners have been able to guide people through the socialization process. It has been found that social learning theory has been especially helpful in understanding socialization and the most appropriate ways to guide a person through the process.

Children begin to form peer groups roughly around the age of three, usually with other children who are neighbors, classmates, or siblings. In these groups, children learn how to interact with other children of their own age, as well as how to engage in more complex group behaviors, such as leadership, cooperation, and compromise. Peer groups become critical during adolescence as teenagers break away from their families. Within these groups, teenagers learn how to engage in group behavior without adult supervision and may explore their sexuality. As teenagers age into adults, however, the influence of peer groups will often give way to the demands of work, school, or family.

Research. The key factor to understanding a child's behavior is to observe the context in which the child socializes. The manner in which a child reacts to a situation or person tends to be different based on his or her environment. Like adults, children's behavior at home in the presence of parents and family members can be very different from their behavior outside of the home among peers. According to Ironstrack, Klee, McKay, and Minera (2005), children's peers can play as large a role as their families in their socialization. They claim that "from an evolutionary standpoint, it makes more sense for children to learn from more people than just their parents because they can learn about innovations that came from people other than their parents" (Ironstrack, Klee, McKay & Minera, 2005, p. 1).

"The first step in human group affiliation is the categorization of people into groups" (Harris, 1995, p. 466). Experts disagree on when humans develop the ability to categorize: Jean Piaget claimed that children developed this ability by the time they were toddlers, but subsequent research indicates that infants can categorize people, too (Harris, 1995). Regardless of age, though, most people categorize others according to age, sex, and race (Harris, 1995). Young children are the exception, as most do not begin to make racial distinctions until they reach preschool age (Harris, 1995). Infants, however, are believed to recognize differences in age and gender by the time they are a year old (Harris, 1995). Interestingly, infants also demonstrate a preference for other infants and, by the time they are two years old, begin to prefer children of their own sex (Harris, 1995). The preference to associate with the same gender can be further observed in preschool- and kindergarten-aged children, though their tendencies during pretend play in peer play groups (Choi & Ohm, 2018). These predilections in a large part determine how children form their peer groups: they are more likely to associate with children of similar ages, sexes, and races than children who are dissimilar.

Corsaro (1993) defines childhood socialization as the "production of and movement through a series of peer cultures" (p. 361). According to Corsano (1993), all childhood peer groups create their own culture. And, as Harris notes, "though this series of cultures is capable of adapting to changing times, it is also capable of remaining relatively unchanged while cohort after cohort of children passes through it" (Harris, 1995, p. 470). Children learn from each other and can adopt traits found in those they associate with, such as externalizing problems (Fortuin, Geel & Vedder, 2015). Through these series of unique childhood peer cultures, children pass down group norms to younger children as they age and move into older peer groups. For example, a group of eight- and nine-year-olds may teach a six-year-old to play hide and seek or speak Pig Latin, even as they are growing older and learning from other, older children how to play basketball or a complicated card game. In this way, groups' norms are passed down from generation to generation.

Due to the inherent importance of membership in peer groups to children, the effects of rejection within peer groups has also been studied. Overt rebuff experienced within a peer group can deeply influence a child in terms of forming and maintaining other relationships both inside and outside of the group. In some cases, ongoing rejection has been linked to feelings of anxiety and even aggression (Nesdale, 2014).

Applications

Group Socialization Theory. Theorists such as Turner (1987), Tesser (1988), and Brewer (1991) have all shown how social-cognitive approaches can illuminate otherwise inexplicable aspects of human group behavior. One of these aspects is how people can "belong simultaneously to many groups and can shift their allegiance from one to the other, without moving an inch, in response to changes in relative salience" (Harris, 1995, p. 465). Because of this ability, a person can identify with a group even if the group is never all present in one location or the person never meets all or any of the group members.

Judith Harris' group socialization theory, which is based on the four fundamental predispositions which humans and primates hold in common, is used to explain these unique human behaviors (1995). The four predispositions, which can be correlated with the basic types of behavior, are:

Group Affiliation: By indentifying themselves as part of a group, group members tend to favor each other above non-group and out-group members.
Fear: Group members exhibit apprehension about or aggression toward strangers. If group members demonstrate a strong in-group favoritism, this predisposition may manifest itself as out-group hostility.
Within-Group Jockeying for Status: Group members attempt to raise their prestige within the group in order to gain greater power over group resources.
Seeking Close Dyadic Relationships: Group members attempt to develop loving relationships with other group members (Harris, 1995).

Harris (1995) was able to summarize many of the basic assumptions surrounding the study of group socialization theory:

(From Harris, 1995, p. 467)

Viewpoints

Group Behavior. Ironstrack, Klee, McKay, and Minera (2005) have identified five basic types of group behavior:

In-Group Favoritism: Members of a group prefer their own group over other groups even if the original grouping was random.
Out-Group Hostility: When the tendency to favor the in-group is accompanied by hostility toward the out-group.
Between-Group Contrast: Not only do members of a group assume differences between themselves and other groups, but they also act to increase these differences.
Within-Group Assimilation: Since the urge to conform often comes from within the person or group, overt "peer pressure" tends not to be necessary.
Within-Group Differentiation: Each individual in a group is different, and the members are not interchangeable (p. 2-3).

Turner's (1987) self-categorization theory is also useful in understanding how group socialization can affect identity. This theory describes how individuals self-categorize themselves on a continuum ranging between an identity as a unique individual and an identity as a member of a group. Individuals who identify themselves as members of a group tend to adopt the group's "rules, standards, and beliefs about appropriate conduct and categories" (Turner, 1987, p. 1), as part of the process of within-group assimilation. Individuals who categorize themselves as individuals, on the other hand, seek to differentiate themselves from group members.

However, it is rare for a person to identify him- or herself entirely with either of these extremes; rather, Turner (1987) writes "individual identity and group identity are not dichotomous choices; rather, they will tend to operate simultaneously most of the time" (p. 50). Thus, even as group assimilation occurs, group members seek to distinguish themselves from other members by adopting unique identities.

Terms & Concepts

Between-Group Contrast: A basic type of behavior where members of a group highlight the differences between their group and other groups. In addition, these groups seek to increase their differences from other groups.

In-Group Favoritism: A basic type of behavior where members of a group tend to prefer their own group over other groups even if the original grouping was random.

Peer Formation: The manner in which an individual selects other individuals to be part of a group.

Social Development: Any change in society that leads to new or more complex relations between individuals or groups within that society.

Social Learning: A change in behavior that is controlled by environmental influences rather than by innate or internal forces.

Socialization: The process in which children learn to get along with others and to model behavior to that of other people in order to be accepted within the group.

Within-Group Assimilation: A basic type of behavior where members tend to conform and there is no need for overt peer pressure.

Within-Group Differentiation: A basic type of behavior in the formation of a group where each individual in the group is different and the members are not interchangeable.

Bibliography

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Socialization in Peer Groups

On this Page

Subject Terms

Socialization in Peer Groups

Abstract

Overview

Applications

Viewpoints

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

Suggested Reading