Читать книгу Essentials of Sociology - George Ritzer - Страница 146

A good deal of socialization in school takes place informally, through children’s interaction with fellow students (see Chapter 11 for a discussion of the role of schools and teachers in the process of socialization). Here primary agents of socialization (peers) compete with secondary agents of socialization (teachers and other employees of the school system; Bukowski et al. 2015). Such informal socialization grows increasingly important as students progress through the school years, especially high school. Peers are also important sources of socialization in contexts outside of school, such as scouting groups and athletic teams (Bennett and Fraser 2000; Corsaro 2018; Fine 1987). For example, researchers have found that children involved in contact sports, such as football and wrestling, are socialized to be more physically aggressive in everyday life (Kreager 2007). Male students (and their friends) who participate in contact sports such as football are more likely to get into serious fights than are nonathletic males or males involved in noncontact sports such as baseball, basketball, and tennis.

As the child matures and spends an increasing amount of time in the company of friends, peer socialization is increasingly likely to conflict with what is being taught at home and in school. Peer involvement in risky and delinquent behavior exerts an influence that is often at odds with the goals set forth by parents and educators (Gardner and Steinberg 2005; Haynie 2001). In Peer Pressure, Peer Prevention, Barbara Costello and Trina Hope (2016) examine the role of friends in both encouraging and preventing deviant or criminal behavior. Based on qualitative data that included analyzing 81 student papers on peer influence and 831 responses to two open-ended questions about peer pressure, they investigated a variety of peer influence mechanisms that had either negative or positive effects. For example, the emulation of an admired role model could have a positive peer influence if he or she set a good example or a negative one if he or she encouraged deviant behavior. Coercive tactics such as appeals to peer loyalty operated in a similar manner—if their peers were all drinking (or abstaining from drinking), study participants stated that they were likely to conform to demonstrate the strength of their friendships. Interestingly, several peer influence mechanisms were more prevalent in affecting deviant behaviors, such as the fear of the loss of status and the presence of onlookers. Costello and Hope emphasize that whether it was negative or positive, the informal social control exerted by peer groups is important when examining childhood socialization.

Peer socialization continues to be important throughout the life course. For example, peers help us learn what we are expected to do at college (Brimeyer, Miller, and Perrucci 2006), at work (Montoya 2005), in social settings (Friedkin 2001), and in civic arenas (Dey 1997), as well as how to be sports fans (Melnick and Wann 2011).

Peers are highly influential in the socialization process, especially during adolescence and early adulthood. What role do you think fellow students play in your socialization? Which ones will most influence you?

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