What according to you is human development?

Discuss how
socialization affects human development with illustration
from field work or with experiences from your own life.

Introduction
The field of psychology is understood to be one of the younger sciences available to us.
By the very fact that it studies human behaviour and various other aspects that are core to
human being, the subject is of greater value and importance. In the realm of social work
too, psychology plays a major role in understanding the person and his/her behavioural
patterns and overall build up of the personality. The discipline of social work, thus, relies
heavily on psychology for the maturation and effective implementation of many of its
schemes and projects for individuals and communities. This paper is an attempt to
understand human development and factors affecting the same through socialisation.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Human development is considered as the sequence of age-related change that occurs as a
person progresses from conception to death. The term development means a progressive
series of change that occurs as a result of maturation and experience. Development
implies qualitative changes that are achieved through a process growth, maturation and
learning.
 Growth: Increase in the size of the body
 Maturation: Changes in the complexity of the structure which enable the organism
to function at a higher level
 Learning: Changes that are brought to us due to various experiences.

Growth and Development are most often used interchangeably. In essence, they are
different, although they are inseparable as neither takes place alone. Growth refers to
quantitative changes – increase in size and structure. Not only does the child become
larger physically, but there is also increase in the size and structure of the internal organs
and of the brain. Development, however, refers to the changes which are qualitative in
nature and may be defined as a progressive series of orderly, coherent changes leading
towards the goal of maturity. According to Anderson, development is not merely a matter
of adding inches to stature or ability to ability, instead it id the complex process of
integrating many structures and functions.

Significant facts about human development: Human development has various

proportions. It sets the tone for the personality of the person from the very moment of
one’s life on earth and continues to play a critical role in the different stages that the
person passes through. Below given are some of the facts that do affect the development
of human person.

1. Early foundations are critical: Attitudes, habits and patterns of behaviour

established during the early years determine to a large extend how successful
individuals will adjust to life as they grow older. Many child psychologists argue
that the pre-school years of 2-5 are the most crucial years. Erickson is of the
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 opinion that babyhood is the period when individuals learn general attitude of trust
and mistrust, depending on how parents gratify their children’s needs for food,
attention and love. Good physical and mental credentials can be seriously
damaged by unfavourable environmental conditions during prenatal and early
postnatal periods. It has been observed that if the patterns of attitudes, interests,
skills and emotional behaviour are well laid, further developments will result in
behaviour that will lead to good life adjustments. The first important scientific
clue of the significance of the early years came from Freud’s studies of personality
maladjustments.

2. Role of maturation and learning development: Maturation is the unfolding of

the individual’s inherent traits potentially present in the individual resulting from
his/her hereditary environment such as creeping, sitting and walking. Such aspects
do not require any training. Control of the environment to prevent the baby from
having the opportunities to practice reaching, sitting, and standing have little
influence on the development of these functions. Functions specific to the
individual such as swimming, roller skating, bicycle riding on the other hand
requires training. Learning is development that comes from exercise and effort on
the part of the individual. Unless the individual has the opportunities for learning,
many of his hereditary potentials will never reach their optimum development.

3. Each phase of development has characteristic behaviour: When individuals

adapt easily to environmental demands and as a result make good personal and
social adjustment, it is called ‘period of equilibrium.’ In the same way, when they
experience difficulties in adaptation and as a result make poor personal and social
adjustment is called ‘period of disequilibrium.’ There is a possibility of change in
the behaviour as they grow, but it does not work this way always.

Dimensions of development:

1. Physical: It refers to physiological changes or bodily changes. Physical

development is the study of patterns of physical growth and maturation, genetic
basis for some human development and acquisition of motor skills and health
promoting behaviour.

2. Cognitive: Cognitive development refers to the inner process and product of the
mind that lead to knowing. It includes all mental activities like remembering,
symbolising, categorising, problem solving, creating, fantasizing and even
dreaming. Cognitive development is expressed through perceptual and motor
activity. According to Piaget, the development of knowledge is a form of
adaptation, assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation means modifying one’s
environment so that it fits into one’s already developed ways of thinking and
acting. Accommodation means modifying oneself as to fit with existing
characteristics of environment.
3. Emotional and Social development: It refers to the change in children’s feeling,
ways of coping with, building social relationship and moral function along with
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 changes. The person develops self understanding, ability to manage one’s feeling,
knowledge about other people, interpersonal skills, friendship etc.

Principles of Development:
The relative effect of heredity and environment vary for different domains of
development. Inherited tendencies may make children more or less responsive and
susceptible to particular environmental influence. Environment may play a greater role
when conditions are extreme rather than moderate. For example, if a child grows in
violent behaviour around, he/she will grow as a fearful person. Some environmental
experiences play a greater role at certain ages than others. Growth of the person may be
hampered if proper stimuli are not given in this sensitive period. Children make choices
that affect the environment that they encountered.

Important issues
The field of child development is distinctly complex given the fact that each child
experiences a unique combination of genetic and environmental circumstances. Some
major issues concerning child development are;

a) Nature versus Nurture: This controversy has existed for a long time. By nature
we mean the inborn biological traits; the hereditary information children receive
from their parents at the moment of conception. By nurture we mean the complex
physical and social worlds that influence children before and after birth. The
nature versus nurture debate is concerned about the relative impact of heredity and
environment. Overall, virtually no one believes that nature alone or nurture alone
completely determines the course of one’s development. Most psychologists today
believe that development is shaped by the interaction of heredity and environment.

b) Universality versus Diversity: By universality we mean certain developmental

changes that occur in everyone and reflect a central degree of universality. For
example, the physical dimensions. Compared to these, certain developmental
changes are highly individualised and reflect diversity in growth.

c) Qualitative versus Quantitative: By qualitative changes, we refer to

development which is characterised by a rather sudden relatively dramatic change
in behaviour and thinking. There are certain changes that are qualitative. All the
changes that don’t involve dramatic changes and are more frequently occurring
can be termed quantitative. The same has been enumerated above.

SOCIALISATION
The concept of socialization has traditionally addressed the problem of individual
adjustment to society. In all of the approaches, socialization has, in one way or another,
referred to the idea that society shapes its members toward compliance and cooperation
with societal requirements. According to Long and Hadden, many earlier approaches to
socialization extended socialization to every part of human social life. As a result,
everyone becomes both a socializing agent (socializer) and a novice (socializee) in all

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encounters with others. This conceptualization leaves socialization without a social
home; it is all around but no place in particular.

Human infants are born without any culture.  They must be transformed by their parents,
teachers, and others into cultural and socially adept animals.  The general process of
acquiring culture is referred to as socialization.  During socialization, we learn the
language of the culture we are born into as well as the roles we are to play in life.  For
instance, girls learn how to be daughters, sisters, friends, wives, and mothers.  In
addition, they learn about the occupational roles that their society has in store for them. 
We also learn and usually adopt our culture's norms through the socialization process. 
Norms are the conceptions of appropriate and expected behaviour that are held by most
members of the society.  While socialization refers to the general process of acquiring
culture, anthropologists use the term enculturation for the process of being socialized to
a particular culture.  You were enculturated to your specific culture by your parents and
the other people who raised you.
 
Socialization is important in the process of personality formation.  While much of human
personality is the result of our genes, the socialization process can mould it in particular
directions by encouraging specific beliefs and attitudes as well as selectively providing
experiences.  This very likely account for much of the difference between the common
personality types in one society in comparison to another.

Successful socialization can result in uniformity within a society.  If all children receive
the same socialization, it is likely that they will share the same beliefs and expectations. 
This fact has been a strong motivation for national governments around the world to
standardize education and make it compulsory for all children.  Deciding what things will
be taught and how they are taught is a powerful political tool for controlling people. 
Those who internalize the norms of society are less likely to break the law or to want
radical social changes.   In all societies, however, there are individuals who do not
conform to culturally defined standards of normalcy because they were "abnormally"
socialized, which is to say that they have not internalized the norms of society.  These
people are usually labelled by their society as deviant or even mentally ill. 

Types of Socialisation:

 Primary socialization: Primary socialization occurs when a child learns the

attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular
culture. For example if a child saw his/her mother expressing a discriminatory
opinion about a minority group, then that child may think this behavior is
acceptable and could continue to have this opinion about minority groups.
 Secondary socialization: Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning
the appropriate behaviour as a member of a smaller group within the larger
society. It is usually associated with teenagers and adults, and involves smaller
changes than those occurring in primary socialization. eg. entering a new
profession, relocating to a new environment or society.

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  Developmental socialization: Developmental socialization is the process of
learning behaviour in a social institution or developing your social skills.

 Anticipatory socialization: Anticipatory socialization refers to the processes of

socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and
social relationships.

 Re-socialization: Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding former

behaviour patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life. This
occurs throughout the human life cycle (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 113). Re-
socialization can be an intense experience, with the individual experiencing a
sharp break with their past and needing to learn and be exposed to radically
different norms and values. An example might be the experience of a young man
or woman leaving home to join the military, or a religious convert internalizing
the beliefs and rituals of a new faith. An extreme example would be the process by
which a transsexual learns to function socially in a dramatically altered gender
role.

Agents of Socialization
Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self-concept,
emotions, attitudes, and behaviour.

 The Family: Family is responsible for the youth and children, among other
things, determining one's attitudes towards religion, life, other human persons and
establishing career goals.

 Education: Education is the agency responsible for socializing groups of young

people in particular skills and values in society.

 Religion: Religions play a major role in socialization, in that context often

synonymous with 'indoctrination'.

 Peer groups: Peers refer to people who are roughly the same age and/or who
share other social characteristics.

 The Mass Media: The mass media plays a major role in socialisation. The impact
of the media in the process of socialisation was underrated earlier and many did
not consider the same as mere means of passing information. However, in the
context of the lives that we live today we can say without doubt that the media
influences the individual in a big way and impacts his/her life.

 Other Agents: Work Place, Public institutions.

EFFECT OF SOCIALISATION IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT:

Socialisation is considered as one of the key factors of human development. And so, in
order to understand the significance of the same, I would look at the same from my own
experiences:

From my childhood experiences:

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1) Family: Early childhood plays key role in shaping the personality of an individual. In
this regard, I too consider the experiences of my early childhood to have shaped the
personality of what I am today. My family consisting of my parents and three siblings
provided me the right environment for growth. There had been encouragements and
positive efforts for the overall development of the personality. The below mentioned
experiences and learning would portray the secular and religious socialisation I have had,
which facilitated my growth. Besides these, opportunities were provided for healthy
socialisation with my neighbours. I have seen my parents interacting well with the people
of lower caste origins. All were welcome and we have had food together with them
sitting in the same area. I have also seen my mom and dad eating with the labourers
either in the field or at home. There was just one menu for all. My parents also taught me
to respect those elder to me and not to call them by names. Respect to the elderly was a
great virtue and continues to be so.

Inter-religious socialisation: The God of life blessed me with loving parents who
always wanted to give the best to their children. My parents began their life in the
high ranges of Idukki and all of us were born and grew up there until I reached the
age of four. I recall here that we lived in a multi religious atmosphere with
sizeable number of Hindus and Christians. Our two neighbouring families were
Hindus and they were very close to my family. We interacted well and as a result
my parents would allow me to join them to the temple, especially on festival days.
Such openness from my parents and their readiness to appreciate and respect other
religions were even experienced later in my life. This openness surely helped me
to grow in respect and admiration for other religious faiths and people from
diverse backgrounds. In 1982 my parents decided to sell the land and move to the
plains in order to improve the quality of life and with a view to provide quality
education for all of us. Hence we moved to Thekkumbhagom near Thodupuzha in
the same district. Upon settling there I was admitted to class one in St. George’s
School, Kallanickal, an aided vernacular school run by the management of the
diocese of Kothamangalam where I completed matriculation in the year 1992.

Religious and Spiritual socialisation: My parents are devout Catholics and their
piety, simplicity and fear of God instilled in me a sense of love for God and
human beings. My parents helped me pray and helped me experience the presence
of God in me and in others. By the time I was of eight years my eldest sister had
already become a nun. As part of her mission, she worked in Rwanda and Zaire in
Africa for 12 years as a nurse. I found her life stories, shared during her home
vacation, both challenging and rewarding. I can honestly say that her life in Africa
was the first inspiration for me to become a priest to serve those in need. Inspired
by the life of the eldest one and motivated by the love of Christ, my second sister
too decided to be nun and later became a nurse. She worked in Shimoga,
Karnataka for six years before being assigned to Tamilnadu. Being a devout and
close to Church, my parents socialised me with priests and nuns which impacted
my thought process as well. As I was about to complete my schooling, the
thoughts of becoming a priest and serving the people in the Missions dawned in
me and with the guidance and consent of my parents, I left home and joined the
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 studies for priesthood which eventually helped me become a priest and work in
Jammu and Kashmir.

2) School and Peer Group: The school where I studied and the school days provided me
the greatest opportunities for socialisation outside my family and neighbourhood. I
consider that along with school came the socialisation opportunities and experiences with
the Peer Group. Thus, I recall that there have been both positive and negative
socialisations in this period. My teachers helped me shape my personality in various
ways, although at times I resisted the same. I remember an occasion in 6 th class when I
was asked by one of the teachers to present a speech during the annual day celebration.
Though I declined the offer, the teacher insisted and helped for the same with the text and
practice. I finally presented the same and was appreciated by all. That experience gave
me a confidence about myself and my abilities and I am grateful to the teacher for her
persuasion.

Schooling helped me understand children from diverse family, economic and religious
backgrounds. The mutual interaction and sharing enriched my knowledge and
personality. At the same time, the process of socialisation has had its negative impact on
me. The first impact as in anyone was that I picked up the slangs although I never dared
to use them for fear of my parents. For, not once have I heard them saying slang either to
each other or to someone else. Secondly, the peer pressure prompted me to steal money
from home. Although small sums, the act was very offensive. However, I realised the
same only I the same was detected by my dad and severely punished at home. Under
pressure from friends, I also began to bunk classes to go for movies and secret parties.

3) Shifting life North India: I left home when I was 15 years of age for Jammu and
Kashmir to join the diocese there. From there I was sent to Ajmer for my language
studies and intermediate. The shift from the south to the north passed great challenges in
front of me. I was transplanted into a new language and culture of the place and the
diverse cultures of the companions who came from many other southern and northern
states. Socialisation thus played a major role in shaping up my personality in the new
environment. I learned quickly the customs of the place and the expected behavioural
pattern in a formal environment. I also got to churn out various capacities in me through
the many exposures and programmes. I developed skills required to communicate with
my companions.

From 1992, till today, I have been to various parts of North India and lived with people
of diverse cultural, religious and economic backgrounds.
 An experience in working with villagers in Varanasi helped me socialise with
them and understand the values systems and behavioural patterns of those people.
The interaction also helped me fine tune my personality as an individual called to
serve the people of every caste group, gender or economic background.
 The service in school in Kashmir and simultaneous involvement further helped me
personally. The culture of Kashmir is very different from that of other places.
Dealing with difficult situations and aggressive persons made me strong to face
challenges
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EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD
I am placed at Majnu-ka-Tilla, one of the oldest resettlements colonies in Delhi as part of
the field work placement. The community consists of a great mixture of people from
various states of North India like Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, West
Bengal and a sizeable number from Nepal and Tibet. The community, thus, exhibits
diversity in its demographic composition. During the course of the visits to the
community, I have had opportunities to interact with a cross section of people which has
facilitated my understanding of the community. The people I interacted vary from elderly
men and women, working men, housewives, illiterates, beggars, rag pickers and children
in schools, aanganwadis and baalwadis. Let me highlight some of my observations on
varies socialisation patterns that I observed in the community, especially among children.

1) Children in aaganwadi & baalwadi: The children in these centres offer varied
expressions of socialisation. From my visits and interaction with children in both centres
I have figured out that the children in the private baalwadi are more active and
expressive than those in the government run aanganwadi. Both have one teacher each.
However, children in aanganwadi do not get the kind of exposure and training as their
counterparts get. There is hardly in place to sit in the aanganwadi. They are not taught
together and thus do not even speak to each other when they meet. Neither do they wish
the elders as these are not imparted in the centre. The baalwadi in contrast offers space
for each child and opportunity to speak or perform. They are taught the values of respect
and they greet us warmly when we enter the class room. They also interact and mix with
us comfortably. Thus, the baalwadi functions as an effective centre for socialisation as
opposed to what is offered in the other centre.

2) The Sansi community: J block of Majnu-ka-Tilla is occupied by people from the

Sansi community. The community is perceived to be aggressive and are prone to indulge
in fights. As a result, other people in the community hardly interact with these families.
The overall atmosphere in the communities and families affect the younger ones too and
as a result they too grow aggressive. Socialisation is centred primarily among the
members. Although some children go to schools, they are marked out by others and are
not socialised with.

3) The Bengali Family: During my visits to various houses, I came across a family from
Bengal. The husband and wife both are educated up to Masters and have two children
who study at the baalwadi. The husband, Mr. Govind works in a school while the wife,
Sujatha is a home maker. They are financially sound. However, the high cost of living
elsewhere forces them to be in Majnu-ka-Tilla. They are not at all comfortable with the
prevailing atmosphere in the community. As a result, they do not allow children to
socialise with others for fearing picking up bad habits and slangs.

Conclusion
Human development is an on-going process. Various characteristics of an individual is
manifested in the course of this development through the process of socialisation and
other physical, cognitive, emotional and psychological factors. Having gone through the
different dimensions of human development and socialisation, I come to understand that
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socialisation plays a key role in human development. The experiences that occur to us
time to time shape up our personality and mould us. It is fitting to quote Carlson and
Stielglitz who said, “we are what we are today, to a great degree, because of what
happened to us in our yesterday..... the effect of all these experiences increase with age,
because the accumulate.” Thus we can conclude that socialisation affect human
personality, behaviour, value system etc at every stage of human development.

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