20 January 2010

Siblings as 'agents of socialization'

Feminist critiques of Freudian psychoanalysis tend to focus on the supposed role of the Oedipus/Electra complexs. Often the role of siblings is highlighted. Well, it looks like some research is favouring that approach. Siblings play formative, influential role as 'agents of socialization': "siblings are better role models of the more informal behaviors -- how to act at school or on the street, or, most important, how to act cool around friends -- that constitute the bulk of a child's everyday experiences.

'Siblings are closer to the social environments that children find themselves in during the majority of their day, which is why it's important not to overlook the contributions that they make on who we end up being,'"

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