Blackwell Reference Online

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Anticipatory socialization refers to preparation for status changes and role transitions and, as such, is an important aspect of most forms of human socialization over the entire life course. While socialization in general may be defined as the social process in which groups transmit their culture and individuals simultaneously acquire self-concepts and personality characteristics, anticipatory socialization directs particular attention to those situations where individuals are likely either to be induced to change or prepare themselves for change in conformity or opposition to a set of normative standards. The concept of anticipatory socialization was introduced by Robert K. Merton and Alice S. Kitt in their 1950 article “Contributions to the Theory of Reference Group Behavior,” in which they amplified the theoretical implications of The American Soldier , a large-scale empirical study of military recruiting and training published in 1949. Merton and Kitt developed the concept to explain variations in the conformity of enlisted personnel to official military values and their subsequent promotions in military rank. They then generalized the concept as a key mechanism for understanding the relationship between reference group identification and social mobility in social systems. Merton and Kitt initially defined anticipatory socialization as the process in which individuals adopt ... log in or subscribe to read full text