Socialization is a learning process which involves the acquisition of the beliefs, attitudes, values, norms and behaviours typical of the culture we find ourselves. Socialization begins in childhood, shortly after birth and continues throughout life. In other words, it is not limited to infant alone, adults are equally socialized. As people take up new responsibilities and occupy different positions such as becoming a father, mother, husband, wife, leader, teacher, driver, employee ete, there is the need to learn and acquire the accompanied roles and behavioural patterns associated with the position.
The impact of the community on youngsters therefore should be analyzed in terms of facilitating, generating. enforcing or inhibiting anti-social behavior. Truancy should be discouraged, for these to be actualized, a number of joint efforts are required by the community.
Government control: The National Youth Development Policy and Programmes in Nigeria are aimed at control and minimization of youth problems. National Youth Policy for Nigeria (1993) in this regard, the government has put in place various youth programme that include: Citizen and Leadership Training Programme, Youth Employment Scheme. Voluntary Youth Organisations.
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
In this chapter we focus on the field of psychology that is concerned with the nature of the information our body takes in through its senses and with the way we interpret such information. We explore both sensation, the stimulation of the sense organs. and perception, the sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving our sense organs and brain.
Psychologist are interested in understanding the causes of behaviour, sensation and perception are fundamental topic. Since our behaviour is so much a reflection of how we react to and interpret stimuli from the world around us. Indeed. questions ranging from what processes enable us to see and hear, to how we know whether sugar or lemon is sweeter, to how we distinguish one person from another all fall into the realm of sensation and perception.
Although perception clearly represents a step beyond sensation. In practice it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the precise boundary between the two. Indeed, psychologists and philosophers, as well have argued for years over the distinction. The primary difference is that sensation can be thought
of as an organism's first encounter with a raw sensory stimulus, while perception is the process by which the stimulus is interpreted, for example, we were considering sensation, we might ask about the loudness of a ringing fire alarm. On the other hand, if we were considering perception, we might ask whether some one recognizes the ringing sound as an alarm and identifies its meaning.
We may consider a number of issues relating to perception such as how we are able to perceive the world in Ihree dimensions when our eyes are capable only of sensing two-dimensional images.
HUMAN SENSES
Although most of us have been taught one time or another that there are just five senses i.e. sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch B this enumeration is too modest, since human sensory capabilities go well beyond the fire senses. It is well established for example, that we are sensitive not merely to touch, but to a considerably wider set of stimuli B pain. pressure, temperature, and vibration. Ear is responsive to information that allows us not only to hear but to keep our balance as well.
The senses in human comprises of the following:
Sense of Hearing: The sense organ responsible for hearing are the ears and the ears provides information on sound in the environment.
Sense of Sight: The sense organs for sight are eyes. The eyes provide us with information about or surroundings and this organ guides our movements and also allow us to see objects in our way and to avoid them and it also allows us to discriminate between colours and shape as well as size.
Sense of Taste and Smell: These two senses are considered chemical senses, both taste and smell provide information that helps animal to distinguish those chemicals that are beneficial from those that are harmful.
Skin Senses: Human skin helps to achieve information from the surrounding environment. Ludel (1978) the skill is thought to receive information about touch, but now the skin is now believed to be capable of four difference senses i.e. pain, warmth, and cold and our skin is made up of two layers of cell. the outer layer or protective layer called the epidemics.
SELF CONCEPT
According to Carl Rogers (1951) the self is an organised consistent pattern of perceived characteristics of the "I" or "Me" to him, he believes that human beings are the architects of themselves. Each of us have a concept of "Me" or "I", which make reference to self-concept here, but this is applicable to only one's psychological self which comprises of one's beliefs, value, attitude and other personality traits and what one thinks when one analyses one's thoughts and ideals.
Experiences that are consistent with this concept are further incorporated and this strengthen the self-concept. We then view and defined ourselves by this self-concept. All subsequent life experiences that are consistent or congruent with the self-concept give us a happy and stable personality, Another aspect of the congruence is the agreement between the person we would like to be, which is the ideal self and the person we see ourselves to be, which is our actual self. The more we know our real self, and the closer the ideal self and the actual self are the happier we are with ourselves.
People who have achieved what they wish to be and have a congruent self concept are said to have attained self actualization, such people display sociable, confident, happy and high self-esteem personality. A person with an incongruent may become tense and anxious and may resort to defence mechanism or distortion of reality to preserve his view of the self. Such person can deny reality by refusing to face it or decide to retreat into fantasy (that is imaginary achievement). For example an electrician could regard himself as an electrical engineer, a typist in the office cold also see herself as a Secretary or computer operator.
To have a healthy personality there must be congruence between the ideal self and the actual self. We can also bring about congruence by finding out who our real self is, to become that person, accept and value ourselves for the person we are.
PSYCHO SOCIAL THEORY
Erik Erikson (1902 B 1994) was a student of psychoanalysis disagreed with Freud on several points. For example, he felt that Freud placed too much emphasis on the sexual basis for behaviour. Erikson pointed out that there are other psycho social motivations and needs that become the driving forces in human development and behaviour. He accepted Freud's emphasis on early experiences but rejected Freud's neglect of the adult years (Erikson, 1982).
Erikson was of the opinion that humans can resolve their difficulties and conflicts as they arise. This contrasts with Freud's belief that humans re unable to deal with their problems. Erikson divided human development into eight stages and said that the individual has a psycho-social task to master during each stage. The confrontation with each task produces conflict with two possible outcomes. If the task during each stage is mastered, a positive quality is built into the personality and further development takes place. If the task is not mastered, and the conflict is unsatisfactorily resolved. The ego is damaged because a negative quality is incorporated in it. The stages are as follows: Trust Vs Distrust (0 B 1 Year) infants learn to trust care givers for sustenance, protection comfort, and affection, or they develop distrust because their needs are not met.
Autonomy Vs Shame and Doubt (1 B 2 years) children gain control over eliminative functions, learn to feed themselves, are allowed to play alone and to explore the world (within safe limits) and develop some degree of independence or if too restricted by care givers, develop a sense of shame and doubt about their own abilities.
Initiative Vs Gult (3 B 5 years) children's motor and intellectual abilities continue to increase, they continue to explore the environment and to experience many new things, assuming more responsibility for initiating and carrying out plans. Care givers who cannot accept children's developing initiative instill a feeling of guilt over misbehaviour.
Industry Vs Inferiority (6 B 11 years) children learn to meet the demands of home and school, and develop a feeling of self - worth through accomplishment and interaction with others, or they come to feet impior in relation to others .
Identity Vs Role Confusion (12 B 19 years) adolescents develop a strong sense of self or become confused about their identity and their roles in life.
Intimacy Vs Isolation (Young adulthood. (20s and 30s). Young adult develop a close relationships with others or remain isolated from meaningful relationships with others.
Generativity Vs Stagnation (middle adulthood 40s B 50s) middle adults assume responsibility adult roles in the community, at work, and in teaching and guiding the next generation, or they become personally impoverished, self. centered, and stagnant.
Integrity Vs Despair late adulthood (60 and above) late adults evaluate their lives, and accept them for what they are, or they despair because they cannot find meaning in their lives.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Social learning theorist accept the view of behaviourists that behaviour is learned and the environment influences that development, but they reject the mechanistic view that altered behaviour is a mindness response to stimuli. Social learning theory emphasises the role of both cognition and environmental influences in development. We are all thinking creatures with some powers of self-determination, not just robots that show B response when A stimulus is introduced. We can think about what is happening, evaluate it, and alter our responses accordingly.
Albert Badura (1977) Standford University psychologist, is one of the most important contemporary exponents of social learning theory. Badura is of the opinion that children learn by observing the behaviour of others and imitating and modeling their behaviour. of others and imitating and modelling Thus, a child may watch another play Basketball, how to hold the bat and swing it, how to run fundamentals of the and throw the ball. The child learns the game through watching others, when given the opportunity, he or she then tries to imitate or mode, what was seen, children are great initiators. They imitate parents during for a baby, imitate them when moving the lawn, or imitate them in learning how to eat, talk, walk or dress.
COGNITIVE THEORY
Jean Piaget's theory of development. Jean Piaget is a cognitive theorist who has been working on child development for more than forty years. He has produced enormous literature on developmental psychology. The first stages which lasts from birth to two years is called the sensory motor period when the infant learns and develops sensorimotor skills by organising and manipulating objects in his environment. In the second stage which runs from two to seven years (2 B 7) concepts are formed and mental reasoning emerges. The child can extract concepts from experience and can manipulate objects in his mind. The child begins to acquire vocabulary with which he represents objects and experiences he perceives. This stage is called pre- operational period. At concrete operational level which is between seven and eleven years of age, thinking becomes more flexible and children are able to consider things from several dimensions. The child begins to think logically and rationally about problems of life.
The fourth stage is known as formal operations period and begins from eleven years of age and continues till the end of adolescence. The adolescent can think, reason and analyse beyond the realm of concrete experience. He can generalise or form opinion about abstract concepts like love, honour truth and justice. According to Piaget, the child moves from one stage to the next in an established pattern. The rate of development may vary in different individuals and cultures but the sequence of development is universal.
Socialization is a live-long process beginning from infancy till death. Much of what we acquire takes place in childhood in the formative years when one is still very much tied to the apron strings of the parents. This is so because the child is receptive to learning with little outside influences.
The child is equally open to ideas without prejudices or biases. Yet, he has a strong desire to identify with the family and especially the parents who are held in high esteem. During this period, the child is not capable of critical analysis and so accepts things hook, line and sinker.. Most early socialization does not change but stays with most people in the life experiences. Most beliefs held by people were actually acquired before reaching the age of reasoning.
Socialization is divided into two primary and secondary socialization. The primary socialization takes place early in life while the secondary socialization is throughout life.
The social scientists submitted that it is actually the individual's basic identity which develops during the primary socialization but specific changes occur later during the secondary socialization response to the acquisition of new roles and membership of new groups.
Socialization has been defined differently by different authors some of the definitions are stated below. Worsely (1973) defined it as dealing with how a biological being becomes a social being. It enables a child who enters the world as an empty being to learn a number of things pertaining to the cultural values of his society. Vander (1996) in his own view, he sees socialization that society has its basic norms and values regarded as standard of behaviour which every member of the society is expected to conform with. In other word socialization is conforming to a set of norms and values of a society by its members. Macionis and Plumber (1997) defined socialization as a life-long social experience by which individuals develop human potential and learn the patterns of their culture. Attempt to make socialization precise, concise and specific, long and Hadden (1985) reframed socialization as the medium for transforming new comers. Into bonafide members of a group that socialization affords the society the opportunity to shaping its members towards compliance and cooperation with societal requirements. They criticized the earlier approaches to socialization on the grounds that socialization was extended to every part of human social life and to include virtually everything excluding nothing. This informed the development of a new understanding of the concept. Socialization is the process of creating and incorporating new members from a pool of newcomers carried out by members and their allies where the principal agents of socialization are certified and practicing members of the group to which novices are being socialized.
Socialization is universal in the sense that every culture, race, or community socializes its young ones, but the process of socialization and what exactly the individual is socialized into vary Socialization is therefore culturally relative as people in different cultures are socialized differently similarly, the social class to which individual belongs affects the process of socialization. It has been discovered that children are raised differently by their parents in relation to their social class. (Ellis Lee & Peterson, 1978) while lower class parents would emphasize conformity in their children, the middle class parents laid emphasis on creativity and self reliance (Kohn, 1969)
Agents of Socialization
These are the people responsible for socializing the individuals to fit into the culture they find themselves. People in the immediate environment of the child provide early socialization. They include, women especially mothers, baby, sister, our society relies on four major agents of socialization, these include family, media, peers, school.
Family: Family is the earliest and without question the most influential agent of socialization. It grabs the child at birth, when the child is most helpless and dependent and doesn't let go for a whole lifetime. Socialization via the family goes from cradle to grave. The family has almost exclusive control of the person during the first years of life and preeminent control during the childhood and adolescent years. The family returns as a predominant agent of socialization during the adult years with the roles of marital partner and parent.
Mass Media: Mass media include television, radio, movies, music, books, magazines, Internet. Somewhere around the age of two or three, children in our society first encounter the media as an agent of socialization in the form of television. Socialization comes through from children's shows cartoons and most especially commercials, socialization comes through the characters image, words and narrative story lines some media specifically acts to be an agent of socialization (eg children's programme such as sesame street) but most only strive to be entertainment. Today the media seriously challenges the family children spend as much or more time in front of the TV as interacting with parent's messages and values carried by the media are powerful and seductive. Many of those messages and values challenge or directly contradicts what parent's teach their children. Media influence continues and strengthens in adolescence..
Peer Groups
Peers are people of roughly the same age (same stage of development and maturity). Similar social identify, and close social proximity. They are friends, buddies, palms, troops etc. Typically children encounter peer group influence around age three or so. Usually these are neighbours. Family members or day care mates. With peers, the child begin to broaden his or her circle of influence to people outside of the immediate family. Often peer interaction in the earliest years is closely supervised by parents so it tends to paralled and reinforce what is learned in the family. What is added to socialization even in these closely supervised situations are social skills in group situation with social equals. Before this time, children basically dealt with people in a superior position.
As child progresses peer group interactions become more autonomous (less observed and supervised by adults). The lessons learned also progress from basic rules of group interaction to more complex strategies of negotiation, dominance, leadership cooperation compromise etc. These lessons are learned first in play and later through games, peers also establish the platform for children to begin challenging the dominant power of parents and family. In adolescence, peer group relationships become extremely important rising up to directly challenge the family. Peer group socialization also becomes link to puberty and the all important role of sexuality and sexual relations in life. Peer group are where teens largely learn about sex and being sexual and practice the skills of sexuality. Paralleling this, the gender role socialization begun in the family is extended, deepened and reinforced.
School
Traditionally around seven years old, the child enters the school system in the first grade. Today the process often starts earlier in kindergarten or day care. Socialization takes three forms in school official curriculum B What the school system and it's teachers announce as their content and goal. It includes the knowledge and skills learned in English, mathematics, History etc. The school is the official place where our society transmits it accumulated knowledge and skills from one generation to next. It's also the place where we officially pass on our cultural values, tradition and heritage, at least the "official" heritage.
Social curriculum B This is learning social behaviour appropriate for peer group that are not friendship groups which then become the model for secondary group interactions. Many of the skills learned in peer groups are transferable but now the child learns to communicate, negotiate, dominate etc. With peers outside of their immediate social circle, often from diverse social backgrounds.
In many ways the social curriculum reinforces and deepens gender role socialization started in the family and continued in the peer group. By middle school and high school, teens have largely learned the social curriculum.
Hidden curriculum B This is learning the rules of behaviour need to function in formally organised groups. It includes such behaviour maxims as---
Religious institution: Religious institutions like Churches and Mosque also plays a vital role in the socialization process. Particularly in the spiritually and moral upbringing or development of the people.
DELINQUENT BEHAVIOUR
Juvenile delinquency is found in most modern urban centres though the rural areas are not exempted where the moral. ethical, social and legal norms that govern individual and group relations are violated. Youths under the age of 18 years perpetrate anti-social activities. Juvenile crime is no exemption in this regard, as youngsters turn wild in the face of poor parental attention. By definition, a delinquent is a person who breaks the law habitually or persistently. His law breaking habit however may be the result of deviations in, for instance, parenting. Therefore, to control this societal threat, it will be most essential to seek an understanding in a way of possible social measure in this respect. In Nigeria, studies of deviance delinquency and crime have been grossly affected by poor records (Udegbe and Osinowo 1997). Few studies reported in Nigeria on deviance. (Aderinta, 1996) involving 209 runaway juveniles in Ibadan and Lagos metropolis revealed that the males between the ages of 14 and 18 are more affected moving with bad friends, stubbornness, disobedience and going out at night were considered to be the major deviant behaviour found among children and adolescence in our society. One of causes of delinquency among youths has suggested by the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) is instability in the homes, lack of parental care and causes of deviance thus supporting other findings. Female participants emphasised exposure to street trading while male participants identified the corrupt nature of the larger society as additional causes of deviance. It has been revealed that 5 percent of the juveniles were school drop-outs. Many who dropped out of school committed deviant acts and lose incarcerated (in remind home). (Smah, 1997). The delinquent acts that these juveniles were engaged in were stealing, willful setting of buildings ablaze, drug use. participation in riots using sharp objects to inflict injury on others, house breaking, fraud and forgery.
CONTROL OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOUR
Parental control: Parents have an unrivalled significance in the life of a child. They provide him with a number of life B supporting materials at the very crucial start. Not only do they provide him with these basic things, they also have the deepest and most continuing influence on the development of his social behaviour. Therefore, parental input in the area of behaviour shaping and constraint of anti-social behaviour attitudes hangs out the "would be" adult behaviour. So in providing all of the child's necessities, parents are expected to give special priority to behaviour shapping.
Peer control: Delinquency is primarily a group activity that involves youngsters mostly. The influence of peer group is quite crucial because like parents, it impinges on the children from his early childhood right through adolescence to adulthood. Children encounter each other at very early age, as the child becomes mobile, he encounters more age mates. Peers like adults are capable of given and withholding painful and pleasurable experiences. Soon they exercise a measure of authority over the wishes and desires of one another. During school years the child social horizon has widened and interaction deepened. Slowly, the child adopts the mode of dress, speech and preference popular to his peers. As with other groupings. peer groups follow ow fashions, set themselves task and express feelings about each other in keeping with how much each contributes to the other's sense of well-being or achievement.
Group therefore fulfil a number of functions that are very important in the literal context of the matter. When it comes to delinquency, it is perfectly evident in the level attachment enjoyed by the group. To make this possible, we must be prepared for all the basic things that will limit the interest of such a young person in unlawful life styles. It will involve a number of incentives, which stretches over a wide range of programme.
Community control: The community is this regard represents a portion of culture and society to which a youngster belongs as a known recognised member with right and responsibilities. The community of this nature suggests shared values and standards of behaviour. Community therefore transmits social norms and expectations with the same clarity and consistency as is demanded by the wider society and contained in the statue and its operations. So the community is invariably a collection of people who exercise their influence in different geographical and physical setting.
The child is equally open to ideas without prejudices or biases. Yet, he has a strong desire to identify with the family and especially the parents who are held in high esteem. During this period, the child is not capable of critical analysis and so accepts things hook, line and sinker.. Most early socialization does not change but stays with most people in the life experiences. Most beliefs held by people were actually acquired before reaching the age of reasoning.
Socialization is divided into two primary and secondary socialization. The primary socialization takes place early in life while the secondary socialization is throughout life.
The social scientists submitted that it is actually the individual's basic identity which develops during the primary socialization but specific changes occur later during the secondary socialization response to the acquisition of new roles and membership of new groups.
Socialization has been defined differently by different authors some of the definitions are stated below. Worsely (1973) defined it as dealing with how a biological being becomes a social being. It enables a child who enters the world as an empty being to learn a number of things pertaining to the cultural values of his society. Vander (1996) in his own view, he sees socialization that society has its basic norms and values regarded as standard of behaviour which every member of the society is expected to conform with. In other word socialization is conforming to a set of norms and values of a society by its members. Macionis and Plumber (1997) defined socialization as a life-long social experience by which individuals develop human potential and learn the patterns of their culture. Attempt to make socialization precise, concise and specific, long and Hadden (1985) reframed socialization as the medium for transforming new comers. Into bonafide members of a group that socialization affords the society the opportunity to shaping its members towards compliance and cooperation with societal requirements. They criticized the earlier approaches to socialization on the grounds that socialization was extended to every part of human social life and to include virtually everything excluding nothing. This informed the development of a new understanding of the concept. Socialization is the process of creating and incorporating new members from a pool of newcomers carried out by members and their allies where the principal agents of socialization are certified and practicing members of the group to which novices are being socialized.
Socialization is universal in the sense that every culture, race, or community socializes its young ones, but the process of socialization and what exactly the individual is socialized into vary Socialization is therefore culturally relative as people in different cultures are socialized differently similarly, the social class to which individual belongs affects the process of socialization. It has been discovered that children are raised differently by their parents in relation to their social class. (Ellis Lee & Peterson, 1978) while lower class parents would emphasize conformity in their children, the middle class parents laid emphasis on creativity and self reliance (Kohn, 1969)
Agents of Socialization
These are the people responsible for socializing the individuals to fit into the culture they find themselves. People in the immediate environment of the child provide early socialization. They include, women especially mothers, baby, sister, our society relies on four major agents of socialization, these include family, media, peers, school.
Family: Family is the earliest and without question the most influential agent of socialization. It grabs the child at birth, when the child is most helpless and dependent and doesn't let go for a whole lifetime. Socialization via the family goes from cradle to grave. The family has almost exclusive control of the person during the first years of life and preeminent control during the childhood and adolescent years. The family returns as a predominant agent of socialization during the adult years with the roles of marital partner and parent.
Mass Media: Mass media include television, radio, movies, music, books, magazines, Internet. Somewhere around the age of two or three, children in our society first encounter the media as an agent of socialization in the form of television. Socialization comes through from children's shows cartoons and most especially commercials, socialization comes through the characters image, words and narrative story lines some media specifically acts to be an agent of socialization (eg children's programme such as sesame street) but most only strive to be entertainment. Today the media seriously challenges the family children spend as much or more time in front of the TV as interacting with parent's messages and values carried by the media are powerful and seductive. Many of those messages and values challenge or directly contradicts what parent's teach their children. Media influence continues and strengthens in adolescence..
Peer Groups
Peers are people of roughly the same age (same stage of development and maturity). Similar social identify, and close social proximity. They are friends, buddies, palms, troops etc. Typically children encounter peer group influence around age three or so. Usually these are neighbours. Family members or day care mates. With peers, the child begin to broaden his or her circle of influence to people outside of the immediate family. Often peer interaction in the earliest years is closely supervised by parents so it tends to paralled and reinforce what is learned in the family. What is added to socialization even in these closely supervised situations are social skills in group situation with social equals. Before this time, children basically dealt with people in a superior position.
As child progresses peer group interactions become more autonomous (less observed and supervised by adults). The lessons learned also progress from basic rules of group interaction to more complex strategies of negotiation, dominance, leadership cooperation compromise etc. These lessons are learned first in play and later through games, peers also establish the platform for children to begin challenging the dominant power of parents and family. In adolescence, peer group relationships become extremely important rising up to directly challenge the family. Peer group socialization also becomes link to puberty and the all important role of sexuality and sexual relations in life. Peer group are where teens largely learn about sex and being sexual and practice the skills of sexuality. Paralleling this, the gender role socialization begun in the family is extended, deepened and reinforced.
School
Traditionally around seven years old, the child enters the school system in the first grade. Today the process often starts earlier in kindergarten or day care. Socialization takes three forms in school official curriculum B What the school system and it's teachers announce as their content and goal. It includes the knowledge and skills learned in English, mathematics, History etc. The school is the official place where our society transmits it accumulated knowledge and skills from one generation to next. It's also the place where we officially pass on our cultural values, tradition and heritage, at least the "official" heritage.
Social curriculum B This is learning social behaviour appropriate for peer group that are not friendship groups which then become the model for secondary group interactions. Many of the skills learned in peer groups are transferable but now the child learns to communicate, negotiate, dominate etc. With peers outside of their immediate social circle, often from diverse social backgrounds.
In many ways the social curriculum reinforces and deepens gender role socialization started in the family and continued in the peer group. By middle school and high school, teens have largely learned the social curriculum.
Hidden curriculum B This is learning the rules of behaviour need to function in formally organised groups. It includes such behaviour maxims as---
- Don't talk when the teacher is talking.
- Get your assignment in on time.
- Not all teachers have the same rules for their class.
- When a teacher tell another student to stop talking. It is not a good idea to start talking to your neighbour since the teacher has already expressed disapproval of that action.
Religious institution: Religious institutions like Churches and Mosque also plays a vital role in the socialization process. Particularly in the spiritually and moral upbringing or development of the people.
DELINQUENT BEHAVIOUR
Juvenile delinquency is found in most modern urban centres though the rural areas are not exempted where the moral. ethical, social and legal norms that govern individual and group relations are violated. Youths under the age of 18 years perpetrate anti-social activities. Juvenile crime is no exemption in this regard, as youngsters turn wild in the face of poor parental attention. By definition, a delinquent is a person who breaks the law habitually or persistently. His law breaking habit however may be the result of deviations in, for instance, parenting. Therefore, to control this societal threat, it will be most essential to seek an understanding in a way of possible social measure in this respect. In Nigeria, studies of deviance delinquency and crime have been grossly affected by poor records (Udegbe and Osinowo 1997). Few studies reported in Nigeria on deviance. (Aderinta, 1996) involving 209 runaway juveniles in Ibadan and Lagos metropolis revealed that the males between the ages of 14 and 18 are more affected moving with bad friends, stubbornness, disobedience and going out at night were considered to be the major deviant behaviour found among children and adolescence in our society. One of causes of delinquency among youths has suggested by the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) is instability in the homes, lack of parental care and causes of deviance thus supporting other findings. Female participants emphasised exposure to street trading while male participants identified the corrupt nature of the larger society as additional causes of deviance. It has been revealed that 5 percent of the juveniles were school drop-outs. Many who dropped out of school committed deviant acts and lose incarcerated (in remind home). (Smah, 1997). The delinquent acts that these juveniles were engaged in were stealing, willful setting of buildings ablaze, drug use. participation in riots using sharp objects to inflict injury on others, house breaking, fraud and forgery.
CONTROL OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOUR
Parental control: Parents have an unrivalled significance in the life of a child. They provide him with a number of life B supporting materials at the very crucial start. Not only do they provide him with these basic things, they also have the deepest and most continuing influence on the development of his social behaviour. Therefore, parental input in the area of behaviour shaping and constraint of anti-social behaviour attitudes hangs out the "would be" adult behaviour. So in providing all of the child's necessities, parents are expected to give special priority to behaviour shapping.
Peer control: Delinquency is primarily a group activity that involves youngsters mostly. The influence of peer group is quite crucial because like parents, it impinges on the children from his early childhood right through adolescence to adulthood. Children encounter each other at very early age, as the child becomes mobile, he encounters more age mates. Peers like adults are capable of given and withholding painful and pleasurable experiences. Soon they exercise a measure of authority over the wishes and desires of one another. During school years the child social horizon has widened and interaction deepened. Slowly, the child adopts the mode of dress, speech and preference popular to his peers. As with other groupings. peer groups follow ow fashions, set themselves task and express feelings about each other in keeping with how much each contributes to the other's sense of well-being or achievement.
Group therefore fulfil a number of functions that are very important in the literal context of the matter. When it comes to delinquency, it is perfectly evident in the level attachment enjoyed by the group. To make this possible, we must be prepared for all the basic things that will limit the interest of such a young person in unlawful life styles. It will involve a number of incentives, which stretches over a wide range of programme.
Community control: The community is this regard represents a portion of culture and society to which a youngster belongs as a known recognised member with right and responsibilities. The community of this nature suggests shared values and standards of behaviour. Community therefore transmits social norms and expectations with the same clarity and consistency as is demanded by the wider society and contained in the statue and its operations. So the community is invariably a collection of people who exercise their influence in different geographical and physical setting.
The impact of the community on youngsters therefore should be analyzed in terms of facilitating, generating. enforcing or inhibiting anti-social behavior. Truancy should be discouraged, for these to be actualized, a number of joint efforts are required by the community.
Government control: The National Youth Development Policy and Programmes in Nigeria are aimed at control and minimization of youth problems. National Youth Policy for Nigeria (1993) in this regard, the government has put in place various youth programme that include: Citizen and Leadership Training Programme, Youth Employment Scheme. Voluntary Youth Organisations.
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
In this chapter we focus on the field of psychology that is concerned with the nature of the information our body takes in through its senses and with the way we interpret such information. We explore both sensation, the stimulation of the sense organs. and perception, the sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli involving our sense organs and brain.
Psychologist are interested in understanding the causes of behaviour, sensation and perception are fundamental topic. Since our behaviour is so much a reflection of how we react to and interpret stimuli from the world around us. Indeed. questions ranging from what processes enable us to see and hear, to how we know whether sugar or lemon is sweeter, to how we distinguish one person from another all fall into the realm of sensation and perception.
Although perception clearly represents a step beyond sensation. In practice it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the precise boundary between the two. Indeed, psychologists and philosophers, as well have argued for years over the distinction. The primary difference is that sensation can be thought
of as an organism's first encounter with a raw sensory stimulus, while perception is the process by which the stimulus is interpreted, for example, we were considering sensation, we might ask about the loudness of a ringing fire alarm. On the other hand, if we were considering perception, we might ask whether some one recognizes the ringing sound as an alarm and identifies its meaning.
We may consider a number of issues relating to perception such as how we are able to perceive the world in Ihree dimensions when our eyes are capable only of sensing two-dimensional images.
HUMAN SENSES
Although most of us have been taught one time or another that there are just five senses i.e. sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch B this enumeration is too modest, since human sensory capabilities go well beyond the fire senses. It is well established for example, that we are sensitive not merely to touch, but to a considerably wider set of stimuli B pain. pressure, temperature, and vibration. Ear is responsive to information that allows us not only to hear but to keep our balance as well.
The senses in human comprises of the following:
Sense of Hearing: The sense organ responsible for hearing are the ears and the ears provides information on sound in the environment.
Sense of Sight: The sense organs for sight are eyes. The eyes provide us with information about or surroundings and this organ guides our movements and also allow us to see objects in our way and to avoid them and it also allows us to discriminate between colours and shape as well as size.
Sense of Taste and Smell: These two senses are considered chemical senses, both taste and smell provide information that helps animal to distinguish those chemicals that are beneficial from those that are harmful.
Skin Senses: Human skin helps to achieve information from the surrounding environment. Ludel (1978) the skill is thought to receive information about touch, but now the skin is now believed to be capable of four difference senses i.e. pain, warmth, and cold and our skin is made up of two layers of cell. the outer layer or protective layer called the epidemics.
SELF CONCEPT
According to Carl Rogers (1951) the self is an organised consistent pattern of perceived characteristics of the "I" or "Me" to him, he believes that human beings are the architects of themselves. Each of us have a concept of "Me" or "I", which make reference to self-concept here, but this is applicable to only one's psychological self which comprises of one's beliefs, value, attitude and other personality traits and what one thinks when one analyses one's thoughts and ideals.
Experiences that are consistent with this concept are further incorporated and this strengthen the self-concept. We then view and defined ourselves by this self-concept. All subsequent life experiences that are consistent or congruent with the self-concept give us a happy and stable personality, Another aspect of the congruence is the agreement between the person we would like to be, which is the ideal self and the person we see ourselves to be, which is our actual self. The more we know our real self, and the closer the ideal self and the actual self are the happier we are with ourselves.
People who have achieved what they wish to be and have a congruent self concept are said to have attained self actualization, such people display sociable, confident, happy and high self-esteem personality. A person with an incongruent may become tense and anxious and may resort to defence mechanism or distortion of reality to preserve his view of the self. Such person can deny reality by refusing to face it or decide to retreat into fantasy (that is imaginary achievement). For example an electrician could regard himself as an electrical engineer, a typist in the office cold also see herself as a Secretary or computer operator.
To have a healthy personality there must be congruence between the ideal self and the actual self. We can also bring about congruence by finding out who our real self is, to become that person, accept and value ourselves for the person we are.
PSYCHO SOCIAL THEORY
Erik Erikson (1902 B 1994) was a student of psychoanalysis disagreed with Freud on several points. For example, he felt that Freud placed too much emphasis on the sexual basis for behaviour. Erikson pointed out that there are other psycho social motivations and needs that become the driving forces in human development and behaviour. He accepted Freud's emphasis on early experiences but rejected Freud's neglect of the adult years (Erikson, 1982).
Erikson was of the opinion that humans can resolve their difficulties and conflicts as they arise. This contrasts with Freud's belief that humans re unable to deal with their problems. Erikson divided human development into eight stages and said that the individual has a psycho-social task to master during each stage. The confrontation with each task produces conflict with two possible outcomes. If the task during each stage is mastered, a positive quality is built into the personality and further development takes place. If the task is not mastered, and the conflict is unsatisfactorily resolved. The ego is damaged because a negative quality is incorporated in it. The stages are as follows: Trust Vs Distrust (0 B 1 Year) infants learn to trust care givers for sustenance, protection comfort, and affection, or they develop distrust because their needs are not met.
Autonomy Vs Shame and Doubt (1 B 2 years) children gain control over eliminative functions, learn to feed themselves, are allowed to play alone and to explore the world (within safe limits) and develop some degree of independence or if too restricted by care givers, develop a sense of shame and doubt about their own abilities.
Initiative Vs Gult (3 B 5 years) children's motor and intellectual abilities continue to increase, they continue to explore the environment and to experience many new things, assuming more responsibility for initiating and carrying out plans. Care givers who cannot accept children's developing initiative instill a feeling of guilt over misbehaviour.
Industry Vs Inferiority (6 B 11 years) children learn to meet the demands of home and school, and develop a feeling of self - worth through accomplishment and interaction with others, or they come to feet impior in relation to others .
Identity Vs Role Confusion (12 B 19 years) adolescents develop a strong sense of self or become confused about their identity and their roles in life.
Intimacy Vs Isolation (Young adulthood. (20s and 30s). Young adult develop a close relationships with others or remain isolated from meaningful relationships with others.
Generativity Vs Stagnation (middle adulthood 40s B 50s) middle adults assume responsibility adult roles in the community, at work, and in teaching and guiding the next generation, or they become personally impoverished, self. centered, and stagnant.
Integrity Vs Despair late adulthood (60 and above) late adults evaluate their lives, and accept them for what they are, or they despair because they cannot find meaning in their lives.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Social learning theorist accept the view of behaviourists that behaviour is learned and the environment influences that development, but they reject the mechanistic view that altered behaviour is a mindness response to stimuli. Social learning theory emphasises the role of both cognition and environmental influences in development. We are all thinking creatures with some powers of self-determination, not just robots that show B response when A stimulus is introduced. We can think about what is happening, evaluate it, and alter our responses accordingly.
Albert Badura (1977) Standford University psychologist, is one of the most important contemporary exponents of social learning theory. Badura is of the opinion that children learn by observing the behaviour of others and imitating and modeling their behaviour. of others and imitating and modelling Thus, a child may watch another play Basketball, how to hold the bat and swing it, how to run fundamentals of the and throw the ball. The child learns the game through watching others, when given the opportunity, he or she then tries to imitate or mode, what was seen, children are great initiators. They imitate parents during for a baby, imitate them when moving the lawn, or imitate them in learning how to eat, talk, walk or dress.
COGNITIVE THEORY
Jean Piaget's theory of development. Jean Piaget is a cognitive theorist who has been working on child development for more than forty years. He has produced enormous literature on developmental psychology. The first stages which lasts from birth to two years is called the sensory motor period when the infant learns and develops sensorimotor skills by organising and manipulating objects in his environment. In the second stage which runs from two to seven years (2 B 7) concepts are formed and mental reasoning emerges. The child can extract concepts from experience and can manipulate objects in his mind. The child begins to acquire vocabulary with which he represents objects and experiences he perceives. This stage is called pre- operational period. At concrete operational level which is between seven and eleven years of age, thinking becomes more flexible and children are able to consider things from several dimensions. The child begins to think logically and rationally about problems of life.
The fourth stage is known as formal operations period and begins from eleven years of age and continues till the end of adolescence. The adolescent can think, reason and analyse beyond the realm of concrete experience. He can generalise or form opinion about abstract concepts like love, honour truth and justice. According to Piaget, the child moves from one stage to the next in an established pattern. The rate of development may vary in different individuals and cultures but the sequence of development is universal.
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