In sociology and other social sciences, internalization (or internalisation) means an individual's acceptance of a set of norms and values (established by others) through socialisation.
John Finley Scott[1] described internalization as a metaphor in which something (i.e. an idea, concept, action) moves from outside the mind or personality to a place inside of it.
George Mead illustrates, through the constructs of mind and self, the manner in which an individual's internalizations are affected by external norms.
In psychology and sociology, internalization involves the integration of attitudes, values, standards and the opinions of others into one's own identity or sense of self.
[6] Many theorists believe that the internalized values of behavior implemented during early socialization are key factors in predicting a child's future moral character.
In one child developmental study,[9] researchers examined two key dimensions of early conscience – internalization of rules of conduct and empathic affects to others – as factors that may predict future social, adaptive and competent behavior.
These self-perceptions, in turn, predicted the way parents and teachers would rate their competent and adaptive functioning at 80 months.