Legal socialization
Psychologist June Louin-Tapp, credited for her "pioneering efforts in legal socialization,"[3] defines the concept this way:Compliance to laws and respect for authority is variously called socialization, internalization of norms, conformity to rules, identification, moral internalization, and conscience formation.
Regardless of nomenclature, psychologists have attended to the problem of compliant behaviour as an aspect of socialisation research, crucial to the maintenance of the social system.
John Finley Scott described internalisation 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.
The "legal acculturation of the subject" would thus occur thanks to the transmission by school (or other channels conveying of the common culture), integrating the historical experience assimilated by national culture and fundamental concepts and values of the national legal heritage (in particular regarding the state, the citizen, law or justice) while the subject would himself proceed to the "acculturation of these concepts" in light of the codes of interpretation of reality acquired within his close environment in order to integrate them within his own system of representations.
In this regard, system not only refers to a certain classification of legal material, but an internally consistent and systematic approach to law.
Anthropologists start with a specific culture, considered as an entity formed by a group of people who share "ways of thinking, feeling and acting", values and behavioural norms.
Like anthropologists, sociologists view the object of study from the perspective of society as a whole, but perceive socialisation more strongly in terms of the transmission of behavioural norms and models by persons and institutions.
It is easier in a democratic and pluralist society to exercise authority through legitimacy, i.e. Acting in ways that people find appropriate, reasonable and just.
Tyler suggests that lawmakers and law enforcers would do much better to make legal systems worthy of respect than to try to instill fear of punishment.
[12][13] In order to better understand representations and behaviours of adults in relation to law and rights, their origin in childhood and adolescence are of relevance.
[4] Legal socialization is shaped during adolescence and that these attitudes are influenced by perceptions of fairness of interactions with authority figures and are important because they are related to delinquent behavior.
[15] Youth who perceive their experiences procedural justice being less fair have more negative attitudes about the law, legal system, and moral rules and codes.
Legitimacy and moral disengagement components and overall measure of legal socialization are related to higher levels of delinquent behavior.
