Sociological biography and socialisation process: a dispositionalist-contextualist conception

Within a dispositionalist-contextualist conception of socialisation, the sociological biography seeks first and foremost to reconstruct the successive or parallel socialising experiences through which the respondent has been constituted and which have settled in them in the form of schemes or dispositions to believe, see, feel and act. 22In our societies, the family comes first in the order of experiences and that are based the subsequent experiences (notably educational and professional experiences). But if family is the first 'psychological agency of society', it is not the only one and individuals experience various other 'agencies' throughout their lives (school, the professional environment, the political party, the union, the religious institution, the cultural association, the sports club, etc.). Therefore, only the sociological biography allows us to grasp the successive or combined effect of the different socialisation frameworks frequented by individuals. Finally, sociological biography enables the establishment of elements of what can be called the 'existential issue' of each individual, which the biographical path has gradually contributed to form.