What is the purpose and history behind Centralizers, Normalizers, Stabilizers in abstract algebra?

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I believe that these concepts are a means of determining how a group acts on a set, but I am not sure what valuable information this might reveal about the group. Related to this, who invented these concepts and why? The motivation aspect is lacking from nearly every math textbook I study, including Dummit Foote. So I'm left wondering why I'm learning what I'm learning.