Sociology- Socialisation and culture

What is socialisation?

Socialisation is learning how to behave in a way that’s appropriate and acceptable to your culture; “the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained”.

Socialisation is a lifelong process of inheriting and spreading norms, values, ideologies and customs etc. 

This provides an individual with the skills they need to participate in society. 

As a process it begins at birth and continues throughout our lifespan. We never stop learning how to behave. 

What is Primary socialisation?

Primary socialisation takes place in early childhood.

It takes place in the home between people whom we have close relationships with e.g. parents, guardians. Primary socialisation starts at birth and as we develop, we form primary relationships with our close friends.

It offers the basic norms and values of the family and culture and determines your class, age, gender and ethnicity.

Children accept these practices as the norm because they have limited understanding of the outside world. Therefore, they expect their experiences to be the same as everyone else’s.

Families often use positive and negative sanctions to enforce these values.

Children will pick up any prejudices their parents hold and accept them as the truth.

4 processes of primary socialisation

1.Imitation

Children copy the way their parents talk or their table manners (for example). As children get older, they use their parents as role models.

2.Manipulation

Positive and negative sanctions. Manipulation is when parents encourage behaviour that is seen as normal for the child’s sex.

3.Canalisation

Channelling the child’s interests into toys and activities seen as normal. They are often associated with the acquisition of gender identity. E.g. for girls this could be dresses, barbies and cooking sets whilst for boys this could be cars, dinosaurs and sports toys.

4.Verbal appellation

Teaches children to identify appropriate behaviour through the use of voice inflection and the use of terms of endearment.

What is Secondary socialisation?

Secondary socialisation involves external agencies and modifies the primary socialisation.

It teaches norms for specific situations. These norms can be interpersonal or impersonal. 

It is classified as lifelong socialisation. 

Agents of socialisation.

Include:

Family, Peer groups, Religion, Education, Mass media, Workplace etc. 

Nature vs nurture.

• Nativism

Many of our physical characteristics are inherited. Certain personality traits are linked to certain genetics. Scientists argue we are hardwired to behave a certain way.

All animals have biological imperatives. These are things they do to reproduce and survive. Humans are rules by biological imperatives so we don’t have free will.

• Nurture

Society and culture override human genetics and social expectations lead to humans controlling their actions.

Science may explain some aspects of human behaviour but it doesn’t explain why we act the way we do.

One of the strongest arguments to support nurture theory is the evidence of feral children who haven’t received socialisation. Nature theories suggest they wont be feral because they have human instincts to act in a humanly manner but this is not the case.

Inadequate socialisation

Socialisation process varies according to the family structure. An absent father may find it hard to act as a role model.

Things like class, ethnicity etc are likely to affect the process.

Inadequate socialisation is based on the child’s involvement in criminal and deviant behaviour, explained in terms of the negative influence of the family background and home environment. 

Inadequate socialisation focuses on what they view as ineffective socialisation which leads to delinquent teenagers. 

Unsocialised (feral) children.

Children cannot learn the ways of their culture without contact with other humans who pass this knowledge on via the learning process known as socialisation.

There are a number of documented examples of children who have developed without contact.

• The Wild Boy of Aveyron

In the late 18th century, a child of eleven or twelve was captured. Some years before, he had been seen completely naked in the Caune Woods in France seeking roots and acorns to eat. The boy was given the name of Victor. Medical examination showed no major abnormalities yet he made little progress over the next 28 years and died aged about 40.

• Genie Wiley

In 1977 a young, American girl called Genie was discovered. She had been locked in an upstairs room from the age of 1 ½ to 13. her father used to beat her frequently and locked her away with the curtains closed and the door locked. She was not toilet trained but was harnessed to a potty for part of the day. She was enclosed in a cot with wire mesh surrounding it. She heard virtually no conversation and was beaten if she tried to talk. She had no toys.

In 1970 her mother escaped taking Genie with her - she was described by a social worker as “unsocialised, primitive, hardly human”.

She did learn to eat normally, use the toilet and gained language skills equal to that of a 3 year old. Tests proved she was not “feeble-minded” or suffering from any congenital defects. This suggests that there is a critical period in which we need to learn these skills and it seems that our faculties would be quite limited in the absence of an extended period of early socialisation.

Norms and values 

Norms are expected ways of behaving (what we do).

Values are ideas or concepts that we value (why we do what we do).

Socialisation is the process of learning these norms and values.

Social control: formal and informal.

Social control is the way behaviour is regulated and controlled by society.

Formal social control is when sanctions are applied by an official institution such as a court or by a person in authority. The creation of laws and rules and using to control people behaviour the agencies include the government, the police, judges, courts and prisons.

Informal social control is when sanctions are applied by everyone in everyday life. For example if you disapprove of something your friend has done your disapproval and the threat of ending the friendship would be a sanction. This is informal social control. We are persuaded to conform most of the time through being taught and reminded about what is acceptable and what Is not. The agencies are the family, education system, peer groups, workplace, mass media and religion.

Positive and negative sanctions.

Sanctions are mechanisms of social control. As opposed to forms of internal control, like cultural norms and values, sociologists consider sanctions a form of external control. Sanctions can either be positive (rewards) or negative (punishment), and can arise from either formal or informal control

Cultural diversity, cultural relatives and cultural universals.

Cultural diversity is the range of different ideas that exist.

Cultural relatives are things that are culture specific.

Cultural universals are things that are common in all cultures across the world.

Ethnicity

Everyone belongs to an ethnic group. This is a group whom which you identify with because of a shared culture, language, tradition, religion etc.

Most countries will have an ethnic majority and minority.

Status

Your class, age, gender and ethnicity can all determine your status in society.

There are 2 forms of status;

• Ascribed status- something you’re born with.

• Achieved status- when you’ve done something.