CH 2.1_identifying self and society
Identity, Self and Society
Focuses on the relationship between the individual and society, exploring identity and social influences.
Explores how individuals are socialised into culture and may be socially controlled.
Introduces three main sociological perspectives with differing views on social control.
Distinctively human traits: living in groups, relationships, reflecting on and acting in life.
Society as a Product of Social Construction
Culture: society’s whole way of life, including norms, values, customs, roles, leisure, work, appearance, language, religion, and celebrations.
Everyday use: art, music, literature (“high culture”) or media, fashion, advertising (“popular culture”).
Society: a group of people organised through institutions (formal e.g., legal system; informal e.g., families).
Culture shapes behaviour; society exists through people who have individual identity.
Identity: sense of who we are, shaped by self-perception and others’ feedback.
Elements of Culture: Norms and Values
Norms
Norms: expected behaviours in society for particular situations.
Examples: greeting customs differ (shaking hands vs bowing), rules enforced formally (laws) or informally.
Widely accepted norms = customs.
Values
Values: standards of what is considered good or right; guide thinking and behaviour.
Examples: personal space, respect, privacy.
Norms derive from values (e.g., personal space → where you sit on a bus).
Social Construction and Variation
Norms and values vary between societies and over time.
Example: Norbert Elias – “civilising process” in Europe; behaviour once acceptable (sharing beds, public toileting) became unacceptable.
Social life is generally orderly because most people share values and norms.
Societies enforce conformity through approval or disapproval.
Symbols and Language
Symbol: carries a culturally recognized meaning (cross, team jersey, flag).
Language: system of symbols; communication governed by cultural norms (e.g., formal situations → no swearing).
Status and Role
Status: position a person holds in society.
Examples: student, teacher, son/daughter, teenager.
Ascribed status: given at birth (e.g., gender, ethnicity).
Achieved status: earned or chosen (e.g., career, education).
Role: norms and expectations associated with a status.
Example: student → attend classes, ask questions, learn.
Individuals have some choice in how they perform their roles.
Influence of Social Concepts on Individual Behaviour and Identity
Social Identity
Social identity: how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us.
Individuals hold multiple roles based on relationships (e.g., parent, worker, student, customer).
Roles differ in importance depending on context; some roles dominate in certain situations.
Role conflict occurs when norms from two or more roles clash.
Example: A parent may struggle to balance work responsibilities with caring for children.
Roles and identities are dynamic: they change over life stages, careers, and social circumstances.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes: oversimplified ideas about a social group or type of person.
Often taught through culture, media, and socialisation.
Can be positive or negative, but are usually misleading.
Media commonly uses stereotypes because they are easily understood.
Example: UK media often portrays young people as disrespectful or reckless.
Stereotypes become reinforced if repeated and may be accepted by people lacking personal experience.
Example: Someone unfamiliar with young people may believe negative stereotypes, while teachers or caregivers may reject them based on direct experience.
Key point: Social identities, roles, and stereotypes shape individual behaviour, influencing how people act and how they are treated within society.
Identity, Self and Society
1. Social Construction of Identity
Social identity is formed through interaction with others.
Examples of identities: gender identity, family role, work role, social roles in groups.
Identity links inner self (who we think we are) with the roles we occupy in society.
Individuals can choose how to respond to aspects of their identity.
Example: a person with a disability may accept or challenge social perceptions.
Stuart Hall: modern people face more uncertainty about identity due to multiple roles and mixed cultural backgrounds.
More roles = more choices, but also potential confusion or stress.
2. Nature-Nurture Debate
Explores whether behaviour and personality are determined by genes (nature) or social environment (nurture).
Extreme positions:
Biological determinism: genes control behaviour (e.g., sociobiologists say instincts shape social behaviour).
Social determinism: society shapes behaviour through socialisation.
Sociologists focus on nurture: society and culture shape individuals.
Example: aggression may be biologically possible, but socially regulated (e.g., norms about gender and aggression).
Feral children demonstrate that socialisation is crucial for developing language, interaction, and human behaviour.
3. Relativity of Culture
Culture varies across time, place, and society.
Examples of cultural differences:
Language, norms of dress, food and drink, rituals, morality.
Eating practices: insects eaten in some countries, pork avoided by Muslims, raw fish eaten in Japan.
Mealtimes and table manners differ; some cultures eat with hands, others use cutlery.
Globalisation increases awareness of other cultures (global village) but may threaten cultural diversity.
4. Socialisation, Norms and Values
Socialisation: learning norms and values through interaction.
Primary socialisation: within the family, from birth, learning basics of culture and interaction.
Secondary socialisation: through education, peers, media, religion, workplace; needed for new roles in life.
Resocialisation: occurs when individuals must adopt completely new norms, e.g., in the military, prison, or emigrating.
Socialisation is active: individuals interpret, accept, or reject norms depending on their experiences and interactions.
Conflicts may arise between messages from family, peers, school, and media.
Key Agencies of Socialisation
1. The Family
Role: Primary agent of socialisation, especially in childhood.
Functions:
Children learn language, behaviour, and social norms from parents and other family members.
Shapes early identity and moral values.
Types of families: Nuclear, single-parent, step, adoptive, extended.
Impact of family structure: Sociologists argue that unstable family environments may lead to inadequate socialisation, potentially affecting behaviour (e.g., crime, mental health).
Lifelong influence: Family continues to influence socialisation in adulthood.
2. Education
Role: Secondary agent of socialisation, significant in shaping adult behaviour.
Formal curriculum: Academic knowledge.
Hidden curriculum: Teaches norms, values, hierarchy, and respect for authority.
Pre-school and early education: Begin socialisation before formal schooling.
Impact: Education provides consistent norms and values across children, often more uniform than the family.
3. Peer Groups
Definition: Groups of people with similar age and status.
Role: Very influential during childhood and adolescence.
Functions:
Encourages conformity to norms and values.
Provides social support and identity reinforcement.
Can exert peer pressure, promoting accepted behaviours.
Impact: Shapes behaviour alongside family and education, especially for young people.
Peer pressure: Peer pressure is when people feel influenced by their friends or social group to act, think, or behave in a certain way.
4. Media
Definition: Includes traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers) and digital/social media.
Role: Agent of socialisation throughout life.
Functions:
Provides information about society and other cultures.
Shapes norms, values, and attitudes through portrayal of social groups.
Can reinforce stereotypes.
Traditional equivalent: Oral storytelling in earlier societies.
5. Religion
Role: Provides moral and ethical guidance; can strongly influence values.
Functions:
Teaches morals via holy texts, rituals, and community norms.
Formal membership can strongly shape behaviour.
Effectiveness: Declining in some societies due to secularisation, but remains strong in communities worldwide.
6. Workplace
Role: Socialises adults into professional norms and workplace culture.
Functions:
Teaches role expectations and acceptable behaviour.
Influences interpersonal behaviour through training and peer interactions.
Canteen culture: Informal workplace norms developed through social interactions with colleagues.
Impact: Most adults spend significant time at work, making it a key agent for social identity and behaviour.
Processes Used by Agencies of Socialisation
1. Imitation and Reinforcement
Imitation: Children copy the behaviour of parents, peers, and others.
Reinforcement: Behaviour is more likely to be repeated if it is rewarded (positively sanctioned) or discouraged if punished.
Canalisation: Parents channel children into activities and roles based on gender expectations (e.g., girls to dancing, boys to sport).
2. Role Modelling
Role models: People admired or respected whose behaviour is imitated.
Sources: Family members, teachers, celebrities, sports players, influencers, media figures.
Purpose: Helps children learn socially acceptable behaviour and norms.
3. Hidden Curriculum
Definition: Lessons learned at school beyond the formal curriculum.
Includes: Respect, punctuality, conformity, hierarchy, social norms.
Function: Shapes attitudes, values, and behaviour through everyday routines and interactions.
4. Media Representations
Role: Provides ideas about norms, values, and acceptable behaviour throughout life.
Effects:
Can influence behaviour (e.g., imitating violence or consumerism).
Often presents stereotypes of groups (women, young people, immigrants).
Encourages social conformity via likes/shares and online feedback.
Critical point: Audiences can interpret messages thoughtfully; family and peers mediate media influence.
5. Peer Pressure
Importance: Strong influence during adolescence; extends into adulthood.
Types:
Active: Direct encouragement or demand to behave in a certain way (can resemble bullying).
Social conformity: Changing behaviour to fit in voluntarily with peer norms.
Modern context: Social media amplifies peer pressure through likes, shares, and comments.
6. Religious Teachings
Role: Provides moral and behavioural guidance.
Examples: Ten Commandments (Christianity), Five Pillars of Islam.
Impact: Shapes values and norms for those engaged with religious institutions or teachings.
7. Workplace Training
Role: Socialises employees into the norms and expectations of a workplace.
Methods: Induction courses, ongoing training, promotion-based learning.
Functions: Teaches work-specific skills, social norms, and appropriate interactions with colleagues.
Sociological Perspectives on Socialisation
1. Consensus and Conflict
Social consensus: General agreement on values, norms, and beliefs. Leads to stability and harmony.
Social conflict: Major disagreements about wealth, status, or power. Leads to instability, though powerful groups may maintain control.
Interpretivist approaches: Focus on small-scale interactions (micro-level) rather than overall conflict or consensus. Example: labelling theory.
2. Functionalism
Definition: A theory that sees society as a system of interconnected parts, where each part (e.g., family, education, religion) works together to maintain stability and order.
Key sociologist: Talcott Parsons (1902–1979).
Functions of institutions:
Schools → teach skills for work.
Families → socialise children into norms and values.
Prisons → remove rule-breakers to maintain order.
Socialisation: Essential for integrating individuals into society; inadequate socialisation (e.g., feral children) leads to social problems.
Social cohesion & value consensus: Shared values create belonging, predictability, and adherence to social rules.
3. Marxism
Definition: A theory that sees society as divided by class, where the upper/wealthy class holds power over the working class, creating inequality and conflict.
Key sociologist: Karl Marx (1818–1883); modern developments by neo-Marxists.
Classes:
Bourgeoisie: Owners of wealth and property; exploit the working class.
Proletariat: Working class; paid less than the value of their labour.
Function of socialisation: Maintains capitalist ideology, reproduces class inequalities:
Working-class children → socialised to accept low status.
Bourgeoisie children → socialised to maintain privilege.
Media & education: Reinforce class-based norms and distract from inequalities.
4. Feminism
Definition: A theory that focuses on gender inequality, arguing that society is patriarchal and gives men more power, status, and opportunities than women.
Key ideas:
Explores why men dominate workplaces, families, and education.
Feminists advocate for equality between men and women.
Strands of feminism:
Liberal: Equality achievable via laws and reforms.
Radical: Society remains fundamentally patriarchal.
Marxist/Socialist: Combines gender and class inequality analysis.
5. Gender Role Socialisation
Definition: The process by which people learn the behaviours, attitudes, and expectations considered appropriate for their gender in society.
→ Example: Boys encouraged to play football, girls encouraged to play with dolls.
Ann Oakley’s methods:
Manipulation: Encouraging/discouraging behaviours (e.g., praising boys for rough play).
Canalisation: Directing children to gender-specific activities (boys → football, girls → ballet).
Verbal appellations: Using gendered language (e.g., “naughty” for boys, “pretty” for girls).
Different activities: Assigning household tasks or hobbies by gender.
Modern context:
Media, peer groups, education, and religion can reinforce or challenge gender roles.
Deviating from gender expectations may lead to sanctions.
Implications: Gendered socialisation contributes to ongoing inequalities in society.