1. CULTURE AND SOCIALISATION
Revision of Blundell Unit 1
(Course Unit 2 Culture, Identity and Socialisation)
1

2. WHAT IS CULTURE?
 Humans are social beings; we share our lives with
others in different social groups
 These groups may be families, schools,
workplaces, friendship groups
 Culture means: things shared by members of a
society: learned behaviour, language, beliefs,
values, norms, customs, roles, knowledge and skills
which make up a ‘way of life’ of any society
 The process of learning a culture is called
‘socialisation’ and it is a life-long process
2

3. What do these pictures tell us about these
culture, values, traditions, social norms of
the countries they represent?
3

4. ROLES IN SOCIETY
 Some animal species are ‘social’ because they
carry out certain roles within their complex societies
(ants, bees etc) but their behaviour is instinctual.
 Humans have few instincts (they have reflexes
however): human babies helpless if left to fend for
themselves.
 Plenty of written evidence to prove above: Eg The
Puppy Boy Horst and The Wild Boy of Aveyron to
show how humans who have been isolated from
society do not acquire social habits on their own
and find it difficult to later acquire them. (p.2,3)
4

5. NORMS, MORES, VALUES, STATUS AND ROLES
 Rules , Regulations and Laws: Apply to all society, written, punishable if broken
 Mores: Stronger form of norms: moral ways of behaving which most of society
sees as decent.
 Norms: tell us what we should/shouldn’t do in particular situations. Can be
explicitly or implicitly taught. Unspoken and unwritten rules of correct and
acceptable behaviour.
 Values: beliefs which lie behind norms, shared by majority of people within
culture but not necessarily same in all cultures. Learned from others within
society. Can originate from religious beliefs shared by culture. In Britain, these
include respect for human life, privacy, private property, importance of
marriage, money and success
 Status: Position held by individual within society (can be ascribed or achieved)
5

6. CULTURALDIVERSITY/GLOBALISATION
What do these
pictures tell us
about different
cultures of the
world?
Key words:
1. Cultural
diversity
2. Cultural
universals
3. Cultural
relativism
4. Globalisation
5. See Blundell
p.6,7
6

7. CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND UNIVERSALS
 Cultures around the world share some features although
there are also some huge differences
 Cultural diversity refers to the wide range of different
cultural
habits, customs, traditions, languages, dress, norms etc
which are found in our world
 Cultural universals are the forms of behaviour which
are found in all cultures:
-We all speak languages, we all have some form of
marriage and family, we all have some kind of belief
system which is worshipped, we all believe in the idea
that individuals can claim things as their own (ie
property) and finally we all agree on a ban on incest.
These are cultural universals because they are shared
among all cultures. 7

8. CULTURAL DIVERSITY
 Cultures are diverse in many ways. Give five
examples of ways in which another culture differs
from your own but which you find unusual-
 Clothes:
 Food:
 Marriage:
 Languages:
8

9. ETHNOCENTRISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 In studying other cultures it is important not to
assume that your own way is necessarily better
than anyone else’s. This is called ethnocentrism.
Give an example of an ethnocentric view of another
culture.
 When we try to understand another’s culture from
their perspective and not our own, we call it
cultural relativism.
 Cultural relativism is a challenge to ordinary
thinking. Why?
 Give an example of one thing about your culture
which you wish others would be more tolerant of.
 Activity H.O .Cultural relativism T and F 9

10. CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND GLOBALISATION
 Through technology the Internet, satellites, and cable TV are
readily available throughout the world at the click of the
mouse. Global entertainment and media reach a wide range
of cultures Some people believe that this spread of
values, norms, and culture tends to promote Western ideals of
capitalism.
 Globalisation has effects on the environment, on culture, on
political systems, on economic development and on human
physical well-being in societies around the world. The spread
of globalisation will undoubtedly bring changes to all countries
it reaches. It is argued that one of the result of globalisation
will be the end of cultural diversity, and the emergence of one
mono-culture.
 Discuss: Will local cultures inevitably fall victim to this global
"consumer" culture? Will English eradicate all other
languages? Will consumer values overwhelm peoples' sense
of community and social solidarity? Is globalisation a threat to
our traditional and local cultures? 10

11. DISCUSS WHICH ASPECTS OF YOUR CULTURE DO YOU
WISH TO KEEP AND WHICH ASPECTS OF WESTERN
CULTURE DO YOU WISH TO BORROW? IF YOU ARE ‘WESTERN
ALREADY, DO THIS FOR ANOTHER CULTURE.
11
 Keep  Borrow

12. SOCIALISATION
 Socialisation is the life-long process of learning the
culture of any society
 Culture has to be learned; it is not instinctual
 Babies are not born knowing how to talk, walk, eat,
behave
 Differences between different cultures exists:
referred to as cultural diversity
 This diversity makes us share common values with
our own culture but makes us feel different to other
cultures
 We learn our cultural identity through what we are
like and through what we are not like.
12

13. SOCIALISATION AND IDENTITY
 Socialisation forms an important part of forming our
identity. We might define ourselves as
Arab, Egyptian, male, a student, a daughter.
Agencies of socialisation (such as
family, school, friends, the mass media) will
influence our identities
 At the same time individuals have the free will to
enable them to ‘carve out’ own personal identity
and influence how other see them
 Many factors influence our identities. Through
choices we make we can influence how others see
us and the image we project to others. 13

14. In forming your social
identity, what roles do you
have?
Which roles conflict with
each other and why?
Write down the (different?) images
you project to your parents,
teachers and friends. 14

15. SOCIAL ROLES AND ROLE CONFLICT
 Roles: the normal behaviour which is expected to go
with a particular status is called a role. People have
multiple roles (can have family roles, work-related roles
and social roles) which they switch between quite easily
but which have been learnt. Some roles are played
continuously, some only occasionally , some roles
adopted over time as individuals face new
circumstances in their lives.
 Role Conflict: Sometimes roles don’t fit together well:
you can be the dutiful daughter at home and the
rebellious student at school! You can be the oldest son
who is expected to achieve at home and the struggling
student at school. You can be the caring mum at home
and the ambitious worker in a company . These differing
expectations can cause a conflict. 15

16. WHAT IS IT AN EXAMPLE OF?
 Value
 Norm
 More
 Custom
 Law
 Sanction (positive or
negative)
 Lighting candles at Divali
 Giving merit points at
school
 Not reading someone’s
diary
 Not stealing others
property
 Being ridiculed
 Killing others is wrong
 Queueing in
supermarkets
16

17. HOW DOES A CHILD LEARN SOCIAL ROLES
(P.8-11)
 Primary Socialisation: Starts at an early stage (family)-
Learn basic norms, values and roles of their culture
 How?
Watching, copying…praise reinforces positive
behaviour, earns approval, experiment with behaviour to test
reactions. May reject some of what is taught and gain
disapproval
 Secondary socialisation: At school: learn to get on with
others, to conform to rules and regulations, to become
independent, to learn useful (to society)knowledge and skills.
May challenge rules and authority
 Other influences: Peers (evidence of their influence on the
young), mass media,(evidence that advertisers are targeting
an even younger audience than before) religion (threatens
punishment for wrong behaviour, learnt at home and in
school)
 Look particularly at gender roles in childhood (p.10,11)
discusses how boys and girls are socialised differently.
17

18. SOCIAL ORDER AND SOCIAL CONTROL
 What’s the difference between the two?
 Social order assumes that the socialisation of individuals
in society is a good thing, necessary for co-operation
within the society. Social control ensures harmony and
agreement within society. Without it there would be
chaos.
 Social control focuses on the use of manipulation, force
or punishment to make individuals conform to societies
norms
 Essentially they explain
the same thing but from
two different perspectives
Social Order
(F)
Social
control (M/F)
18

19. SOCIAL ORDER AND THE CONSENSUS
APPROACH
 The Consensus Approach is adopted by
Functionalists.
 Compares society to a human body, interrelated
parts all working together (in consensus) to
maintain order in society.
 Institutions such as family, school, law, mass media
work together in harmony to maintain order ( exert
influence through socialisation)
 People mostly agree to this because it makes
society stable
 Does not emphasise the conflict between people
and groups. Sees non-conformity as deviance
19

20. SOCIAL CONTROL AND THE CONFLICT THEORY
.(P.12-13 AND 16, 17)
 Social Control: The term given to methods used to
persuade /force individuals to do what society wants, to
conform to values and norms of that society , to prevent
deviance
What social control is exerted on a girl to dress
conservatively in this society?
 Sanctions are used to achieve conformity (positive and
negative)
 Conflict theory: Marx and Weber
a) View society as conflicting; inequalities in
wealth, power and status creates conflict between
groups/individuals
b) Conflict theory says groups have different
interests and values with no consensus (agreement) in
modern society 20