Chapter 4 Culture and Socialisation

Question 1.
How does the understanding of culture in social science differ from the everyday use of the word ‘culture’?
Answer:
Culture refers to widely shared customs, beliefs, values, norms, institutions and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations.
In social perspective culture refers to the products of socialisation with an organised group, society or nation and involves a set of rules, norms and customs that are agreed by the members of that group.
In general terms, culture refers to acquiring etiquettes of society and liking for fine arts like music, painting, folk songs, folk dances etc. Therefore, basic term is used as people being cultured or uncultured.

For a sociologist, the culture of a society is the way of life of its members, the collection  of ideas and habit which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation. It is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, customs and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.

Question 2.
How can we demonstrate that the different dimensions of culture comprise a whole?
Answer:
Culture has many dimensions, parts and units but they are interrelated and interdependent. They can’t emerge or function in vacuum, instead all the dimensions function as an organisation.

Culture maintains a balance. Culture has three components i.e., cognitive, normative and material. Cognitive part is related to understanding and information; e.g. books and documents. Normative component is the customs, convention and folkways and material component of culture is linked with man-made part of the environment
i. e. dams, roads, electric and electronic gadgets, automobiles etc.
All the above mentioned components are complementary to each other and coordinate to function as a whole.

Question 3.
Compare two cultures with which you are familiar. Is it difficult not to be ethnocentric?
Answer:
We are quite aware of eastern particularly Indian and Western cultures. Both the cultures are quite different from each other.
Indian culture is based on agriculture and people are dependent on each other. This is a collectivistic society and emphasises on socialisation.
In collectivistic societies the boundaries between self and the group are flexible and people can intrude/interfere in each other’s life.
In such type of societies various concepts are different e.g. human body is determined by natural elements and criteria of being intelligent is very comprehensive e.g. It requires cognitive, social, emotional and entrepreneurial competencies.

Whereas western culture is technologically advanced and is individualistic society. This is based on urbanisation, schooling and child rearing practices. They emphasise on individual liberty.
The boundaries between self and group are rigid. They believe that body is a fully functioning machine. Their criteria of being intelligent demands only the cognitive competence.
Ethnocentrism refers to the use of our own ethnic group as basis for judgements about other ethnic group. There is a tendency to view the beliefs, customs and behaviours of our own group as ‘normal’ and those of other ethnic groups as ‘strange’ or ‘deviant’. There is the implicit assumption in all of this that own ethnic group is somehow superior to the others that we are judging it against.

Ethnocentrism is a natural social process because we all affiliate our silver with a larger group. For reassurance that my behaviour is right, to maintain consistency in behaviour and a belief that majority is always right we conform to the group norms. Gradually we become conditioned to the prevailing group norms in their in-group. We develop an in-group bias.
But it is not difficult to reduce ethnocentrism i.e. in-group bias.
These can minimise opportunities of learning prejudices, changing negative attitudes, deemphasising a narrow social identity based on the in-group and discouraging self-fulfilling prophecy, positive attitude, objectivity and empathy we can reduce ethnocentrism.

Question 4.
Discuss two different approaches to studying cultural change.
Answer:

Extra Questions

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What are folkways?
Answer:
The customs which are not very strict and if disobeyed the punishment, is not severe. Folkways are customary ways of behaviour, e.g., you have to wish/greet people when you see them.

Question 2.
What are mores?
Answer:
If a person disobeys mores, the punishment can be ostrism (complete boycott). Eg. Marrying outside the caste; boycotted from village, not limited. Usually in rural areas, close knit community, don’t disobey mores.

Question 3.
What are traditions?
Answer:
Old customs e.g.; Diwali, Holi, Dussera. All activities we do during these festivals, transmitted from generation to generation; e.g. any foreign leader visiting India is taken first to Rajghat before their work.

Question 4.
What do you understand by sanctions?
Answer:
Sanctions are rewards and punishments. They come into play in regard to norms. Sanctions are the rewards and punishments for following or not following a norm.

Question 5.
Taking an example state situation, value, norms, belief, custom and sanctions.
Answer:
August Assesment-Situation
Honesty-on cheating-Value
Norm-We have to keep our eyes open. .
Belief-Lucky pen etc.
Custom-Praying before the exam.
Sanction-Zero for cheating-Reward from parents for doing well:

Question 6.
What is material culture?
Answer:

Question 7.
What is culture?
Answer:
It is a complex whole which includes our life styles, behaviour, patterns, religion, education, customs, traditions, beliefs, art etc. that an individual acquires as a member of the society.

Question 8.
Discuss socio-cultural shaping of behaviour.
Answer:
The hormones play an important role in regulating human physiology, but they do not completely control human behaviour.
Our behaviour is more complex than the behaviour of animals. A major reason for this complexity is that unlike animals, human beings have a culture to regulate their behaviour.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What do you nean by customs?
Answer:
Customs: Lightening a diya is a custom. Everyone does it. It is the action. But belief is that good will happen to you if you light a diya.

There is no homogeneity-everyone has his own customs.
Custom strengthens your relationships and keeps you in touch with your culture and makes you different from others.

Question 2.
Why do we need custom/culture?
Answer:
We need material culture for survival (clothes, food) etc. Material culture refers to the basic conditions which generally include material culture that the members of the society have and are (car, science/technology/food etc.) as they are instruments of production, communication and transportation.

Drawbacks of Material Culture
It creates distinction between people that leads to ‘ethnocentism’.
Sometimes it leads to status symbols and brings a feeling of superiority and inferiority. NMC makes you a good human being. It’s awesome.

Question 3.
How culture is related to identity?
Answer:
Culture and Identity
“Your identity is shaped by your culture”.
Culture influences the way we behave, it influences the personality of individuals.

Question 4.
What is culture?
Answer:
Culture includes behavioural products of others who preceded us. It indicates both substantial and abstract particulars that have prior existence in one form or another. Thus, culture is already there as we begin life. It contains values that will be expressed and a language in which to express. It contains a way of life that will be followed by most of us who grow up in that context. Social and cultural contexts within which human development takes place vary widely over time and place. For example, some twenty years ago children in India would not have known several products that are now part of a child’s world. Similarly an Adivasi living in a remote forest or hilly area would not have “pizza” or “sandwich” as breakfast.

Question 5.
What is cultural transmission?
Answer:

Question 6.
What is enculturation?
Answer:
1. Enculturation refers to all learning that takes place without direct, deliberate teaching. We learn certain ideas, concepts, and values simply because of their availability in our cultural context.

2. Enculturation refers to all learning that occurs in human life because of its availability in our socio-cultural context. The key element of enculturation is learning by observation.

3. “Vegetable” and what is “weed” or what is “cereal” and what is “non-cereal” is defined by what is already there, previously labeled as “vegetable” or “cereal” and agreed upon by people at large. Such concepts are transmitted, both directly and indirectly, and are learned very well because they are an integral part of the life of a cultural group, and are never questioned. All such examples of learning are called “enculturation”.

Question 7.
What is socialisation?
Answer:
‘ Socialisation is a process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills and dispositions, which enable them to participate as effective members of groups and society’.

Question 8.
What is culture?
Answer:
Culture: Literally, the human-made part of the environment. In its simplest definition, it refers to the products of socialisation within any organized group, society or nation and involves a set of rules, norms and customs that are agreed by the members of that group. It is also used to describe the people that make up that group. In this sense it is more appropriate to think of culture as an active rather than a passive thing. Each of us contributes to the culture of the next person, and in turn are affected by them.

Question 9.
What is cultural relativism?
Answer:
Cultural relativism:The view that patterns of understanding and behaviour found in different cultures are as good as each other. One of the implications of this view is that it is impossible to judge the superiority of a particular set of values outside the specific cultural context in which they are set. Likewise, judgements of normality or abnormality depend very much on the cultural experiences and biases of the person doing the judging.

Question 10.
What is cultural diversity ?
Answer:
Cultural diversity: A term which implies recognition that the members of different cultures, ethnic groups, socio-economic groups and genders are socialized to behave in ways that are considered ‘culturally correct’ for those groups of people. Recognizing the importance of cultural diversity in psychology is vital if we really understand the complexities of not that in many eastern cultures, the ‘group’ appears to have privacy over the individual in motivating behaviour. In most Western cultures, however, individual needs tend to be emphasized over group needs.

Question 11.
What is cultural bias?
Answer:
Cultural bias is the interpretation of other cultures using the perspective of one’s own culture. Cultural bias occurs when people of one culture makes assumptions about the behaviour of people from another culture based on their own cultural norms and practices. Cultural bias occurs in different areas of psychology, including the diagnosis of abnormal behaviour, the construction and interpretation of intelligence tests, and our understanding of interpersonal relationships.

Question 12.
What is cultural anthropology?
Answer:
Cultural anthropology: Normally distinguished from physical anthropology (the study of human kind from a biological or evolutionary perspective), cultural anthropology is concerned with the different social systems that make up communities, societies and nations.

The concept of cultural lag was propounded by Ogde and Nimkof. This concerns the difference that arose between material and non-material cultures. Things like tools, utensils, machines, manufactured goods, transport belong to the material culture. On the other hand, family, religion, elites, education come under non-material culture. When change occurs in society due to rapid and new inventions the change in material cultures is fast and quick whereas in comparison the speed of change in non-material culture is very slow and due to this there is a ‘Lag’ between these two. This phenomena is called cultural lag.

Main features of Cultural Lag It has the following features:

Question 13.
What are the features of culture?
Answer:
Culture is acquired/man made.

Question 14.
How values of contemporary India are different from ancient India?
Answer:
List of values in Contemporary India:
Liberty, justice, equality, freedom of thought, expression, integrity, efficiency, brother¬hood, tolerance, affection, generosity, kindness, patience, work ethics.
List of values in ancient India:

Question 15.
What are beliefs?
Answer: Beliefs: Something you believe in individual e.g.; lucky pen for exams.
Personal and individualistic differ from person to person.
For persons who have beliefs, what they believe is reality to them.
Ideas that are accepted as a reality to that person which may or may not be true. Beliefs may become habits e.g.; lighting the diya in front of God-belief-becomes a habit overtime.
Every society has its own system of beliefs provided by the culture of society, e.g.; doing Lakshmi pooja on Diwali is auspicious.
Many aspects in every culture are connected to the belief system and are different from person to person.

Question 16.
How superstitions are different from beliefs?
Answer:
Superstition: It is a belief or way of behaving that is based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck; a belief that certain events or things will bring good or bad luck. It results from ignorance and is absolutely an irrational object, attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition. For example, when a black cat passes your way something bad happens. There is a negative connection, passed down through generations.

Belief: It is a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing. On your own – For the good. Your believe that if you do this, something good happens. Everyone has his own beliefs. It is usually connected to God or supernatural stuff. If a certain belief comes true for a person that person starts believing in it too and that becomes a belief for the person.

Question 17.
What do you mean by norms in sociology?
Answer:
Norms are unwritten rules.

Question 18.
Discuss the sources of culture.
Answer:
Sources of culture:
Internal (Endogenous cause)

External (Exogenous cause)

Physical Environment

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Discuss dimensions of culture.
Answer:
Cognitive-Ideas and beliefs
Normative-Norms (Value, norms, sanctions).
Customs or normative something is right or wrong-not an idea of something. Cognitive, myths, superstition, belief, customs, stories (mostly not true)

Normative
It deals with controlling people’s behaviour by rules, norms, customs, values. It is basically different ways of controlling deviant behaviour.
To make society disciplined, to behave in a particular way etc.

Question 2.
How laws are different from norms?
Answer:
Laws may be formal and written exercised by institutions e.g.; Parliament, police.
Laws are explicit-very clear on paper and are the same for everybody in that society. They also provide severe, specific, unchangeable punishment. Rewards in forms of citations, medal, honor, cash prize, Bharat Ratna. Formal laws are the same everywhere and depend upon societal requirement.
Norms: Norms are informal and unwritten. They are exercised by the primary group which includes family and friends.
Laws are:

Question 3.
What do you mean by cultural lag? Discuss its main features.
Answer: Cultural lag: When the material culture is moving ahead and fast with times, but the non-material culture is not able to keep up with the fast pace of material culture propounded the theory a cultural lag.

Question 4.
Explain the concept of culture.
Answer:
Concept of culture
Human behaviour is fundamentally social. It involves relationships with other people, reactions to their behaviour, and engagement with innumerable products made available to us by our predecessors. Although many other species are also social like us, human beings are cultural as well.

In the simplest terms, culture refers to “the man-made part of the environment”. It comprises diverse products of the behaviour of many people, including ourselves. These products can be material objects (e.g., tools, sculptures), ideas (e.g., family, school). We find them almost everywhere. They influence behaviour, although we may not always be aware of it.

Let us look at some examples. The room you might be in now is a cultural product. It is the result of someone’s architectural ideas and building skills. Your room may be rectangular, but there are many places where rooms are not rectangular (e.g., those of Eskimos).

You might be sitting on a chair that some people designed and built some time ago. Since sitting in a chair requires a particular posture, this invention is shaping your behaviour. There are societies without chairs. Just try to think how people in those societies would be sitting in order to do some reading.
Much of our life as human beings involves interacting with various cultural products and behaving in accordance with them. This means that culture shapes our behaviour in a significant manner.

Question 5.
How culture and society are related to each other?
Answer:
The terms ‘culture’ and ‘society’ are often considered to carry similar meaning. Let us note at this point that they are not the same thing. A society is a group of people who occupy a particular territory and speak a common language not generally understood by neighbouring people. A society may or may not be single nation, but every society has its own culture. It is culture that shapes human behaviour from society to society. Culture is the label for all the different features that vary from society to society. It is these different features of society whose influences psychologists want to examine in their studies of human behaviour. Thus, a group of people, who manage their livelihood through hunting and gathering in forests, would present a life characterised by certain features that will not be found in a society that lives mainly on agricultural produce or wage earnings.

Question 6.
Discuss various socialisation agents of society.
Answer:
Socialisation agents of society:

Parents

School

Peer Groups

Media influences

Question 7.
What is acculturation?
Answer:
Culture is determined by dynamic and evolving process. It is not static. Cultural changes occur due to acculturation and defusion.

Question 8.
Discuss differences between social change and cultural change.
Answer:
Malinowike, Gillin and Gillin and others gave their same opinions regarding social and cultural changes.
However Prof. Dawis has pointed out some difference between the two. According to him, change in social structure only represents social change.

Some important differences between social and cultural changes are:
Social Change:

Cultural Change

If society is a tributary while culture is the main river, cultural changes are more relevant. Still both the changes cannot be taken independently from each other as they effect mutually.

Question 10.
How material culture is different from non-material culture?
Answer:
Material Culture: Anything paid for stuff or money related is example of material culture. Material culture is tangible, concrete, physical, quantified and can be replaced. Non-material Culture: Values, respect, honesty, consideration, gratitude etc. are non-material culture.

Values are basically morals.
Values are those which are concerned with the morals of human beings. They are either right or wrong. They guide us as to how we are supposed to behave in society.
They define, what is proper and improper for an individual in order to reach his/her goal as per societal norms.
Non-material culture is standard of social life. Certain values which everyone has to follow in social life are: honesty, respect, integrity, responsibility.

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