Socialisation and the creation of social identity

Physical Space

• What it is: A specific geographical area with borders.

• Examples: The islands of Mauritius, the territory of Nigeria.

• Key Point: These borders can be physical (a river, ocean) or entirely imagined (a line on a map).

Mental Space

• What it is: The shared ideas, feelings of similarity, and sense of belonging that bind people together.

• Examples: Believing you have a common culture, history, or destiny with others in your group.

• Key Point: This creates a sense of difference from people in other societies.

The Central Paradox: "Imagined Communities"

 Sociologist Benedict Anderson called societies Imagined Communities. 

“The members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members... yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.”

This means a society is real in its consequences because people believe it exists and act accordingly, even though no single member can know everyone else 

3. How is a Society "Constructed"?

Our mental idea of a society is built and reinforced through several pillars:

The Four Key Pillars:

1. Borders & Territory: "Everyone born within these lines is part of our society."

2. Governance: Shared institutions like a monarchy, parliament, or laws that organize collective life.

3. Shared Culture: Common language, traditions, holidays, and customs that create daily familiarity.

4. Identity & Difference: A conscious sense of "we" that defines itself against "others" (e.g., Indians feeling distinct from Pakistanis or Bangladeshis).

Audio notes based on Society 

Understanding Culture: The Building Blocks of Social Life

Core Concept: Culture is a system of shared meanings and predictable behaviors that societies develop to create order and stability. This system is built from basic, universal materials: Roles, Values, Norms, and Beliefs.

Key Framework: The Problem of Meaning

• Cultural objects and interactions can be interpreted in multiple ways.

• The more sophisticated a society, the greater the potential for misunderstanding.

• Societal Need: To function smoothly, societies must create common meanings and predictable structures for behavior.

The Three Primary Building Blocks of Culture

1. ROLES: The Social Positions We Play

Roles are the fundamental parts we act out in society, always in relation to others (e.g., teacher/student, doctor/patient).

Why are Roles important for culture?

• They Require Social Interaction: Roles force cooperation and awareness of others, helping individuals form groups and communities.

• They Create Networks via Role-Sets: A single role (like a doctor) involves a set of relationships with different people (patients, nurses, relatives). This "locks" individuals into a web of routines and responsibilities, building a complex social framework.

• They Have Labels: The name of a role (e.g., "parent," "judge") carries expectations for how a person in that position should behave.

2. VALUES: The General Guidelines

Values are the broad, shared ideals that guide how roles should be played. They provide a sense of order but are not specific instructions.

• Function: They prescribe the general purpose of a role (e.g., a teacher should teach, a parent should care).

• Limitation: Values don't specify how to achieve this. They set the direction but not the exact steps.

3. NORMS: The Specific Rules of Conduct

Norms are the concrete, situational rules that dictate acceptable behavior for playing a role. They translate general values into specific actions.

• Function: They make behavior predictable and acceptable. Without shared norms, social interaction becomes confusing and risky.

• Key Sociological Concepts:

  • Anomie (Merton): A state of normlessness or confusion about the rules, leading to feelings of disorientation, anger, or fear.

  • Interpretation & Negotiation (Goffman): Norms are more flexible than roles or values. They can be adapted and interpreted based on personal style, context, and the reactions of others in your role-set (e.g., a teacher can be strict or friendly, and may change approach).

3. The Underlying Layer: BELIEFS

Beliefs are the deep-rooted ideas and assumptions that form the foundation for our values and, consequently, our norms and roles.

• Relationship to Values: All values express a belief, but not all beliefs express a value. Beliefs are more general (e.g., opinions, attitudes, worldviews).

• Key Point: Their truth is less important than the fact people believe them to be true.

• Power: When beliefs combine into ideologies (coherent systems of beliefs), they become a powerful force for structuring culture and guiding social life.

In a Nutshel: The Cultural Structure

BELIEFS (Deep ideas & ideologies)

    ↓

VALUES (Broad guidelines derived from beliefs)

    ↓

NORMS (Specific, adaptable rules for behavior)

    ↓

ROLES (Social positions played out using the above)

This interconnected system creates the patterns and regularities necessary for a stable, functioning society, even as its elements—especially norms—remain open to interpretation and change.

Socialisation and Human Behaviour

Core Concepts

1. Socialisation

• Definition: The lifelong process through which individuals learn the norms, values, behaviours, and social skills necessary to function within their society/culture.

• Purpose: Turns us into competent social actors and integrates us into social structures.

• Key Insight: Most human behaviour is learned, not innate.

2. The Nature vs. Nurture Debate

A central debate about what primarily shapes human behaviour.

Nature (Biological Influence) Nurture (Social/Cultural Influence)

Behaviour guided by instincts and genetics. Behaviour learned through socialisation.

Part of "human nature" (e.g., drives for survival, procreation). Cultural rules and expectations vary widely.

Weaker claim: Biology gives us capabilities or "hints," but we can choose to ignore them. Stronger claim: Social environment is the primary shaper of behaviour.

3. Evidence: Feral Children

Definition: Children who have missed primary socialisation—raised without human contact or by animals.

Key Cases:

• Saturday Mthiyane (South Africa, 1987): Raised by monkeys; exhibited monkey-like behaviours years later.

• Genie (USA, 1970): Isolated, abused, deprived of social contact until age 13. Could not speak, stand erect, or behave "normally."

Sociological Significance:

1. Shows necessity of socialisation: Without human contact, children do not develop:

   • Language

   • Upright walking

   • Use of tools (e.g., cutlery)

   • Normal social behaviour

2. Counters "instinct" argument: If behaviour were instinctive, feral children would develop normally regardless of environment.

3. Sensitive period: Missing early socialisation leads to irreversible deficits—socialisation cannot be fully "caught up" later.

4. Cultural Variation as Evidence

If behaviour were biologically determined (instinctive), all societies would be similar.

• Reality: Huge cultural differences exist.

• Examples:

  • Trivial: In Russia, a man peeling a banana for a woman signals romantic interest.

  • Fundamental: Victorian British women were largely confined to marriage and reproduction—a stark contrast to modern British gender roles.

Conclusion: Variation across time and place highlights the power of socialisation over fixed biological programming.

5. Symbolic Interactionism: The Development of Self

George Herbert Mead – The "I" and the "Me"

• Self-awareness is learned, not instinctive.

• The Self has two parts:

The "I"

The "Me"

The unsocialised self

The social self

Our spontaneous, personal response

Awareness of others' expectations

Example: Feeling pain when burnt

Example: Deciding how to express that pain based on social context

• How it works: Your reaction to burning your hand depends on:

  • Who you are (age, gender)

  • Where you are (public/private)

  • Who you are with (friends, family, strangers)

Erving Goffman – Presentation of Self

• Social life is like a drama; we are actors managing impressions.

• Identity performance: We adjust our behaviour to create desired impressions.

  • Example: Carrying sociology books to appear a diligent student.

• Key idea: Identity is socially constructed through interaction.

Charles Cooley – Looking-Glass Self

• We see ourselves reflected in others' reactions to us.

• Others act as a mirror; we adjust our self-image based on their perceived judgments.

Crucial Aspects of Identity (Goffman & Cooley):

1. Interpretation: Identities (e.g., "male," "student") have different meanings across cultures and history.

2. Negotiation: Identities are constantly redefined through social interaction.

6. Alternative Perspectives (Non-Sociological)

A. Sociobiology / Evolutionary Psychology

• Main Argument: Human behaviour has a biological basis shaped by evolution.

• Key Thinker: E.O. Wilson – "Biogrammars" (biological programming) incline us toward certain behaviours.

• Example: Gender Roles

  • Women: Biologically programmed to be nurturing → best suited for child-rearing (expressive role).

  • Men: Biologically programmed to be aggressive → best suited for providing (instrumental role).

• Functionalist Support: Talcott Parsons argued these roles are the most efficient way to organise society.

B. Psychology

• Evolutionary Psychology: Explains social traits (family, gender roles) as evolutionary adaptations.

• Social Psychology: Stresses interaction between genetic predispositions and environmental factors.

  • Example: Infant attachment is genetic but shaped by the caregiver's responsiveness.

Key Concepts

1. Socialisation is fundamental to becoming human—most behaviours are learned.

2. Feral child studies provide strong evidence for the primacy of nurture.

3. Cultural diversity disproves the idea of fixed, instinctive human behaviour.

4. The Self is socially constructed through interaction (Mead, Goffman, Cooley).

5. Alternative views (e.g., sociobiology) exist but often underestimate the power of social learning.

Final Thought: While biology sets broad parameters, socialisation and culture are the primary architects of human behaviour and identity.