Biology, culture and socialization

1. Biology, culture and socialization
Daniel Gabaldón-Estevan
Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of Valencia (ES)

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Bipedalism [http://atskoolwithmrsjohns.weebly.com/36-human-evolution.html]

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Brain size [http://atskoolwithmrsjohns.weebly.com/36-human-evolution.html]

5. Humans
Social animals,
evolutionary link
Hominization
Biological inheritance
Genetic mutation
Natural selection
Society: net of social
relations between people
culture: information that organizes
the relationship of people with the
environment and with other
people, and is acquired through
experience or education.
It is cumulative (oral language,
objects, books) and has allowed us
humans to adapt and expand.
Believes (how things are)
Technical routines (how to
behave with nature)
Moral and social norms (how
to behave with others)
Feelings and values (what
things are desirable and
which are not)
genetic
evolution
cultural
evolution
adoption of the
upright position
release of
the hands
brain
growth (x4)
emergence of
symbolic language
Socialization: a process by which we
interiorize believes, norms and social
values, learning to be parte of society
and to perform our roles on it.
It is most important
in childhood:
roles are
associated with
expectations and
social norms
culturally learned
and determined.
Genetic heritage
basically identic
1) no instinctive
determinism
2) we are helpless
3) plasticity of the
behavioural
schemes
Biology, culture and socialization [Masjuan, JM. (2003) Capítulo II ¿Qué es sociología?
Algunos conceptos básicos. At Fernández Palomares, F. Sociología de la educación. Pearson, Madrid 35-62]
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7. Socialization is dialectical: society vs. individual (cultural reality vs. personal identity)
It is an adaptive process to the social environment through which we learn and
internalize the sociocultural elements of the environment, integrating them into the
structure of personality under the influence of experiences and significant social
agents.
Socialization is part of the social construction of reality
It is an objective process while independent of us (objectified in theories, legal and
moral codes, behavioral models, ...). And it is done through:
- institutionalization (roles and norms that become tradition),
- reification (institutions and traditions are no longer seen as arrangements but are
considered things themselves) and
- legitimacy (symbolic universe that explains and justifies the existence of that reality)
Subjective as it is only real if the social reality configures the thoughts, feelings and
actions of individuals, defining their identity.
The dialectical relationship between objective and subjective reality makes it unable to
conceive of one without the other (individual and society).
Biology, culture and socialization [Masjuan, JM. (2003) Capítulo II ¿Qué es sociología?
Algunos conceptos básicos. At Fernández Palomares, F. Sociología de la educación. Pearson, Madrid 35-62]
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11. Primary socialization occurs first and is introducing individuals in society, is the most
important and determines the successive.
- It occurs through the identification with significant other and has a dual content,
while model and as a reflection -germen identity.
- It is cognitive but also and particularly affective.
- The identity development is done with the assumption of the world of others, a
progressive abstraction (generalized other) that provides stability and continuity to
self-identification.
- The contents vary between societies, cultures and subcultures.
- Special relevance of language as it implies the assumption of motivational and
interpretive schemes that shape behavior and provide theoretical elaborations on
“how things are”.
- The world of primary socialization has a character of firmness, clarity,
unproblematic. Order and security structure that instills confidence.
- By convention is considered to end when the formation of the generalized other is
produced, however it is never completely closed.
Biology, culture and socialization [Masjuan, JM. (2003) Capítulo II ¿Qué es sociología?
Algunos conceptos básicos. At Fernández Palomares, F. Sociología de la educación. Pearson, Madrid 35-62]
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12. Secondary socialization
Complexity requires more specific socialization as the assimilation of specific
knowledge of roles, role-specific vocabularies (sets of meanings that structure
interpretations and routine behaviors). And at the same time are acquired no-explicit
elements as tacit understandings, evaluations and affective colorations.
- Presupposes the reality resulting from the primary (coherence).
- The affection and identification are not necessary.
- The subjective inevitability is lower (it is easier to dismiss) is more artificial. The
more strange to primary socialization, more difficult to interest.
agents or contexts of socialization
Are groups and social contexts within which
important processes occur socialization
(including individuals and institutions)
Family
School
Peer group
Mass media
Other (church, companies, …)
Biology, culture and socialization [Masjuan, JM. (2003) Capítulo II ¿Qué es sociología?
Algunos conceptos básicos. At Fernández Palomares, F. Sociología de la educación. Pearson, Madrid 35-62]
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14. Society
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History
Inequality structure
(class, gender, ethnic...)
Educational system
Objectives,
processes, students,
teachers, curriculum,
organization model
Local community, family,
neighbourhood
Economy
Production model,
Qualification &
technology
New labour
organisation,
Labour market
Politics
State model,
Welfare state
Human rights &
citizenship
Parties &
administration
Parliament & law Culture
Dominant & alternative cultures
Values & myths
Mass media & mass culture
Educational system within society [Fernández Palomares, F. Sociología de la educación.
Pearson, Madrid 12]
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15. Links [videos]
Zebra birth in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania: http://youtu.be/EYYDzjme_VQ
BABIES - Official Trailer : http://youtu.be/N009QUWUy7I
Genie Wiley - An Overview: http://youtu.be/KfOlPK2P_G8
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