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Definition of Culture

• Culture is the complete way of life for a society, encompassing knowledge, beliefs, language, values, norms, customs, traditions, mores, cuisine, arts, and music.
• Culture and society are interdependent, where culture gives rise to self-consciousness and identity.
• Society is a structured community of individuals interacting and forming institutions; culture shapes societal functions and values.

Key Elements of Culture

• Beliefs are strong convictions held without concrete evidence and vary across societies and time periods (e.g., the "divine right of kings" contrasts with republicanism).
• The American Dream is the belief in opportunity regardless of social class.
• Language is essential for communication and societal cohesion, such as Hindi unifying India.
• Symbolic cultural artefacts like flags, dress, monuments, and cultural products symbolize historical and political struggles.

Types of Culture

• High culture is associated with the elite, featuring forms like theatre, opera, and classical music.
• Mass/popular culture consists of widely produced entertainment like TV, films, pop music, and social media.
• Folk culture is the culture of ordinary people, mainly in pre-industrial societies, including folk songs, dances, and myths, and is passed through generations.
• Values are beliefs about what is desirable, with universal values including human life and compassion, and relative values varying by society and time.

Norms, Roles, and Customs

• Norms are rules governing behaviour in specific contexts which vary across cultures, like privacy norms or gestures.
• Roles are expected behaviours for specific social positions, such as professionalism for doctors, and differing gender expectations.
• Customs are traditional norms passed through generations, with examples like Ramadan in Islam and Diwali in Hinduism.

Social Mores and Laws

• Mores are strongly held moral values that often concern behaviour and sexuality.
• Deviance is the violation of norms and can be informal or legal.
• Laws are formalized norms with legal consequences.

Definition and Process of Socialisation

• Socialisation is a lifelong process of learning culture, values, norms, language and customs.
• It facilitates integration into society, effective communication, and teaches socially acceptable behavior while highlighting the consequences of deviance.

Primary Socialisation and the Family

• The family is the primary agent of socialisation, crucial in early development.
• Parents instill norms due to love and fear of losing approval.

Jean Piaget's Stages of Childhood Development

• Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2 years) involves learning through reflexes, motor skills, and sensory actions.
• Preoperational Stage (2 - 7 years) involves the use of symbols and development of language, memory, and imagination.
• Concrete Operational Stage (7 - early adolescence) involves abstract thinking, reasoning, and internalization of social norms.
• Formal Operational Stage (Adolescence - adulthood) involves advanced reasoning, and hypothetical and deductive thinking.

Theories on Socialisation

• George Herbert Mead: Self-identity develops through interactions, especially with significant others.
• Charles Cooley: Individuals develop self-concept based on perceived opinions of others.
• Albert Bandura: Children imitate role models. Ann Oakley: Gender socialisation occurs through parental role modeling.
• Examining feral children shows the need for social interaction for human development.

Secondary Socialisation

• Learning continues outside the family through institutions like schools, workplaces, the media, and peer groups.
• The education system provides a formal & hidden curriculum where school ethos influences students' values.
• Peer groups have a strong influence, especially in adolescence, eventually surpassing parental influence.
• The workplace shapes identity, values, and social structure.
• Religion promotes moral values but may also create societal divisions.
• The media perpetuates restrictive gender roles and contributes to mental health issues in youth.
• Socialisation is a lifelong process that helps explain behaviour, cultural integration, and identity formation.

Nature Perspective on Culture and Gender

• Sociobiologists believe culture arises from biology, primarily heredity and genetics.
• Gender roles are biologically determined, potentially making attempts to change them ineffective.
• There is the notion that female brains are wired for empathy, while male brains are wired for understanding systems.

Nurture Perspective on Culture and Gender

• Sociologists argue that socialisation and culture shape behaviour. B iology mainly affects reflexes, while culture dictates how and what we eat.
• Social behaviours and norms are social constructs shaped by culture, which deeply influences gender perceptions, interests, and opportunities.

Key Arguments in the Nature vs Nurture Debate

• Nature proponents argue that gender roles and behaviours are biologically ingrained.
• Nurture proponents claim that socialisation and culture shape gender norms and behaviours.
• Social beliefs can influence self-perception, abilities, and discrimination.

Structuralist Theories

• Structuralist theories have a macro, top-down approach which states that society and its social structures shape individual behaviour.
• The approach focuses on large-scale social processes and claims to be scientific.
• Society influences individuals more than individuals influence society.
• Consensus theories (e.g., Functionalism) argue that society operates based on agreement and stability.
• Conflict theories (e.g., Marxism, Feminism) argue that society is characterised by inequality and conflict.

Social Action Theories

• Social action theories have a micro, bottom-up approach that states individuals actively shape society rather than being controlled by it.
• It focuses on individual actions and interpretations of social reality.
• Key concepts are that society, culture, and identity are social constructions and identity evolves based on reactions to us.
• The view on change is that society is fluid and changes through interaction

Socialisation

• Socialisation is the process through which individuals learn skills, knowledge, values, motives, and roles of their community.
• Deviation from norms is possible, leading to the need for social control.

Social Control

• Social control ensures people conform to societal rules and values.
• People accept social controls because they recognize long-term benefits.

Types of Social Control

• Formal social control is enforced by official institutions, using coercion, punishment, and laws to enforce conformity.
• Informal social control is maintained through customs, traditions, and peer influence.
• Examples of formal agencies include the military, police/judiciary, education, and workplace.
• Governments persuade people that laws protect all equally.
• Informal control, relies on traditions, customs, and social pressure involving family, peer groups, schools, media, religion, and communities.
• Families shape behaviour through praise and punishment.
• Peer groups and subcultures exert peer pressure, sometimes leading to deviant behavior.
• The media reinforces norms by portraying certain behaviours as acceptable or deviant.
• Religion uses spiritual rewards and punishments to guide behaviour.

Social Control and Conformity

• Social control applies social pressure to maintain order and deter deviance.
• Positive sanctions are rewards for conformity, and negative sanctions punish rule-breaking.
• People comply with laws because they receive benefits (e.g., protection, justice) in social exchange theory.
• Members of society engage in a cost-benefit analysis when deciding to conform.

Social Capital and Social Networks

• Social capital provides individuals with benefits from social relationships.
• Bonding social capital involves close ties with similar individuals.
• Bridging social capital are connections across different groups.
• Social media fosters both bonding and bridging capital, promoting community.

Durkheim’s Social Solidarity

• Mechanical solidarity is found in traditional societies with strong collectivist values, unquestioned norms, and strict punishments for deviance.
• Organic solidarity is characterised by individualism, urbanisation, and shifting moral values.
• Weaker ties lead to uncertainty and instability.

Deviance and Crime: Causes and Explanations

• Deviance is any behaviour that violates cultural or social norms.
• The forms of non-conformity can be mild (e.g. eccentric behaviour, rebellion, protest) or severe (eg. crime, terrorism)
• Crime is deviant behaviour that breaks the law.

Explanations for Crime and Deviance

• Biological theories suggest criminals had inherited physical traits or genetic defects, though evidence is lacking.
• Psychological theories link crime to weak character, poor socialisation, and low intelligence.
• Structural sociological approaches state crime is a product of inequality and economic tensions.
• Interactionist sociological approaches focus on "labelling".

Identity

• Identity shapes social connections/divisions and understanding of similarities/differences.
• Self-identity is how we see ourselves based on personal perception and internal thoughts while social identity is how others see us, shaped by socialisation through institutions.
• The "Me" is the public self, and the "I" is the private self.
• Conformity relates to following norms and avoiding deviance.
• We modify behaviour based on status and authority figures.

Explore the core attributes of culture and society, including beliefs, values, and norms. Compare high culture, folk culture, and mass culture. Examine cultural differences in privacy and gestures across societies, such as Western cultures and Trinidad.