Socialization and Enculturation

 “The human mind is nothing but a blank state or

a tabula rasa” - John Locke

 Socialization refers to the lifelong process of

social interaction through which people acquire
their identities and necessary survival skills in
society.
- This central process of social life helps
people to know what are the appropriate
ways to think, feel, and act.
- process of socialization makes the
person gradually become self-aware and
knowledgeable human being, and learn
the ways, values, rules, and culture of his
or her society.
- it is also important in politics, and a
citizen develops and acquires political ideas,
values, attitudes, beliefs and opinions
through political socialization.
 Political socialization a process which enables
the development of citizens to function
effectively within a particular political system.
 Internalization refers to the process of accepting
the social norms, attitudes, roles and values
 transmitted by people and social groups within
society as one’s own.
 “If people failed to play their expected roles or
behaved “strangely”, there is incomplete or
inadequate socialization” - Talcott Parsons

 Interpretevist sociologist see socialization as an

interactive process between individuals and other
members of society.
 “Socialization is a two-way process between the
individual and the larger groups in society such
as social organizations and institutions.”-
William Wentworth
 3 significant aspects of socialization
 Social context - refers to the paritcular
circumstances of a society and consists of its
culture, language and the social structures that
define social class, ethnicity, and gender.
 Content; and - refers to ideas, beliefs,
behavior, and other information that are passed
on by members of society o the individual.
 Process - refers to the methods of interaction
that enable the content to be given to the person
undergoing socialization.
 Results refers to the outcomes of socialization,
evident when individuals begin to practice the
 behaviors, attitudes and values that society
considers necessary for themto function
effectively as its members.
 Anthropologists view socialization in terms of
becoming familiar with one’s own culture, and
use the term enculturation to describe the
process of being socialized into a specific culture.
- it is a process that helps individuals
become functional members of society.

 “One must undergo a process of learning culture

“in all its uniqueness and particularity””. -
Margaret Mead
 “Consider enculturation as both a conscious and
unconscious conditioning process whereby a
person, as a child and an adult, achieves
competence in his or her culture, internalizes it
and becomes thoroughly enculturated” - E.
Adamson Hoebel

Agents of Socialization and Enculturation

•social groups that people come in contact and
interact with throughout their lives.
•teaches people essential knowledge to participate
successfully in society.

- Family
•Primary agent of socialization
•Defines the identity of an individual

- Schools
• teaches competitiveness, cooperation, conformity,
innovation, punctuality, orderliness, and respect for
authority.
• teaches students to value self-improvement and
hardwork
• Venue for political socialization

- Peer Groups
• reinforce acceptable behaviors introduced by the
family and school
• refer to people who share the same interests or
characteristics
• provides a certain degree of independence to an
individual

- Mass Media
• Powerful agent of socialization
• forms of communication includes books,
magazines, newspapers, other print materials,
radio, television, and movies.
• Source of information regarding events in society.

Pluralist Model
•portrays media as an ideological marketplace

Market Model
• suggests that media reflects the views of the
general public.
• Media presents what they think the people want

Dominant-ideology Model
• bias that links between media and the political
and social elite.

Elite-values Model
• bias that links to the personal views of media
professionals

- Religion and State

• both are considered as the ultimate sources of
authority
• Religion exerts a great influence on the views of a
person
• State induces socialization through laws and other
regulations.
Deviance
- a behavior that elicits a strong negative reaction
from group members.

Emile Durkheim
 Anomie
 a condition where social control becomes
ineffective due to the loss of shared values
and sense of purpose in society.
Robert Merton
  Structural Strain Theory
 tensions and strains between socially-
approved goals and an individual’s ability
to meet them will lead to deviance.
ex: force to commit crime

Subcultural view – an emergence of deviant

behavior within certain groups in society.

labeling theory – believes that there is actually no

deviance in society.

conflict perspective – analyzes deviance in the

framework of competing interests between social
groups.

broken window theory – an order to discourage

deviance
ex: avoiding vandalism

HUMAN DIGNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

 Human Dignity refers to the idea that a person
has the innate right to be valued, respected, and
treated well.
 Human Rights are legal, social, and ethical
principles that consider the human person as
deserving of liberties and protections by virtue of
his or her human dignity.
 - founded on natural rights, which are
universal and inalienable, and are not
contingent on laws, customs, beliefs, or
values of a particular culture.

 Human rights are considered to have the

following characteristics:
 Universal because they belong to all human
beings regardless of race, religion gender, and
other characteristics.
 Fundamental since they cannot be taken away
from any human being.
 Indivisible as various rights are interrelated
and given equal importance.
 Absolute since they cannot be qualified and
are considered basic necessities for living a
genuine life.
 A major legal instrument that upholds the
recognition of human rights is the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which was
drafted by the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights in 1948.