Introducing Sociology Chapter 4 Culture And Socialisation

therory of culture, which argues that just like natural species, culture also evalues through variation and natural selection.

(b) Estate System : This was a system in feudal Europe of ranking according to occupation. The three estate were the nobility, clergy and the ‘third estate’. The last were chiefly professional and middle class people. Each estate elected its own representations. Peasants and labourers did not have the vote.

(c) Great Tradition : It comprises of the cultural traits or traditions which are written and widely accepted by the elites of a society who are educated and learned.

(d) Little Tradition : It comprises of the cultural traits or traditions which are oral and operates at the village level.

(b) Social Roles : There are rights and responsibilities associated with a person’s social position or status.

(c) Socialisation : This is the process by which we learn to become members of society.

(d) Subculture : It marks a group of people within a larger culture who borrow from and often distort, exaggerate or invert the symbols, values and beliefs of the larger culture to distinguish themselves.

(ii) Culture traits : Culture traits are the individual acts and objects, which constitute the expression of a culture.

(iii) Culture Complex : Culture complex an organisation or institution consists of more than one such cultural units or traits and the configuration of these simple units is called a ‘culture complex.’

(b) Values : The values refer to what ought and what ought not to be done.

(c) Cultrue Pattern : A typical type of culture or specific type of culture.

(d) Monocultural : Some type of culture or one type of culture.

(e) Personality : It refers to that totality of a person which consists of biological constitution, attitudes, values, views, habits and behaviour patterns.

social groups are the carriers of culture and work as the main agent to provide training to human individuals to develop their personality.

(ii) Status and Role : Status is a position occupied by a person, in a family or kinship group or in a office in an social system relative to other. Each status is accompanid by specific role which the person who occupies the status is expected to perform.

(iii) Igloo : The Eskimos make snow houses called ‘Igloo’.

(iv) Sledges : Wheeless cart used by the Eskismos for transportation when snow is hard.

(v) Cultural Change : Norms and values undergo change over time. Certian external conditions in the contemporary society have given impetus to this change. These conditions are industrialization, urbanization, global network of television and computer, all of which have expanded enormously in the last few decades.

person.

(b) Inherited : The transmission of rights of property.

(c) Process : It is a continuous action.

(d) Instinctive : The inmate motivation drives leading to species, specific behaviour patterns.

(b) Human Behaviour : The personality, according to Sigmund Freud, is made up of three hypothetical systems : The id, the ego and the ‘superego.’ These systems interact among themselves and the product of this interaction is the human behaviour.

(c) Id : The ‘Id’ consists of everything psychological including what is inherted and what is instinctive. It is a reservoir of psychological energy.

(d) Ego : It is the second system of personality. The function of ego is based on ‘reality principle’. It drives power from ‘Id’.

(e) Superego : The ‘superego’ is the third and last system of personality to be developed. It is the moral aspect of personality and is guided by the principle of idealism.

(f) Personality Formation : Built a specific king of personality due to different reasons.

Interaction : Action + reaction = interaction . This is a process and manner in which social actors (i.e. different persons) relate to each other, especially, in face to face sitiuation.

human being.

(b) Inherited means the transmission of rights of property.

(c) Same type of culture or one type of culture is called mono-culutral.

(d) The inmate motivation drives leading to species specific behaviour patterns are called instinetive.

(6) Cultural Specialities : Which are formed only in distinct categories of individuals e.g. priests, warriors, etc.

(c) Cultural Universals : Which apply to all members of society.

(d) Internalization : It takes place through the process of socialization.

(6) Learning : It is a process of adjusting previous response pattern to newly experienced or perceived environmental changes.

(c) Neurotic Personality : Any diseased condition of person, e.g. alcoholic, drug addict.

(d) Self : A mental construction of the person, by the person or the person sees him/ her reflected by others, in their reaction.

(a) According to Ralph Linton, “The culture of a society is a way of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation.”

(b) Clyde Kluckohn says that culture is a ‘design for living : held by members of a particular society.

II. Types of Culture :

1. Individual Culture : It is the first form of culture. Everyone follows a mode of behaviour and also a way of life. In social life, every individual behaves according to expectations of other persons in the group. These expectations are based on norms and values of the group.

Social norms determine individual’s overt acts, which therefore, reflect values of culture.

2. Group Cultrue : The art and artifacts, tools and techniques, and other physical conditions which are used in the act as a matter of habit also form the culture of the group. Two very important characteristics of culture are : (a) that culture is learnt, that it is not inherited and that it is a behavioural pattern shared by members of a group or society. (b) It also refers to the ways of acting of people in the context of different social of relationships in the day-to-day life.

Example : For instance, family marraige, religion, education, games and automobiles are a few examples of a large number of culture-complexes of human society.

2. The norms are the rules of behaviour approved by society. In some societies, polygamy is an accepted form (or approved norm of behaviour) of marriage, whereas in many others, it is not viewed as proper.

3. The values refer to what ought and what not ought to be done. In some cultures, individualism is the predominant value in society, whereas in others, the collective approach of resolving a problem or meeting obligations is apprecitated. In one culture, hospitality has a high social value, whereas in some others, it may not be so.

This (culture) refine taste was thought to distinguish people from uncultred masses, even concerning something we would today see as individual, like the preference for coffee over tea.

(ii) Culture and Sociologist : By contrast, the sociologist looks at cultural as something that distinguishes individual, but as a way of life in which all members of society participate. Every social organisations develops a culture of its own.

(iii) Definition of Culture : One early anthro pological definition of culture comes from the British scholar Edward Tylor, ‘culture or civilisation taken in its wide enthnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knownledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.

(iv) Definition given by Malinowski : More than hundred year later on, the founder of ‘functional school’ an anthropology, Bronis law malinowski of Poland wrote about culture he define this term in the the following manner “culture comprises in-herited artificats, goods, technical process, ideas, habits and values.”

(b) According to Ralph Linton, “The culture of society is a way of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation.”

(c) Clyde Kluckahn says that culture is a design for living, held by members of a particular society.

Try comparing these definitions to see which of these or which combination of these you find most satisfactory.

You may first find yourself noticing words which rear-‘way’, learn ’ and ‘behaviour’. However, if you then look at how each is used, you may be struck by the shifts in emphasis. The first phrase refers to mental ways but the second to the total way of life. Definitions (d) (e) and (f) lay stress an culture as what is shared and passed on among a group and down the generations. The last two phrases are the first to refer to culture as a means of directing behaviour.

(2) Before our generation mass media was having not so effective role to play in everyonce everyday life.

3. Now-a-days the mass media has increasingly become an essential part of our everyday lives. While today the electronic media like the television is expanding, the print media continues to of great importance. Even in the print media in nineteenth century India, ‘conduct-books’ instructing women as how to be better house keepers and more attentive wives were popular in many languages.

4. The media can make the access to information more democratic. Electronic communication is some thing that can reach a village not connected by road to other areas and where no literacy centres have been setup.

5. Mass media is greatly information and exposure is greatly done day and night by some of the mass media.

Observation and examples of enthnocentrism :

(i) The question of enthnocentrism arises only in that situation when cultures come into contact with one an another.

Enthnocentrism is the application of one’s own cultural values in evoluating the behaviour and beliefs of people from other culture. This means that the cultural values projected as the standard or norms are considered superior to that of the beliefs and valus of other cultures.

Example : During British Colonial rules in India Maclaya put his famous minute on education in year 1835 to the British East Company in India. Through his minute he had examplified enthnocentralism when he says,“we must at present do our best a form a class who may be interpreters between us and millions whom we govern, a class of persons India in blood and colour but English in taste, in opinion, morals and intelect.

1. Culture and society are inseparable. Society refers to a set of norms and values guiding their behaviour to each other.

2. Both culture and society are coterminous to each other. They are the two aspects of the same social situations.

Example : For instance, a cricket match is a social organisation but the rules and regulations of the match whcih the players are supposed to observe form its cultural aspect.

3. The family is a social unit but the interpersonal relations, child-rearing practices and distribution of responsibilities and authorities among the members of the family are cultural aspects of family.

2. Definition : Kimball Young defines personality as ‘the more or less integrated body of habits., attitudes, traits and ideas of an individual, as these are externally organised into specific and general roles and statuses, and internally around self-consciousness and the concept of self and around the ideas, values and purposes, which are related to motives, roles and statuses.

3. It is clear from the above given definition that there are two aspects (external and internal) of what we call personality :

(i) Example : The individual’s acts in respect of the roles and statuses assigned to him in the group (the external aspect).

(ii) Example : Set of ideas, values and attitudes formed in respect of his roles and statuses (the internal aspect).

This (culture) refine taste was thought to distinguish people from uncultred masses, even concerning something we would today see as individual, like the preference for coffee over tea.

(ii) Culture and Sociologist : By contrast, the sociologist looks at cultural as something that distinguishes individual, but as a way of life in which all members of society participate. Every social organisations develops a culture of its own.

(iii) Definition of Culture : One early anthro pological definition of culture comes from the British scholar Edward Tylor, ‘culture or civilisation taken in its wide enthnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knownledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.

(iv) Definition given by Malinowski : More than hundred year later on, the founder of ‘functional school’ an anthropology, Bronis law malinowski of Poland wrote about culture he define this term in the the following manner “culture comprises in-herited artificats, goods, technical process, ideas, habits and values.”

(b) According to Ralph Linton, “The culture of society is a way of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation.”

(c) Clyde Kluckahn says that culture is a design for living, held by members of a particular society.

Try comparing these definitions to see which of these or which combination of these you find most satisfactory.

You may first find yourself noticing words which rear-‘way’, learn ’ and ‘behaviour’. However, if you then look at how each is used, you may be struck by the shifts in emphasis. The first phrase refers to mental ways but the second to the total way of life. Definitions (d) (e) and (f) lay stress an culture as what is shared and passed on among a group and down the generations. The last two phrases are the first to refer to culture as a means of directing behaviour.

Examples : Exchange of rings in marriage, rules of kicking the ball in football game, red cloth, flowers and incensed sticks in religious rites etc. are examples of culture.

2. Culture Complex : The individual acts and objects which constitute the overt expression is known as culture complex. The meaning of relationship between the two or more than two culture traits or an organisation consists of more than one such cultural traits and the configration of these simple traits is called a cultural complex.

Example : For instance the spark plug holds importance so long as it is placed it the proper in an engine. Ring and vermilion only in marriage and a whistle only during a match in the field.

1. The early hunting and food-gathering societies were homogenous and ‘monocultural’.

2. The modern industrial societies are ‘multicultural. The processes like migration, globalisation and colonialism have contributed to cultrual diversity in every society.

3. Our own Indian society is well-known throughout the world for its high degree of cultural diversity.

(a) There are many tribal communities, thouands of castes and sub-castes, many religious communities and groups of people with different languages.

All these communities form India’s glorious multicultural character.

(b) In an important survey, K.S. Singh has identified 4635 communities.

1. Socialisation is a process of learning, according to, society’s rules. It is also transmitted culture from one generation to other. There are broadly speaking two phases (or stages of socialization) :

(i) Primary socialisation.

(ii) Secondary socialisation.

2. ‘Primary Socialisation’ takes place in infancy and childhood. This is the most crucial stage of socialization as the basic behaviour pattern is learnt by the child at this stage. On the other hand secondary socialisation begins from a later of childhood and goes up to maturity.

Primary stage of socialisation consists of three sub-stages : (i) The oral stages, (ii) the anal stage and (iii) the oedipal stage. Its period is from first year of life to 13 years or so, while the secondary stage of socialisation starts from the beginning of teen age (13+) and goes upto last day of life.

3. The family is the main agency of socialisation in the first phase (i.e. the primary socialisation) while during the second phase i.e. the secondary stage of socialisation the main agencies of socialisation are the schools, peer groups, trade-unions, associations and other agencies in which the person is placed in life (office, factory, mill), play the role of socialisation.

1. The family is the main agency of socialization in the first phase of life (i.e. the primary stage). It is the smallest unit of society and represents in all respects.

2. The family has in its fold all the norms, values, behaviour patterns, statuses and roles of soceity. Therefore, the role of family in socializing individuals to become a part of society is uppermost.

3. The role of family in socialization has been greatly recognized by C.H. Cooley. The child-observes that every individuals in the family is assigned a status such as a father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, etc. All the family members behave according to the defined roles associated with their statuses.

4. The child (as time passes) indentifies himself/herself with different personal statuses and their roles in the family and internalizes them. The child does so as to be capable of and ready for behaving in society according to accepted patterns.

5. By the time, child moves out of family to participate in social activities in society at large he/she has learnt most of socially accepted behaviour patterns.

1. Primary socialization, and

2. Secondary socialization.

1. ‘Primary Socialization’ takes place in infancy and childhood.

(i) This is the most crucial stage of socialization as the basic pattern is learnt by the child at this stage. This stage consists of three sub-stages, (i) the oral stage (ii) the anal stage and (iii) the oedipal stage.

At first stage the infant builds up definite expectation about feeding time and learns to signal his/her pressing needs for care.

(ii) The second stage begins more or less after a year of infancy. The child at this stage is trained to take over some degree of care for himself/herself such as toilet training.

(iii) The third stage starts roughly from the fourth year and goes up to puberty. This is the period when child becomes a member of the family, as a whole.

2. The Secondary Socialization starts from the later stage of childhood and goes upto maturity. However, socialization never stops in life. The schools, peer groups and other agencies in which the person is placed in life, play the role of socialization.

1. Norms and values undergo change over time.

2. Certain external conditions in the contemporary society have given impetus to this change. These conditions are industrialisation, urbanisation, global network to television and computer, all of which have expanded enormously in the last few decades.

3. Values related to inter-personal relationships in the family have changed and consequently modes of behaviour of people have also changed.

Example : For instance, in Indian joint family, the authority of the eldest male member has eroded in favouring one who makes effective economic contribution to the famliy budget.

4. Change in culture is a slow but a continuous process. But this process is accelerated by two conditions. These are :

(a) When a groups of people comes in contact with other cultures, it borrows culturetraits from them. As a result, the borrowed traits either add to the culture of the borrower or replace or modify certain traits which it already has.

The more the peopole have contacts with other cultures, the more would they borrow from other cultures, modifying their own culture complexes.

(b) The culture undergoes change not only because it borrows traits from other cultures, but also by way of the process of spread of culture-traits. This process is called diffusion.

(c) Diffusion takes places not only by contact ut also by indirect means of communication.

(d) The advancement in information technology and transportation system has made contact easy and quick making the process of diffusion quite fast.

1. Introduction : The debate whether individual came first and society followed or vice-versa is perhaphs not a very productive exercise. Both individual and society are compliment to each other.

2. Need of Society by an Individual : The individuals require society for their own survival. Human infants, in fact, require the longest period of dependence before they are able to work independence. The members of the family, mainly the mother contribute to the rearing and training of the child : In Modern society, several institutions directly or indirectly provide assistance to family in performing this role.

3. By nature man is a social being : Society also exists because of the fact that human individual is essentially a social animal. Socialability is his basic nature, society came into existence due to this human nature which extend from the family bonds.

4. Kingley Davis, in his book ‘Human Society’ writes that society for its existence has to have a population and has to maintain that population by way of making provisions of nutrition, protection and reproduction of new organisms.

5. Different functions have to be allocated among the people in order that they have a feeling of mutural solidarity.

6. Society has to motivate people to have contact among themselves and to learn about tolerance and resistance to the outsiders. And, finally society has to evolve mechanism for the perpetuation of the social system. All these taken together assist meet the basic requirements of social survival.

2. Dissociative or appositional relationship again may be in the form of either competition or conflict.

3. When people are involved in competition, they make efforts to improve their own efficiency to outclass the opponent.

4. Example of Competition : The girls or boys appearing in an examination to qualify for a job or the football match between two teams in a stadium are the suitable examples of competition.

5. Examples of Conflict : Competition sometimes turns into conflict. That is not a good sign of culture. Generally, in conflict, the involved persons make effort to destroy or weaken the efficiency of one another. A fight between two foes and a battle (or a war) between two countries (or group of countries) are the examples of conflict.

6. Co-operation : In co-operation, people strive for a goal with the assistance of other people or groups of people. Two girls preparing a physics model for science exhibition of fair and several persons working jointly for providing relief to the earthquake affected people are the examples of co-operation.

(a) Cognitive : This refers to how we learn to process what he hear or see, so as to give it meaning.

(b) Normative : This refers rules or conduct (not opening other peoples letters, performing rituals at deaths).

(c) Material : This includes any activity made possible by means of materials.

Material include tools or machine.

Example : For instance in material we can include internet chatting, using rise part to design, Kolam an floors.

Understanding of material culture, particularly are, is in complete without knowledge acquire from cognitive and normative areas.

It is true that our developing understanding of social process would draw upon all these areas. But we might find in a community where few have acquired cognitive skills of literacy, it infact becomes the norms for private letters to be readout by a third party.

Cognitive Aspects of Culture : The cognitive aspects of one’s own culture are horder to recognise that its material aspacts (which are tangible or visible or audible) and its normative aspects (which are explicity stated). cognition refers to understanding, how we make sense of all the information coming to us from our environment. In literate societies ideas are transcribed in books and documents and preserved in libraries, institutions or achives. But in non-literate societies legend or lose is committed to memory and transmitted orally.

Normative Aspects of Culture : The Normative dimension consists of folkways, Mores, customs, conventions and laws. These are values or rules that guide social behaviour in different contexts. We must often follow social norms because we are used to doing it, as a result of socialisation. All social norms are accompanied by sanctions that promote conformity.

While norms, are implicit rules, laws are explicit rules. Pierre Bourdien, the French sociologist has reminded us that when we try to understand another culture’s norms, we must remember that those certain implicit understandings. For example, if a person wants to show gratitude for something she/he has been given, she/he should not offer return gift too quickly, or it seems like an attempt to get of a debt, not a friendly gesture. A law is a formal sanction defined by government as a rule or principle that its citizens must follow. Laws are exploit. They are applicable to the whole society.

Material Aspects of Culture : The material aspects refers to tools, technologies, machines, buildings and modes of transformation, as well as instruments of production and communication. In Urban areas the wide spread use of mobile phones, music systems, cars and bases. ATMs (autmated teller machines), referigerators, computers in everyday life indicates the dependence on technology.Even in rural areas the use of transister radios or electric motor pumps for lifting water from below the surface for irrigation demonstrate the adoption of technological devices a for increasing productions.

Culture as a whole : Different dimension of culture comprise a whole. In the culture there can be many sub cultures, like that of the elite and working class youth,

Sub-cultures are marked by style, tase and associations.

Particular sub culture are identifiable by their speech dress cores, preference for particular type of music, manner in which it create with their group members.

Subcultural groups can also function as cohesive units which imports an identity to all group members.

(a) Individual culture for every individual social role she/he plays imports identity.

Every person in modern society place multiple rule. For example within the family she/ he may be perament or a child. But each of the specific role, there are particular responsibilities and powers. For example for students in schools have their own way of referring to their teachers, other students, class, performance.

Every group has its own culture and he express the trades of his culture through their relationship with other groups. Every group have its own language. which also serves as a code, the people of every group create their own world of meaning and significances.

For example women are known to create their own language and through it there own private space beyond the control of men. Specially when they congrate at the pond to bathe in rural areas or across washing lives on rooftops in urban areas.

Sub cultural grops can also function as cohesive unit which import an identity to all group members.

Within such group these can be leaders and followers but group members are bound by the purpose of group and work together their objectives.

Example : For example young members of ‘neighbourhood can for a club to engage themselves a sports and other constructive activities. Such activities create a positive image of the members in the locality in this members not only positive self image but also inspire them to perform better in their activities.

Ethno centriesm : It is only when cultures come into contact with one another that the quostion of enthnocentrism arises. Ethnocentrism is the application of one’s own cultural values in evaluting the behaviour and beliefs of people from other cultures. This means that the cultural values projected as the standard or norm are considered superior to that of the beliefs and values of other cultures.

Underlying ethnocentric comparisons is a sense of cultural superiority clearly demonstrated is colonial situations. Thomas Babbingt on Macan lay’s famous Minute on Education (1855) to the East India Company in India exemplifies ethnocentrism when he says. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons Indian in blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinions, morals and intellect.

In regard to internal causes, for example, new method of forming or agriculture can boost agricultural production, which can transformed the value of food consumption and quality of life of an afrigerian community.

On the other hand external intervension in the form of conquest or calonisation can also effect deepsiled changes in the cultural practices and behaviour of a society.

Natural Environment : Cultural change can take place due to changes in natural environment, contact withother cultures or processes of adoptation. Changes is national environment or enology can drastically alter the way of life of the people.

Example : For example when forest dwelling commities are deprived of across to the forest and its produced either because of legal restriction or due to its desimation, it can have disasters effects on the dwellers and their way of life.

Tribal communities in North East India as well as have been middle India the worst affect by the loss of forest resources.

Revolutionary Changes : Along with evolutionary change their can also be revolutionary change. When culture is transfered rapidly and its values and meaning system undergo a. radical change than revolutionary change takes place.

Revolutionary change can be initialed through political intervention, technological inovention or ecological transformation.

Example : (a) Political Revoltion : The French Revolution (1789) transformed French society by destroying the state system of ranking, abolishing the monarchy, and inculcating the values of liberty, equality and fralornity among its citizens.

(b) Coming of different understanding among the People : When a different understanding comes to prenaol, cultural change occurs for example recent 50 years have seen an amazing expansion of the media, both electronic and print. Do you think the “media, had brought about an evolutionary or revolutionary change ?

We are familiar with various dimensions of culture. Through socialisation and the role and different agency related with socialisation such as family, peergroup, school, mass media (Newspaper, generals, magezins, radio, television, cinema etc.). We can understand social change very quickly.

We can enjoy and can see the different people individually enjoying of freedom of expression, religion, movement and so an we can study cultural changing without no difficulty.

1. There are three aspects of the environment the individuals live in :

(a) the geographical aspects

(b) the social aspects and

(c) the cultural aspect

2. Culture itself is a part of environment. Culture is that part of environment which has been created by human beings. It consists of the whole gamut of material and non-material objects that have been shaped and created, and that satisfy physiological, social, economic and psychological requirements.

3. Examples : The tools and techniques customs and traditions, economic, political and religious institutions are some suitable examples of cultural environment.

4. Mutual influence between cultural and natural environment : (a) Culture gives a new shape to natural environment but is also influenced by the latter.

(b) Culture relates itself to the efficienty and skill of human beings to exploit the natural environment according to thiir requirements.

(c) People have constructed roads in difficulte terrains like deserts and hills.

(d) Uncultivable (or non-fertilizer lands) have been converted into fertile and cultivable lands.

(e) Different types of instruments, tools and appliances have been invented in enormous volume and continue to be improved upon, whether these are means of transport and communication or comfort and decoration.

5. The natural environment determines the natural of culture. The architecture of houses and buildings differ from place to place across geograpical variation. The houses are built of wood of one place and of bricks at another and stones at yet another place.

Examples : (a) The Eskimos (of Tundra Region) make snowwhouses called ‘Igloo’. They use sledge (Cart without wheels) for transportation when snow is hard. (b) The bullock-cart used in plains cannot be used in desert where only camel are the most convenient means of transportation.

6. The human beings like other animals, adapt to the existing natural environment and in the process of adaptation create and develop culture for the maintenance of their life.

7. The cultural differences as are found in human society are chiefly due to geographical differences.

8. Material, and non-material cultures are inter-related parts of a larger cultural unit called social institution. For instance, family consists of house, furniture food habits on the one hand and marriage rules, a system of relationships and norms and values, on the other.

1. Social group is a carrier of culture and works as the chief agent to give training to human beings to develop their personality.

2. The social groups can be classified in the several ways but the most popular and important of all is the division into primary and secondary groups. This division is largely on the basis of the nature of relationships foundd in the group.

3. Examples : The relationship in primary group are informal and intimate. Such relationss cannot be substitutied, are not made as means to some end. The family and the group of friends are examples of primary group.

4. C.H. Cooley has stressed that primary group (like family and peer group) plays the most important role in the socialisation of child.

5. Secondary Groups on the other hand are consciously formed with some objectives. They represent specialized interests of its members.

6. The relationships in secondary groups

are formal, exclusive, geared to a specific purpose

7. Examples : The corporations, trade unions, political parties and the states are examples of secondary groups.

1. Everyone in human society has personality. If we say that one has personality, we are not referring to physical features of the person as is sometimes, understood by a common man.

2. Personality refers to that totality of a person, which consists of biological constitution, attitudes, values, views, habits and behaviour pattern.

3. The personality thus, is a sum total

of acquired and inmate dispositions of person.

4. Bear in mind that variables are never the same in every individual. Therefore, no two individauls are exactly similar in every respect.

II. Development of Personality Traits :

(a) There are some scholars in psychology whose conviction is that personality traits are inherited from parents but this is an extreme view, and does not sound fully convincing.

(b) On the other hand, Social Psychology is replete with scholars who are confident that personality traits are totally social and cultural. Personality is shaped by social

environment. F.H. Allport, H.A. Murray, A Kadiner and R. Linton are among those who have this opinion.

III. Fixed Biological Characteristics of Personality :

(a) The human being has certain fixed biological characteristics, such as digestive system, respiratory system and circulatory system. Upon these physiological functions of the body depends individual’s adaptation to the environment and its survival becomes possible.

(b) Related to above refered processes (in paragraph (a) are some basic requirements of the individual which must be satisfied if they are to live.

(c) The hunger, the sexual need, need for bodily protection are such biological needs.

(d) There are different other requirements in terms of their nature and intensity. In order to satisfy these requirements, the individual requires some means and methods.

(e) The means and methods which may fulfil these requirements are not arbitrary and as per the wishes of the individual. These means are institutionlalized by society.

Example : For instance, if someone is very hungry, he satisfies his need of food legitimately only by getting bread through prescribed means and not by snatching from others.

1. Right from the every childhood an individual learns and internalizes the role structure and develops own ‘self. The self is a case of personality.

2. An individual’s self is a set of attitudes and the consciousness of his acts and thoughts, as they are related to others.

3. The internalization takes place through the process of socialization. Much of the personality of an individual is shaped in this way. The individual learns this part of culture pattern unconsciously.

4. Self, according to Charles. H. Cooley, is social and develops as a result of the roles of primary gourp and social interactions, particularly communication in socialization.

There are three prominent theories of socialization and development of self.

5. Sociologist of the functionalist school are of the view that the social roles are the fixed part of culture, which a person has to learn in society.

6. Individuals internalize those roles and behave, accordingly. There is no scope of negotiating with the roles.

7. Anthony Giddness does not accept this functionalist view. According to him, ‘socialization is a process in which humans can exercise agency, they are not simply passive subjects waiting to be instructed or programmed. Individuals come to understand and assume social roles through an ongoing process of social interaction.

2. Even the human style of speaking and modes of communication are the functions of socialization. Keep an infant, right after birth, for a considerable period of time, away from the company of human being, you shall not find the development of any human characteristic other than biological in the infant (or the child).

3. Even the style of walking and taking meal of a person is culturally determined and an infant or child kept away from society would not be able to learn it.

4. Example : The best example here would be the so called ‘wolf-children of Midnapore’.Two females aged two and eight were reportedly found in a wolf den in Bengal in 1920. They walked like animals on four legs (i.e. on their two hands and on their two legs) as the man in beginning of the stone age used to do. These babies preferred a diet of raw meat, howled like wolves, and lacked any type of speech.

1. The process of interaction in the group is a carrier of culture and works as the chief agent to give training to human beings to develop their personality and to fulfil their basic and other requirements.

2. The social groups may be divided in several ways but the most popular and important of all the division into primary and secondary groups. This classification is broadly on the basis of the nature of relationship found in the group.

3. Interaction in Primary Group : The relationship in primary group are informal and intimate. The family and the group of friends are two suitable examples of primary group. Interaction among individuals in the group leads to formation of relationships, which may be either associative or dissociative type.

(a) Dissociative or oppositional relationships again may be in the form of either competition or conflict.

(b) When the people are involved in competition they make efforts to improve their own efficiency to outclass the opponent.

Example : The boys appearing in an examination to quality for a job or the football match between the two teams in a stadium are the examples of competition.

(c) But in conflict, the involved persons try to weaken or destroy the efficiency of one another.

Example : A war or battle between two countries or a fight between two enemies are the suitable examples of conflict. Unfortunately competition sometimes turns into a conflict.

C.H. Cooley, has stressed that primary group plays the most vital role in the socialization of child or people.

4. Interaction in Secondary Groups : Generally secondary groups (i.e. trade unions, associations, corporations, political parties) are consciously formed with some purpose.They represent specialized interests of its members. The rules and regulations in the secondary groups are more clearly defined than in the primarty group. In co-operation, people strive for a goal with the help of other.

Example : Two students making a model for science exhibition and many persons working together for providing relief to the flood-affected people are the examples of co-operation.

Conclusion : In brief, we can say that a society consists of relationship among the individuals which crop up as a result of interactions among them. The behaviour of the individual in the group is governed by the the individual in the group is governed by the norms of the group. The normative pattern of the group constitutes its culture.

1. Culture and society are inseparable.Society refers to a set of norms and values, guiding their behaviour to each other. Both culture and society are coterminous to each other. They are the two aspects of the same social situations.

2. Everyone in human society has personality. If we say that one has personality, we are not referring to physical features of the person as is sometimes, understood by common man.

3. Personality refers to that totality of a person, which consists of biological constitution, attitude, values, views, habits and behaviour pattern. The personality thus, is a sum total to acquired and innate dispositions of a person.

4. Social pshychology replete with those scholars who are confident that personality traits are entirely social and cultural.

5. Personality is shaped by social environment. F.H. Allport, H.A,. Murray, A. Kardiner and R. Linton are among those who have this view. Otto Klineberg falling in this line says that personality emerges mainly in a social situation but biological factors undoubtedly play a part in shapping the individual.

6. The controversy over the primacy of biological or social factors is resolved by G. Murphy who writes that personality is neither biological nor social but bio-social.

7. Apart from biological and social needs, people in society have many other needs. Such needs are socially and culturally generated, and their satisfaction is also controlled by the culutre of society.

8. How will the people adapt to the existing socio-cultural framework of needs and means depends on their capacity to learn. The capacity to learn differs from person to person because it is related to the organic constitution and also to the mental make-up of the individual and is both acquired and hereditary.

Conlusion : (a) In short, every individual in human society has a personality. Personaliyty is a product of the culture in whcih the person has been brought up. We know that the style of life i.e. the culture of a tribal community inhabited in some remote area is entirely different from that of an urban community. But if a tribal baby is raised in an urban family along with other babies, of the family, the personality of the baby so formed would be, altogether different from those of other member of the tribal community.

(b) If a Hindu child right from its babyhood is brought up by an orthdox Christian family, its behaviour and ideas in adulthood will hardly show any symptom of a Hindu. Same will also be the case of Christian baby who is broght up in a staunch Hindu family.

(c) The personality is so much determined by culture that a person brought up in a particular cultural environment will more or less misfit into the other.

1. Personality is a dynamic organisation within the individuals of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to this environment.

Personality is a combination of both biological and socio-cultural characteristics. Definitely the personality has uniqueness but it does not mean that every individual is unique in every respect from others.

(a) All the persons of a particular society have some common characteristics. In this context, the statement of Kluckhohn, Murrary and Schneider is important to note. They write “every man in certain respects is (a) like all other men, (b) like some other man, and (c) like no other men.

(a) A man is like all other men to the extent they have a common human biological heritage, which determines their responses to the enviornment.

(b) He is like some other men because he belongs to a cultural group and due to the fact that all other people of the group have been brought up in the same cultural milieu, his role performance will be similar to all other persons of the group but bot to the members of another group.

(c) A person is like no other man because the latter has not gone through exactly the same sequence of experiences, as has been the case with the former.

The above three situations of a person in the group reflect the relationship of an individual with his group in terms of the role of culture and biological heritage and efficiency in shaping the personality of an individual.

1. Every individual behaves in a specific way because of being shaped by a specific culture. This behaviour would be unique for them who do not belong to that culture.

2. Example : (a) Once upon a time, there was a practice of sati among a section of people of Hindu Society. Though it was not a general practice contrywide, the widows dared rush to the funeral fire of their deceased husbands to burn themselves along with them This would be a horrifying and inhuman act for the women who belonged to other communities where sati was not a practice. This practice is now legally banned (since 1829 A.D.) in the country and it is ensured that this practice does not recure.

(b) A Japanese of Samurai community in old Japan would stab a sword in his stomatch, if suffered a disgrace. This type of suicide was called hara - kiri.

3. Culture shapes people to fit a particular way of life: It (culture) moulds their ideas and beliefs.

(a) Offering an organ (for example head or finger or thumb) of own body to show devotion to God and to placate Him (for almighty) were once related to common religious practice in some old communities of our society.

(b) Women get their earlobes or the septum nose pierced to dangle jewels from them. They do it because their culture demands.

(c) Some traditional Indian women observe pardah whereas, some modern ones prefer to wear clothes as per the western culture. A particular type of dress is a part of culture of the society it belongs.

(d) Traditional dress of Bengalis is different from that of Gujaratis.

(e) Turban is an essential part of the traditional dress of Sikhs.

(f) Indian greet their elders in one way and Europeans in other.

II. Role of Socialization in Personality Formation :

1. Socialization is a lifelong process but the most important aspect of this process starts during infancy. By the time individuals becomes adult, the major part of socialization is completed.

2. Socialization makes a human individual a social being, without socialization, individuals would not behave like human beings.

3. Even the human style of speaking and modes of coummunication are the function of socialization.

4. The process of socialization and personality development begins right from the time when the newly born baby first comes into contact with his family members.

5. Right from the very childhood, an individual learns and internalises the role structure and develops his/her own ‘self’. Internalization takes place through the process of socialization. Much of the personality of an indiviual is shaped in this way. The individual learns this part of culture pattern unconsciously.

6. There is another part of culture which an individual learn consciously. This learning process starts at a later stage when the formal teaching in school starts. There he learns about a more complicated part of culture such as the history of culture, the nature of government, the cultural heritage and so on.

7. The child training results into adult personality. The variations in personality dispositions among human individuals are directly related with the training pattern during their childhood.

8. It is proved that there is close link between child training and adult personality but it does not mean that the former is the cause and the later the effect.

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