Role of Socialization in Shaping Human Behavior
TITLE
Evaluate the view that socialisation is the most significant factor in shaping human behaviour.
ESSAY
🌟Introduction🌟
Socialisation plays a crucial role in shaping human behaviour, as individuals learn norms, values, and expectations through interactions with society. This essay will evaluate the view that socialisation is the most significant factor in determining human behaviour.
🌟Points in Support of the View🌟
💥 🌟Human behaviour is overwhelmingly learned via socialisation:🌟Language, customs, and social norms are transmitted to individuals through socialisation processes, impacting their behaviour.
💥 🌟Examples of feral children:🌟Instances of children raised in isolation from human contact demonstrate the essential role of socialisation in shaping behaviour.
💥 🌟Impact on different identities:🌟Socialisation influences behaviour related to class, gender, ethnicity, and age, highlighting its significance in shaping human actions.
💥 🌟Lifelong process:🌟Primary socialisation in early life is reinforced by secondary socialisation throughout individuals' lives, continually shaping their behaviour.
💥 🌟Importance of different agents of socialisation:🌟Family, peers, education, media, and religion all contribute to shaping human behaviour through socialisation.
🌟Points Against the View🌟
💥 🌟Biological arguments:🌟Some argue that individuals are born with uncontrollable instincts and desires that influence behaviour, challenging the sole importance of socialisation.
💥 🌟Sociobiology:🌟Wilson's concept of 'biogrammers' suggests biological factors strongly influence behaviour, raising questions about the dominance of socialisation.
💥 🌟Deviant behaviour:🌟Factors such as poverty, subcultures, and labelling can lead to behaviour outside social norms, indicating influences beyond socialisation.
💥 🌟Power and economic forces:🌟Ideology, societal power dynamics, and economic pressures can also impact behaviour, suggesting socialisation is not the sole determinant.
🌟Research Evidence Supporting and Challenging the View🌟
💥 🌟Supporting Evidence:🌟Studies by Podder and Bergvall, Durkheim's work on suicide, Mead's concept of the 'social self,' and cross💥cultural variations in gender roles all demonstrate the impact of social forces on behaviour.
💥 🌟Challenging Evidence:🌟Wilson's sociobiological perspective, Parson's view linking family roles to biology, and research on individual agency resisting socialisation highlight alternative influences on behaviour.
🌟Conclusion🌟
While socialisation undeniably plays a significant role in shaping human behaviour through the transmission of societal norms and values, other factors such as biology, deviance, power dynamics, and individual agency also impact how individuals behave. Understanding the complex interplay between socialisation and these additional influences provides a more holistic perspective on human behaviour determination.
SUBJECT
SOCIOLOGY
LEVEL
A level and AS level
NOTES
Evaluate the view that socialisation is the most significant factor in shaping human behaviour.
🌟Indicative content:🌟
🌟Points in support of the view🌟
💥 Human behaviour is overwhelmingly learned via the process of socialisation, for example, language acquisition.
💥 Examples of feral children raised in the absence of human socialisation highlight the impact of socialisation on behaviour.
💥 Evidence showcasing how socialisation influences behaviour related to different identities, such as class, gender, ethnicity, and age.
💥 Socialisation is a lifelong process, with secondary socialisation reinforcing primary socialisation.
💥 Various agents of socialisation play a crucial role in shaping human behaviour.
💥 Studies, like Durkheim's work on suicide or observations of cross💥cultural variations in gender roles, illustrate how social forces impact behaviour.
💥 Mead's idea of the 'social self' emphasizes how social interaction shapes individuals.
💥 The structural functionalist perspective stresses societal determinism.
🌟Points against the view🌟
💥 Biological arguments suggest that people have innate instincts and desires, such as maternal instinct or male aggression, which influence behaviour.
💥 Sociobiology, as proposed by Wilson, emphasizes the strong influence of 'biogrammers' on behaviour.
💥 Deviant behaviour can be attributed to factors beyond socialisation, including marginalisation, poverty, subcultures, and labelling.
💥 Factors like ideology, power dynamics, and economic forces also influence behaviour.
💥 Parsons' theory linking family roles to biology challenges the sole significance of socialisation.
💥 Arguments for social agency suggest that individuals can resist the influence of socialisation.
🌟Research evidence🌟
💥 Podder and Bergvall, Durkheim, Mead, Wilson, Parsons, Wrong
🌟Additional concepts🌟
💥 Looking glass self
💥 Instrumental, expressive, over💥socialised man.
🌟The above content is indicative, and other relevant approaches to the question should be appropriately rewarded.🌟