Becoming a Member of a Society

ENCULTURATION

Berry, Poortinga, Segall, and Dasen (2002) define enculturation as “a form of

cultural transmission by which society transmits its culture and behavior to its
members by surrounding developing members with appropriate models”

KEY THEORISTS:

Herskovits (1948): Enculturation maintains heritage, norms, values, and ideas.

Berry et al. distinguish enculturation from socialization as it involves cultural

learning that individuals create, remember, and deal with as a product of
innovation.

Example: the millennials in our country who have easily adopted the cultural
learning of other countries especially Korean culture. They love eating Korean food,
watching K-dramas, listening to K- pop music, even imitating the fashion style and
dance moves of their favorite Korean pop artists.

Kirshner D.H. and Meng L. (2012) state that enculturation and acculturation
refer broadly to the processes whereby newcomers come to participate in the
normative practices of a cultural community.

SOCIALIZATION
Socialization is the process where individuals acquire the culture and values of
their group, shaping their self and personality. It involves learning societal rules,
adapting to changes, and contributing to society. Through socialization, individuals
preserve and adopt cultural values, beliefs, and norms, becoming functional and
responsible members of society.

Socialization, therefore, addresses two important problems of social life:

• The problem of societal continuity

• And the problem of individual development (Gecas, 2001 p.1).

IMPORTANCE:
Socialization is very important to the life process of an individual because it
enables a person to learn the different cultural languages, norms, values, and one’s
role in the society in order to fit the group.

KEY CONCEPTS:

(Johnson, 1960,) Socialization is also defined “as the process of learning that
enables the learner to perform social roles. Thus, not all learning is Socialization,
since presumably some learning is irrelevant to the motivation and ability necessary
for participation in the social system”

(Horton & Hunt, 1964,) Similarly, socialization is seen as the learning process
which turns a human being from an animal into a person with a human personality.
Stated formally, socialization is the “process whereby one internalizes the norms
of the group among whom one lives so that a distinct self emerges, unique to this
individual”

Anthropologists view socialization in terms of enculturation or becoming familiar

with one’s own culture. It happens through our interaction with our family, peers,
and other individuals where we acquire social values and norms that we adopt.

Goals of Socialization

Arnett (1995) presents a new theoretical understanding of socialization, as he

outlines the three goals of socialization:

• Impulse control and development of conscience.

• Preparation for social roles (occupational, gender, family).
• Cultivation of shared sources of meaning (values, beliefs).
In short, socialization is the process that prepares humans how to function in
society.

Major Aspects of Socialization

Wentworth (1980) suggests that socialization must leave room for free will and
human autonomy, althougence individuals.
The context in which it occurs – It is like the theater or stage where
socialization occurs. The individual's behavior is determined by how the context is
perceived in culture, language, and social structures.

The content and process people use to socialize others - is like the play, the
lines, and the actors. It includes the structure of the socializing activity—how
intense and prolonged it is, who does it, how it is done, whether it is a total
experience or only a partial process, how aware the individual is of alternatives,
and how attractive those alternatives are.

The results or outcomes arising from those context and processes - may be
described as what happens later, after someone has been exposed to content and
processes.

(SHORT EXPLANATION FOR MAJOR ASPECTS OF SOCIALIZATION)

Context in which it occurs:

• The setting where socialization occurs (culture, language, social structures).

Content and Process people use to socialize others:

• What is passed from experienced members to newcomers (behavior, values).
• How individuals learn through interactions with others.

Results/Outcomes arising from those context and process:

• The behavior, attitudes, and values learned after exposure to socialization
processes.

Agents of Socialization and Enculturation

Social groups and social institutions or agencies that help in the development of
the individual in terms of socialization are considered as agents of socialization.
The agents of socialization Consist of persons, groups, and institutions that teach
people to participate successfully in society.

Family
* The first agent of socialization

* Principal socializer of younger members of the family

* Teaches members how to behave in socially acceptable ways, develop. Emotional

ties and internalize values and norms.

* Individuals share the patterns of the larger culture, but retain the unique values
and behavioral traits learned from their families.

Schools
* Molds the beliefs, values, and attitudes of the students through various
academic and social activities

* Equips students with skills, that will enable them to fit into a larger society

* Teaches students to learn the value of self- improvement and hard work through
classroom activities that give them opportunities to apply their knowledge and
skills

* Serves as a latent function by socializing children’s behavior and teaching them

about citizenship and national pride

Mass Media
* Distribute information to a wide audience, via television, newspaper, radio and
internet

* Characterized as non-proximate agents of socialization

* Enable people to learn about objects of material and nonmaterial culture

* Influence the way people look at the world and make them change their views

Religion
* Exerts a great influence on a person’s view; legitimizes social practices

* Provides stability to society and a source of social change

* Teaches participants how to interact with the religion’s material culture

* Creates social solidarity in the society and a source of spiritual growth

Government
* Ultimate source of authority

* Participates in socialization through the implementation of the laws of the

country

* Regulates the behavior of its citizens using rewards and sanctions

* Promotes the general welfare of the people

All members of the various agents of socialization have specific goals or tasks to
perform to help people learn to function successfully in their social worlds. These
agents of socialization impart positive values and beliefs so that we become better
individuals who value Filipino culture. A knowledge of the role of each agent of
socialization gives us a better understanding and appreciation of cultural norms and
values.

CONFORMITY
According to Markus and Kitayama (1991), conforming to group norms is viewed
favorably in Eastern or interdependent cultures - it is a form of social glue.

Conformity can also define as "yielding to group pressures" (Crutchfietd, 1995). It

reflects a relatively rational process in which people construct a norm from other
people's behavior in order to determine correct appropriate behavior for
themselves (Asch 1952, p. 193)

Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior to

fit or align their attitudes or behaviors with the people they interact or socialized
with and give sense of identity and belongingness to a group.

Social Conformity can influence changes in an individual's behavior or opinion to be

accepted. Due to pressure from a social group the individual wants to be accepted.
They are commonly adopted by the younger generation in our society nowadays.
THREE MAIN TYPES OF CONFORMITY AS COMPLIANCE,
IDENTIFICATION, AND INTERNALIZATION.
1. Compliance - means conforming a to a rule or fulfilling a desire, demand,
proposal, regimen, or coercion. It is the weakest form of Conformity.
2. Identification -is a process by which and individual aspires to pattern
himself/herself after another, but only while he/she is in the presence of
the other person. It is the middle level form or Conformity and is usually a
short-term change.
3. Internalization - It is the acceptance and incorporation of the standard or
belief of other persons or the society by the individual. It is the deepest
level form of Conformity and a long-term change as the person changes
his/her behavior and private beliefs.

Factors that Influence Conformity:

• Situational factors - is tend to look at how the specific environment
influences how one behaves.
• Individual factors - it focuses more on the personal characteristics of an
individual such as strong leadership ability, will power, and self confidence
that give a person a small chance to conform to other people.
• Cultural Factors - is the most fascinating of the three factors that
influence Conformity. This personality type really influences and is likely to
conform one's culture as compared to another.

Understanding the different factors of conformity can help you but everyone to
identify the reasons why some people especially teenagers go along with a
different kind of group. It can also help you see how other people's behavior may
influence the choices they make it satisfy their common interest of belongingness
to a group or community.
Deviance
Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms. Crime is one example of
deviance which is violation of norms a society formally enacts into criminal law.
Deviance encompasses a wide range of other acts of nonconformity, from
variations in hair styles to crimes like murder.

• Schoepflin (2011) that the word "deviance" has a negative connotation in

everyday language although sociologists recognize that deviance is not
necessarily bad.
• Howard Becker (1963) viewed deviance as the cultural product of
interaction between people whose occupations involved either committing
crimes or catching criminals.
• Wiliam Graham Summer (1906) posited that deviance is a violation of
established contextual, cultural, or social norms, whether folkways, mores,
or codified law.

Effects of Deviance on Society

Deviance helps individual to deal with and adjust to change that are sometimes
brought by the Society we live in. Society plays a big role in social change as it
creates the acceptable and unacceptable behavior of an individual. People become
deviant because of their desire, or sometimes their deviant behavior might be
results of problems they encounter in the society.

Other effects of deviance which are not necessarily harmful but

may actually be beneficial to society are as follow:

• It is one way that social change occurs.

• It helps people adjust to change.
• It has way of promoting social solidarity by distinguishing "us" from "them".
• It provides a way in which some individuals and groups can introduce their
agendas to the rest of the society and elevate their status while doing.

Selected Theories of Deviance

The Social Strain Theory was developed by famed American sociologist Robert K.
Merton. The theory states that social structures may pressure citizens to commit
crimes. Strain may be structural, which refers to the processes at the societal
level that filter down and affect how the individual perceives his or her needs.

• Conformity - it is the process whereby people change their beliefs,

attitudes, actions, or perceptions to match more closely those held by
groups to which they belong or want to belong.
• Innovation - It involves reinventing things or learning how to do things in a
new manner.
• Ritualism - It is the regular observance or practice of rituals, especially
when excessive or without regard to its function
• Retreatism - It is a reaction of people towards society, in which one rejects
both the cultural goals and the traditional means to achieve success, then
find a different way to escape it
• Rebellion - It seeks to substitute new goals and means for existing goals and
means

Social control
Social Control is the process of creating and maintaining stability; in simplest
terms, it refers to the power of society over individuals. It is important to have
social control because it elicits certain behavior which empowers individuals to
obey and conform to the norms (Arcinas, 2016, p. 17). These norms guide and
direct the behavior of individuals and help to understand their actions and
behaviors despite individual differences. Through social control, a harmonious
relationship with other members of the society is maintained.

Innes (2003) defines social control broadly as an organized action intended to

change people's behavior.
 • The underlying goal of social control is to maintain social order, an
arrangement of practices and behaviors on which society's members based
their daily lives
• Due to the problems our country is facing today like poverty, unemployment
heinous crimes, cybercrimes, and others, social control needs to be
established to avoid chaos and strengthen social order.

Selected Theoretical Perspectives of Social Control

Social control theory "contends that crime and delinquency occur when an
individual's ties to the conventional order or normative standards are weak or
largely nonexistent." This theory maintains that all people, from the time we are
born, are basically bad apples that must be controlled by laws, rules and regulations
in order to keep society in check. "Individuals who have a weak bond to societal
controls tend to end up committing deviance or criminal behavior" (Bartol & Bartol,
2011, p. 5). This theory states that those individuals who have low self-esteem and
have difficulty in facing the problems and trials they encounter in life have a
greater chance to commit deviant acts.

The four elements of the social bond theory are the

following:
1. Attachment - is defined as a strong emotional tie that bonds one person
intimately with another person
2. Commitment - is a dedication to a particular organization, cause, belief, and
a willingness to get involved.
3. Involvement - is the fact or condition of being involved with or of
participating in something.
4. Belief - is a conviction or idea about the nature of reality that an individual
or group accepts as true.

Social control refers to societal and political mechanisms that regulate individual
and group behavior to gain conformity and compliance to the rules of a given
society, state, or social group.
Two Types of Social Control
Social control is needed, to prevent the country from descending into chaos
because there are people who tend to violate the laws of the country. Social
control can also be positive and negative and it can be categorized into:

1. Informal Social Control - This form of social control is by enforced family

members and other people we usually interact or socialize with. Rewards and
punishment are commonly visible in informal social control.
2. Formal social control – it refers to the organization or systems that use
strict and delineated rules, values, morals, and the like that we are commonly
told or compelled to obey.

Members
• Justine Lanz Deo
• Kirby John Calvez
• Melissa Jade Martinez
• Xaira Basco