1.1 What Is Culture?

- Material and Nonmaterial Culture

What Is Culture?
Culture can be defined as the language, norms, values, beliefs, and more that,
together, form a people's way of life. It is a combination of elements that affect
how people think, how they act, and what they own. American culture, for
instance, includes everything just mentioned. It also includes our history,
architecture, accepted behavior, and so much more.
Culture is an essential part of being human. No one is completely without it; in
fact, an individual can be part of many cultures and subcultures. For example,
someone who lives in the U.S. could be part of the national culture in addition to
the distinct culture of the South, a religious community, a heritage group, and
more.
Material Vs. Nonmaterial Culture
Material culture includes all the physical things that people create and attach
meaning to. Clothing, food, tools, and architecture are examples of material
culture that most people would think of. Natural objects and materials (rock, dirt,
trees, etc.) aren't considered to be part of material culture. However, how people
view natural objects and how they use them are.
Nonmaterial culture includes creations and abstract ideas that are not
embodied in physical objects. In other words, any intangible products created
and shared between the members of a culture over time are aspects of their
nonmaterial culture. Social roles, rules, ethics, and beliefs are just some
examples. All of them are crucial guides for members of a culture to use to know
how to behave in their society and interpret the world.
Culture Vs. Nation Vs. Society
The word culture is often used as a synonym for nation and society, but they
aren't the same thing. A nation is a territory with designated borders. A nation
can be found on a map. A society is a population in which people interact and
share common interests. A society can be found in a nation. Culture, on the other
hand, is a people's shared way of living. Culture can be found in a society, and it
can also be shared between societies.
Lesson Summary
In summary, culture can be defined as the language, norms, values, beliefs, and
more that, together, form a people's way of life. It is an essential part of being
human. Although there are many elements and aspects of culture, they can all
be categorized as either material or nonmaterial culture. Material culture
includes all of the physical things that people create and attach meaning to.
Nonmaterial culture includes creations and abstract ideas that are not embodied
in physical objects.
The word culture is often used as a synonym for nation and society, but they
aren't the same thing. A nation is a territory with designated borders. A society is
a population in which people interact and share common interests. Culture, on
the other hand, is a people's shared way of living. It can be found in a society,
and it can also be shared between societies.

Elements of Culture: Explanation of the Major Elements That Define

Culture
Culture combines many elements to create a unique way of living for different
people.
Elements Of Culture
Culture is a huge topic of study for sociologists. Culture exists anywhere humans
exist, and no two cultures are exactly the same. We've started talking about
culture in another lesson and discussed its combination of elements that,
together, form a people's unique way of life. In this lesson, we are going to take a
closer look at those elements, specifically symbols, language, values, and norms.
These elements look different across cultures, and many change with time as a
society evolves.
Symbols
The first element that exists in every culture is a variety of symbols. A symbol is
anything that is used to stand for something else. People who share a culture
often attach a specific meaning to an object, gesture, sound, or image. For
example, a cross is a significant symbol to Christians. It is not simply two pieces
of wood attached to each other, nor is it just an old object of torture and
execution. To Christians, it represents the basis of their entire religion, and they
have great reverence for the symbol.
Language
The second element present in every culture is a language. Language is a
system of words and symbols used to communicate with other people. This
includes full languages as we usually think of them, such as English, Spanish,
French, etc. But it also includes body language, slang, and common phrases that
are unique to certain groups of people. For example, even though English is
spoken fluently in both America and Britain, we have slang and phrases that
mean different things. American French fries are British chips, American cookies
are British biscuits, and so on.
Another example of how cultural languages differ beyond vocabulary is the fact
that eye contact represents different meanings in different cultures. In America,
eye contact suggests that you are paying attention and are interested in what a
person has to say. In other cultures, eye contact may be considered rude and to
be a challenge of authority.
Values
Another cultural element is a system of values, which are culturally defined
standards for what is good or desirable. Members of the culture use the shared
system of values to decide what is good and what is bad. For example, in
America, we are individualistic - we encourage competition and emphasize
personal achievement. A person who accepts a promotion in our culture is
praised for their individual hard work and talent. But our values are in stark
contrast with the collectivistic values of other cultures, where collaboration is
encouraged, and a person's success is only as good as their contributions to the
group. The same person that is offered a promotion who lives in a collectivistic

culture would consult with his family before accepting to ensure that it would be
the most beneficial to the group as a whole.
Types Of Norms
The last element of culture we'll discuss in this lesson is a collection of norms.
Norms are culturally defined expectations of behavior. They are guidelines we
use to determine how we should behave in any given situation and what would
be considered inappropriate behavior. For example, we know that we should
stand in line to use the restroom without even thinking about our behavior. If
someone cuts in front of us, we are certainly irritated - if not angry - that the
other person has not followed the norms of our culture.
Norms vary in their perceived importance and in the way that others react to
their violation. Some norms are turned into formal rules and laws, while others
are simply unwritten rules of etiquette for everyday behavior. These unwritten
rules can typically be categorized as either folkways or mores. Folkways are
norms that dictate appropriate behavior for routine or casual interaction. In our
culture, boys wear pants instead of skirts, and we all know not to pick our nose in
public. These are casual rules for behavior; although we may think that people
who violate them are weird or rude, we don't think they should be imprisoned for
their behavior.
On the other hand, mores are norms that dictate morally right or wrong behavior.
These are rules for behavior that are so important that they usually don't even
get written down because they go without saying. Using loud profanity at a
funeral is a fairly mild example. More serious mores are considered taboo, and
people who violate them are considered unfit for society. For example, there are
no formal laws against cannibalism in the United States, yet those who
participate in cannibalism violate such an important norm that they are punished
and severely ostracized from society.
Lesson Summary
In summary, some of the common elements that make up individual cultures are
symbols, language, values, and norms. A symbol is anything that is used to stand
for something else. People who share a culture often attach a specific meaning to
an object, gesture, sound, or image. Language is a system of words and symbols
used to communicate with other people. This includes not only fully spoken or
written languages but also body language, slang, and common phrases that are
unique to certain cultures.
Values are culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable. Members of
the culture use the shared system of values to decide what is good and what is
bad. Similarly, norms are culturally defined expectations of behavior. They are
guidelines we use to determine how we should behave in any given situation and
what would be considered inappropriate behavior. Cultural Subsets: High Culture,
Popular Culture, Subculture, Counterculture & Multiculturalism
In this lesson, we identify several categories of cultures that can exist within a
large culture. We define and discuss subcultures, high culture versus popular
culture, and countercultures. We also discuss the view of multiculturalism in the
U.S.

Hunting and Gathering Societies

For most of human history, our ancestors have lived in hunting and gathering
societies. For about 5 million years, this type of society was the dominant form of
social organization. Only 10,000 to 12,000 years ago did other types of societies
start to appear. In other words, for 99.75% of hominid history, humans have
been hunters and gatherers.
There are still hunting and gathering societies today, but they are rapidly
disappearing, displaced by more complex societies. There are today only about
250,000 people living in such societies, that is, 0.001% of the worlds population.
Hunting and gathering societies are still found among the Aborigines of Australia,
the Bushmen of Southwestern Africa, and the Pygmies of Central Africa.
One can find such societies also in the Amazonian rainforest region. But there
too, there subsistence is threatened by commercial interests involved in clearing
the rainforest for a variety of business, be it tim ber trade or land clearing for
cattle raising.

Subsistence Technology

Obviously, the main mode of subsistence of these societies is through the

hunting of games (or fishing, for societies living near coastal or Arctic areas) and
the gathering of naturally growing plants, fruits, and vegetables. The subsistence
technology is very rudimentary, consisting mostly of spears, bows and arrows,
digging sticks and small traps, all of those made of bone, wood and stones.
Because hunting and gathering are the main activities for members of these
societies, they are almost completely dependent upon whatever game and
plants are already available in the environment for their survival.

Replacing Members and Caring for the Young

Hunting and gathering societies tend to be small, averaging between 25 and 60

members. A lifestyle based on food extraction from the environment rather
than food production cannot sustain a very large population. These societies
tend to be nomadic, that is, without permanent settlements. After a while, food
extraction depletes the resources available in the societys surrounding. Once an
area has been relatively exploited, the group then has to move to find new
sources of subsistence.
Population size is also relatively small because the number of births usually
matches the number of deaths and fertility the number of children a woman
has tends to be low for several reasons. Low levels of body fat, prolonged
nursing and nomadism through the increased risk of miscarriage decrease
womens fertility. Social and cultural considerations also play a part in low
fertility. Abortion and infanticide tend to be widespread in such societies: it would
be difficult for a woman nursing a young child for several years to have another
baby to care for, especially when a group is constantly on the move, carrying all
their possessions. And for all the members of the group, accidents and disease
are common causes of death. As a result of all these factors, population growth
tends to be very low.
Another defining characteristic of hunting and gathering societies is the
prevalence of the family and kinship structure as the basic institution. Most
institutional functions we identified earlier as basic individual and societal needs
are fulfilled by the family or kinship. In a hunting and gathering society, every
individual has ties to the other members of the group. The family structure of
hunting and gathering societies can include both nuclear parents and their
unmarried children and extended families where other relatives, beyond just
parents and children, are included. Among the family structure relatively
common in such societies are (a) limited polygyny, where one husband has 2 or
3 wives, (b) exogamy, where one marries outside of ones group in order to
foster alliances with neighboring communities, (c) wife lending, as a means of
settling conflicts between groups.

Teaching New Members

In hunting and gathering societies, there is no formal educational system.

Children are raised into the way of life of the group through informal training and
observation of adults activities. Because resources are often scarce, children are
soon expected to contribute to the group within the limits of their abilities.
Although children do not go through formal education, their growing up is
marked by rites of passage or initiations that usually mark their transition to
adulthood. This lack of formal education also correlates with valuing childrens
independence and self-reliance as more useful qualities for a nomadic and
uncertain lifestyle.

Producing and Distributing Goods

Hunters and gatherers do not produce food. They collect what is already
available in their surroundings and this constitutes the major economic activity.
There is therefore a limited division of labor and limited distribution of statuses
and roles. Division of labor is usually based on gender and age. In most hunting
and gathering societies, men hunt and women gather. This division of labor
relates to prolonged nursing and differential levels of speed and skills. Similarly,

children and elders are expected to contribute to the group according to their
abilities, for instance, by gathering firewood.
Usually, most of the food that a group gets is based on gathering rather than
hunting. However, the product of the hunt is considered more prestigious than
the product of gathering. As a result, although mostly egalitarian, such societies
do value mens work more than womens. It may be that meat is more valued
because it is scarce, harder and more dangerous to obtain and requiring more
skills than plant gathering. Good hunting skills are therefore a source of prestige.
Apart from these simple aspects of division of labor, there is limited structured
inequality in hunting and gathering societies.
The major mode of food distribution is sharing. Different members of the groups
and different families commonly share what they are able to gather and
especially what they hunt. Because meat is rare, it is expected that lucky hunters
of the day share their kill. This emphasis of sharing as widespread norm
benefits the group as a whole: if a man kills game one day and shares it, then, he
can expect to receive meat from other men on the days when he is not
successful. This cooperation ensures the survival of the group as a whole. Such a
value placed on cooperation goes against the common sense idea that human
beings are naturally competitive and selfish. The most basic human economic
system was based on cooperation and sharing.
This characteristic is also related to the fact that there is no opportunity to
accumulate wealth: whatever is killed or gathered is disposable, so, food surplus
cannot be created. And because the group is nomadic and members have to
carry their possessions from place to place, there is also little opportunity to
accumulate private property.

Preserving Order and Cooperation Within Society

Since hunting and gathering societies tend not to develop complex political
systems. After all, there is little wealth or power to distribute among the
members. There are no formal rulers but sometimes, a skilled hunter may
accumulate prestige and become big man or great man. Such a title confers
a few privileges but no extensive power over other members. In such societies,
collective decision making is made over group meeting and by consensus.
Similarly, social control is exercised informally, either through blood revenge,
where the victim punishes the offender, or banishment.

Maintaining a Sense of Purpose and Cooperation

Like all human societies, hunting and gathering communities have struggled with
the need to explain the world around them and events for which there are no
easy answers: people do get sick and die, but what causes illness? Why are there
good hunting days and bad hunting days? Because these societies had limited
amounts of knowledge to rely on, they developed their own system of
explanation. This resulted in the rise of a religious form known as animism: the
belief that spirits inhabit all natural elements, that they interfere with human
affairs, and that they can be manipulated to a certain extent by individuals with
specific skills, called Shamans or medicine men. This spiritual aspect of hunting
and gathering life has been made famous by cave paintings excavated in
different parts of the world, as well as sculpture and other artistic forms.

Horticultural and Pastoral Societies

The period between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago marks the end of the hunting
and gathering era and the emergence of the era of horticultural and pastoral
societies. Although this shift is referred to as the first social revolution, it was
actually gradual and unfolded over thousands of years. However, the changes
were so deep in the major areas of social life that this shift truly was
revolutionary.
According to Lenski and Nolan, research now shows that hunters and gatherers
did not simply decide one day to abandon their traditional lifestyle to become
horticulturalists and pastoralists. Hunting and gathering societies had belief
systems and structures that made them resistant to change. A more likely
explanation is that they were compelled to do so for several reasons: (a)
population growth, (b) environmental change, and (c) change in technology. As
population grows, more food is needed to sustain the group. Consequently,
hunting and gathering societies became more efficient in weapon technology
which resulted in the accelerating extermination of game. At the same period,
the global warming that marked the end of the last ice age provoked a rise in
ocean levels and a corresponding shrinking in available land.
Those societies that lived in dry and mountainous areas with low rainfall turned
to pastoralism, the domestication of herd of animals for food. Those that lived in
areas with more rainfall turned to horticulturalism, that is, the cultivation of
gardens for food using hand tools, such as hoes. Pastoral societies remained
nomadic whereas horticultural societies established permanent settlements.
A good example of a contemporary horticultural and pastoral society are the
Masai people, who live mostly in Kenya. Below is a video the author shot. The
Masai live without electricity. In order to cook and heat, they need fire and this is
how they get it, the old-fashioned way.

Subsistence Technology

Horticulturalism involves slash and burn cultivation. When groups settled in an

area, they would clear the land by burning the existing vegetation using the
resulting ash as fertilizer. Once the nutrients in the ash are consumed and the
land loses its fertility, it would be abandoned to wild vegetation and people
would establish a new garden. The major tools for this are the hoe and the
digging stick. The first region to adopt this mode of subsistence was a Middle
Eastern area called the Fertile Crescent, an area spreading from Jordan to Iraq.
Pastoral societies are also called herding societies. They rely on the
domestication of animals present in the environment for food. These societies
tend to remain nomadic to find grazing land for their herds. The major pastoral
societies are still found in the Sahara desert, among the Tuareg people.

Replacing Member and Caring for the Young

The switch from a hunting and gathering lifestyle to a horticultural or pastoral

economy had far-reaching consequences. Human societies were no longer
dependent upon whatever food sources were available in the environment.

Human beings, from now on, were producing it with greater efficiency. The result
was the production of a food surplus. The first consequence of the availability of
a food surplus is the increase in population size. Horticultural societies support
hundreds of people. As people enjoy greater food security, fertility increases and
mortality in general and infant mortality in particular decrease. Consequently,
population grows. Additionally, living in permanent settlements means that
women do not have to wait for a child to be autonomous before having another
one. And as life expectancy increases, so does a womans average number of
reproductive years.

Teaching New Members

In horticultural and pastoral societies, the family and kinship group remain
central but they tend to be more complex than in hunting and gathering
societies. Because of the population growth, extended family networks grow
larger and constitute clans. Kinship still fulfills most of the basic social and
human needs. The concept of kin is also extended to include dead ancestors who
come to take the place of spirits as supernatural forces intervening in the affairs
of the living.

Producing and Distributing Goods

As the food supply becomes more secure, the economic structure is radically
transformed since not everyone needs to be involved in this activity. This allows
individuals to get involved in economic activities not related to food production,
such as crafts, jewelry, pottery, weaving, and religious functions. As food
production increases, so does specialization.
In horticultural societies, women are largely responsible for food production. Men
are usually in charge of clearing the land but women do the planting and
harvesting. As a result, men have more time to be involved in non-food related
activities.
There are also economic consequences to living in permanent settlements: it
becomes possible for people to accumulate material possessions, small, such as
decorative items, or large, such as pottery. This flourishing of material objects
also results in the development of trade and private property to be defended
against potential theft.
Finally, this increase in material goods and food production generates greater
inequalities. Some families will get better crops than others, and therefore
greater wealth which leads to greater power and prestige. This accumulated
wealth can be passed onto the next generations, contributing to a reproduction
of inequalities. With this comes the practice of marriage for economic interest:
because women contribute so greatly to food production, they are a valuable
asset that can be exchanged into marriage for a bride price goods that the
grooms family has to provide to the brides family in exchange for their daughter
thereby creating ties between the families.

Preserving Order and Cooperation within Society

Political governance remains simple. Power is usually exercised by clan leaders

whose influence is based greater wealth. A significant difference between
hunting and gathering societies and horticultural and pastoral societies is the

more extensive presence of warfare in the latter. It seems that warfare, waged
by men released from food production activities, becomes a substitute for
hunting but it also serves other functions.
Warfare serves as population control through direct loss of life as well as female
infanticide. Clans may practice infanticide on their own girls in order to be able to
devote more resources to raising boys to become warriors. Warfare also serves
to acquire more land for a clan thereby increasing that clans power and prestige.
This is accompanied by the added benefit of using captives as slaves to work the
land. Slavery tends to be widespread in horticultural and pastoral societies.

Maintaining a Sense of Purpose and Cooperation

As was the case for hunting and gathering societies, purpose and cooperation
are promoted through religion and spirituality. However, horticultural and
pastoral societies give rise to specific types of religion. Horticultural societies
believe in ancestor worship dead relatives that still exercise influence over their
descendents affairs. This may be due to the fact that, in permanent settlements,
the dead are buried nearby and therefore remembered more strongly by their
relatives.
Pastoral societies developed beliefs systems based on gods or God conceived as
a shepherd guiding his flock; in either cases, the divinity also takes an active part
in the life of believers. The major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity
and Islam were all religions of pastoral societies.
Agricultural Societies
5000 years ago started a very fertile period of innovation in human history. The
large number of innovation again radically changed most aspects of human life
and societies throughout the world.

Subsistence Technology

The innovation in subsistence technology with the greatest impact on the

organization of societies was the plow. Unlike the hoe or the digging stick, the
plow is able to control the growth of weeds and to maintain and renew the
fertility of the soil. Settlements become permanent since soil nutrients do not get
depleted, as they would in a horticultural system. The use of the plow also made
cultivation possible on different types of soil. And with the harnessing of animal
power, cultivation became possible on much larger areas, thereby producing
agriculture, that is, the cultivation of fields (as opposed to gardens). Using oxen
or cattle to pull the plow allowed for greater food surplus. The discovery of
irrigation techniques also contributed to greater productivity by making it
possible to extract several crops during the year.
The production of a food surplus had far-reaching consequences for the rest of
society and triggered further innovation beyond food production. For instance,
the invention of the wheel that could be attached to wagons improved
transportation technology so that it became easier to get the food surplus to
urban areas. The invention of writing and number allowed careful record keeping
of harvest quantities. The discovery and mastery of various metals gave birth to
money which replaced the bartering system in favor of monetary trade.

And as the food surplus increased greatly, societies became larger, even
more complex and differentiated. Agrarian societies were the societies of the
great Empires (such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Greece, and Rome) whose
architectural and cultural accomplishments we still admire today.
For instance, the map on the left (source) shows the Roman Empire at the peak
of its expansion. Romans controlled significant parts of Europe, almost all of
North Africa and the Western part of Asia.
Maintaining this Empire required not only military forces but a state bureaucracy
to ensure compliance with Roman rule. It also required a legal code that defined
the rights of citizens and non-citizens living under Roman rule.

Replacing Member and Caring for the Young

The most direct result of great food productivity is the dramatic increase in
population size, increase in numbers of communities as well as the development
of urban centers which became the first identifiable large cities unified under a
single political authority or ruler. Such empires had populations numbering in
millions.
Because of the dominance of agriculture and the greater availability of food, both
urban and rural families had an interest in large family size, especially families
with sons. Children became valued because they were a source of cheap labor,
as well as old age insurance (especially for peasants living in poverty). Religious
values came to regard large numbers of children as a sign of Gods favor. All
these reasons for favoring large families are still present today in traditional
societies in Africa.
However, if agrarian societies numbered in millions, it is also an effect of
territorial expansion, and not simply because of high fertility because mortality
was also extremely high, and infant mortality especially so. In years of bad crops,
for instance, infanticide and abandonment were common. Also, those very large
cities had no sanitation systems proper. As a result, epidemics the Black Plague
being an extreme case were commonplace and life expectancy short.

Teaching New Members

In agrarian societies, the vast majority of the population is still composed of

peasants, children work alongside adults in gender-differentiated tasks. Men and
boys are generally in charge of plowing and care of the animals whereas women
and girls are in charge of weeding and seeds, as well as domestic chores. In
urban areas, because of the greater specialization, some formal training in
different crafts, in the form of apprenticeships, becomes widespread.

Producing and Distributing Goods

With a greater food surplus, agrarian reached levels of economic complexity,

social differentiation and specialization, and inequality never achieved before.
One of the most important innovations is the emerging use of standardized
means of exchange that paved the way for metal currencies. The rising use of

money stimulates trade and comes to replace the traditional bartering system. In
a bartering system, if your neighbor has something you need, you try to find
something he needs and you make a fair exchange or roughly equivalent value.
If your neighbor has nothing you need, you simply dont engage in bartering with
him. The use of money greatly expands trade because now, you and your
neighbor do not need to have something that other wants in order to do
business. Money can be exchanged. In addition, the notion of fair exchange is
replaced with the notion of profit.
Now that more people can be involved in non-food producing activities, the
amount of goods and services available for purchase increases dramatically,
along with a new class of people whose task it is to acquire good not for their
own use but to sell to others: the merchant class.
Such merchants, in turn, rely on another class to actually manufacture the goods
they intend to sell: artisans. Artisans are specialized craftsmen who sell their
products to merchants who then put them on the market. Artisans themselves
then need skilled and unskilled laborers for the different tasks involved in
manufacturing goods.
In the rural areas, a feudal system develops. Feudalism is an agrarian system
where a small minority of the population own most of the land and landless
peasants have to work the land in exchange for a small share of the harvest. This
landowning agrarian elite also employs a sizable number of domestic servants
and a new class of professional entertainers (gladiators, for instance).
Dramatic inequalities exist between the rulers and the elite on the one hand, and
the large masses of peasants at the bottom of the social ladder. However,
agrarian societies are also more complex and a wide range of new classes are
created to fulfill different economic functions between these extremes of wealth
and poverty.
Agrarian societies also mark the degradation of the status of women. Since men
are now in charge of plowing and animals, that is, the tasks that are central to
food production, womens tasks take secondary status. In all the different
classes, women become means of forging alliances between families and kinship
networks as wealth is passed from fathers to sons.

Preserving Order and Cooperation within Society

Politically, the agrarian era marks the beginning of a structured organization

managing collective affairs: the state. When territories and population become
so large and diverse as a result of conquests, the need emerges for some degree
of political integration under a single political authority. The emergence of a
governing class marks the relative decline of kinship ties. Indeed, most agrarian
societies are ruled by hereditary kings or emperors whose titles are passed to
their heirs.
Large-scale conquest and warfare cannot rely on private militia. Agrarian rulers
create professional armies, thereby creating a military class in society. These
armies are used both against foreign and internal threats.
Once a territory has been expanded or conquered, its administration is turned
over to bureaucrats to manage civil affairs, such as payment of taxation and

tribute to the ruler, as well as administration of justice. Indeed, agrarian societies

give rise to the first formal codes of law and the corresponding legal occupations.
The major political characteristic of agrarian societies is what Lenski and Nolan
(2004) call the proprietary theory of the state: rulers of agrarian societies do not
manage their empire for the common good or in the name of the public interest,
but as a piece of property they own and can do with as they please.

Maintaining a Sense of Purpose and Cooperation

If agrarian societies are so unequal and exploitative for the vast majority of the
population, why do people put up with this state of affairs? Why do peasants turn
most of the food surplus they produce over to indifferent and contemptuous
elite? They do so because these societies also provide a moral system of
justification of the gross inequalities anchored in religious ideology. Most rulers
are religiously defined as ruling by divine right such as the European
monarchies or as gods themselves such as the Egyptian Pharaohs. Their
wealth, power and privileges are therefore part of a divine design and ordering of
the world. Any challenge to the organization of societies, especially its unequal
class structure, is a challenge to God or the gods.
Such an ideology is actively promoted by a rising clergy and priestly class that
rely on the generosity of rulers. In agrarian societies, religion becomes a
powerful and universal force. Gods are no longer local deities or ancestors but
omnipotent entities that control what goes on in the whole world and regulate
human moral conduct, as in Christianity and Islam. The priestly class also
contributes to the exploitation of the peasant class by requiring tributes,
constructions of temples, and labor in order to properly serve God.
Industrial Societies
The three different types of societies we have examined so far are referred to as
preindustrial societies. In all of them, the main source of energy was human or
animal muscle which inherently placed limits on productivity. It is the discovery
and use of alternate sources of energy that would spark the next social
revolution: the Industrial Revolution. With industrial societies, we see the
emergence of societies we, in the West, are familiar with. Indeed, most of our
contemporary lifestyle has its roots in technological and societal innovations
brought about by industrialization.
The essence of industrial society was powerfully captured by Charlie Chaplin, in
his movie, Modern Times:

Subsistence Technology

It is indeed the harnessing of new energy sources that marked the next leap in
subsistence technology that is at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. This
Revolution started in Great Britain around the 1750s with the use of the steam
engine and fuel to power industrial machinery. When applied to subsistence
production, fuel-powered machinery transformed agrarian production into
agribusiness: farming becomes less the business of slam to medium family farms

and more the business of very large agricultural companies that need a very
small workforce.
At the same time, emerging industries such as steel, automobile, and textile,
have increased needs for an abundant workforce driven by a more complex
division of labor in the productive economy. The illustration below (source)
represents scientific management or Taylorism. Rather than one skilled individual
completing all the steps of the production process, the engineer Frederick Taylor
conducted time-motion studies in which he timed how long each step took, then
assigned each simple step to an individual worker. Since the steps are simple,
they do not require specific skills (see the Modern Times clip above) and can be
reproduced many times over per hour, leading to higher production:

As a result, industrialization involves a massive transfer of population from the

rural areas to the cities. And because agriculture becomes a form of industrial
production, it is possible for a very small agricultural workforce to support and
predominantly urban and industrial societies.

Replacing Members and Caring for the Young

If urban living conditions for the working class were initially appalling with high
death rates due to infectious disease, the increase in scientific, biological and
medical knowledge progressively extended longevity. As death rates gradually
declined and birth rates remained high, a population explosion resulted.
However, throughout the 20th century, thanks to more reliable methods of
contraception, birthrates started to drop. Additionally, for urban families, there
were fewer incentives to have large families as women started to work outside
the home and as child labor became illegal.
Although still a main function of the family, caring for the young became the
business of other social institutions as well: the government would progressively
oversee the wellbeing of children; the educational system would take care of
formal schooling. This contributed to an undermining of the traditional authority
of the family.

Teaching New Members

An industrial economy needs an educated workforce. Progressively, all industrial

nations institute formal systems of schooling, elementary, secondary, and
universities. By the beginning of the 20th century, most industrial countries have
some form of compulsory education. The educational system therefore becomes
a major social institution at the expense of the family.

Producing and Distributing Goods

Industrial economies are distinct from previous economic systems in several

other characteristics:

Economic production shifts from labor-intensive production that uses a

lot of labor power, workers or animals to capital-intensive production
that needs a lot of initial investment in machinery and technology.

The family shifts from a unit of economic production to a unit of economic

consumption.

In order to improve their standard of living, workers start organizing labor

unions to defend their collective rights.

The most dramatic change in the economic structure is the rise of an economic
system never seen before: capitalism. Hunting and gathering societies system
of production was a subsistence economy, where self-sufficiency was the goal.
Agrarian societies system of production was a command economy where the
ruling elite made the economic choices and enjoyed the wealth generated by the
economic surplus. Industrial societies system of production is private, and based
on a market economy where producers are free to exchange their goods and
services and prices are set by supply and demand.
However, it is important to note that industrialized countries never had a truly
market economy. By the end of the 19th century, most industrialized nations had
put in place welfare systems and ways of redistributing wealth in a less unequal
fashion and to alleviate some of the harshest effects of capitalism on the working
class. Social inequality does remain a problem along gender and racial lines with
the persistence of wage gaps.

Preserving Order and Cooperation within Society

On the political front, industrialization brought about two major changes:

democracy and the nation-state. As industrialization makes farming a less
profitable activity and land a less valuable asset, traditional elite lose both
economic and political power. Industrialists and merchants become the major
beneficiaries of the new system. This new elite reject hereditary and monarchical
power. As a result, in most European countries, the 19th century is the century of
revolutions where monarchies get overthrown and replaced with democratic
regimes and political rulers are ideally supposed to exercise power on behalf of
and for the benefit of society as a whole.
Of course, early democracies were democracies in name only since significant
categories of people first, poor men, then women and people of color were
excluded from basic political rights. On most western European countries, full
democratic participation is only achieved after World War II, and in the United
States, one would have to wait for the Civil Rights in the 1960s for African
Americans to enjoy full citizenship rights. The very concept of citizen is born of
industrialization and this democratic trend. In the agrarian era, common people
were subjects. The concept of citizen implies membership in a nation-state that
guarantees certain rights (political, civil and social) and imposes certain duties
(such as respect for the law, taxation, and possible draft).
According to Lenski and Nolan, the rise of these two political changes were
brought about by industrialization but also by other causes as well:

Protestant rejection of the Churchs authority and hierarchy;

Increase in literacy and standard of living which renders people more
politically active and demanding;
Urbanization also makes people more politically sophisticated, as opposed
to rural areas where people tend to lack such sophistication and tend to
follow traditional authorities;

The rise of the mass media (initially, in the form of cheap daily
newspapers) which increased the general level of political awareness. Of
course, the rise of the mass media also produced the first media mogul
who could control how much and what kind of information people were
exposed to, as brilliantly illustrated by Orson Welles movie Citizen Kane.
(See video below)

Industrialization also means the growth of government alongside the growth of

corporations. Industrial societies are territorially large and comprise tens of
millions of people. There are therefore the social and economic that only a
government can take care of such as sanitation, roadways, transportation
infrastructure, and education.

Maintaining a Sense of Purpose and Cooperation

According to Lenski and Nolan, industrialization also gave rise to new ideologies
that influenced society. Although religion remains a strong institution, several
new secular ideologies emerge that challenge religious and supernatural
worldviews:

Republicanism the rejection of the hereditary character of monarchies

and of the proprietary view of the state;

Capitalism the promotion of market economy as outlines by Adam

Smiths An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,
published in 1776;

Socialism in its democratic form, it promotes the reform of the

economic system toward more equality; in its revolutionary form,
promoted by Karl Marx, it promotes the overthrow of the capitalist system;

Nationalism a view that shifts sources of loyalty and identity from the
clan or the tribe to the larger nation; it is also referred to as patriotism;

Pragmatism a philosophical view that is non-political and

prescribes that we do what works and reject what does not;

Hedonism a view that emphasizes the pursuit of pleasure.

just

What is distinctive about all these secular ideologies is that they all assume that
human beings (not God, or gods, or ancestors, or spirits) are in control of
individual and collective destinies. As a result, modern and industrial societies
are more receptive and even encouraging of rejecting of traditions, change and
innovation through the application of scientific knowledge and use of technology.
Post-Industrial Societies
According to sociologist Daniel Bell (1973), postindustrial or information societies
have emerged in the past three decades in the United States, Western Europe
and Japan and represent the latest social revolution. Since postindustrial
societies are still developing, it is hard to describe them along the same lines we
have reviewed the previous societal type.

However, we can outline the basic structure of such societies. Economic

production is no longer based on industrialism and the mass production of
manufactured goods. Rather postindustrial societies are based on the production,
storage, and use of information which is why the post-industrial economy is often
also called the Information Age, humorously and midly criticized in the comics
below.
This decline in industrial economy is accompanied by the rise of a service
economy, such as banking and financial services, law, education, and health
care. In a service economy, people sell their knowledge and expertise to others.
Because postindustrial societies and their occupational structure are based on
knowledge, education, especially higher education, maintains a key institutional
role.
Computer technology becomes an essential component of practically every
aspect of peoples lives and the social structure as a whole.
Communication technologies, such as the World Wide Web, emails as well as
satellite communications, have expanded dramatically, connecting people
throughout the world. Just as the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the nationstate, such technologies gave birth to the Global Village.
Of course, other forms of production (agriculture and manufacturing) do not
disappear but we now witness a global division of labor where different regions of
the world engage in different forms of production (fruits from the Caribbean area,
electronic manufacturing from Southeast Asia, high tech software from Silicon
Valley).
Politically, we witness the decline of the nation-state and the rise of global
institutions, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Trade
Organization, and of a global civil society through multiple Non-governmental
organizations such as Amnesty International or Greenpeace.

1.2
Processes of Change
All Cultures are inherently predisposed to change and, at the same time, to resist change.
There are dynamic processes operating that encourage the acceptance of new ideas
and things while there are others that encourage changeless stability. It is likely that social
and psychological chaos would result if there were not the conservative forces resisting
change.

There are three general sources of influence or pressure that are responsible for both
change and resistance to it:
1.
2.
3.

forces at work within a society

contact between societies
changes in the natural environment

Within a society, processes leading to change include invention and culture loss. Inventions
may be either technological or ideological. The latter includes such things as the invention
of algebra and calculus or the creation of a representative parliament as a replacement for
rule by royal decree. Technological inventions include new tools, energy sources, and
transportation methods as well as more frivolous and ephemeral things such as style of
dress and bodily adornment.
Culture loss is an inevitable result of old cultural patterns being replaced by new ones. For
instance, not many Americans today know how to care for a horse. A century ago, this was
common knowledge, except in a few large urban centers. Since then, vehicles with internal
combustion engines have replaced horses as our primary means of transportation and horse
care knowledge lost its importance. As a result, children are rarely taught these skills.
Instead, they are trained in the use of the new technologies of automobiles, televisions,
stereos, cellular phones, computers, and iPods.
Within a society, processes that result in the resistance to change include habit and the
integration of culture traits. Older people, in particular, are often reticent to replace their
comfortable, long familiar cultural patterns. Habitual behavior provides emotional security in
a threatening world of change. Religion also often provides strong moral justification and
support for maintaining traditional ways. In the early 21st century, this is especially true of
nations mostly guided by Islamic Law, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan.
The fact that cultural institutions are integrated and often interdependent is a major source of

resistance to change. For instance, in the second half of the20th century, rapidly changing
roles of North American and European women were resisted by many men because it
inevitably resulted in changes in their roles as well. Male and female roles do not exist
independent of each other. This sort of integration of cultural traits inevitably slows down
and modifies cultural changes. Needless to say, it is a source of frustration for both those
who want to change and those who do not.
The processes leading to change that occur as a result of contact between societies are
1.
2.
3.

diffusion
acculturation
transculturation

Diffusion is the movement of things and ideas from one culture to another. When diffusion
occurs, the form of a trait may move from one society to another but not its original cultural
meaning. For instance, when McDonald's first brought their American style hamburgers to
Moscow and Beijing, they were accepted as luxury foods for special occasions because they

were relatively expensive and exotic. In America, of course, they have a very different
meaning--they are ordinary every day fast food items.
Acculturation is what happens to an entire culture when alien traits diffuse in on a large
scale and substantially replace traditional cultural patterns. After several centuries of
relentless pressure from European Americans to adopt their ways, Native American cultures
have been largely acculturated. As a result, the vast majority of American Indians now
speak English instead of their ancestral language, wear European style clothes, go to school
to learn about the world from a European perspective, and see themselves as being a part of
the broader American society. As Native American societies continue to acculturate, most
are experiencing a corresponding loss of their traditional cultures despite efforts of
preservationists in their communities.
While acculturation is what happens to an entire culture when alien traits overwhelm
it, transculturation is what happens to an individual when he or she moves to another
society and adopts its culture. Immigrants who successfully learn the language and accept
as their own the cultural patterns of their adopted country have transculturated. In contrast,
people who live as socially isolated expatriates in a foreign land for years without desiring or
expecting to become assimilated participants in the host culture are not transculturating.
There is one last process leading to change that occurs as an invention within a society as a
result of an idea that diffuses from another. This is stimulus diffusion --a genuine invention
that is sparked by an idea from another culture. An example of this occurred about
1821 when a Cherokee Indian named Sequoyah saw English writing which stimulated him
to create a unique writing system for his own people. Part of hissyllable based system is
illustrated below. Note that some letters are similar to English while others are not. To see
the entire Cherokee syllabary,click here.
It is also likely that ancient Egyptians around 3050 B.C. invented their hieroglyphic writing
system after learning about the cuneiform writing system invented by Sumerians in what is
today Southern Iraq.
There are processes operating in the contact between cultures as well that result in
resistance to change. These are due to "us versus them" competitive feelings and
perceptions. Ethnocentrism
also leads people to reject alien ideas and things as being
unnatural and even immoral. These ingroup-outgroup dynamics commonly result in
resistance to acculturation and assimilation.
Summation
In order to better grasp the relationship between all of the different mechanisms of change
operating within and between societies, it is useful to see them again in summary:

We now understand that this holistic approach to understanding culture change must also
include consideration of changes in the environment in which a society exists. For instance,
environmental degradation of fresh water supplies, arable land, and energy sources
historically have resulted in the creation of new inventions, migrations, and even war to
acquire essential resources.
Assimilation
Assimilation describes the process of social, cultural, and political integration of a
minority into a dominant culture and society.
KEY POINTS

Immigrant assimilation is one of the most common forms of assimilation,

and is a very complex process.

Social scientists rely on four primary benchmarks to assess immigrant

assimilation: socioeconomic status, geographic distribution,
second language attainment, and intermarriage.

Socioeconomic status is defined by educational attainment, occupation,

and income. Spatial concentration is defined by geography or residential
patterns.

Language attainment refers to the ability to speak English and the loss of
the individual's mother tongue. Intermarriage involves marriage across
racial, ethnic, or, occasionally, generational lines.

Segmented assimilation states that there are three main paths of

assimilation for second generation immigrants: some assimilate smoothly,
others experience downward assimilation, and others experience rapid
economic success while preserving the values of their
immigrant community.

Intermarriage involves marriage across racial, ethnic, or, occasionally,

generational lines.

TERMS

socioeconomic status

One's social position as determined by income, wealth, occupational prestige,

and educational attainment.

intermarriage

a marriage between people belonging to different groups, ethnic, religious or

otherwise.

spatial concentration

A measure of how densely particular ethnic groups are situated in a geographic

location.
FULL TEXT
Assimilation describes the process by which a minority integrates socially,
culturally, and/or politically into a larger, dominant culture and society. The term
assimilation is often used in reference to immigrants and ethnic groups settling
in a new land. Immigrants acquire new customs and attitudes through contact
and communication with a new society, while they also introduce some of their
own cultural traits to that society.
Assimilation usually involves a gradual change of varying degree. Full
assimilation occurs when new members of a society become indistinguishable
from native members.
Any group (such as a state, immigrant population, or ethnicity) may choose to
adopt a different culture for a variety of reasons such as political relevance or
perceived advantage. However, a group may also be forced or feel compelled to
do so as a result of imperialistic conquest, immigration, or drastic changes in
population.
Assimilation of Immigrants
Immigrant assimilation is one of the most common forms of assimilation. It is a
complex process through which an immigrant integrates themselves into a new
country. Geography professor and human migration specialist William A. V. Clark
says that immigrant assimilation is "a way of understanding the social dynamics
of American society" and defines it as "the process that occurs spontaneously
and often unintended in the course of interaction between majority and minority
groups. "
Social scientists rely on four benchmarks, initially formulated when studying
European immigrants in the U.S., to assess immigrant assimilation:
1

Socioeconomic status is defined by educational attainment, occupation,

andincome. By measuring socioeconomic status, researchers seek to
determine whether immigrants eventually catch up to native-born people
in matters of capital.

Spatial concentration is defined by geography or residential patterns. The

spatial residential model states that increasing socioeconomic attainment,
longer residence in the U.S, and higher generational status lead to
decreasing residential concentration for a particular ethnic group.

Language attainment is defined as the ability to speak English and the loss
of the individual's mother tongue. The three-generation model of language
assimilation states that the first generation makes some progress in
language assimilation but retains primary fluency in their native tongue,
while the second generation is bilingual and the third generation speaks
only English.

Intermarriage refers to marriage across racial, ethnic, or, occasionally,

generational lines. High rates of intermarriage are considered to be an
indication of social integration, as they suggest intimate and profound
relations between people of different groups. Intermarriage reduces the
ability of families to pass on to their children a consistent ethnic culture
and thus is an agent of assimilation.

Naturalization and Immigrant Assimilation

Other than marriage, citizenship is one of the most significant factors in
assimilation. Thus, immigration debates focus not only on the number of
immigrants that should be admitted into a country and the processes of
incorporation, but also on how citizenship should be extended and to whom.
Proponents of immigration often argue that new residents will help to build and
enrich American democracy, while opponents counter that the identity and
legitimacy of the nation may be challenged and perhaps even threatened by
immigrants. Questions of citizenship in relation to illegal immigration is a
particularly controversial issue and a common source of political tension.
New Immigrant Gateways and Immigrant Assimilation
The majority of immigrants have tended to settle in traditional gateway states
such as Florida, New York, California, Illinois, Texas, and Massachusetts, where
immigrants find large existing populations of foreign-born people. Recently,
however, immigrants have increasingly been settling in areas outside these
gateway states. Sociologists Mary Waters and Tomas R. Jimenez have suggested
that these geographical shifts may change the way researchers assess
immigrant assimilation, as immigrants settling in new areas may encounter
different experiences than immigrants settling in moretraditional gateways.
Specifically, Waters and Jimenez identify three distinguishing characteristics
in more recent, less traditional, immigration patterns: less established
social hierarchies, smaller immigrant population size, and different institutional
arrangements.
Segmented Assimilation
The theory of segmented assimilation for second generation immigrants is highly
researched in the sociological arena. Segmented assimilation, researched by Min
Zhou and Alejandro Portes, focuses on the notion that people take different paths
in how they adapt to life in the United States. This theory states that there are
three main different paths of assimilation for second generation immigrants.
Some immigrants assimilate smoothly into the white middle class of America,

others experience downward assimilation, and others experience rapid economic

success while preserving the values of their immigrant community.
This theory also includes the concept of modes of incorporation, which are the
external factors within the host community that affect assimilation. These factors
are created by the underlying policies of the government, the strength
of prejudice in the society, and the makeup of coethnic communities within the
society. These modes of incorporation affect how a child will assimilate into U.S.
society, and determine how vulnerable the child will be towards downward
assimilation. Factors that enhance such vulnerability include
racial discrimination, location, and changes in the economy that have made it
harder for intergenerational mobility.
In addition, differing modes of incorporation make available
certain resources that second generation immigrants can use to overcome
challenges to the process of assimilation. If the child belongs to a group that has
been exempt from the prejudice experienced by most immigrants, such as
European immigrants, they will experience a smoother process of assimilation. A
second generation immigrant can also make use of established networks in the
coethnic community. These networks provide these children with additional
resources beyond those offered by the government, such as gateways into well
paying jobs in businesses established by the ethnic community. Children of
middle class immigrants have a greater likelihood of moving up the social ladder
and joining American mainstream society than children of lower class
immigrants, as they have access to both the resources provided by their parents
and to the educational opportunities afforded to the middle class in the U.S.
1.4 Cultural Subsets
There are many, many different cultures throughout the world. Interestingly, we
are all typically part of several cultures at the same time. For example, someone
who lives in the U.S. could be part of the national culture, in addition to the
distinct culture of the South, a religious community, a heritage group and more.
In this lesson, we are going to focus on identifying different subsets or categories
of cultures that can exist within a larger one and also discuss how these subsets
are viewed.
Subcultures
A subculture is a unique culture shared by a smaller group of people who are also
a part of a larger culture. A larger culture often contains many subcultures, and
an individual can be part of several of them. Each subculture has distinct norms
and customs that aren't a part of the broader culture in which it is enveloped.
Think of the Amish, or bikers, or hippies or Whovians. Each of these groups has
unique cultures, yet they all exist within the broad culture of the United States.
High Culture Vs. Popular Culture
T term high culture is used to describe a subculture shared by the elite in a
society. In fact, many associate the word 'culture' with high culture - someone
who attends the ballet and collects museum-quality artwork is often considered
'cultured.'

High culture isn't considered to be better by sociologists - just interestingly

different from popular culture, which is the dominant subculture shared by the
majority of a society's population. The elements of popular culture have mass
accessibility and appeal. For example, high culture includes expensive
restaurants that serve caviar and play classical music. This isn't typically
appealing to the bulk of citizens. On the other hand, popular culture includes
cheap fast-food restaurants that serve hamburgers and play top 40 pop music.
These restaurants are so appealing that they are everywhere you look.
Multiculturalism
Of course, our entire country does not consist only of high culture and popular
culture. It's well known that we have immigrants from many countries who bring
their culture with them and make our population quite diverse. It could be said
that our national culture is a blend of many cultures. They are like soup
ingredients that, once mixed together, contribute to the whole and are difficult to
separate from each other.
Yet, multiculturalism, which is the view that cultural differences should be
respected and celebrated, is on the rise. In contrast to the melting pot metaphor,
multiculturalism promotes diversity through the recognition and continued
celebration of separate cultures that co-exist peacefully. Rather than creating
one culture from aspects of other cultures, multiculturalism focuses on the
preservation of separated individual cultural traditions and customs.
Counterculture
Multiculturalism seems like a welcoming, inclusive sentiment, but the inclusion
may not extend to countercultures. A counterculture is a type of subculture,
which strongly opposes one or more elements of the dominant culture. In other
words, those who share a counterculture reject conventional values or behavioral
norms accepted by the majority in a society. For example, polygamists believe in
marriage to more than one person. This contradicts the value - and even law - of
the dominant American culture. Many people react very negatively to the culture
of polygamists and other countercultures as well.
Lesson Summary
In summary, a subculture is a unique culture shared by a smaller group of people
who are also a part of a larger culture. A larger culture often contains many
subcultures, and each subculture has distinct norms and customs that aren't a
part of the broader culture in which it is enveloped.
There are so many subcultures in America that it would be extremely difficult to
identify all of them. However, the term high culture is used to describe a
subculture shared by the elite in a society. High culture isn't considered to be
better by sociologists - just interestingly different from popular culture, which is
the dominant subculture shared by the majority of a society's population. The
elements of popular culture have mass accessibility and appeal.
Perhaps more than any other country, we have a great diversity of people and
backgrounds. Multiculturalism is the view that cultural differences should be
respected and celebrated. In contrast to the melting pot metaphor,
multiculturalism promotes diversity through the recognition and continued

celebration of separate cultures that co-exist peacefully. Although that may seem
like a welcoming, inclusive sentiment, it may not extend to any counterculture,
which is a type of subculture that strongly opposes one or more elements of the
dominant culture.
1.5 Socialization and Social Isolation: Definition & Case Studies
Interestingly, socialization seems to be the process that makes us act human.
Here we define socialization and discuss its importance to human development.
We also contrast it to social isolation and discuss several case studies regarding
what happens when humans don't or can't socialize.
Nature Vs. Nurture
You have probably heard about a famous debate in psychology and sociology
that is known as 'nature vs. nurture.' The question is if human behavior is a
product of our genes and evolution or of experience and social contact. The
majority of sociologists believe that the answer to this question is likely a
combination of both but that nurture plays the most important role in at least our
social behavior. So let's talk more about nurture - specifically, about the
importance of socialization.
Socialization
Socialization is a lifelong process during which we learn about social expectations
and how to interact with other people. During socialization, we learn about our
own culture, including behavioral norms and values that teach us how to fit in to
our society. As children, we learn to walk, talk and feed ourselves and also the
difference between right and wrong from the people around us. Through
socialization, we acquire a personal identity and learn to value our connections
with others. This process continues for an entire lifetime.
Nearly all of the behavior that we consider to be 'human nature' is actually
learned through socialization. For example, it is easy to assume that standards of
beauty are the same all over the world. Surely, a woman who Americans
'instinctively' find attractive would also be considered attractive by other
cultures, right? Yet there are cultures in which women go to drastic measures to
elongate their necks and shrink their feet in order to obtain their cultural
standards of beauty, which clearly are not the same as ours. Therefore, beauty
may not be instinctive after all, but culturally defined and learned from others.
Social Isolation
Socialization is such a basic part of our lives that it is easy to overlook its
importance. But it is the reason we laugh, cry, talk and do many of the other
things we think of as just a part of being human. Socialization doesn't always
happen, though, and certainly can't happen in social isolation. This is a state that
occurs when someone experiences a complete lack of contact with the social
world. We are talking about no communication with humans, no visual sighting of
them - no access to society whatsoever.
Social isolation would be horribly lonely for someone used to being around
people. Imagine what a man would be like if he lived in a city for 30 years and
was then stranded completely alone on a deserted island for the rest of his life.
But social isolation from the beginning of one's life seems to be just as bad, if not

worse. From what sociologists have been able to tell from case studies,
individuals who grow up in social isolation have no chance to learn all of the
feelings and behaviors we mistakenly believe that we are born with, so although
they look human, they don't act human.
Socialization Studies
An example can be seen in the tragic, well-known case of Anna, an unwanted
child of a farmer's daughter. Her mother confined Anna to a dark, windowless
room and, although she provided her with enough milk to keep her alive, had no
other contact with her. When social workers found Anna, she was five years old
and had lived her entire life tied to a chair in that room. She didn't know how to
walk, talk or even chew. She was also extremely apathetic and never laughed,
cried or had much of a reaction to other people at all.
Unfortunately, what happened to Anna is not a solitary instance. There have
been many other cases in which children have been found in similar
circumstances. Each time, the child seemed almost inhuman because of the lack
of socialization.
Even studies involving monkeys show us the importance of socialization and the
negative effects of social isolation. Harry Harlow conducted a famous experiment
in which he split into groups baby monkeys who had been separated from their
mothers at birth. Long story short, he discovered that
monkeys who were placed in isolation for just six months had a dramatic effect
on their development. These monkeys were unable to interact and socialize once
exposed to other monkeys - they had never learned how!
Lesson Summary
In summary, socialization is a lifelong process during which we learn about social
expectations and how to interact with other people. Nearly all of the behavior
that we consider to be 'human nature' is actually learned through socialization. It
is such a basic part of our lives that it's easy to overlook its importance.
Yet we see just how important it is when we look at cases of individuals growing
up in social isolation, which is a state that occurs when someone experiences a
complete lack of contact with the social world. Like Anna and similar human case
studies, and the monkeys observed by Harlow, those who grow up in social
isolation have no chance to learn all of the feelings and behaviors we mistakenly
believe individuals are born with.
Agents of Socialization: Family, Schools, Peers and Media
The socialization that we receive in childhood has a lasting effect on our ability to
interact with others in society. In this lesson, we identify and discuss four of the
most influential agents of socialization in childhood: family, school, peers, and
media.
Socialization
How do we learn to interact with other people? Socialization is a lifelong process
during which we learn about social expectations and how to interact with other
people. Nearly all of the behavior that we consider to be 'human nature' is
actually learned through socialization. And it is during socialization that we learn

how to walk, talk, and feed ourselves, about behavioral norms that help us fit in
to our society, and so much more.
Socialization occurs throughout our life, but some of the most important
socialization occurs in childhood. So let's talk about the most influential agents of
socialization. These are the people or groups responsible for our socialization
during childhood - including family, school, peers, and mass media.
Family
There is no better way to start than to talk about the role of family in our social
development, as family is usually considered to be the most important agent of
socialization. As infants, we are completely dependent on others to survive. Our
parents, or those who play the parent role, are responsible for teaching us to
function and care for ourselves. They, along with the rest of our family, also
teach us about close relationships, group life, and how to share resources.
Additionally, they provide us with our first system of values, norms, and beliefs a system that is usually a reflection of their own social status, religion, ethnic
group, and more.
Schools
The next important agent of childhood socialization is the school. Of course, the
official purpose of school is to transfer subject knowledge and teach life skills,
such as following directions and meeting deadlines. But students don't just learn
from the academic curriculum prepared by teachers and school administrators.
In school, we also learn social skills through our interactions with teachers, staff,
and other students. For example, we learn the importance of obeying authority
and that, to be successful, we must learn to be quiet, to wait, and sometimes to
act interested even when we're not.
Alexander, like other children, might even learn things from his teacher that she
did not intend to teach. For instance, he might learn that it's best to yell out an
answer instead of raising his hand. When he does so, he gets rare attention from
the teacher and is hardly ever punished.
Peers
Another agent of socialization that relates to school is our peer group. Unlike the
agents we've already discussed - family and school - peer groups give us an
opportunity as children to form relationships with others on our own terms plus
learn things without the direction of an adult. Our peers have an incredible
amount of influence on us when we're young, so it's understandable that parents
worry about the type of friends we choose. Often, we discuss topics and learn
behavioral norms from our peers that our parents do not or would not approve of.
However, our peers also give us a chance to develop many of the social skills we
need as adults. For instance, Alexander will certainly experience moments when
his friends' behavior and/or values contradict the norms and values he obtained
from his family. He has to learn to decide which norms and values to keep, reject,
or use and follow in certain situations.
Mass Media

The last agent of childhood socialization we're going to discuss in this lesson is
mass media, which includes television, Internet, radio, movies, books, and
magazines - just to name a few. This is another agent that our parents are
understandably concerned about. As with our peers, we often learn things
through mass media that our parents would probably rather we didn't. Especially
today, children are exposed to a wide variety of content, including violence and
sex, which many deem inappropriate. Mass media also seems to reinforce
gender and other stereotypes.
For example, Alexander loves to watch cartoons, but they perpetuate the idea
that men are more important than women. Women are usually portrayed as
supporting characters - mothers, girlfriends, or damsels in distress. As a result,
Alexander is continually provided with evidence that women are not as brave
and intelligent as men.
Lesson Summary
Socialization occurs throughout our life, but some of the most important
socialization occurs in childhood. Four of the most influential agents of
socialization during that phase of our lives are the family, school, peers, and
mass media.
Family is usually considered to be the most important agent of socialization. They
not only teach us how to care for ourselves but also give us our first system of
values, norms, and beliefs.
Schools are agents of socialization that not only teach us subject knowledge and
life skills but also social skills through our interactions with teachers, staff, and
other students.
Another agent of socialization that relates to school is our peer group. Unlike
family and school, peer groups give us an opportunity as children to form
relationships with others on our own terms plus learn things without the direction
of an adult. Our peers give us a chance to develop many of the social skills we
need later in life.
The last agent we discussed was mass media, which includes television, Internet,
books, and more. As with our peers, we often learn things through mass media
that our parents would probably rather we didn't, such as violence, sex, and the
reinforcement of gender and other stereotypes.