Culture and socialization
FORMAL SOCIALIZATION:
Formal socialization may also occur through a mentoring process whereby values, skills and habits
are communicated to a new hire by a formal way.
NON-FORMAL SOCIALIZATION:
Socialization also occurs through any number of informal channels via peer interactions and
informal interactions with management. In many ways, this is where the most effective and lasting
socialization take place.
Effects of Socialization
1) The socialization process preserves continuity for culture.
2) Individuals learn the history, values, and culture.
3) They also receive a sense of membership in the society.
4) Once employees become fully socialized members of the society, they will preserve the
long-standing values and norms of the organization.
5) Individuals get identity.
What Is Cultural Transmission?
Have you ever wondered why you believe the things that you believe or know the things that you
know? For example, at some point it probably occurred to you that, unless you want to work for
the rest of your life, you need to save money for retirement. And there's a good chance you know
that you're supposed to tip your server when you go to a restaurant. Of course, someone probably
did mention these things to you during your lifetime, but they are also concepts that you learned
by simply participating in your culture.
This type of learning is what is known as cultural transmission (sometimes referred to as 'cultural
learning'), which is the process of learning new information through socialization and engagement
with those around you. The cultural transmission of knowledge is a broad concept, and it refers to
knowledge that is gained through non-biological means.
For example, if you're walking down the street and would like to cross the road, you know that
you can't simply step into the road without looking because there is a chance that you'll get hit by
a car. You don't instinctively know this; rather, it was passed on to you from a parent or other adult
early in your life and reinforced through cultural transmission.
As a means of communication, cultural transmission is a one-way system in which culture is passed
onto a person through certain channels. The process of receiving information about your culture
or society is what is known as enculturation.
What is an example of cultural transmission?
An example of cultural transmission is experiential learning, an immersive type of experience
in which a person learns through direct exposure to the culture, followed by mimicking what
they see. They pick up the behaviors, values, traditions, and rituals of the culture that they are
immersing themselves in.
What is cultural transmission in sociology?
Cultural transmission is how the concepts from one culture are passed down from generation to
generation. This valuable information can also be passed cross-culturally. This process is
constantly occurring as people mingle with each other and pick up on cultural cues.
What is Cultural Relativism?
Fundamentally, cultural relativism is a moral theory that depicts what is appropriate relative to an
individual's culture. Therefore, this concept tries to address various ethical standings in different
cultures. Using this concept, cultural relativism aims to show that no culture is superior to the
merits of morality or politics. Cultural relativism is a concept that norms and values within a
culture are developed according to a particular social context.
What is the meaning of Cultural Relativism?
Cultural relativism is a term that is used to show that the ways of life of people are different
around the world. There are practices that are acceptable in one part of the world that would
not happen in another part of the world.
What is an example of Cultural Relativism?
Women in China used to bind their feet to reduce the size of them, as small feet were
considered a sign of beauty. Chinese men preferred women with tied feet as brides.
Types of Cultural Relativism
There are two types of cultural relativism.
Absolute cultural relativism indicates that whatever activities are practiced within a culture,
no matter how weird and dangerous they appear to be, should not be questioned by other
cultures.
Critical cultural relativism asks questions about cultural practices and why they are practiced.
It seeks answers about the cultural practices in line with who is accepting them and why they
are doing so.
Subcultures: are groups with distinct patterns of learned and shared behavior (ethnicities, races,
genders, age categories) within a larger culture. Despite these distinctive traits, members of
subcultures still share commonalities with the larger society. Subcultures exist in most state level
systems because those systems are pluralistic, they encompass more than one ethnic group or
culture.
Most individuals are members of multiple cultural worlds. Culture exists at several levels. We
typically refer to smaller cultures within a larger culture as subcultures. People have some type of
connection to that subculture but must also be able to operate effectively within the larger culture.
Some of the diversity we see across subcultures is based on class, race, ethnicity, age, and gender.
Social stratification is often the result of our recognition of these worlds as different and a belief
that they are somehow inferior to our own or to the larger culture.
· Class is a social category based on people’s economic position in society. Not all societies
exhibit class differences; ones who do not are called egalitarian. Class societies are
hierarchical, with one class having more access to resources than others. Class is a recent
feature of culture, as all early humans lived in egalitarian bands or tribes.
· Race (in a cultural sense) is the socially constructed meanings assigned to the perceived
differences between people based on physical traits (skin color, facial features, hair types).
What differences we recognize and the meanings we assign those differences are all
culturally determined and not biologically created. These physical features do not
determine a person’s actions or explain their behavior.
· Ethnic group refers to people who identify themselves as a distinct group based on
cultural features such as common origins, language, customs and beliefs. Ethnic groups
can be historically constituted (a group of people who shared a territory, language or
religion) or they can be more recently claimed (African Americans). Just because people
choose to see themselves as members of a specific ethnic group doesn’t mean that all
members of that group are the same or share beliefs and values. Ethnicity, because it is a
marker of group membership, can be used to discriminate.
· Indigenous peoples, “are groups who have a long-standing connection with some territory
that predates colonial or outside societies prevailing in the territory.” Indigenous peoples
are groups that were in a territory before Europeans or colonists arrived, thus Native
Americans are an indigenous group. They are frequently called First Peoples, and often
suffer from discrimination.
· Gender refers to the cultural meanings assigned to the biological differences between the
sexes. Most societies only have masculine or feminine cultural roles, but some have a third,
or even a blended, gender. Gender roles vary widely cross-culturally. Closely tied to gender
roles are issues relating to homosexuality. In many cultures around the world, there is
discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation.
· Age is both a biological fact as well as being culturally constructed. While we can reckon
how many years old an individual is (biological age), what that means in terms of rights
and responsibilities is culturally constructed. Most societies have obligations and
responsibilities that are assigned based on individuals reaching specific ages. Think of
driving, drinking, and voting.
Ethnocentrism and xenocentrism:
What Is Ethnocentrism?
Because each individual is born into a certain cultural environment, he or she develops a specific
idea of what 'normal' is. The people around you as you grow up will shape your perceptions of
what people should look like and how they should behave. What color skin, hair, and eyes people
have; what language they speak; what foods they eat; and what religion they practice all become
ingrained in your mind, whether you know it or not. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own
cultural or ethnic group is superior to other cultural or ethnic groups.
We tell our children to be the best students and athletes they can be. We adults want to belong to
the best clubs and have the best jobs, homes, and cars possible. Generally speaking, everyone want
be the best. So, what's wrong with believing that your own culture is the best certain degree, it's
natural and normal to like and accept what you see around you while growing up and to pattern
your own behaviors and attitudes in a similar fashion. However, if you find that you think less of
other cultural groups, and individuals in those groups, just because they can't possibly be as good
as you if they aren't in your group, then ethnocentrism has arrived.
What is an example of ethnocentrism?
An example of ethnocentrism is believing that the customs and rules such as shaking someone's
hands firmly in America versus shaking hands limply in India would be an example of
ethnocentrism. The belief by American people that shaking hands firmy is better than shaking
hands limpy or the belief by Indian people that shaking hands limply is a better custom than the
other culture would be an example of enthocentrism.
XENOCENTRISM:
Xenocentrism is a culturally based tendency to value other cultures more highly than one’s own.
In psychological terms, xenocentrism is considered a type of deviant behavior because it sways
from the norms of society. It is unexpected that an individual would value the goods, services,
styles, ideas and other cultural elements of another nation. However, in some limited
circumstances, it has been noted that xenocentrism can help to shed light on cultural deficiencies,
whether it be ideas or products, and offers the opportunity to fix that which may legitimately
inferior to another country or culture.
Examples: In the United States, it is often assumed that European products such as wine and
cheese are superior to those produced locally.
Consequences of Xenocentrism
Some examples of the consequences of Xenocentrism include:
• Loss of businesses in the home country
• Loss of jobs in the home country
• Degraded economical situation
• Overall reduction of morale within the nation
• A loss of population to emigration
• Negative impact on the identity of others in relation to culture
If adopted by large like-minded groups, xenocentrism could cause political polarization
• CULTURAL LAG
The term cultural lag refers to the notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological
innovations, and that social problems and conflicts are caused by this lag. Subsequently, cultural
lag does not only apply to this idea only, but also relates to theory and explanation. It helps by
identifying and explaining social problems and also to predict future problems.
The term cultural lag is used to describe the situation in which technological advancements or
changes in society occur faster than the changes in the rules and norms of the culture that go along
with those advancements or changes. This can lead to moral and ethical dilemmas for individuals
as the new social norms are developed.
According to William F. Ogburn, cultural lag is a common societal phenomenon due to the
tendency of material culture to evolve and change rapidly and voluminously while non-material
culture tends to resist change and remain fixed for a far longer period of time. Due to the opposing
nature of these two aspects of culture, adaptation of new technology becomes rather difficult. This
distinction between material and non-material culture is also a contribution of Ogburn's 1922 work
on social change.
His theory of cultural lag suggests that a period of maladjustment occurs when the non-material
culture is struggling to adapt to new material conditions. This resonates with ideas of technological
determinism; in that it presupposes that technology has independent effects on society at large.
Cultural lag creates problems for a society in a multitude of ways. The issue of cultural lag tends
to permeate any discussion in which the implementation of some new technology is a topic. For
example, the advent of stem cell research has given rise to many new, potentially beneficial
medical technologies; however, these new technologies have also raised serious ethical questions
about the use of stem cells in medicine. Cultural lag is seen as a critical ethical issue because failure
to develop broad social consensus on appropriate applications of modern technology may lead to
breakdowns in social solidarity and the rise of social conflict.
HIGH CULTURE most commonly refers to the set of cultural products, mainly in the arts, held
in the highest esteem by a culture. It is the culture of an elite such as the aristocracy or
intelligentsia.
POPULAR CULTURE, traditionally used synonymously to mean low culture, is the entirety of
ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images, and other phenomena that are within the mainstream
of a given culture.
However, conceptual barriers between so-called high and low culture have broken down, and
divisions between high and low culture have been increasingly seen as political distinctions rather
than defensible aesthetic or intellectual ones.
MULTICULTURALISM is the phenomenon of multiple groups of cultures existing within one
society, largely due to the arrival of immigrant communities, or the acceptance and advocation of
this phenomenon. Supporters of multiculturalism claim that different traditions and cultures can
enrich society; however, the concept also has its critics, to the point where the term
"multiculturalism" may well be used more by critics than by supporters. It could, indeed, be
classified as a snarl word or a buzzword, depending on the audience.
Criticism
Critics claim that multiculturalism promotes a tolerance of moral relativism and results in a loss of
national identity. There is also the unfortunate fact that some cultures simply don't mix, and
multiculturalism can sometimes lead to the development of souring subcultures: see, for example,
the bigotry promoted at the East London Mosque.
There is a central paradox in multiculturalism in that it is itself a cultural value, and one particular
to Western culture; other cultures are generally not tolerant of other cultures, and so insisting on
them respecting other cultures is not respecting them.
ASSIMILATION
A process by which members of an ethnic minority group lose cultural characteristics that
distinguish them from the dominant cultural group or take on the cultural characteristics of another
group.
Assimilation is a much-contested notion whereby on entering new country immigrant groups are
encouraged, through social and cultural practices and/or political machinations, to adopt the
culture, values, and social behaviors of the host nation in order to benefit from full citizenship
status. In this view of assimilation, over time, immigrant communities shed the culture that is
embedded in the language, values, rituals, laws, and perhaps even religion of their homeland so
that there is no discernible cultural difference between them and other members of the host society.
This idea is in stark contrast to multiculturalism where ethnic and religious groups maintain strong
links to their cultural heritage, and it is indeed understood that these differences contribute to the
rich diversity of a successful society.
Acculturation
Deciding to live in a new country brings many exciting new experiences. However, adapting to a
new culture can bring challenges as well. When two cultures meet, a complicated and multifaceted
process begins. That process is known as acculturation which is defined as the social,
psychological, and cultural shift that takes place when two or more cultures blend. The process of
acculturation is complex with many changes occurring simultaneously. Modern theories on the
process describe it as a mosaic, an interwoven tapestry of two cultures coming together.
In order for acculturation to take place, an individual must integrate existing values, social norms,
and cultural traditions with the values, social norms, and cultural traditions of the new culture.
Sometimes the individual changes these elements completely, other times they blend them, or they
might choose to keep the original elements intact. People who go through acculturation can be
anyone who comes into contact with a new culture, like an exchange student, or seasonal worker.
But most often individuals who acculturate are immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
What is meant by cultural acculturation
Cultural acculturation is a complex process where an individual exchanges values, social norms,
and cultural traditions with those of an adopted culture. However, the process is two-way, with
one culture influencing the other rather than replacing it.
What is an example for acculturation?
An example of acculturation is modifying old social norms to fit new ones. For example,
shaking hands rather than bowing in greeting.
