Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
This is KINDS OF DISCIPLINE
BECOMING A MEMBER OF SOCIETY
ENCULTURATION and SOCIALIZATION: Identity Formation
IDENTITY
(Identities, Disciplines, and Aspirations
Society is different from culture. There are many cultures
within a society. While members of society share many of
the same expectations and experiences, the cultural groups
create ones that differentiate them from others in society.
ENCULTURATION
• The process by which an individual adopts the
behavior patterns of the culture in which a person
is immersed.
SOCIALIZATION
• It is the process through which people learn to
understand the societal norms, expectations and
values as members of society.
DISCIPLINE
IDENTITY FORMATION
• Starts when one learns to socialize and be aware
of the culture, behaviors, language, morals, and
norms of where he or she belongs in. However, as
a person grows, he or she learns to make his or
her own set of beliefs, values, and morals.
how a person develops an identity. This is what
makes a person different from others.
• What makes a person distinct from others. It is the
total knowledge and understanding of an
individual about who he or she is
TYPES OF IDENTITY
1) Personal Identity
o The concept an individual develops
about himself or herself
o The sense of oneself as a distinct or
unique individual
o May depend on the age and
circumstances of a person
2) Cultural Identity
o The identity of the culture to which a
person belongs in
o The feeling or sense of belongingness to
a group
o A collective sense of companionship
that involves the same beliefs, interests,
and fundamental principles of living
• A way of behaving that expresses a willingness to
obey rules or laws
• Behavior that is judged by how well a person
follows a set of rules or orders
1) Discipline of Nature or Reality
o A person meets this kind of control every
time he or she tries to do something. A
person learns to do things on his or her own
without the supervision of others
2) Discipline of Culture or Society
o What this discipline instills in every culture is
distinct, different, and unique. A person
learns according to what he sees in his
society or his culture
3) Discipline of Superior Force
o This discipline is the opposite of the
discipline of nature or reality. In this training,
a person learns through supervision and
guidance
DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONAL IDENTITY AND
ASPIRATIONS
Personal identity develops in many ways, depending on
preferred directions
o It may be through enculturation and
socialization.
o It may also come through observation of a
role model.
o You tend to imitate a successful person that
leads to changes in personality.
o Your personal identity may change and
eventually, you may develop a clear sense of
yourself
ASPIRATION
o A strong desire and ambition with which
someone is motivated to work hard
 ENCULTURATION and SOCIALIZATION:
NORMS and VALUES
For society to function well, it must be guided by cultural
principles of behavior to maintain stability, peace, and
harmony. Every society has its set of accepted norms and
values of its culture that is socially accepted.
NORMS
o Standards or sets of accepted behaviors that a
person is expected to follow or exemplify in the
society where he or she belongs in. It pertains to
specific guidelines of conduct in society that
guides its members on how to act in particular
situations.
CLASSIFICATION OF NORMS
Norms can be classified in many ways. Norms are either
formal or informal. Norms are also categorized by their
relative importance to society. This classification is
distinguished from the intensity of feelings they initiate and
the consequences that flow from violations of them
1) FOLKWAYS
o They are the customs of people that came
from repetition and routines
o Examples)
The practice of waiting in line
Courtesy to older people
2) MORES
o Stricter than folkways
o Determines what is the moral and ethical
behavior
o Dictates what is right and wrong
o Examples)
Religious doctrines such as the prohibition of
pre-marital sex
The belief that forms of discrimination and
suppression are unethical (e. g. racism and
sexism
2) Collective Values
3) TABOOS o These values are those that are
o Very strong negative norms connected with the development of
o Strict prohibition of certain behaviors that unity in the community or society.
society holds firmly o Examples)
o Violating it results in extreme disgust or Equality
expulsion from the group or society Justice
o Examples) Solidarity
Cannibalism
Incest Functions of SOCIAL NORMS and VALUES
4) LAWS o Values are general guidelines which govern our
o Formally instituted by the government daily behavior. They are the guidelines for our
o Exist because its violation can result in injury judgments, thereby playing a vital role in the
or harm to other members of society maintenance of stability and harmony in society
o Impose sanction on people who disobey the o Norms are specific guidelines which allow us to
authority function or act appropriately in society. They are
o Examples) a set of behaviors that is perceived to be
Curfews for minors acceptable to its members. Following norms
Laws against domestic violence results in social order and gives a feeling of
security, safety, and harmony.
VALUES
o Refer to the abstract idea of people about what is
necessary or worthwhile.
o general guidelines that are fundamental parts of
our lives. They stand for the things we believe in.
o Most of the values we have are learned from
family, friends, school, media, and other sources
in society
CLASSIFICATIONS OF VALUES
1) Individual Values ENCULTURATION and SOCIALIZATION:
o These values are those that are STATUSES and ROLES
connected with the development of
human personality STATUSES - Our society is guided by a network of similar
o Examples) statuses and roles that govern human interactions that we
Honesty call social structure. It also refers to the manner in which
Loyalty society is arranged into predictable interactions
Honor
STATUS
o Describes the position an individual occupies in a
particular setting, in a group, or in society
o Defines and clarifies the rights and obligations
expected from a person
CLASSIFICATIONS OF STATUSES
1) Ascribed Status
o A position a person holds in a social
system that one attains involuntarily or
by birth
o Inherited and not based on the person’s
abilities, accomplishments, or efforts
o Can be rigid and unchanging since it is
given to a person when he is born and
is often involuntary
o Examples)
a Filipino national
a Male or a Female
a King or a Queen,
a Son of a Vendor
a Firstborn
2) Achieved Status
o A position one holds in a social system
that one attains based on merit or effort
acquired due to unique skills,
knowledge, or abilities, and are based
on standards that can be controlled
o A position that has been earned or
chosen and is mostly dictated by
abilities, skills, and life choices
o Examples)
a Student
an Employee
a Doctor
an Artist
o Can be based on any status, such as o Performing the assigned role of one status makes
gender, ethnicity, economic status, it challenging for the person to play the assigned
religious or spiritual tradition, role of another status.
employment status, or family
responsibility such as a parent or The Impact of STATUSES and ROLES
grandparent in Attaining Society’s Goals
o May come with a sense of prestige for
some consensus from the community o As members of society, people acquire statuses
around them that a status is to be and roles which are necessary for socializing
desired within their society.
o Examples) o These statuses and roles are important elements
a CEO in the process of socialization because they serve
an Activist as agents for the fulfillment of society’s goals.
a Pope o We are all encouraged to fulfill the roles of the
statuses we are occupying at present and in the
ROLES future stages of our lives for us to be better
o Expectations that are set for a person given the members of the community
status he or she occupies
o Pertains to the norms, behaviors, values, and
personal characteristics that are attached to the
status of the person
o Exampes)
Status: Student
Roles: attending classes, studying lessons,
communicating with the teacher
Status: Teacher
Roles: teaching, giving feedback, assessing or
evaluating the performance of the students
Status: Call center agent
Roles: answering questions, solving problems,
researching information
ROLE EXIT
o pertains to the course of disengaging a person
from his or her role that is essential to his or her
self-identity

3) Master Status ROLE CONFLICT

o The greatest role in a person’s life that o arises when incompatible expectations occur
determines social identity and general from two or more statuses that a person is
position in society occupying.
 Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
BARKADA
• A term that most Filipinos in their youth use to
refer to a group who share the same social
inclinations.
• Every age group in every society creates and
subscribes to a social group
SOCIAL GROUP
o a collection of two or more people who
participate in an enduring social interaction and
relationship.
o Each group is bound by shared experiences, a
shared sense of identity, common interests, and
social norms that guide the members’ behaviors
SOCIAL AGGREGATES
o quasi-groups which possess physical proximity
but lack an enduring social interaction.
o There is no sense of group identity.
o The people are found in one place but they do
not interact with each other
o Example)
People gathered in a shopping mall
People waiting for a bus
People inside a movie house
SOCIAL CATEGORY
o an agglomeration where members possess
common identifying status characteristics but do
not interact socially
o The study of social categories makes possible the
intelligent understanding of the qualities and
behavior of people who are similar
o Example)
age, gender, infants, children, youth,
adults, aged, middle class, millionaires, etc.
COLLECTIVE
o Crowds, masses, public and social movements are
temporary groups.
o Temporary groups are clusters of people SOCIAL NETWORKS
interacting with each other but the interactions o a social structure consisting of people who have
are temporary or shortlived varying degrees of relations and
o Example) rallyists / protesters interrelationships
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE GROUPS SOCIOGRAM
o a social structure consisting of people who have
1) Motivational base shared by individuals. varying degrees of relations and
o People find themselves together in a related interrelationships
social situation that may have motivations
implications for the development of groups
o People may form groups based on their
needs, interests, desires, noble activities,
insecurities, or problems.
2) Size of the group
o The size of the group may range from two to
a million members.
o In small groups, social relationships are
personal and intimate.
o With increasing in size, the need for a more
formal type of leader who will have the
authority and power to direct and influence There are multiple arrangements existing in a
the behavior of others arises. sociogram such as:
1. CLIQUE – an exclusive group that is separate from
3) Type of goals the entire unit,
o It is frequently understood that the structural 2. ONE-WAY CHOICE – an individual who relates to
patterns of social groups are affected by their another individual who does not reciprocate the
affiliation
goals.
3. ISOLATE – an individual who has chosen no one
o The parts of the organization may be
and is not chosen by anyone in the structure
assumed to be well-versed in ways that will
show the ways to the achievement of group
TYPES OF SOCIAL GROUPS
goals.
1) Gemeinschaft
4) The kind of group cohesion o a community of individuals with close personal
o This refers to the extent to which the and family ties.
members of a group have the capability to o Examples) rural neighborhoods, families, tribes,
function and interact collectively in the sports team
direction of their goals.
o When members’ concerns are met and merit 2) Gesellschaft
and achievement are appreciated, morale o describes a social group or a society where the
and cohesion will be high. people feel isolated from each other.
o Relationships are mainly contractual and guided
by self-interest.
o Example)
The modern and globalized business world is
built on the shared values of efficiency and
structure rather than family, friendship, and
traditions
3) Primary Group
o a small social group whose members share
personal and lasting relationships.”
o Primary groups are those with “intimate face-to-
face interaction and cooperation
o Charles Horton Cooley, an American sociologist,
introduced the concept of primary group to
describe certain groups in the society. He
regarded the families as primary groups because
they are the first groups experienced by an
individual.
o Example: basic primary group is family. Play
groups, peer groups, gangs, immediate school
groups
4) Secondary groups
o more formal in context as the relationships and
interactions in them are limited to a particular role
that an individual plays within the group.
o May consist of relationships that are temporary
and practical such as client and an agent,
researcher and informant, tenant and landlord
5) In-group
o The social group to which an individual feels he
belongs. This is the group with which an
individual identifies.
o The members are loyal to each other and one
may accept responsibility for the others
6) Out-group
o This is the group that an individual is not part of.
o Negative attributes are usually associated with
individuals who are part of this group.
o These individuals are prone to being stereotyped
as members of the in-group refer to them solely
on the bases of their projected characteristics
7) Reference group
o Any group to which an individual compares
himself
o It serves as a point of reference in evaluating
one’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
o The reference group is one in which an individual
does not only have a high regard for but one after
which he or she patterns his or her life
SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
o an established pattern of relationship
o The concept “organization” was used by
sociologists in two different ways:
1. to stand for a relationship among people, and
2. as a type of a particular social system called
formal organization.
o Created by individuals to foster a more direct
relationship in secondary group setting.
FORMAL ORGANIZATION
• When a secondary group is directed by its goals
• This would include groups such as political parties
and academic and professional organizations.
• These types of organizations are driven by their
goals that define their programs and activities
INFORMAL ORGANIZATION
• Within formal organizations are informal
organizations that are characterized by the
informal relations between members.
• Every organization is defined by its objectives that
may be for the betterment of the society in
general or to address certain group issues
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• The independent network of roles and the
hierarchy of statuses which define the reciprocal
expectations and the power arrangement of the
members of the social unit guided by norms
SOCIAL FUNCTION (under social organization)
o results of action that occur in relation to the
particular structure and includes the results of the
activities of individuals occupying particular
statuses