Lecture 3: Culture and socialization

• The Cingulate Cortex is integral to the Limbic System and generates maternal response, empathy, emotional expressiveness, and motivation to communicate
• When the Cingulate Cortex is damaged, these functions disappear
• Humans have natural drives to be altruistic and dislike too much inequality
• Healthy humans suffer depression, reduced immunity, and may even die without communication
• Our 'selves' are created through communication
• Culture, society, and institutions are produced and reproduced through communication
• Inequalities can be built into institutions, leading to reproduction and amplification over time
• Humans have an aversion to inequality, especially when they are on the bottom themselves
• Humans become emotionally attached to their view of reality
• The emotional pathways in our brain are faster than the rational, leading to rationality being used to justify emotional actions
• Nature and nurture work together in complex ways
• Twin Studies show heritability, shared environment, and nonshared experiences impact behavior
• Epigenetics studies changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression
• Socialization is key for humans from birth, acquiring necessary cognitive and emotional skills to function in society
• Erving Goffman's dramaturgy theory explains how people observe and rehearse social roles to develop their identity
• There are 3 main types of socialization: Primary, Secondary, and Anticipatory
• Primary socialization mostly occurs in the family and includes intentional and unintentional learning
• Secondary socialization continues throughout life, based on accumulated learning, and is path-dependent
• Anticipatory socialization involves learning the codes and norms of a group one is not yet a part of
• The 4 main agents of socialization are the Family, Media, Peer Group, and School
• Culture is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize a group
• Culture is primarily based in language and influences how individuals think about reality
• Semiotics is the study of signs used by humans to create meaning
• Humans make meanings through the creation and interpretation of signs
• Signs can be denotative or connotative, and our vocabulary of signs shapes our culture
• There are different cultures like Western and Eastern cultures, which mix on various terms
• Cultural loss is a concern with many languages disappearing, linked to biodiversity loss
• Aesthetics constantly change and are diverse, influenced by culture and society
• Pierre Bourdieu's concepts include Habitus, Field, Social Capital, Financial Capital, Cultural Capital, and Symbolic Violence
• Language and cultural capital play a role in identity formation and social interactions
• Identity and cultural capital are intertwined, influencing how individuals are perceived in society