Becoming part of society

• Key concepts in the lesson

  • Conformity
  • Enculturation
  • Socialization
  • Deviance
  • Norms & Mores
  • Social Control
• Conformity


  Yielding to group pressures
• Conformity


  A type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior to fit in or align their attitudes and behaviors with the people they interact or socialized with
• Conformity


  Gives a sense of identity and belongingness that enables a person to feel accepted in a certain group
• Social conformity


  Can influence changes in an individual's behavior or opinions to be accepted
• Types of conformity


  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalization
• Compliance


  Conforming to a rule or fulfilling a desire to gain a reward or avoid a punishment
• Identification


  Conforming to be like admired people or groups
• Internalization


  Conforming because the beliefs and behaviors feel right and become part of the person's own values
• Conformity is viewed favourably in Eastern or interdependent cultures as it is a form of social glue
• Conformity is still remarkably high even in individualist Western societies, where it has negative overtones
• Conformity reflects a relatively rational process in which people construct a norm from other people's behavior in order to determine correct and appropriate behavior for themselves
• These changes in conformity may be due to pressure from a social group the individual wants to be accepted
• Conformity is commonly adopted by the younger generation in the society
• Socialization is culturally relative - people in different cultures are socialized differently
• People who have different religious beliefs and behavior should not be judged or discriminated against but they should be accepted no matter who and what they are
• Socialization is more on the adaptation to an individual's culture, norms, and traditions that may be different from one's own
• Context of socialization


  • Determined by how the context is perceived in culture, language, and social structures
  • Includes social and historical events, power and control in social life, and the people and institutions with whom the individual comes in contact during his/her socialization
• Content and process of socialization

  • Includes the structure of the socializing activity--how intense and prolonged it is, who does it, how it is done, whether it is a total experience or only a partial process, how aware the individual is of alternatives, and how attractive those alternatives are
  • Content refers to what is passed from member to novice while processes are those interactions that convey to new members how they are to speak, behave, think, and even feel
• Results or outcomes of socialization

  • New members or individuals may learn the behavior, attitudes, and values that old members hope they would learn or adopt
• Agents of socialization and enculturation


  • Family
  • School
  • Mass media
  • Religion
  • Government
• Family


  • The first agent of socialization
  • Principal socializer of younger members of the family
  • Teaches members how to behave in socially acceptable ways, develop emotional ties, and internalize values and norms
  • Individuals share the patterns of the larger culture but retain the unique values and behavioral traits learned from their families
• School


  • Molds the beliefs, values, and attitudes of the students through various academic and social activities
  • Equips students with skills that will enable them to fit into a larger society
  • Teaches students to learn the value of self-improvement and hard work through classroom activities that give them opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills
  • Serves as a latent function by socializing children's behavior and teaching them about citizenship and national pride
• Mass media


  • Distribute information to a wide audience, via television, newspaper, radio and internet
  • Characterized as non-proximate agents of socialization
  • Enable people to learn about objects of material and nonmaterial culture
  • Influence the way people look at the world and make them change their views
• Religion


  • Exerts a great influence on a person's view; legitimizes social practices
  • Provides stability to society and a source of social change
  • Teaches participants how to interact with the religion's material culture
  • Creates social solidarity in the society and a source of spiritual growth
• Government


  • Ultimate source of authority
  • Participates in socialization through the implementation of the laws of the country
  • Regulates the behavior of its citizens using rewards and sanctions
  • Promotes the general welfare of the people
• All members of the various agents of socialization have specific goals or tasks to perform to help people learn to function successfully in their social worlds
• These agents of socialization impart positive values and beliefs so that we become better individuals who value Filipino culture
• A knowledge of the role of each agent of socialization gives us a better understanding and appreciation of cultural norms and values
• Conformity


  A relatively rational process in which people construct a norm from other people's behavior in order to determine correct and appropriate behavior for themselves
• Conformity


  • A type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior to fit in or align their attitudes and behaviors with the people they interact or socialized with
  • Gives a sense of identity and belongingness that enables a person to feel accepted in a certain group
  • Can influence changes in an individual's behavior or opinions to be accepted
  • Changes may be due to pressure from a social group the individual wants to be accepted
  • Commonly adopted by the younger generation in the society
• Types of conformity


  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalization
• Compliance


  • Conforming to a rule or fulfilling a desire, demand, proposal, regimen, or coercion
  • The weakest form of conformity where a person usually goes along with the view of the majority, but he/she still privately maintains his/her own point of view
• Identification


  • A process by which an individual aspires to pattern himself/herself after another, but only while he/she is in the presence of the other person
  • The middle level of conformity and is usually a short-term change where an individual changes his/her behavior and beliefs, not permanently, due to the influence of someone he/she likes or admires but it does not necessarily result in a change of a person's private belief
• Internalization


  • The acceptance and incorporation of the standard or belief of other persons or of the society by the individual
  • The deepest level of conformity where the person changes his/her public behavior and private beliefs permanently as the views of the group are adopted
• Factors that influence conformity

  • Situational factors
  • Individual factors
  • Cultural factors
• Situational factors


  How the specific environment influences how one behaves
• Individual factors


  Personal characteristics of an individual such as strong leadership ability, will power, and self-confidence that give him/her a small chance or tendency to conform to other people
• Cultural factors


  Different cultures have diverse levels of conformity, and specific cultures can contain a generalized personality type that is likely to conform to one's culture
• Understanding the different factors of conformity can help identify the reasons why some people especially the adolescence go along with the crowd, group, gangs, clubs, or even some fraternal organizations when their choices seem out of character for them