CAPE®

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS:
SOCIAL ORDER, SOCIAL CHANGE,
SOCIALIZATION AND CULTURE

LESSON 6
Directed by: REMONE L. FOSTER
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 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should know:

• The concept of society, social order, social change, socialization and

culture
• The various elements of society
• The various perspectives of social order and social change
• The various types of socialization and the agents of socialization
• The theoretical perspectives of socialization
• The various types of cultures
• The nature of culture in the Caribbean
 SOCIETY
A society is a collection or group of people living and
interacting in a defined geographical area. There is a sense of
belonging and these people work towards a common goal. The
members of a society are called its citizens.

A society, therefore, has four (4) features:

1.Group of people or individuals (citizenship within a space)

2.Shared common purpose
3.Defined geographical area (defined territorial space)
4.Continuity over time and space (permanence)
Is the Caribbean a society?

Yes. The Caribbean can be considered a “society” on the basis

that it possesses the characteristics of a society.

1. It consists of people who have several similarities and

common goals
2. It consists of interrelated social institutions
3. It has a defined geographical location (Caribbean Sea and
Basin)
4. There is a sense of permanence in the Caribbean –
continued over time and space.
Elements of a Society
A society is based on social interactions, social behaviours, social institutions and
social structures.

• Social interactions: An exchange between two or more individuals which creates

the building block for a society. For a society to exist, there must be social interaction
among people. Hence, a single person can make up a society.
• Social behavior: The behaviour among the people within a society that arises
through social interactions. Social behaviours influence the way behaviour and relate
to each other in a society.
• Social institutions: These are the established or standardized patterns of behaviour
in a society and are based on the relationship between people. They shape the way
people think and behave in a society. Examples of social institutions include
education, religion, mass media, government, family, peer group etc.
• Social structure: A network of interrelationship among individuals, groups and
institutions.
 SOCIAL ORDER
Social Order is a necessary feature of society. It is a set of linked social structures, social
institutions and social practices which conserve, maintain and enforce “normal” ways of
relating and behaving. The concept refers to all those facets of society which remain
relatively constant over time.
• Functionalists argue that social order is achieved because people need each other. As
society moved from traditional to industrial, the development of different social
institutions facilitated the needs of people created social order. These social institutions
interlock and work together to bring equilibrium. Durkheim argued that society has
a “collective conscience” which is a shared collection of beliefs, values, attitudes, and
knowledge.
• Marxists believe there is no such thing as social order. People are unconsciously forced
to conform to the different rules and values set by the elites in society. This is called
false-class consciousness. Working class people are exploited and are unaware of their
exploitation. Marx belied that real social order can only be achieved in a communist
society.
• Interactionists believe that social order is a matter of a shared value system. People
interact with each other through this value system and this maintain order in society.
 SOCIAL CHANGE
It is important to consider social change because it comes about when social order
breaks down. Social change is the way human interactions and relationships transform
the cultural and social institutions over time and have a profound impact of society. It
includes changes in social institutions, social behaviours and social relations.

• Functionalists argue that society is in a constant state of equilibrium. As such, they

have a difficulty explaining social change because if society is in a constant
equilibrium, how does it change? However, they argue that a change occurs in one
part of society, adjustments have to be made in other parts of society. Hence, social
change occurs when equilibrium is compromised by some event or external
occurrence.
• Durkheim argued that when social order breaks down, society enters a state of
anomie. This is a societal condition in which moral values, standards or guidance is
broken down and society enters into conflict and disharmony. It is a state of
normlessness.
• Marxists argue that social change a natural feature of society
due to class struggles between those who own the means of
production (the capitalists) and the workers (proletariats).
People fight to maximize their benefits and so society is in a
constant state of disequilibrium. Eventually society will
transform from a capitalist society to a socialist society.
Marxists argue that social order can only exist in a socialist
society.
• Interactionists believe that society change because of
changing values. If shared values are decreasing this becomes
a source of social instability
SOCIALIZATION
What is socialization?
Socialization as the process whereby individuals learn about the culture of their
society. Socialization is the cultural process of learning to participate in group life. It
is a process that begins at birth and continues throughout life.
Types of socialization:

• Primary socialization: The process whereby people learn the attitudes, values,
and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture.
• Secondary socialization: This occurs when specific training and skills are learnt.
• Re-socialization: Re-socialization is the means by which an individual, usually
an adult, learns new standards, beliefs and customs.
• Reverse Socialization: This is the means by which the process of socialization is
reversed in that children, and not adults, are in charge of the process.
• Anticipatory socialization: The process of learning a particular culture or value
just to gain a position in society. It means learning social values directed towards
acquiring a most desired positions.
The Nature v Nuture debate
• This debate explores the importance of cultural (social environment) and
biological (heredity) factors in the developmental process of human
beings. Do we learn our characters are is it determined genetically?

• While there is no denial that genes play a role, there is overwhelming

evidence that “nurture” plays a more significant role.

• Social experiences have the greatest impact on people’s development.

This is because people learn to become humans. Some would argue,
however, that both play significant roles. Our actions and beliefs are
often based on our assumptions about human nature Biology, for
examples, gives us the ability to think and accept or reject certain
behaviours. Learning different things plays an important role in who we
become and how we relate to others.
The importance of socialization: Feral Children
Feral Children:

• The importance of socialization is revealed in the lack of socialization.

• Feral means untamed, savage, and wild. Feral children literally describe
children raised in the wild by wild animals or without human interaction.
There are numerous accounts of children raised in near total isolation.

• One example of a Feral child was Genie Wiley. Genie was raised in near
isolation for the first twelve years of her life. She was often strapped to a
child's potty or confined to a sleeping bag. She saw only her father and
mother and this contact occurred only at feeding. She failed to develop
social skills.
Agents of Socialization
•
The agents of socialization are specific institutions that enable socialization to occur.
• The family: The family is important in the formation of the self and the development of an
identity. This is typically achieved through observation and experiences obtained through
intentional and unintentional training.
• The peer group: The individual first encounters ideas and behaviour patterns which are
different from that in the family. There is no deliberate scheme for what is learnt or taught.
• The education system: Socialization is formal in this setting. The child is confronted with
codes and practices governing behaviour as well as traditional school subjects. The varied
skills that are necessary to survive in a complex society are passed on by this agent of
socialization.
• Religion: Religious beliefs help to shape social behaviour, values and attitudes and can
therefore be a powerful agent of socialization for all individuals and at all ages.
• Mass Media: The mass media which includes the television, the radio, printed materials and
now the internet shape and transmit societies values, norms and beliefs and can be one of the
main avenues through which cultural diffusion and change emerge.
Theoretical perspectives on Socialization:

• Functionalists: The process of socialization is important to ensure social order

and solidarity within society. Social institutions (the agents of socialization) work
together. Without socialization, society would have ceased to exist and would be
fragmented and chaotic.
• Marxists: Socialization only ensures a status quo of exploitation. People are
socialized to accept their poor positions in society.
• Interactionists: Socialization is a major determinant of human nature.

✓George Herbert Mead’s theory centers around the idea that the individual’s
identity is transformed as he or she interacts with other social beings and
learns the social symbols of that social group. Central to his theory are the
concepts of the “I” and the “Me.”
✓The looking-glass self is the term Charles Horton Cooley coined to describe
the process by which we develop a sense of self. We see ourselves through the
eyes of other people. We may even use those views of ourselves when
formulating our own self-concept.
CULTURE
What is culture?
• Although we are all the same creatures biologically, the human
beings on this planet have developed strikingly different ideas
about what is pleasant and repulsive, polite ad rude, beautiful and
ugly, right and wrong.
• We develop different expression of human culture.
• Culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret
experience and generate social behaviour.
• Culture is the complex system of meaning and behavior that
defines the way of life for a given group of society.
• It is a way of life.
Types of cultures
• High culture: cultural patterns that distinguish the elites in society.
• Popular culture: cultural patterns that are widespread among
society’s population. Both popular and high culture speaks of
stratification.
• Non-material culture: intangible world of ideas created by members
of society (bravery, aggression, late coming)
• Material cultures: tangible tings created by member of society (art
forms, food/cuisine, buildings, art, tools, print and broadcast media)
• Sub-cultures: cultural patterns that set apart a segment of a society’s
population (Muslim fundamentalists, inner-city, dancehall).
• Counter-cultures – cultural patterns that strongly oppose those
widely accepted within a society e.g. Rastafari, Voodoo.
• Ethnocentrism – Defined as the practice of judging other
cultures by the stands of our own culture. Can result in
misunderstanding and conflict. Some cultures are, however,
disturbing to us: arranged marriages, suicide bombing, and child
pornography.

• Cultural Relativism – This is the opposite of ethnocentrism.

Practice of judging a culture by its own standards. It is not a
“normal” behaviour and is thus a difficult attitude. It requires we
understand the values and norms of another society and suspend
our own cultural standards.

• Xenocentrism – This is the belief that aspects of foreign culture

are better than your own. For example, some Caribbean people
might feel American food or products are better than those created
in the Caribbean.
Theoretical perspectives of culture
Functionalism:

• Culture is important for the overall maintenance and

operation of society.
• It operates as an integrated system to meet human needs.
• Functionalism emphasizes cultural stability and ignores the
extent to which society change.
• They tend to overlook cultural diversity and that not all
embrace the prevailing culture of their society.
• Speaks of cultural universals – traits that are part of every
known culture (e.g. family, jokes, and funeral rites).
Marxism

• Culture is linked to inequality in society

• Appreciate the existence of subculture and countercultures in
society because this means that not all people support the
dominant culture and the functionalists’ concept of cultural
stability is flawed
• Culture functions to manipulate the working class and ensure
the status of the ruling class
• Culture addresses human needs unequally – not all cultural
forms are accepted. (e.g. Ras Tafari).
Interactionism

• Culture is derived from the interactions of people

• People create culture – People create, manipulate, transform culture
through their actions and interactions
• Culture is learnt and communicated among people
• Culture is maintained and changed through human interactions
• It fails to see how social institutions and larger macro social structures
can maintain and shape cultures
THE NATURE OF CARIBBEAN CULTURE
• While there are elements of Caribbean culture that is similar between the various
countries (e.g. the cultures in the British Caribbean), Caribbean culture cannot be
considered homogeneous (uniform) in nature.

• This is because the established cultures of the region are adopted from the various
groups that came to the region between the 1400s and 1900s.

• Caribbean culture has been influenced greatly by the historical experience of the
region’s people, (colonization, plantation slavery, indentureship, resistance),
migration (voluntary) and contemporary events and forces (globalization).
• The cultures in the Caribbean derived from the following groups:

(a)Indigenous people (Kalinago and Taino) – pre-Columbian period (before 1492)

(b)Europeans (Spanish, French, Dutch and English) – colonized the region in the
1500s
(c)Africans– slave labourers between early 1500s and 1838 during plantation
slavery and were emancipated in 1838.
(d)East Indians – came as labourers in the indentureship
(e)Chinese – came as labourers in the indentureship
(f) Syrians - voluntary migrate in the early 1900s due to political instability,
religious persecution and economic hardships in Syria
(g)Lebanese – voluntary migration to the Caribbean in the early 1900s due to
political instability, religious persecution and economic hardships in their native
countries. Many people in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana are descendants of the
Syrians and Lebanese who came in the early 1900s.
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