Importance of socialisation in influencing behaviour

Question 1

past paper question 26 marker
Evaluate the view that human behaviour is shaped entirely by the
process of socialisation.

Answer 1

for:
- Human behaviour is overwhelmingly learned via the process of socialisation e.g.
language.

• Accounts of examples of feral children raised in the absence of human socialisation.
• Studies that demonstrate the impact of social forces on human behaviour e.g.
  Durkheim on suicide, or cross-cultural variations in gender roles.
• Mead’s concept of the ‘social self’ as created through social interaction, looking
  glass self.
• Deviant behaviour /crime as alternatives
  explanations
• Power, coercion (games theory)

Against:
- Biological arguments that people are born with uncontrollable instincts and desires e.g. maternal instinct, male aggression etc.

• These are often expressed in strong
  (fixed traits) and weak (capabilities that are
  realised through environmental experience) terms
• Sociobiology – Wilson on the strong influence of ‘biogrammers’
• Parsons’ view of family roles as strongly linked to biology
• Wilson, Parsons. Instrumental, expressive
• Plomin’s twin study
• Social agency: arguments that point toward individuals resisting the influence
  of socialisation.

-Biological arguments of evolution , arguments like social darwinism.

Question 2

evaluate the view that human behavior is shaped entirely by socialization

Answer 2

points for ;
1) Feral children , e.g Ginie
2) Cultural variation
3) “I” and “Me” - Mead
4) the presentation of self - Goffman

Points against ;
1) Biological programming- Wilson
2) Biological aspects- Simon Baron (2012)
3) Psychological aspects (maternal deprivation, uncontrollable sex drive
4) Socialization can be resisted - postmodernists