Describe and assess the evidence that socialisation plays a major part in shaping human behaviour

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Describe and assess the evidence that socialisation plays a major part in shaping human behaviour. [25 marks]

Socialisation is the lifelong process by which human behaviour is shaped through experience in social institutions (e.g. family, which is a crucial factor in primary socialisation). Through socialization, individuals learn the values, norms (formal and informal rules), and beliefs of a given society.

In considering the nature of the self, it is necessary to include a still more fundamental social scientific issue – the extent to which human beings are being formed by biological inheritance (i.e. genetic determinism), or through socialisation (i.e. cultural determinism); the issue called nature-nurture debate. Another way to put this is the difference between instinct and learned behaviour, where instinct is inherited, and learned behaviour acquired through socialisation. Sociologists does not really consider instinctive behaviour; therefore, most sociologists would only accept there are inborn needs of food, shelter and sex. Other than these three, sociologists prefer the fact that human behaviour is shaped by social experience rather than that it is biologically ‘given’.  

However, although the direction of sociology is towards social explanation, there is no contradiction between social and biological explanations of behaviour. It is just a matter of empirical research by biologists, sociologists, social biologists and by other relevant subject specialists to find explanations of human behaviour.

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According to sociologist Charles Cooley, there are two types of socialisation: primary and secondary. Those factors that are involved in primary socialisation are usually small, involve face-to-face interaction and communication and allow the individual to express the whole self, both feelings and intellect. Usually, those factors are the family, peer groups, of close friends and closely-knit groups of neighbours. Within these groups, through personal experience, the individual learns ‘primary values’ such as love, loyalty, justice, sharing, and etc. Freud claimed that the first few years of a person’s life – those usually spent amongst primary groups – are the ...

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The writer has addressed the essay title and has covered most of the major points. However, the writing style is confusing at times with simple grammatical errors. The writer is advised to try a more simple style of writing that shows a clear understanding of the subject matter. Also, all authors and research studies need to be referenced correctly.