Culture and Socialisation - Solutions

 CBSE Class 11 Sociology

NCERT Solutions
Chapter 4
Culture and Socialisation


1. How does the understanding of culture in social science differ from the everyday use of the word 'culture'?
Ans. 
Culture refers to widely shared customs, beliefs, values, norms, institutions and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations.

In social perspective culture refers to the products of socialisation with an organised group, society or nation and involves a set of rules, norms and customs that are agreed by the members of that group.

In general terms, culture refers to acquiring etiquette of society and liking for fine arts like music, painting, folk songs, folk dances etc. Therefore, basic term is used as people being cultured or uncultured.

For a sociologist, the culture of a society is the way of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habit which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation. It is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, customs and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.


2. How can we demonstrate that the different dimensions of culture comprise a whole?
Ans. Culture has many dimensions, parts and units but they are interrelated and interdependent. They can't emerge or function in isolation, instead all the dimensions function as an organisation. Culture maintains a balance.

Three distinct dimensions of culture are the cognitive and normative (non material) and material dimensions. Cognitive dimensions of culture refers to how we learn to process what we hear or see, so as to give it meaning. Identifying the ring of a cell phone as ours, recognising the cartoons of a politician, etc. are all normative dimension of culture. Normative dimension on the other hand is the customs, convention and folkways. These are values or rules that guide social behaviour in different contexts. This refers to rules of conduct such as not opening other people’s letter, performing rituals at death, etc.

The material aspect refers to tools, technologies, machines, buildings and modes of transportation, as well as instruments of production and communication. In urban areas the widespread use of mobile phones, music systems, cars and buses, ATMs (automated teller machines), refrigerators and computers in everyday life indicates the dependence on technology. Even in rural areas the use of transistor radios or electric motor pumps for lifting water from below the surface for irrigation demonstrates the adoption of technological devices for increasing production.

All the above mentioned components are complementary to each other and coordinate to function as a whole.


3. Compare two cultures with which you are familiar. Is it difficult not to be ethnocentric?
Ans.
 We are quite aware of eastern particularly Indian and Western cultures. Both the cultures are quite different from each other. Indian culture is based on agriculture and people are dependent on each other. This is a collective society and emphasises on traditions linked to the past. Whereas western culture is technologically advanced and is individualistic society. This is based on urbanisation, socialisation by various social institutions and child rearing practices. They emphasise on individual liberty.

Ethnocentrism is the application of one’s own cultural values in evaluating the behaviour and beliefs of people from other cultures. This means that the cultural values projected as the standard or norm are considered superior to that of the beliefs and values of other cultures. Underlying ethnocentric comparisons is a sense of cultural superiority clearly demonstrated in colonial situations.

Thomas Babbington Macaulay’s famous Minute on Education (1835) to the East India Company in India exemplifies ethnocentrism when he says, ‘We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons Indian in blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinions, morals and intellect’.

Ethnocentrism is a natural social process because we all affiliate ourselves with a larger group. For reassurance that my behaviour is right, to maintain consistency in behaviour and a belief that majority is always right we conform to the group norms. Gradually we become conditioned to the prevailing group norms in their in-group. We develop an in-group bias.
But it is not difficult to reduce ethnocentrism i.e. in-group bias.

These can minimise opportunities of learning prejudices, changing negative attitudes, emphasising a narrow social identity based on the in-group and discouraging self-fulfilling prophecy, positive attitude, objectivity and empathy we can reduce ethnocentrism.


4. Discuss two different approaches to studying cultural change.

Ans. Two different approaches to studying cultural change are: (i) Ethnocentrism and (ii) Cosmopolitan outlook of culture.

Ethnocentrism is the application of one’s own cultural values in evaluating the behaviour and beliefs of people from other cultures. This means that the cultural values projected as the standard or norm are considered superior to that of the beliefs and values of other cultures. Underlying ethnocentric comparisons is a sense of cultural superiority clearly demonstrated in colonial situations.

Cosmopolitan outlook of culture means valuing other cultures for their differences. A cosmopolitan outlook does not seek to evaluate the values and beliefs of other people according to one’s own. It celebrates and accommodates different cultural propensities within its fold and promotes cultural exchange and borrowings to enrich one’s own culture.

The English language has emerged as a leading vehicle of international communication through its constant inclusion of foreign words into its vocabulary. Again the popularity of Hindi film music can be attributed to its borrowings from western pop music as well as from different traditions of Indian folk and semi-classical forms like bhangra.