1.1 The process of learning and socialisation

2026 Syllabus Objectives

  1. Explore the relationship between the individual and society, and how social order is maintained and resisted, drawing on the key concepts of Socialisation, culture and identity and Power, control and resistance. Consider contrasting views of the relationship between the individual and society, and changes in social identity, which can be linked to the key concepts of Structure and human agency and Social change and development.

  2. Understand culture, roles, norms, values, beliefs, customs, ideology, power and status as elements in the social construction of reality.

  3. Examine the importance of socialisation in influencing human behaviour, including the nurture versus nature debate.

  4. Identify and analyze agencies of socialisation and social control, including family, education, peer group, media and religion.

Society as a Social Construction 🏛️

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What is Society?

Society is a group of people who see themselves as having something in common and consider themselves different from people in other societies. This involves both physical space and mental space.

  • Physical space: A distinctive geographical area marked by either a physical border (e.g., a river) or a non-physical border
  • Mental space: A space that separates people based on beliefs about similarities shared with people in 'their' society and differences from others

Key Concept: Benedict Anderson (1983) described societies as "imagined communities" - things that exist only in the mind, where members will never know most fellow members but live with the image of their communion.

Since societies are mental constructions, their reality is socially constructed. This means that the way we understand and experience society is created through social processes and cultural learning rather than being a fixed, objective reality.

Culture as a Way of Life 🌍

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Understanding Culture

Culture refers to a 'way of life' that has to be taught and learnt through primary and secondary socialisation. Cultures are dynamic and constantly changing - they are not fixed or static.

Material vs. Non-Material Culture

Culture exists in two interconnected forms:

Material Culture

  • The physical objects ('artefacts') that a society produces
  • Examples: cars, phones, books
  • Reflects cultural knowledge, skills and interests

Non-Material Culture

  • The knowledge and beliefs valued by a particular culture
  • Includes religious and scientific beliefs
  • The meanings given to material objects

Functions of Cultural Objects

Cultural objects serve two types of functions:

  • Manifest function: The obvious purpose for which an object exists (e.g., clothes to keep you warm)
  • Latent function: The hidden or secondary function of an object (e.g., material objects functioning as status symbols)

Example: A smartphone is material culture as a physical object, but it also represents non-material culture through the status it symbolizes and the social meanings attached to it.

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