Metro-Dagupan Colleges

Serafica Street, Mangaldan, Pangasinan

School Year 2020 - 2021

SOCIETY AND CULTURE (with Family Planning)

Module 1

Course Description:
The course will introduce to the students’ concepts, theories and perspectives vital in the
understanding of society and culture. An in depth discussion of basic social institutions forming the
social structure will be emphasized in order to increase the awareness of students of the current issues
confronting the present social structure. In so doing, the students are also expected to understand
their individual and collective functions in confronting such issues.

Furthermore, a special discussion will be devoted on family planning, taking into account family
planning and reproductive health concepts and issues that are significant agendum of the society’s
project on social order.

Learning Outcomes:
By completion of the course, the students will be prepared to
 Discuss the varied concepts related to the study of society and culture.
 Explain the roles of social institutions as bases of order in the society
 Comprehend the factors which lead to social change
 Discuss varied concepts on reproductive health and family planning

Assessment Rubrics: The following will be the grading system for the activities unless
otherwise stated.
 For activities and questions:
o 7-10 pts – own words, or with researched answers (with sources)
o 1-6 pts – copied answers
o 0 pts – no answer
 For Research Assignment:
o 25-50 pts – own words, or with researched answers (with sources)
o 1-24 pts – copied answers
o 0 pts – no output

General Instructions:
1. Answer ALL questions in the module using PARAGRAPH FORM. Use complete sentences. All
answers should be in ENGLISH.
2. Read carefully and follow instructions.
3. If you use internet sources or books for your answers, please cite the sources. Points will be
deducted for plagiarism or copied answers with no sources.
4. You will be graded accordingly depending on your answers.
5. Send a message to the MDC Page should you have any questions about this module.

How to submit your answers:

 Option 1 (Online) – Submit your answers via Google Classroom (Instructions will be given via
Facebook Messenger)
 Option 2 (Offline) – COPY AND ANSWER all activities on a yellow pad paper and submit to
MDC Campus.

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Serafica Street, Mangaldan, Pangasinan
School Year 2020 - 2021

Topic #1: Introduction to Society

General Objectives:
The general aims of the lesson are for the students to:
1. Discuss the nature and beginnings of Sociology and Anthropology
2. Analyze the perspectives in understanding society
3. Understand society and socialization

NATURE AND BEGINNINGS OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

Sociology
- is the systematic study of social behavior and human groups.
- Focuses on social relationships; how those relationships influence people’s behavior; and how
societies, the sum total of those relationships develop and change.
- It is the science of society and the social interactions taking place

Sociological Imagination
- According to C. Wright Mills, it is an awareness of the relationship of the individual and the
wider society. This awareness allows all of us to comprehend the links between our immediate,
personal settings and the remote, impersonal social world that surrounds and help to shape us.
- A key element in the sociological imagination is the ability to view one’s society as an outsider
would

SOCIOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Natural Science – study of the physical features of nature and the ways I which they interact and
change. Ex. Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics

Social Sciences – study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and
change. Ex. Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, History, Psychology and Political Science

Anthropology is the study of past cultures and preindustrial societies that continue today, as well as
the origin of humans.

Economics is the study that explore the way in which people produce and exchange goods and
services along with money and other resources.

History is concerned with the people and events of the past and their significance for us today.

Psychology is used in the investigation of personality and individual behavior.

Sociologists focus on the study of the influence that the society Has on people’s attitudes and behavior
and the ways in which People interact and shape society. Humans are social animals so sociologists
scientifically examine their social relationships with others.

ANTHROPOLOGY
- Is the science of humanity and its society.
- It studies the biological, social, and cultural development of humankind and seeks answers to
why people are different and how they are similar.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

The Beginnings of Anthropology - It goes back to the period of discoveries and explorations in
the15th to 18th centuries. Sources of facts were the early Western explorers, missionaries, soldiers
and colonial officials regarding the strange behavior and beliefs as well as the exotic appearance of
people they have come in contact with.
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School Year 2020 - 2021

Edward Tylor was the first professor of Anthropology in Ox- ford, England. In the U.S., it was Franz
Boaz of Clark University, Massachusetts.

Modern Anthropology - Focus of study was the exotic, non- western societies. The dominant
theme of the early anthropologists were the evolutionary view of humanity and human behavior.
Structural functionalism was eventually used. The turn for a higher level of research through the use
of careful and thorough gathering of data about individual cultures was made by Franz Boaz and
Alfred Kroeber.

From 1980, ethnographers approached the study of local culture as embedded within regional and
tribal forces.

PERSPECTIVES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIETY

Sociologists analyze social phenomena at different levels and from different perspectives. From
concrete interpretations to sweeping generalizations of society and social behavior, sociologists study
everything from specific events (the micro level of analysis of small social patterns) to the “big
picture” (the macro level of analysis of large social patterns).

The pioneering European sociologists, however, also offered a broad conceptualization of the
fundamentals of society and its workings. Their views form the basis for today's theoretical
perspectives, or paradigms, which provide sociologists with an orienting framework—a philosophical
position—for asking certain kinds of questions about society and its people.

Sociologists today employ three primary theoretical perspectives: the symbolic interactionist
perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. These perspectives offer
sociologists theoretical paradigms for explaining how society influences people, and vice versa. Each
perspective uniquely conceptualizes society, social forces, and human behavior.

1. Conflict Perspective

The conflict perspective, which originated primarily out of Karl Marx's writings on class struggles,
presents society in a different light than do the functionalist and symbolic interactionist perspectives.
While these latter perspectives focus on the positive aspects of society that contribute to its stability,
the conflict perspective focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever‐changing nature of society.

Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo, avoid social change, and believe people cooperate to
effect social order, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this
means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the
weak.

Conflict theorists, for example, may interpret an “elite” board of regents raising tuition to pay for
esoteric new programs that raise the prestige of a local college as self‐serving rather than as beneficial
for students.

Whereas American sociologists in the 1940s and 1950s generally ignored the conflict perspective in
favor of the functionalist, the tumultuous 1960s saw American sociologists gain considerable interest
in conflict theory. They also expanded Marx's idea that the key conflict in society was strictly
economic.

Today, conflict theorists find social conflict between any groups in which the potential for inequality
exists: racial, gender, religious, political, economic, and so on. Conflict theorists note that unequal
groups usually have conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against one another.
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School Year 2020 - 2021

This constant competition between groups forms the basis for the ever‐
changing nature of society.

Critics of the conflict perspective point to its overly negative view of society. The theory ultimately
attributes humanitarian efforts, altruism, democracy, civil rights, and other positive aspects of society
to capitalistic designs to control the masses, not to inherent interests in preserving society and social
order.

2. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

The symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic interactionism, directs sociologists to
consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact
with each other. Although symbolic interactionism traces its origins to Max Weber's assertion that
individuals act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world, the American
philosopher George H. Mead (1863–1931) introduced this perspective to American sociology in the
1920s.

According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then
they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols. Verbal conversations, in which
spoken words serve as the predominant symbols, make this subjective interpretation especially
evident. The words have a certain meaning for the “sender,” and, during effective communication,
they hopefully have the same meaning for the “receiver.” In other terms, words are not static “things”;
they require intention and interpretation.

Conversation is an interaction of symbols between individuals who constantly interpret the world
around them. Of course, anything can serve as a symbol as long as it refers to something beyond itself.
Written music serves as an example. The black dots and lines become more than mere marks on the
page; they refer to notes organized in such a way as to make musical sense. Thus, symbolic
interactionists give serious thought to how people act, and then seek to determine what meanings
individuals assign to their own actions and symbols, as well as to those of others.

Consider applying symbolic interactionism to the American institution of marriage. Symbols may
include wedding bands, vows of life‐long commitment, a white bridal dress, a wedding cake, a Church
ceremony, and flowers and music. American society attaches general meanings to these symbols, but
individuals also maintain their own perceptions of what these and other symbols mean. For example,
one of the spouses may see their circular wedding rings as symbolizing “never ending love,” while the
other may see them as a mere financial expense. Much faulty communication can result from
differences in the perception of the same events and symbols.

Critics claim that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro level of social interpretation—the “big
picture.” In other words, symbolic interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too
closely on the “trees” (for example, the size of the diamond in the wedding ring) rather than the
“forest” (for example, the quality of the marriage). The perspective also receives criticism for slighting
the influence of social forces and institutions on individual interactions.

3. Structural Functional Analysis

This approach views society as a complex, but interconnected system, where each part works together
as a functional whole. A metaphor for the structural-functional approach is the human body. You have
arms, legs, a heart, a brain, and so on. Each individual body part has its own neurons and system for
working, but each part has to work together for a fully-functioning structure, or system. What are the
different structures, or systems, in society? You can probably think of the government, businesses,
schools, and families. We need all of these systems to work together for a fully-functioning society.

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Serafica Street, Mangaldan, Pangasinan
School Year 2020 - 2021

SOCIO-CULTURAL EVOLUTION: TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETIES

Sociocultural evolution(ism) is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social
evolution, describing how cultures and societies have developed over time. Although such theories
typically provide models for understanding the relationship between technologies, social structure,
the values of a society, and how and why they change with time, they vary as to the extent to which
they describe specific mechanisms of variation and social change.

Most 19th century and some 20th century approaches aimed to provide models for the evolution of
humankind as a whole, arguing that different societies are at different stages of social development.
At present this thread is continued to some extent within the World System approach (especially
within its version produced by Andre Gunder Frank). Many of the more recent 20th-century
approaches focus on changes specific to individual societies and reject the idea of directional change,
or social progress. Most archaeologists and cultural anthropologists work within the framework of
modern theories of sociocultural evolution. Modern approaches to sociocultural evolution include
neoevolutionism, sociobiology, theory of modernization and theory of postindustrial society.

While sociocultural evolutionists agree that the evolution-like process leads to social progress,
classical social evolutionists have developed many different theories, known as theories of unilineal
evolution. Sociocultural evolutionism was the prevailing theory of early sociocultural anthropology
and social commentary, and is associated with scholars like August Comte, Edward Burnett Tylor,
Lewis Henry Morgan, Benjamin Kidd, L.T. Hobhouse and Herbert Spencer.

Sociocultural evolutionism represented an attempt to formalise social thinking along scientific lines,
later influenced by the biological theory of evolution. If organisms could develop over time according
to discernable, deterministic laws, then it seemed reasonable that societies could as well. They
developed analogies between human society and the biological organism and introduced into
sociological theory such biological concepts as variation, natural selection, and inheritance—
evolutionary factors resulting in the progress of societies through stages of savagery and barbarism to
civilisation, by virtue of the survival of the fittest. Together with the idea of progress there grew the
notion of fixed "stages" through which human societies progress, usually numbering three—savagery,
barbarism, and civilisation—but sometimes many more.

The Marquis de Condorcet listed 10 stages, or "epochs", the final one having started with the French
Revolution, which was destined, in his eyes, to usher in the rights of man and the perfection of the
human race. Some writers also perceived in the growth stages of each individual a recapitulation of
these stages of society. Strange customs were thus accounted for on the assumption that they were
throwbacks to earlier useful practices. This also marked the beginning of anthropology as a scientific
discipline and a departure from traditional religious views of "primitive" cultures.

The term "Classical Social Evolutionism" is most closely associated with the 19th-century writings of
Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer (who coined the phrase " survival of the fittest") and William
Graham Sumner. In many ways Spencer's theory of " cosmic evolution" has much more in common
with the works of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and August Comte than with contemporary works of Charles
Darwin. Spencer also developed and published his theories several years earlier than Darwin. In
regard to social institutions, however, there is a good case that Spencer's writings might be classified
as 'Social Evolutionism'.

Although he wrote that societies over time progressed, and that progress was accomplished through
competition, he stressed that the individual (rather than the collectivity) is the unit of analysis that
evolves, that evolution takes place through natural selection and that it affects social as well as
biological phenomenon.
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School Year 2020 - 2021

Nonetheless, the publication of Darwin's works proved a boon to the proponents of sociocultural
evolution. The world of social science took the ideas of biological evolution as an attractive solution to
similar questions regarding the origins and development of social behaviour and the idea of a society
as an evolving organism was a biological analogy that is taken up by many anthropologists and
sociologists even today.

Both Spencer and Comte view the society as a kind of organism subject to the process of growth—from
simplicity to complexity, from chaos to order, from generalisation to specialisation, from flexibility to
organisation. They agreed that the process of societies growth can be divided into certain stages, have
their beginning and eventual end, and that this growth is in fact social progress—each newer, more
evolved society is better. Thus progressivism became one of the basic ideas underlying the theory of
sociocultural evolutionism.

August Comte, known as father of sociology, formulated the law of three stages: human development
progresses from the theological stage, in which nature was mythically conceived and man sought the
explanation of natural phenomena from supernatural beings, through metaphysical stage in which
nature was conceived of as a result of obscure forces and man sought the explanation of natural
phenomena from them until the final positive stage in which all abstract and obscure forces are
discarded, and natural phenomena are explained by their constant relationship. This progress is
forced through the development of human mind, and increasing application of thought, reasoning
and logic to the understanding of the world.

Herbert Spencer, who believed that society was evolving toward increasing freedom for individuals;
and so held that government intervention ought to be minimal in social and political life,
differentiated between two phases of development, focusing is on the type of internal regulation
within societies. Thus he differentiated between military and industrial societies. The earlier, more
primitive military society has a goal of conquest and defence, is centralised, economically self-
sufficient, collectivistic, puts the good of a group over the good of an individual, uses compulsion,
force and repression, rewards loyalty, obedience and discipline. The industrial society has a goal of
production and trade, is decentralised, interconnected with other societies via economic relations,
achieves its goals through voluntary cooperation and individual self-restraint, treats the good of
individual as the highest value, regulates the social life via voluntary relations, values initiative,
independence and innovation.

Regardless of how scholars of Spencer interpret his relation to Darwin, Spencer proved to be an
incredibly popular figure in the 1870s, particularly in the United States. Authors such as Edward
Youmans, William Graham Sumner, John Fiske, John W. Burgess, Lester Frank Ward, Lewis H.
Morgan and other thinkers of the gilded age all developed similar theories of social evolutionism as a
result of their exposure to Spencer as well as Darwin.

Lewis H. Morgan, an anthropologist whose ideas have had much impact on sociology, in his 1877
classic Ancient Societies differentiated between three eras: savagery, barbarism and civilisation,
which are divided by technological inventions, like fire, bow, pottery in savage era, domestication of
animals, agriculture, metalworking in barbarian era and alphabet and writing in civilisation era. Thus
Morgan introduced a link between the social progress and technological progress. Morgan viewed the
technological progress as a force behind the social progress, and any social change—in social
institutions, organisations or ideologies have their beginning in the change of technology. Morgan's
theories were popularised by Friedrich Engels, who based his famous work The Origin of the Family,
Private Property and the State on it. For Engels and other Marxists, this theory was important as it
supported their conviction that materialistic factors—economical and technological—are decisive in
shaping the fate of humanity.

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School Year 2020 - 2021

Emile Durkheim, another of the "fathers" of sociology, has developed a similar,

dichotomal view of social progress. His key concept was social solidarity, as he defined the social
evolution in terms of progressing from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity.

In mechanical solidarity, people are self-sufficient, there is little integration and thus there is the need
for use of force and repression to keep society together. In organic solidarity, people are much more
integrated and interdependent and specialisation and cooperation is extensive. Progress from
mechanical to organic solidarity is based first on population growth and increasing population
density, second on increasing "morality density" (development of more complex social interactions)
and thirdly, on the increasing specialisation in workplace. To Durkheim, the most important factor in
the social progress is the division of labour.

Anthropologists Sir E.B. Tylor in England and Lewis Henry Morgan in the United States worked with
data from indigenous people, whom they claimed represented earlier stages of cultural evolution that
gave insight into the process and progression of evolution of culture. Morgan would later have a
significant influence on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who developed a theory of sociocultural
evolution in which the internal contradictions in society created a series of escalating stages that
ended in a socialist society (see Marxism). Tylor and Morgan elaborated the theory of unilinear
evolution, specifying criteria for categorising cultures according to their standing within a fixed
system of growth of humanity as a whole and examining the modes and mechanisms of this growth.
Theirs was often a concern with culture in general, not with individual cultures.

Their analysis of cross-cultural data was based on three assumptions:

1. contemporary societies may be classified and ranked as more "primitive" or more "civilised";
2. There are a determinate number of stages between "primitive" and "civilised" (e.g. band, tribe,
chiefdom, and state),
3. All societies progress through these stages in the same sequence, but at different rates.

Theorists usually measured progression (that is, the difference between one stage and the next) in
terms of increasing social complexity (including class differentiation and a complex division of
labour), or an increase in intellectual, theological, and aesthetic sophistication. These 19th-century
ethnologists used these principles primarily to explain differences in religious beliefs and kinship
terminologies among various societies.

Lester Frank Ward developed Spencer's theory but unlike Spencer, who considered the evolution to
be general process applicable to the entire world, physical and sociological, Ward differentiated
sociological evolution from biological evolution. He stressed that humans create goals for themselves
and strive to realise them, whereas there is no such intelligence and awareness guiding the non-
human world, which develops more or less at random. He created a hierarchy of evolution processes.
First, there is cosmogenesis, creation and evolution of the world. Then, after life develops, there is
biogenesis. Development of humanity leads to anthropogenesis, which is influenced by the human
mind. Finally, when society develops, so does sociogenesis, which is the science of shaping the society
to fit with various political, cultural and ideological goals.

Edward Burnett Tylor, pioneer of anthropology, focused on the evolution of culture worldwide, noting
that culture is an important part of every society and that it is also subject to the process of evolution.
He believed that societies were at different stages of cultural development and that the purpose of
anthropology was to reconstruct the evolution of culture, from primitive beginnings to the modern
state.

Ferdinand Tönnies describes the evolution as the development from informal society, where people
have many liberties and there are few laws and obligations, to modern, formal rational society,
dominated by traditions and laws and are restricted from acting as they wish. He also notes that there
is a tendency of standardisation and unification, when all smaller societies are absorbed into the

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School Year 2020 - 2021

single, large, modern society. Thus Tönnies can be said to describe part of the
process known today as the globalisation.

Tönnies was also one of the first sociologists to claim that the evolution of society is not necessarily
going in the right direction, that the social progress is not perfect, and it can even be called a regress
as the newer, more evolved societies are obtained only after paying a high cost, resulting in decreasing
satisfaction of individuals making up that society. Tönnies' work became the foundation of
neoevolutionism.

Although not usually counted as a sociocultural evolutionist, Max Weber's theory of tripartite
classification of authority can be viewed as an evolutionary theory as well. Weber distinguishes three
ideal types of political leadership, domination and authority: charismatic domination (familial and
religious), traditional domination (patriarchs, patrimonalism, feudalism) and legal (rational)
domination (modern law and state, bureaucracy). He also notes that legal domination is the most
advanced, and that societies evolve from having mostly traditional and charismatic authorities to
mostly rational and legal ones.

SOCIAL GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Social group
- Unit of interacting personalities with interdependence of roles and statuses existing between
and among themselves.
- Collection of people where members interact on a regular basis, guided by structure and
agreements, defined by roles and responsibilities.

Social Organization
- Type of collectivity established for the pursuit of specific aims or goals.
- Characterized by a formal structure of rules, authority relations, a division of labor and limited
membership or admission.

Characteristics of Social Group

 Group members interact on a fairly regular basis through communication.
 Members should develop a structure where each member assumes a specific status and adopts
a particular role.
 Certain orderly procedures and values are agreed upon.
 The members of the group feel a sense of identity.

Types of Social Groups

 According to Social Ties
o Primary Group
 It is the most fundamental unit of human society
 A long-lasting group
 Characterized by strong ties of love and affection
 Do’s and don’ts of behavior are learned here
 Examples: families, gangs, cliques, play groups, friendship groups
o Secondary Group
 Groups with which the individual comes in contact later in life
 Characterized by impersonal, business-like, contractual, formal, and casual
relationship
 Usually large in size, not very enduring and limited relationships
 People needed other people for the satisfaction of their complex needs
 Examples: industrial workers, business associates, faculty staff, company
employees
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School Year 2020 - 2021

 According to Self-Identification
o In-Group
 a social unit in which individuals feel at home and with which they identify.

o Out-Group
 a social unit to which individuals do not belong due to differences in social
categories and with which they do not identify.
o Reference/Psychological Group
 groups to which we consciously or unconsciously refer when we evaluate our life
situations and behavior but to which we do not necessarily belong.
 It serves a comparison function
 It has a normative function
 According to Purpose
o Special Interest Group
 groups which are organized to meet the special interest of the members.
o Task Group
 groups assigned to accomplish jobs which cannot be done by one person.
o Influence or Pressure Groups
 groups organized to support or influence social actions.
 According to Geographical Location and Degree or Quality of Relationship
o Gemeinschaft
 A social system in which most relationships are personal or traditional.
 It is a community of intimate, private and exclusive living and familism.
 Culture is homogeneous and tradition-bound.
o Gesselschaft
 A social system in which most relationships are impersonal, formal, contractual
or bargain-like.
 Relationship is individualistic, business-like, secondary and rationalized
 Culture is heterogeneous and more advanced.
 According to Form of Organization
o Formal Groups
 Social organization
 Deliberately formed and their purpose and objectives are explicitly defined
 Their goals are clearly stated and the division of labor is based on member’s
ability or merit
 BUREAUCRACY
 an administrative structure w/c is aimed to enable members meet their
goals.
 A hierarchical arrangement in large scale formal organizations in w/c
parts are ordered in the manner of a pyramid based on a division of
function and authority.
 Formal, rationally organized social structure
 CHARACTERISTICS OF BUREAUCRACY
 Positions and offices are clearly defined
 The hierarchical arrangement of authority, rights and obligations is
specifically drawn and clear-cut
 The personnel are selected on the basis of technical or professional
qualification and expert training and competence through competitive
examination
 Definite rules govern official behavior
 Security of tenure and the pursuit of a career with promotion in the
hierarchy are assured
o Informal Groups
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 Arises spontaneously out of the interactions of two or more persons.

 It is unplanned
 Has no explicit rules for membership and does not have specific objectives to be
attained.
 It has the characteristics of primary groups and members are bound by emotion
and sentiments.
o Relationship Groups
 Groups organized to fulfill the feeling of companionship.

Elements of Effective Group Functioning

 Democratic or “participate” leadership is employed.
 Flexible patterns of communication are used.
 A cooperative problem-solving approach to discussion is employed rather than a competitive
“win-lose” approach.
 Members deal openly and candidly with one another.
 Decision techniques which favor a sharing of responsibility via protection of the individual
rights are used rather than techniques which place the responsibility clearly in the hands of but
a portion of a group.

SOCIALIZATION
 Socialization is how we learn the norms and beliefs of our society. From our earliest family and
play experiences, we are made aware of societal values and expectations.
 Socialization is the process through which people are taught to be proficient members of a
society.
 It describes the ways that people come to understand societal norms and expectations, to
accept society’s beliefs, and to be aware of societal values.

Sigmund Freud: Elements of Personality

According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, personality develops through a series of stages, each
characterized by a certain internal psychological conflict.

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the
interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego. This theory,
known as Freud’s structural theory of personality, places great emphasis on the role of unconscious
psychological conflicts in shaping behavior and personality.

Dynamic interactions among these fundamental parts of the mind are thought to progress through
five distinct psychosexual stages of development. Over the last century, however, Freud’s ideas have
since been met with criticism, in part because of his singular focus on sexuality as the main driver of
human personality development.

According to Freud, our personality develops from the interactions among what he proposed as the
three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. Conflicts among these
three structures, and our efforts to find balance among what each of them “desires,” determines how
we behave and approach the world. What balance we strike in any given situation determines how we
will resolve the conflict between two overarching behavioral tendencies: our biological aggressive and
pleasure-seeking drives vs. our socialized internal control over those drives.

The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification of basic
physical needs and urges. It operates entirely unconsciously (outside of conscious thought). For
example, if your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would most likely take the ice cream for
itself. It doesn’t know, or care, that it is rude to take something belonging to someone else; it would
care only that you wanted the ice cream.

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The superego is concerned with social rules and morals—similar to what many people call their ”
conscience ” or their “moral compass.” It develops as a child learns what their culture considers right
and wrong. If your superego walked past the same stranger, it would not take their ice cream because
it would know that that would be rude. However, if both your id and your superego were involved, and
your id was strong enough to override your superego’s concern, you would still take the ice cream, but
afterward you would most likely feel guilt and shame over your actions.

In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our
personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It’s what
Freud considered to be the “self,” and its job is to balance the demands of the id and superego in the
practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego
would mediate the conflict between your id (“I want that ice cream right now”) and superego (“It’s
wrong to take someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to go buy your own ice cream. While this may
mean you have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate your id, your ego decides to make that
sacrifice as part of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice cream while also avoiding an
unpleasant social situation and potential feelings of shame.

Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult personality and
behavior are rooted in the results of these internal struggles throughout childhood. He believed that a
person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality and that imbalances in this system can lead to
neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety and depression) and unhealthy behaviors.

Freud believed that the nature of the conflicts among the id, ego, and superego change over time as a
person grows from child to adult. Specifically, he maintained that these conflicts progress through a
series of five basic stages, each with a different focus: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. He called
his idea the psychosexual theory of development, with each psychosexual stage directly related to a
different physical center of pleasure.

Across these five stages, the child is presented with different conflicts between their biological drives
(id) and their social and moral conscience (supereg0) because their biological pleasure-seeking urges
focus on different areas of the body (what Freud called “erogenous zones”). The child’s ability to
resolve these internal conflicts determines their future ability to cope and function as an adult. Failure
to resolve a stage can lead one to become fixated in that stage, leading to unhealthy personality traits;
successful resolution of the stages leads to a healthy adult.

Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development

Cognition refers to thinking and memory processes, and cognitive development refers to long-term
changes in these processes. One of the most widely known perspectives about cognitive development
is the cognitive stage theory of a Swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget. Piaget created and studied an
account of how children and youth gradually become able to think logically and scientifically. Because
his theory is especially popular among educators, we focus on it in this chapter.

Piaget was a psychological constructivist: in his view, learning proceeded by the interplay of
assimilation (adjusting new experiences to fit prior concepts) and accommodation (adjusting concepts
to fit new experiences). The to-and-fro of these two processes leads not only to short-term learning,
but also to long-term developmental change. The long-term developments are really the main focus of
Piaget’s cognitive theory.

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After observing children closely, Piaget proposed that cognition developed through distinct stages
from birth through the end of adolescence. By stages he meant a sequence of thinking patterns with
four key features:
 They always happen in the same order.
 No stage is ever skipped.
 Each stage is a significant transformation of the stage before it.
 Each later stage incorporated the earlier stages into itself.

Basically this is the “staircase” model of development mentioned at the beginning of this chapter.
Piaget proposed four major stages of cognitive development, and called them (1) sensorimotor
intelligence, (2) preoperational thinking, (3) concrete operational thinking, and (4) formal operational
thinking. Each stage is correlated with an age period of childhood, but only approximately.

In Piaget’s theory, the sensorimotor stage is first, and is defined as the period when infants “think”
by means of their senses and motor actions. As every new parent will attest, infants continually touch,
manipulate, look, listen to, and even bite and chew objects. According to Piaget, these actions allow
them to learn about the world and are crucial to their early cognitive development.

In the preoperational stage, children use their new ability to represent objects in a wide variety of
activities, but they do not yet do it in ways that are organized or fully logical. One of the most obvious
examples of this kind of cognition is dramatic play, the improvised make-believe of preschool
children.

As children continue into elementary school, they become able to represent ideas and events more
flexibly and logically. Their rules of thinking still seem very basic by adult standards and usually
operate unconsciously, but they allow children to solve problems more systematically than before, and
therefore to be successful with many academic tasks. In the concrete operational stage, for example, a
child may unconsciously follow the rule: “If nothing is added or taken away, then the amount of
something stays the same.” This simple principle helps children to understand certain arithmetic
tasks, such as in adding or subtracting zero from a number, as well as to do certain classroom science
experiments, such as ones involving judgments of the amounts of liquids when mixed. Piaget called
this period the concrete operational stage because children mentally “operate” on concrete
objects and events. They are not yet able, however, to operate (or think) systematically about
representations of objects or events. Manipulating representations is a more abstract skill that
develops later, during adolescence.

In the last of the Piagetian stages, the child becomes able to reason not only about tangible objects
and events, but also about hypothetical or abstract ones. Hence it has the name formal operational
stage—the period when the individual can “operate” on “forms” or representations. With students at
this level, the teacher can pose hypothetical (or contrary-to-fact) problems: “What if the world had
never discovered oil?” or “What if the first European explorers had settled first in California instead of
on the East Coast of the United States?” To answer such questions, students must use hypothetical
reasoning, meaning that they must manipulate ideas that vary in several ways at once, and do so
entirely in their minds.

Lawrence Kohlberg: Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the earlier work of cognitive theorist Jean Piaget to explain the
moral development of children. Kohlberg believed that moral development, like cognitive
development, follows a series of stages. He used the idea of moral dilemmas—stories that present
conflicting ideas about two moral values—to teach 10 to 16 year-old boys about morality and values.
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The best known moral dilemma created by Kohlberg is the “Heinz” dilemma,
which discusses the idea of obeying the law versus saving a life. Kohlberg emphasized that it is the
way an individual reasons about a dilemma that determines positive moral development.

After presenting people with various moral dilemmas, Kohlberg reviewed people’s responses and
placed them in different stages of moral reasoning. According to Kohlberg, an individual progresses
from the capacity for pre-conventional morality (before age 9) to the capacity for conventional
morality (early adolescence), and toward attaining post-conventional morality (once Piaget’s idea of
formal operational thought is attained), which only a few fully achieve. Each level of morality contains
two stages, which provide the basis for moral development in various contexts.

Kohlberg identified three levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-
conventional. Each level is associated with increasingly complex stages of moral development.

Level 1: Preconventional
Throughout the preconventional level, a child’s sense of morality is externally controlled. Children
accept and believe the rules of authority figures, such as parents and teachers. A child with pre-
conventional morality has not yet adopted or internalized society’s conventions regarding what is
right or wrong, but instead focuses largely on external consequences that certain actions may bring.

Stage 1: Obedience-and-Punishment Orientation

Stage 1 focuses on the child’s desire to obey rules and avoid being punished. For example, an action is
perceived as morally wrong because the perpetrator is punished; the worse the punishment for the act
is, the more “bad” the act is perceived to be.

Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation

Stage 2 expresses the “what’s in it for me?” position, in which right behavior is defined by whatever
the individual believes to be in their best interest. Stage two reasoning shows a limited interest in the
needs of others, only to the point where it might further the individual’s own interests. As a result,
concern for others is not based on loyalty or intrinsic respect, but rather a “you scratch my back, and
I’ll scratch yours” mentality. An example would be when a child is asked by his parents to do a chore.
The child asks “what’s in it for me?” and the parents offer the child an incentive by giving him an
allowance.

Level 2: Conventional
Throughout the conventional level, a child’s sense of morality is tied to personal and societal
relationships. Children continue to accept the rules of authority figures, but this is now due to their
belief that this is necessary to ensure positive relationships and societal order. Adherence to rules and
conventions is somewhat rigid during these stages, and a rule’s appropriateness or fairness is seldom
questioned.

Stage 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl Orientation

In stage 3, children want the approval of others and act in ways to avoid disapproval. Emphasis is
placed on good behavior and people being “nice” to others.

Stage 4: Law-and-Order Orientation

In stage 4, the child blindly accepts rules and convention because of their importance in maintaining a
functioning society. Rules are seen as being the same for everyone, and obeying rules by doing what
one is “supposed” to do is seen as valuable and important. Moral reasoning in stage four is beyond the
need for individual approval exhibited in stage three. If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone
would—thus there is an obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules. Most active members of
society remain at stage four, where morality is still predominantly dictated by an outside force.

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Level 3: Postconventional
Throughout the postconventional level, a person’s sense of morality is defined in terms of more
abstract principles and values. People now believe that some laws are unjust and should be changed
or eliminated. This level is marked by a growing realization that individuals are separate entities from
society and that individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own principles.

Post-conventional moralists live by their own ethical principles—principles that typically include such
basic human rights as life, liberty, and justice—and view rules as useful but changeable mechanisms,
rather than absolute dictates that must be obeyed without question. Because post-conventional
individuals elevate their own moral evaluation of a situation over social conventions, their behavior,
especially at stage six, can sometimes be confused with that of those at the pre-conventional level.
Some theorists have speculated that many people may never reach this level of abstract moral
reasoning.

Stage 5: Social-Contract Orientation

In stage 5, the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values. Such perspectives
should be mutually respected as unique to each person or community. Laws are regarded as social
contracts rather than rigid edicts. Those that do not promote the general welfare should be changed
when necessary to meet the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This is achieved through
majority decision and inevitable compromise. Democratic government is theoretically based on stage
five reasoning.

Stage 6: Universal-Ethical-Principal Orientation

In stage 6, moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles.
Generally, the chosen principles are abstract rather than concrete and focus on ideas such as equality,
dignity, or respect. Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to
justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws. People choose the ethical principles they
want to follow, and if they violate those principles, they feel guilty. In this way, the individual acts
because it is morally right to do so (and not because he or she wants to avoid punishment), it is in
their best interest, it is expected, it is legal, or it is previously agreed upon. Although Kohlberg insisted
that stage six exists, he found it difficult to identify individuals who consistently operated at that level.

Carol Gilligan: Bringing Gender

Gilligan's work, which focuses on sex differences in moral reasoning, the perception of violence, the
resolution of sexual dilemmas and abortion decisions, poses a major challenge to Kohlberg's theory by
introducing a feminist perspective of moral development. Kohlberg had shown that the average
female attained a moral judgment rating of stage three (good boy-nice girl), while adolescent males
score at level four (law and order) and are more likely to move on to postconventional levels. Gilligan
suggests that these findings reveal a gender bias, not that females are less mature than boys. Men and
women follow different voices. Men tend to organize social relationships in a hierarchical order and
subscribe to a morality of rights. Females value interpersonal connectedness, care, sensitivity, and
responsibility to people. Kohlberg's scoring criteria give the interpersonal care orientations of females
lower ratings than the principled justice orientation. Hence, Gilligan identifies different
developmental stages for females. However, she does not claim that one system is better; both are
equally valid. Only by integrating these complementary male (justice) and female (care) orientations
will we be able to realize our full human potential in moral development.

George Herbert Mead: The Social Self

Sociologist George Herbert Mead believed that people develop self-images through interactions with
other people. He argued that the Self, which is the part of a person’s personality consisting of self-
awareness and self-image, is a product of social experience. He outlined four ideas about how the self
develops:
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 The Self Develops Solely Through Social Experience. Mead rejected Freud’s notion that
personality is determined partly by biological drives.
 Social Experience Consists Of The Exchange Of Symbols. Mead emphasized the particularly
human use of language and other symbols to convey meaning.
 Knowing Others’ Intentions Requires Imagining The Situation From Their Perspectives. Mead
believed that social experience depends on our seeing ourselves as others do, or, as he coined
it, “taking the role of the other.”

 Understanding The Role Of The Other Results In Self-Awareness. Mead posited that there is an
active “I” self and an objective “me” self. The “I” self is active and initiates action. The “me” self
continues, interrupts, or changes action depending on how others respond.

Erick Erikson : 8 Stages of Development

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) was a stage theorist who took Freud’s controversial theory of psychosexual
development and modified it as a psychosocial theory. Erikson emphasized that the ego makes
positive contributions to development by mastering attitudes, ideas, and skills at each stage of
development. This mastery helps children grow into successful, contributing members of society.
During each of Erikson’s eight stages, there is a psychological conflict that must be successfully
overcome in order for a child to develop into a healthy, well-adjusted adult.

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development are based on (and expand upon) Freud’s psychosexual
theory. Erikson proposed that we are motivated by the need to achieve competence in certain areas of
our lives. According to psychosocial theory, we experience eight stages of development over our
lifespan, from infancy through late adulthood. At each stage there is a crisis or task that we need to
resolve. Successful completion of each developmental task results in a sense of competence and a
healthy personality. Failure to master these tasks leads to feelings of inadequacy.

Trust vs. Mistrust

From birth to 12 months of age, infants must learn that adults can be trusted. This occurs when adults
meet a child’s basic needs for survival. Infants are dependent upon their caregivers, so caregivers who
are responsive and sensitive to their infant’s needs help their baby to develop a sense of trust; their
baby will see the world as a safe, predictable place. Unresponsive caregivers who do not meet their
baby’s needs can engender feelings of anxiety, fear, and mistrust; their baby may see the world as
unpredictable. If infants are treated cruelly or their needs are not met appropriately, they will likely
grow up with a sense of mistrust for people in the world.

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

As toddlers (ages 1–3 years) begin to explore their world, they learn that they can control their actions
and act on their environment to get results. They begin to show clear preferences for certain elements
of the environment, such as food, toys, and clothing. A toddler’s main task is to resolve the issue of
autonomy vs. shame and doubt by working to establish independence. This is the “me do it” stage. For
example, we might observe a budding sense of autonomy in a 2-year-old child who wants to choose
her clothes and dress herself. Although her outfits might not be appropriate for the situation, her
input in such basic decisions has an effect on her sense of independence. If denied the opportunity to
act on her environment, she may begin to doubt her abilities, which could lead to low self-esteem and
feelings of shame.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Once children reach the preschool stage (ages 3–6 years), they are capable of initiating activities and
asserting control over their world through social interactions and play. According to Erikson,
preschool children must resolve the task of initiative vs. guilt.By learning to plan and achieve goals
while interacting with others, preschool children can master this task. Initiative, a sense of ambition
and responsibility, occurs when parents allow a child to explore within limits and then support the
child’s choice. These children will develop self-confidence and feel a sense of purpose. Those who are
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unsuccessful at this stage—with their initiative misfiring or stifled by over-

controlling parents—may develop feelings of guilt.

Industry vs. Inferiority

During the elementary school stage (ages 6–12), children face the task of industry vs. inferiority.
Children begin to compare themselves with their peers to see how they measure up. They either
develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their schoolwork, sports, social activities, and family
life, or they feel inferior and inadequate because they feel that they don’t measure up. If children do
not learn to get along with others or have negative experiences at home or with peers, an inferiority
complex might develop into adolescence and adulthood.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

In adolescence (ages 12–18), children face the task of identity vs. role confusion. According to
Erikson, an adolescent’s main task is developing a sense of self. Adolescents struggle with questions
such as “Who am I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?” Along the way, most adolescents try on
many different selves to see which ones fit; they explore various roles and ideas, set goals, and
attempt to discover their “adult” selves. Adolescents who are successful at this stage have a strong
sense of identity and are able to remain true to their beliefs and values in the face of problemsand
other people’s perspectives. When adolescents are apathetic, do not make a conscious search for
identity, or are pressured to conform to their parents’ ideas for the future, they may develop a weak
sense of self and experience role confusion. They will be unsure of their identity and confused about
the future. Teenagers who struggle to adopt a positive role will likely struggle to “find” themselves as
adults.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

People in early adulthood (20s through early 40s) are concerned with intimacy vs. isolation. After we
have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we are ready to share our life with others. However, if
other stages have not been successfully resolved, young adults may have trouble developing and
maintaining successful relationships with others. Erikson said that we must have a strong sense of self
before we can develop successful intimate relationships. Adults who do not develop a positive self-
concept in adolescence may experience feelings of loneliness and emotional isolation.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

When people reach their 40s, they enter the time known as middle adulthood, which extends to the
mid-60s. The social task of middle adulthood is generativity vs. stagnation. Generativity involves
finding your life’s work and contributing to the development of others through activities such as
volunteering, mentoring, and raising children. During this stage, middle-aged adults begin
contributing to the next generation, often through childbirth and caring for others; they also engage in
meaningful and productive work which contributes positively to society. Those who do not master this
task may experience stagnation and feel as though they are not leaving a mark on the world in a
meaningful way; they may have little connection with others and little interest in productivity and
self-improvement.

Integrity vs. Despair

From the mid-60s to the end of life, we are in the period of development known as late adulthood.
Erikson’s task at this stage is called integrity vs. despair. He said that people in late adulthood reflect
on their lives and feel either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of failure. People who feel proud of their
accomplishments feel a sense of integrity, and they can look back on their lives with few regrets.
However, people who are not successful at this stage may feel as if their life has been wasted. They

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focus on what “would have,” “should have,” and “could have” been. They face
the end of their lives with feelings of bitterness, depression, and despair.

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

Socialization helps people learn to function successfully in their social worlds. How does the process
of socialization occur? How do we learn to use the objects of our society’s material culture? How do
we come to adopt the beliefs, values, and norms that represent its nonmaterial culture? This learning
takes place through interaction with various agents of socialization, like peer groups and families, plus
both formal and informal social institutions.

Social Group Agents

Social groups often provide the first experiences of socialization. Families, and later peer groups,
communicate expectations and reinforce norms. People first learn to use the tangible objects of
material culture in these settings, as well as being introduced to the beliefs and values of society.

Family
Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers, siblings and grandparents, plus
members of an extended family, all teach a child what he or she needs to know. For example, they
show the child how to use objects (such as clothes, computers, eating utensils, books, bikes); how to
relate to others (some as “family,” others as “friends,” still others as “strangers” or “teachers” or
“neighbors”); and how the world works (what is “real” and what is “imagined”). As you are aware,
either from your own experience as a child or from your role in helping to raise one, socialization
includes teaching and learning about an unending array of objects and ideas.

Keep in mind, however, that families do not socialize children in a vacuum. Many social factors affect
the way a family raises its children. For example, we can use sociological imagination to recognize that
individual behaviors are affected by the historical period in which they take place. Sixty years ago, it
would not have been considered especially strict for a father to hit his son with a wooden spoon or a
belt if he misbehaved, but today that same action might be considered child abuse.

Sociologists recognize that race, social class, religion, and other societal factors play an important role
in socialization. For example, poor families usually emphasize obedience and conformity when raising
their children, while wealthy families emphasize judgment and creativity (National Opinion Research
Center 2008). This may occur because working-class parents have less education and more repetitive-
task jobs for which it is helpful to be able to follow rules and conform. Wealthy parents tend to have
better educations and often work in managerial positions or careers that require creative problem
solving, so they teach their children behaviors that are beneficial in these positions. This means
children are effectively socialized and raised to take the types of jobs their parents already have, thus
reproducing the class system (Kohn 1977). Likewise, children are socialized to abide by gender norms,
perceptions of race, and class-related behaviors.

Peer Groups
A peer group is made up of people who are similar in age and social status and who share interests.
Peer group socialization begins in the earliest years, such as when kids on a playground teach younger
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children the norms about taking turns, the rules of a game, or how to shoot a
basket. As children grow into teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups are important to
adolescents in a new way, as they begin to develop an identity separate from their parents and exert
independence. Additionally, peer groups provide their own opportunities for socialization since kids
usually engage in different types of activities with their peers than they do with their families. Peer
groups provide adolescents’ first major socialization experience outside the realm of their families.
Interestingly, studies have shown that although friendships rank high in adolescents’ priorities, this is
balanced by parental influence.

Institutional Agents
The social institutions of our culture also inform our socialization. Formal institutions—like schools,
workplaces, and the government—teach people how to behave in and navigate these systems. Other
institutions, like the media, contribute to socialization by inundating us with messages about norms
and expectations.

School
Most U.S. children spend about seven hours a day, 180 days a year, in school, which makes it hard to
deny the importance school has on their socialization (U.S. Department of Education 2004). Students
are not in school only to study math, reading, science, and other subjects—the manifest function of
this system. Schools also serve a latent function in society by socializing children into behaviors like
practicing teamwork, following a schedule, and using textbooks.

School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and leaders, regularly reinforce
what society expects from children. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as the hidden
curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools.

The Workplace
Just as children spend much of their day at school, many U.S. adults at some point invest a significant
amount of time at a place of employment. Although socialized into their culture since birth, workers
require new socialization into a workplace, in terms of both material culture (such as how to operate
the copy machine) and nonmaterial culture (such as whether it’s okay to speak directly to the boss or
how to share the refrigerator).

Different jobs require different types of socialization. In the past, many people worked a single job
until retirement. Today, the trend is to switch jobs at least once a decade. Between the ages of
eighteen and forty-six, the average baby boomer of the younger set held 11.3 different jobs (U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). This means that people must become socialized to, and socialized
by, a variety of work environments.

Religion
While some religions are informal institutions, here we focus on practices followed by formal
institutions. Religion is an important avenue of socialization for many people. The United States is
full of synagogues, temples, churches, mosques, and similar religious communities where people
gather to worship and learn. Like other institutions, these places teach participants how to interact
with the religion’s material culture (like a mezuzah, a prayer rug, or a communion wafer). For some
people, important ceremonies related to family structure—like marriage and birth—are connected to
religious celebrations. Many religious institutions also uphold gender norms and contribute to their
enforcement through socialization. From ceremonial rites of passage that reinforce the family unit to
power dynamics that reinforce gender roles, organized religion fosters a shared set of socialized values
that are passed on through society.

Government
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Although we do not think about it, many of the rites of passage people go
through today are based on age norms established by the government. To be defined as an “adult”
usually means being eighteen years old, the age at which a person becomes legally responsible for
him- or herself. And sixty-five years old is the start of “old age” since most people become eligible for
senior benefits at that point.

Mass Media
Mass media distribute impersonal information to a wide audience, via television, newspapers, radio,
and the Internet. With the average person spending over four hours a day in front of the television
(and children averaging even more screen time), media greatly influences social norms (Roberts,
Foehr, and Rideout 2005). People learn about objects of material culture (like new technology and
transportation options), as well as nonmaterial culture—what is true (beliefs), what is important
(values), and what is expected (norms).

ACTIVITIES:
A. In your own words, define sociology and the social sciences.
B. Give examples of the different perspectives in understanding society.
C. Summarize the Evolution of Society.
D. What are the effects of social groups on a person? Give examples of each social
group in your life and describe the influence of each group in your life.
E. Read the different theories in understanding socialization. Discuss how you can
better understand socialization with each theory.
F. Do you think it is important that parents discuss gender roles with their young
children, or is gender a topic better left for later? How do parents consider
gender norms when buying their children books, movies, and toys? How do you
believe they should consider it?
G. Based on your observations, when are adolescents more likely to listen to their
parents or to their peer groups when making decisions? What types of dilemmas
lend themselves toward one social agent over another?

References:

 Sociology's Four Theoretical Perspectives: Structural-Functional, Social Conflict, Feminism &

Symbolic Interactionism. (2013, May 31). Retrieved from
https://study.com/academy/lesson/sociologys-four-theoretical-perspectives-structural-
functional-social-conflict-feminism-symbolic-interactionism.html.
 https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/s/Sociocultural_evolution.htm#:~:te
xt=Sociocultural%20evolution(ism)%20is%20an,societies%20have%20developed%20over
%20time.

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