Modes of Culture Acquisition, Control & Deviance in the Society

Modes of Culture Acquisition

• Accomodation - peaceful adjustment between hostile competing groups
• Acculturation - the acquisition by a group or individual of the traits of another culture
• Enculturation - the process of learning the roles that one plays in the culture and becoming part of it (sociologists call this as socialization)
•  Diffusion - spread of culture from one group to another
• Assimilation -the mutual diffusion through which a person or groups come to share a common culture
• Alienation -the emotional separation from a society or group combining feeling of powerlessness, normlessness and social isolation
• Total Institution -   a setting where resocialization occurs because people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and are subject to the control of officials of varied ranks (e.g. prisons, boot camps, monasteries & psychiatric hospitals) Resocialization in a total institution is a lot more intense and can be much more forcible than someone who chooses to resocialize themselves. Individuality is stripped away and replaced with an institutional identity: similar hair and uniforms, new standards of behavior and a regimented schedule
• Cultural Pluralism is the toleration of cultural differences within a common society allowing different groups to retain their distinctive culture
• Socialization (enculturation) is a life-long process that begins at birth. We are first socialized by those who are closest to us in our early months and years. This first development is called primary socialization. Later we are socialized through our wider society, and this is called secondary socialization

Social Order, Deviation and Control

Social Order – characteristic needed for the society to function smoothly

Social Deviation – arises whenever a person fails or refuses to conform to the unusual norms of the society, it may be an individual or group

Social Control – enforced over the members in three principal ways: through socialization, social pressure and force

Theories of Deviation:

a.       Anomie Theory – groups with fewer opportunities to achieve success goals will have greater motivation to violate norms and higher rate of deviance

b.      Subculture Theory – the greater motivation to violate norms will result in different patterns of deviance depending upon the availability of illegitimate opportunities in the neighborhood

c.       Differential Associational Theory – specific direction of a person’s motivation and action depends upon frequency and intensity of interaction with others