UNDERSTANDING CULTURE,

SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

COURSE MATERIAL NO. 4

Photo Credit: https://www.inc.com/james-kerr/culture-by-design-the-essentials.html

 WHAT WILL YOU
LEARN?
This module has been designed
to help you:

• demonstrate relevance,
responsibility, and accountability
in managing and expressing
information, thoughts, and
perceptions;

• situate the work in the context of

self, others, and the world and
respond to such with a sensitive
and tactful stance;

• explore and utilize social

relationships and linkages for
programs and outputs that benefit
the community as a whole; Source: https://www.legit.ng/1219319-what-types-socialization-sociology.html

• express and relay one’s objective

ideas and insights that are
relevant, logical, and applicable to
the call of the times and situations; BECOMING A
• judiciously select and logically
organize and present information
reflecting intellectual rigor through
proper use of media platforms to
MEMBER OF
improve one’s involvement in the
community and the country at
large; and
SOCIETY
• communicate and collaborate
effectively with others in various
situations while projecting an
ethical and professional image.

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 2

 WHAT’S INSIDE
Hi, Nationalians!
THIS MODULE?

How have you become part of the society you are in? How ▪ Socialization 4
did you acquire your identity, skills, and knowledge? How Focus Questions
do you conform to your community and the world? This Agents of Socialization
course material will help us determine how we acquire
▪ Conformity 6
norms and values that define our social interaction with
Types of Conformity
other people, how we develop ourselves as products of
socialization, and how vital the human rights and promotion ▪ Deviance 7
of common good are in our society. Activity #1: My Personal Likes
And Dislikes

▪ Sociological Theories of 8
Deviance
Let’s get started! Activity #2: Captured your Rights

▪ Social Control and Sanctions 9

Types of Sanctions
Human Dignity and Human
Rights

▪ Summary & Key Terms 10

Before you start, challenge yourself by answering the
▪ References 11
following questions:

1. What is socialization for you?

2. How do you conform to your family? To your
friends? To your classmates?
3. How do you describe your community?

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 3

 SOCIALIZATION
✓ Socialization refers to the lifelong process of
social interaction through which people acquire
their identities and necessary skills in the society FOCUS
(Atienza, et.al. 2016). This prepares and trains the QUESTIONS
person to think, feel, and act within one’s society.
❖ What is Socialization?
As the person moves from one stage to another,
❖ How does socialization
he/she may not or may discard the learnings help an individual in
he/she acquires and learn new patterns of becoming a member of
behavior along the way. the society?
❖ How are we going
✓ Socialization is an integral part of human to protect our
human rights in
development as this enables a person to become
today’s society?
more knowledgeable and aware of his/her
surroundings, learn his/her society’s culture, and
analyze and evaluate the appropriateness in the
society.

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

Agents of socialization refers to social groups and

organizations, people, and institutions that teach
individuals essential knowledge and skills and
integrate them as accepted members of the society.

1. Family
✓ The primary agent of socialization
✓ Vital for the early care and development of
child
✓ Family becomes an avenue for social
engagement and political socialization

Source: https://www.pngegg.com/en/png-pjiqp

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 4

 2. School
✓ The institution that has a critical and active
role in socialization through academic and
social activities.
✓ The institution that teaches students
important values, such as cooperation,
camaraderie, innovation, competitiveness,
punctuality, respect for authority, etc.
✓ The institution that instills and values self-
improvement and hard work
✓ An avenue for political socialization
Source: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/children-
playing-in-front-of-school-vector-10741132

3. Peer Groups
✓ People who have shared commonalities such
as interests, characteristics, age, and social
background
✓ reinforce acceptable behaviors being
introduced by the family and school and
allow a certain degree of independence from
family and certain figures of authority.

Source: https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image?phrase=peer+group

4. Mass Media
✓ This includes forms of communication such
as books, magazines, articles, radio,
television, other print materials, and social
media.
✓ The source of information regarding events
and developments in the society and the
source of providing entertainment.

Source: https://www.communicationtheory.org/functions-of-mass-
communication/

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 5

 5. Religion and State
✓ Ultimate source of authority
✓ Religion influences the person’s views,
legitimizes accepted social behavior and
practices, and provides stability and social
change.
✓ State implements laws and other regulations
that reinforce appropriate behavior and help
form values and attitudes of citizens. Source: https://purelypresbyterian.com/2016/02/29/ten-
agreements-and-ten-differences-between-church-and-state-2/

CONFORMITY AND DEVIANCE

CONFORMITY

For an individual to continue his/her role and

function in the society, he/she should conform to the
generally-accepted behavior within the society.

Conformity refers to attempting to change his/her

behavior to adapt to the accepted and defined
behavior of the society he/she is in.

TYPES OF CONFORMITY

1. Compliance
✓ An individual accepts social pressure but
may privately disagree with it. The person is
motivated by the desire to gain rewards and
avoid punishment.

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 6

 2. Identification Activity#1: My Personal
✓ An individual adopts a certain
Likes and Dislikes
behavior for him/her to establish
a satisfying relationship with Directions: List down your personal likes
other people. and dislikes in the table below. The list could
be a thing, a person, activity, place, behavior,
3. Internalization or Acceptance
etc.
✓ An individual accepts public
compliance and internal Questions Likes Dislikes
acceptance of the norms and What are your likes
standards imposed by the group. and dislikes? (Provide
3 each).
Why do you like those
DEVIANCE you have mentioned
above? Indicate a
group of people,
An individual who does not conform to the groups, organizations,
accepted behavior, norms, and standards of associations, and the
society would mean deviance. like, that influenced
you the most in liking
or disliking the given
Social Deviance refers to behavior that answers.
elicits a strong negative reaction from group
members and involves actions that violate
socially-accepted norms and standards
(Atienza, et.al, 2016). Take note: As a UCSP
student, bear in mind that what may be
considered norms and standards in a
particular society and culture may be
considered deviant in others.

Source: https://thetylt.com/culture/graffiti-is-a-form-of-art-or-not

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 7

 SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
DEVIANCE

1. STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST
THEORY
▪ According to Emile Durkheim,
deviance can serve a number of Activity#2: Captured YOUR
functions for the society: Rights!
o Responding to deviance
clarifies moral boundaries and Directions:
promotes social unity
1. The class shall divided into groups.
o Deviance encourages social
change 2. Each group will roam around the school and
will take a picture of anything that they see that
2. STRUCTURAL STRAIN THEORY shows the articles of Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. (2-3 pictures)
▪ The tensions between socially-
approved goals and an individual’s 3. After that, each group will present their output
ability to meet the goals will lead to in the class and will discuss what specific article
deviance. shows in the picture.

See rubrics below.

3. LABELLING THEORY
▪ This theory considers deviance as a
socially-constructed phenomenon
influenced largely by interpersonal
relationships among members of the
society.

4. CONFLICT THEORY
▪ This theory considers deviance as a
reflection of inequalities in the
society.

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 8

 SOCIAL CONTROL AND
SANCTIONS

Social Control refers to systematic means and

HUMAN DIGNITY AND
practices to maintain and stabilize norms and
standards, rules and laws; regulate conflicts; and HUMAN RIGHTS
discourage deviant behavior (Atienza, et.al. 2016).
Human Dignity refers to the idea that a
Sanction refers to the means of social control to person has the innate right to be valued,
respected, and treated (Atienza, et.al.,
address conflicts and violations of socially-
2016).
accepted behavior.
Human Rights refer to natural rights of
2 Types of Sanctions all individuals regardless of their
ethnicity, age, religion, sex, race, and
1. Formal Sanctions language.
✓ Sanctions that are provided for by
laws and other regulations in society. Human Rights have the following
characteristics:
2. Informal Sanctions
✓ Sanctions that are imposed by smaller
1. Universal
societies, communities, or groups of 2. Fundamental
people. 3. Indivisible
✓ Sanctions that are arbitrarily agreed 4. Absolute
upon by the members of the group or
The Universal Declaration of Human
society.
Rights (UDHR) is a legal instrument that
upholds the recognition of human rights.
The said instrument was drafted by the
United Nations Commission on Human
Rights in 1948.

Source: https://quotefancy.com/quote/205129/Stacy-Pershall-Not-all-
deviance-is-negative-without-it-we-d-never-change-the-world

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 9

 SUMMARY

Socialization prepares an individual to become

one of the members of the society by adopting its
socially-accepted behavior, norms, and
standards.

The agents of socialization are people, groups, or

institutions that teach a newcomer the essential
KEY TERMS
knowledge and skills which are needed in
participating in the society.
• Agents of
Socialization
There are various sociological theories relative to • Conflict Theory
deviances. These are: Structural-Functionalist • Conformity
Theory, Conflict Theory, Strain Theory, and
• Deviance
Labelling Theory.
• Human Dignity
• Human Rights
• Labelling Theory
• Norms
• Sanctions
• Social Control
• Structural-
Functionalist
Theory
• Structural Strain
Theory

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 10

 REFERENCES
Atienza, M.E. et. al. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics. Quezon City. C&E
Publishing, Inc.

Baleña, E. et. al. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics. Quezon City. Educational
Resources Corporation.

Coloma, T. et.al. (2012). Essentials of Sociology and Anthropology: An Interactive Study. Quezon City.
C&E Publishing.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Convention on Social, Economic, and

Cultural Rights, International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and other International
Human Rights instruments. Available at www.ohchr.org

Pourriat, E. (2010). Majority Oppressed. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4UWxlVvT1A

CONTRIBUTORS
SARAH JOY AVILA
JOCELYN A. PALAYA
MARY ROSE D. SERMON
MANILYN YBANEZ

3rd Term, AY 2022-2023 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS PAGE 11