Social Construction of Culture

Question 1

Culture

Answer 1

Is Learned

Question 2

Socialisation

Answer 2

The process of acquiring values, attitudes and behaviours through interacting with others.

Question 3

Gender Roles

Answer 3

We expect men and women to behave in our culture. We are socialised into our gender roles which means they are learned.

Question 4

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

Answer 4

The arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture.

Question 5

Learned Culture

Answer 5

Norms and values vary between and within different societies, and they also change over time.

Question 6

Natural or Learned?

Answer 6

1. ) Human characteristics, such as walking upright and chewing food
2. )Personality traits, such as intelligence, aggression and kindness
3. )Gender differences, such as males being more aggressive and competitive, and females being more emotional

Question 7

Feral children (Genie)

Answer 7

Genie is one of the most famous cases of privation, a child who had almost no human contact at all until the age of thirteen. She, unlike the other examples here, was not ‘raised’ by animals, but rather just shut in a room on her own, strapped to a ‘potty chair’ and given virtually no human interaction or stimulation at all for over ten years. Her father claimed he was protecting her because she was mentally retarded, but it is unclear whether this was actually a result of the isolation. Genie was studied endlessly when she was discovered, but though she made some progress at forming human attachments, she never learned to speak fluently, and spent her life in institutional care.

Question 8

Kamala and Amala

Answer 8

These two girls were discovered living with wolves in India. It was assumed that they must have been lost in the jungle or even snatched by the wolves as babies. There was no evidence they were related - one was around eight years old and one was only eighteen months old. Their behaviour was seen to be ‘wolf-like’ - they howled, walked on all fours and ate directly from a bowl with their mouths, rather than using
their hands.

Question 9

Oxana Malaya

Answer 9

Oxana had been left in the kennel with the family dogs since she was very young. Footage of her in a children’s home in the Ukraine was released, and she was barking and running on all fours. Her parents were blamed for the abuse. However, later evidence suggests that actually some of this behaviour may have been learned in the children’s home itself, where care was allegedly very poor. It is also alleged that the dog-like behaviour seen had already been ‘unlearned’ by the time the famous footage was shot and that Oxana was asked to put it on for the cameras. Clearly, some time in Oxana’s childhood was spent with dogs, but the true sequence of events may never be known. Oxana can now walk and talk normally.

Question 10

Social Change

Answer 10

The way in which society has changed and is changing (and also the possibilities for future change)