C3 Assignment

8/8/2019 C3 Assignment

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Shaiju M. Chacko | Assignment ² C3 01

What according to you is human development? Discuss how

socialization affects human development with illustration from

field work or with experiences from your own life.

Introduction

The field of psychology is understood to be one of the younger sciences

available to us. By the very fact that it studies human behaviour and various

other aspects that are core to human being, the subject is of greater value and

importance. In the realm of social work too, psychology plays a major role in

understanding the person and his/her behavioural patterns and overall build up

of the personality. The discipline of social work, thus, relies heavily on

psychology for the maturation and effective implem entation of many of its

schemes and projects for individuals and communities. This paper is an attempt

to understand human development and factors affecting the same through

socialisation.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Human development is considered as the sequence of age-related change that

occurs as a person progresses from conception to death. The term development

means a progressive series of change that occurs as a result of maturation and

experience. Development implies qualitative changes that are achieved thr ough

a process growth, maturation and learning.

y Growth: Increase in the size of the body

y Maturation: Changes in the complexity of the structure which enable the

organism to function at a higher level

y Learning: Changes that are brought to us due to various experiences.

Growth and Development are most often used interchangeably. In essence, they

are different, although they are inseparable as neither takes place alone. Growth

refers to quantitative changes ± increase in size and structure. Not only does the

child become larger physically, but there is also increase in the size and

structure of the internal organs and of the brain. Development, however, refers to

the changes which are qualitative in nature and may be defined as a progressive

series of orderly, coherent changes leading towards the goal of maturity.

According to Anderson, development is not merely a matter of adding inches to

stature or ability to ability, instead it id the complex process of integrating manystructures and functions.

Significant facts about human development: Human development has

various proportions. It sets the tone for the personality of the person from the

very moment of one¶s life on earth and continues to play a critical role in the

different stages that the person passes through. Below given are some of the

facts that do affect the development of human person.




1. Early foundations are critical: Attitudes, habits and patterns of behaviour

established during the early years determine to a large extend how

successful individuals will adjust to life as they grow older. Many child

psychologists argue that the pre-school years of 2-5 are the most crucial

years. Erickson is of the opinion that babyhood is the period when

individuals learn general attitude of trust and mistrust, dep ending on how

parents gratify their children¶s needs for food, attention and love. Good

physical and mental credentials can be seriously damaged by

unfavourable environmental conditions during prenatal and early postnatal

periods. It has been observed that if the patterns of attitudes, interests,

skills and emotional behaviour are well laid, further developments will

result in behaviour that will lead to good life adjustments. The first

important scientific clue of the significance of the early years came f rom

Freud¶s studies of personality maladjustments.

2. Role of maturation and learning development: Maturation is the

unfolding of the individual¶s inherent traits potentially present in theindividual resulting from his/her hereditary environment such as creeping,

sitting and walking. Such aspects do not require any training. Control of

the environment to prevent the baby from having the opportunities to

practice reaching, sitting, and standing have little influence on the

development of these functions. Functions specific to the individual such

as swimming, roller skating, bicycle riding on the other hand requires

training. Learning is development that comes from exercise and effort on

the part of the individual. Unless the individual has the opportunities for

learning, many of his hereditary potentials will never reach their optimum

development.

3. Each phase of development has characteristic behaviour: When

individuals adapt easily to environmental demands and as a result make

good personal and social adjustment, it is called µperiod of equilibrium.¶ In

the same way, when they experience difficulties in adaptation and as a

result make poor personal and social adjustment is called µperiod of

disequilibrium.¶ There is a possibility of change in the behaviour as they

grow, but it does not work this way always.

Dimensions of development:

1. Physical: It refers to physiological changes or bodily changes. Physical

development is the study of patterns of physical growth and maturation,

genetic basis for some human development and acquisition of motor skills

and health promoting behaviour.

2. Cognitive: Cognitive development refers to the inner process and product

of the mind that lead to knowing. It includes all mental activities like

remembering, symbolising, categorising, problem solving, creating,




fantasizing and even dreaming. Cognitive development is expressed

through perceptual and motor activity. According to Piaget, the

development of knowledge is a form of adaptation, assimilation and

accommodation. Assimilation means modifying one¶s environment so that

it fits into one¶s already developed ways of thinking and acting.

Accommodation means modifying oneself as to fit with existing

characteristics of environment.

3. Emotional and Social development: It refers to the change in children¶s

feeling, ways of coping with, building social relationship and moral function

along with changes. The person develops self understanding, ability to

manage one¶s feeling, knowledge about other people, interpersonal skills,

friendship etc.

Principles of Development:

The relative effect of heredity and environment vary for different domains of

development. Inherited tendencies may make children more or less responsive

and susceptible to particular environmental influence. Environment may play agreater role when conditions are extreme rather than moderate. For example, if a

child grows in violent behaviour around, he/she will gr ow as a fearful person.

Some environmental experiences play a greater role at certain ages than others.

Growth of the person may be hampered if proper stimuli are not given in this

sensitive period. Children make choices that affect the environment that th ey

encountered.

Important issues

The field of child development is distinctly complex given the fact that each child

experiences a unique combination of genetic and environmental circumstances.Some major issues concerning child development are;

a) Nature versus Nurture: This controversy has existed for a long time. By

nature we mean the inborn biological traits; the hereditary information

children receive from their parents at the moment of conception. By

nurture we mean the complex physical and social worl ds that influence

children before and after birth. The nature versus nurture debate is

concerned about the relative impact of heredity and environment. Overall,

virtually no one believes that nature alone or nurture alone completely

determines the course of one¶s development. Most psychologists todaybelieve that development is shaped by the interaction of heredity and

environment.

b) Universality versus Diversity: By universality we mean certain

developmental changes that occur in everyone and reflect a central

degree of universality. For example, the physical dimensions. Compared

to these, certain developmental changes are highly individualised and

reflect diversity in growth.




c) Qualitative versus Quantitative: By qualitative changes, we refer to

development which is characterised by a rather sudden relatively dramatic

change in behaviour and thinking. There are certain changes that are

qualitative. All the changes that don¶t involve dramatic changes and are

more frequently occurring can be termed quantitative. The same has been

enumerated above.

SOCIALISATION

The concept of socialization has traditionally addressed the problem of individual

adjustment to society. In all of the approaches, socialization has, in one way or

another, referred to the idea that society shapes its members toward compliance

and cooperation with societal requirements. According to Long and Hadden,

many earlier approaches to socialization extended socialization to every part of

human social life. As a result, everyone becomes both a socializing agent

(socializer) and a novice (socializee) in all encounters with others. This

conceptualization leaves socialization without a social home; it is all around but

no place in particular.

Human infants are born without any culture. They must be transformed by their

parents, teachers, and others into cultural and socially adept animals. The

general process of acquiring culture is referred to as socialization. During

socialization, we learn the language of the culture we are born into as well as the

roles we are to play in life. For instance, girls learn how to be daughters, sisters,

friends, wives, and mothers. In addition, they learn about the occupational roles

that their society has in store for them. We also learn and usually adopt our

culture's norms through the socialization process. Norms are the conceptions of

appropriate and expected behaviour that are held by most members of thesociety. While socialization refers to the general process of acquiring culture,

anthropologists use the term enculturation for the process of being socialized to

a particular culture. You were enculturated to your specific culture by your

parents and the other people who raised you.

Socialization is important in the process of personality formation. While much of

human personality is the result of our genes, the socialization process can mo uld

it in particular directions by encouraging specific beliefs and attitudes as well as

selectively providing experiences. This very likely account for much of the

difference between the common personality types in one society in comparisonto another.

Successful socialization can result in uniformity within a society. If all children

receive the same socialization, it is likely that they will shar e the same beliefs

and expectations. This fact has been a strong motivation for national

governments around the world to standardize education and make it compulsory

for all children. Deciding what things will be taught and how they are taught is a

powerful political tool for controlling people. Those who internalize the norms of

society are less likely to break the law or to want radical social changes. In all




societies, however, there are individuals who do not conform to culturally defined

standards of normalcy because they were "abnormally" socialized, which is to

say that they have not internalized the norms of society. These people are

usually labelled by their society as deviant or even mentally ill.

Types of Socialisation:

y Primary socialization: Primary socialization occurs when a child learnsthe attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. For example if a child saw his/her mother expressing adiscriminatory opinion about a minority group, then that child may think thisbehavior is acceptable and could continue to have this opinion aboutminority groups.

y Secondary socialization: Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning the appropriate behaviour as a member of a smaller group withinthe larger society. It is usually associated with teenagers and adults, and

involves smaller changes than those occurring in primary socialization. eg.entering a new profession, relocating to a new environment or society.

y Developmental socialization: Developmental socialization is the processof learning behaviour in a social institution or developing your social skills.

y Anticipatory socialization: Anticipatory socialization refers to theprocesses of socialization in which a person "rehearses" f or futurepositions, occupations, and social relationships.

y Re-socialization: Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding

former behaviour patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transitionin one's life. This occurs throughout the human lif e cycle (Schaefer &Lamm, 1992: 113). Re-socialization can be an intense experience, with theindividual experiencing a sharp break with their past and needing to learnand be exposed to radically different norms and values. An example mightbe the experience of a young man or woman leaving home to join themilitary, or a religious convert internalizing the beliefs and rituals of a newfaith. An extreme example would be the process by whicha transsexual learns to function socially in a dramatically altered gender role.

Agents of Socialization Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self -concept,emotions, attitudes, and behaviour.

y The Family: Family is responsible for the youth and children, among other things, determining one's attitudes towards religion, life, other humanpersons and establishing career goals.

y Education: Education is the agency responsible for socializing groups of

young people in particular skills and values in society.




y Religion: Religions play a major role in socialization, in that context often

synonymous with 'indoctrination'.

y Peer groups: Peers refer to people who are roughly the same age and/or

who share other social characteristics.

y The Mass Media: The mass media plays a major role in socialisation. Theimpact of the media in the process of socialisation was underrated earlier and many did not consider the same as mere means of passinginformation. However, in the context of the lives that we live t oday we cansay without doubt that the media influences the individual in a big way andimpacts his/her life.

y Other Agents: Work Place, Public institutions.

EFFECT OF SOCIALISATION IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT:

Socialisation is considered as one of the key factors of human development. And

so, in order to understand the significance of the same, I would look at the samefrom my own experiences:

From my childhood experiences:

1) Family: Early childhood plays key role in shaping the personality of an

individual. In this regard, I too consider the experiences of my early childhood to

have shaped the personality of what I am today. My family consisting of my

parents and three siblings provided me the right environment for growth. There

had been encouragements and positive efforts for the overall development of the

personality. The below mentioned experiences and learning would portray the

secular and religious socialisation I have had, which facilitated my growth.

Besides these, opportunities were provided for healthy socialisation with my

neighbours. I have seen my parents interacting well with the people of lower

caste origins. All were welcome and we have had food together with them sittin g

in the same area. I have also seen my mom and dad eating with the labourers

either in the field or at home. There was just one menu for all. My parents also

taught me to respect those elder to me and not to call them by names. Respect

to the elderly was a great virtue and continues to be so.

Inter-religious socialisation: The God of life blessed me with loving

parents who always wanted to give the best to their children. My parents

began their life in the high ranges of Idukki and all of us were born and

grew up there until I reached the age of four. I recall here that we lived in a

multi religious atmosphere with sizeable number of Hindus and Christians.

Our two neighbouring families were Hindus and they were very close to my

family. We interacted well and as a result my parents would allow me to

join them to the temple, especially on festival days. Such openness from

my parents and their readiness to appreciate and respect other religions

were even experienced later in my life. This openness surely help ed me to

grow in respect and admiration for other religious faiths and people from




diverse backgrounds. In 1982 my parents decided to sell the land and

move to the plains in order to improve the quality of life and with a view to

provide quality education for all of us. Hence we moved to

Thekkumbhagom near Thodupuzha in the same district. Upon settling

there I was admitted to class one in St. George ·s School, Kallanickal, an

aided vernacular school run by the management of the diocese of

Kothamangalam where I completed matriculation in the year 1992.

R eligious and Spiritual socialisation: My parents are devout Catholics

and their piety, simplicity and fear of God instilled in me a sense of love for

God and human beings. My parents helped me pray and helped me

experience the presence of God in me and in others. By the time I was of

eight years my eldest sister had already become a nun. As part of her

mission, she worked in Rwanda and Zaire in Africa for 12 years as a

nurse. I found her life stories, shared during her home vacation, both

challenging and rewarding. I can honestly say that her l ife in Africa was the

first inspiration for me to become a priest to serve those in need. Inspiredby the life of the eldest one and motivated by the love of Christ, my second

sister too decided to be nun and later became a nurse. She worked in

Shimoga, Karnataka for six years before being assigned to Tamilnadu.

Being a devout and close to Church, my parents socialised me with priests

and nuns which impacted my thought process as well. As I was about to

complete my schooling, the thoughts of becoming a prie st and serving the

people in the Missions dawned in me and with the guidance and consent

of my parents, I left home and joined the studies for priesthood which

eventually helped me become a priest and work in Jammu and Kashmir.

2) School and Peer Group: The school where I studied and the school days

provided me the greatest opportunities for socialisation outside my family and

neighbourhood. I consider that along with school came the socialisation

opportunities and experiences with the Peer Group. Thus, I recall that there have

been both positive and negative socialisations in this period. My teachers helped

me shape my personality in various ways, although at times I resisted the same.

I remember an occasion in 6 th class when I was asked by one of the teachers to

present a speech during the annual day celebration. Though I declined the offer,

the teacher insisted and helped for the same with the text and practice. I finally

presented the same and was appreciated by all. That experience gave me aconfidence about myself and my abilities and I am grateful to the teacher for her

persuasion.

Schooling helped me understand children from diverse family, economic and

religious backgrounds. The mutual interaction and sharing enriched my

knowledge and personality. At the same time, the process of socialisation has

had its negative impact on me. The first impact as in anyone was that I picked up

the slangs although I never dared to use them for fear of my parents. For, not

once have I heard them saying slang either to each other or to someone else.




more active and expressive than those in the government run aanganwadi . Both

have one teacher each. However, children in aanganwadi do not get the kind of

exposure and training as their counterparts get. There is hardly in place to sit in

the aanganwadi . They are not taught together and thus do not even speak to

each other when they meet. Neither do they wish the elders as these are not

imparted in the centre. The baalwadi in contrast offers space for each child and

opportunity to speak or perform. They are taught the values of respect and they

greet us warmly when we enter the class room. They also interact and mix with

us comfortably. Thus, the baalwadi functions as an effective centre for

socialisation as opposed to what is offered in the other centre.

2) The Sansi community: J block of Majnu-ka-Tilla is occupied by people fromthe Sansi community. The community is perceived to be aggressive and areprone to indulge in fights. As a result, other people in the community hardlyinteract with these families. The overall atmosphere in the communities andfamilies affect the younger ones too and as a result they too grow aggressive.

Socialisation is centred primarily among the members. Although some childrengo to schools, they are marked out by others and are not socialised with.

3) The Bengali Family: During my visits to various houses, I came across afamily from Bengal. The husband and wife both are educated up to Masters andhave two children who study at the baalwadi. The husband, Mr. Govind works ina school while the wife, Sujatha is a home maker. They are financially sound.However, the high cost of living elsewhere forces them to be in Majnu-ka-Tilla.They are not at all comfortable with the prevailing atmosphere in the community. As a result, they do not allow children to socialise with others for fearing pickingup bad habits and slangs.

Conclusion

Human development is an on-going process. Various characteristics of an

individual is manifested in the course of this development through the process of

socialisation and other physical, cognitive, emotional and psychological factors.

Having gone through the different dimensions of human development and

socialisation, I come to understand that socialisation plays a key role in human

development. The experiences that occur to us time to time shape up our

personality and mould us. It is fitting to quote Carlson and Stielglitz who said, ³we

are what we are today, to a great degree, because of what happened to us in our

yesterday..... the effect of all these experiences increase with age, because theaccumulate.´ Thus we can conclude that socialisation affect human personality,

behaviour, value system etc at every stage of human development.

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