Introducing Society 4 · Section 13

s/he participates, viz. family, school, peer group, neighbourhood, occupational group and by social class/caste, region, religion. Family Since family systems vary widely, the infants’ experiences are by no means standard across cultures. While many of you may be living in what is termed a nuclear family with your parents and siblings, others may be living with extended family members.

In the first case, parents may be key socialising agents but in the others grandparents, an uncle or a cousin may be more significant. Families have varying ‘locations’ within the overall institutions of a society. In most traditional societies, the family into which a person is born largely determines the individual’s social position for the rest of his/her life. Even when social position is not inherited at birth in this way the region and social class of the family into which an individual is born affect patterns of socialisation quite sharply.

Children pick up ways of behaviour characteristic of their parents or others in their neighbourhood or community. Of course, few children simply take over in an unquestioning way the outlook of their parents. This Activity Suggest ways in which the child of a domestic worker would feel herself different from the child whose family her mother works for. Also, what are the things they might share or exchange?

To start with the obvious, one would have more money spent on clothes, the other might wear more bangles… They might have watched the same serials, heard the same film songs… they might pick up different kinds of slang from each other… Now you are left to follow up the difficult areas, like the sense of security within the family, the neighbourhood and on the street... Activity The presence or absence of which of the items below do you think would affect you most as an individual? (possessions) television set/music system … (space) a room of your own… (time) having to balance school with household or other work… (opportunities) travel, music classes… (people around you)