Nature, nurture and the making of identity Cambridge IGCSE Sociology revision
Not started
Learn it
In plain words
Are you the way you are because of your genes or because of your upbringing? Sociologists come down heavily on the side of upbringing, and their best evidence is the handful of children who grew up with no upbringing at all.
8 things to know
- Identity is how we see ourselves, and how others see us.
- The nature view is that behaviour comes from biology: instincts and genes that we are born with. The nurture view is that behaviour is learned from other people.
- Socialisation is the process, lasting a lifetime, of learning the culture of a society, which means its norms and values.
- Evidence for nurture comes from feral children, who grew up with little or no human contact. They could not speak, and did not behave in ways we think of as human. That shows such behaviour is learned.
- More evidence comes from the differences between cultures. If behaviour were natural, it would be the same everywhere. In fact, ideas of how men and women should behave, and of what is polite or shocking, vary widely.
- The relativity of culture: what is normal in one society can be strange or wrong in another, and what is normal changes over time. No way of life is the single correct one.
- Through socialisation, people take society's norms and values inside themselves, until they feel like their own. That is how identity is socially constructed.
- Most sociologists accept that biology plays some part. Their argument is that nurture explains far more of the difference between people.
Worked example
In one society, men are expected to be quiet and to look after the children. In another, men are expected to be tough and to hunt. Explain what this suggests about gender roles.
- If gender roles were set by biology, men would behave in the same way in every society.
- They do not. The roles are different in different cultures.
- So the roles must be learned through socialisation. This supports the nurture view.
- It also shows the relativity of culture: each society treats its own pattern as normal.
Tips and tricks
- Sociologists do not say biology counts for nothing. They say that socialisation explains more. An answer that admits both and then weighs them is the strongest.
- Feral children are the standard evidence for nurture. Say what they could not do, and what that proves.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Nature, nurture and the making of identity: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What does the nurture view say?
Nurture means upbringing.
What are feral children?
Their lack of language and social skills supports nurture.
What is identity?
It is shaped through socialisation.
What does the relativity of culture mean?
Normal is always normal for somewhere.
Which finding would best support the nature view?Stretch
Similarity despite different upbringing points to biology.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Nature, nurture and the making of identity
Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What is meant by the term "socialisation"?[2]
Show answerHide answer
The lifelong process through which people learn the norms and values of their society.
Explain how feral children support the nurture side of the debate.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Feral children grew up with little or no human contact. They could not talk or behave in ways expected of humans. This shows that language and social behaviour are not inborn. They must be learned from other people through socialisation.
Explain what is meant by "the relativity of culture".[4]
Show answerHide answer
Norms and values are not the same everywhere. What is seen as normal in one society may be seen as deviant in another, and what is acceptable changes over time. So behaviour has to be understood in terms of the culture in which it takes place.
Answers: Nature, nurture and the making of identity
- 1. The lifelong process through which people learn the norms and values of their society.
- 2. Feral children grew up with little or no human contact. They could not talk or behave in ways expected of humans. This shows that language and social behaviour are not inborn. They must be learned from other people through socialisation.
- 3. Norms and values are not the same everywhere. What is seen as normal in one society may be seen as deviant in another, and what is acceptable changes over time. So behaviour has to be understood in terms of the culture in which it takes place.