An Introduction to Sociology Essay

Philip Vernon carried out research studies into contributions of environmental and genetic factors into intellectual ontogeny in the 1940s and 1950s. He believed that Western IQ tests were unsuitable for non-Western quite a little he also utilize the same argument to the use of Western IQ testes within assorted subcultures and social classes within Western Societies. He stated that There is no such thing as culture-fair tests, and never can be (Haralambos p. 747).Vernon developed a hierarchical model of IQ testing in the 1950s, which broke down the test into many subcategories. He concluded that social class differences ready whatsoever genetic basis. He based this conclusion on evidence that intelligence of adopted children relate more than to the social class of their biological p bents than to their adopted parents. Vernon believed that social mobility allowed individuals with high school IQ levels to rise to the socially high classes whilst those with low IQ levels would fall to socially lower classes.Cultural rules fulfill a profound exercise in our society today, and through education we afford learnt what is right and what is wrong. However, could some embody who has not been brought up intimate these rules be able to interact with other charitables? There are many incases where children in fussy have had no social interact with other gentles in the early stages of life, where primary socialising should take place. And the outcome has been that they have no facial expression, incorrect movement, and have no human speech. The around popular example of this is the feral children.Feral Children are children who have been aroused in the wild by animals, children that were embossed in a non-human, inhuman or sub-human environment and because of it did not learn how to communicate or act in a human manner. Two particular cases of child deprivation that argue the case of nurture particularly well are Amala and Kamala and Genie. Amala and K amala were two sisters aged approximately eight and one and a half(a) who were brought up by wolves in the 1920 in Bengal, India. When captured they were taken to an orphanage where they were looked after by the reverend Singh and his wife.Singh expound them as wolf like in appearance and behaviour. They walked on all fours and had calluses on their knees and palms from doing so. They preferred to course raw meat and stole it when ever they could. They licked water with their tongues and ate their food in a crouched position. Their tongues permanently hung out of their mouths, and they panted just like wolves. They never slept after midnight and howled at night. They could move very sporting on all fours. They turned away from human society altogether. If approached, they made faces and some prison terms bare their teeth.Their hearing was very acute and they could smell meat at a great distance. They could also point themselves very well at night. In September 1921 both girls became ill, and Amala, the younger, died. Probably the most famous case of a feral child is that of Genie. She spent nearly 13 years in almost come up isolation and was fed only on milk and baby food. She was eventually found and placed in a childrens hospital. At that time she could not stand straight, chew or see beyond 10 feet. She was inquisitive though and after 7 years her IQ had increased from 38 to 74 although she never developed the normal use of language.Many Psychologists believe that a child will have permanent difficulties in learning a language unless they start from an early age. Others argue that children could be mentally retarded from such abuse. So Genies case does not resolve the nature-nurture controversy ring human development. In 1977, the last time Genie was filmed, scientists found that without constant teaching Genie had regressed. She instantly barely said a word. In other cases of feral children, some, who were discovered at a a good deal younger age than Genie, learnt language and were eventually able to speak reasonably well.Genie however was unable to do more than string a few words together. Genie failed to learn any sort of grammar, and this is what distinguishes the language of humans from that of animals. Genie could not grasp the difference in the midst of various pronouns or between active and passive verbs. In that sense she appeared to have passed the critical period. The critical period is a scheme that states that the first few years of life are a crucial time in the development of a first language providing that a sufficient stimulus is present.If the acquisition of language is not achieved during this time then it will never be amply achieved. Socialisation is a major sociological concept that provides the link between the individual and their Society. Socialisation is the ongoing social learning work out that is necessary for human existence and development. There are two types of socializing, primary and secondary. Those factors that are involved in primary socialisation are usually small, involve face-to-face interaction and communication and allow the individual to express the solid self, both feelings and intellect.Usually, those factors are the family, peer groups, of close friends. Within these groups, through personal experience, the individual learns primary determine such as love, loyalty, justice, sharing, etc. In contrast, secondary groups are usually large, more impersonal and officially organised, and exist for specific purposes. In the secondary stage, the individual learns more values and norms which are to be applied for the individual to fit in. This includes learning how to organise and conduct themselves in formal contexts (backgrounds) and how to behave towards people who have different degrees of status and authority.One of the crucial aspects of secondary socialisation is school. The effects of growing up in unsocial conditions in these and other cases seem consistent. When the children emerged immediately into society, they were generally described by observers as autochthonic and hardly human. None of the children developed social and communication skills beyond a basic level, in spite of attempts to re-socialise them. Above all, their absence or limited ability to learn language prevented them from functioning fully within society.These cases, also, suggest that human development, especially those of gaining basic social and communication skills, needs considerable hit with others. These stories do more than just confirm the important role of education, and that not just nature plays an important role in growth and development but also the environment in which you grow up in. They tape that a human being not only can, but must be ameliorate or learn to become a human being. Even when isolated from birth, animals usually retain intelligibly recognisable instincts. A cat that is raised among dogs, will still behave like a cat.Hu mans, however, come out the world very poorly equipped. The knowledge a child needs to become fully human is not complete. Everything the child eventually knows, or can do, must be learned. With the exception of natural body functions, such as breathing, as well as the reflexes, everything else must be learned. That is why feral children are an excellent source of evidence in the nature and nurture debate, because they cannot walk, talk or even socialise. They cannot show any emotions nor have empathy. This is due to them growing up in isolation and not having humans to human interaction so that they can learn the basic skills of life.This also proves that its not only nature that play a big role in child development but the environment you grow up in makes an impact to child development or the upbringing of a person because that is where you learn to be what you will become. To conclude, culture is a very important idea in Sociology and without it, we would have no language, we wo uld not be able to express ourselves, and our ability to reason and think would be severely restricted. Through the process of Socialisation, children learn the way of life or culture of their society. If culture did not exist, then society would not exist and vice versa.Bibliographyanon (2006)Empiricism. Available athttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empiricism (Accessed 2/11/2006)Anon (2006) legerdemain Locke. Available athttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke (Accessed 2/11/2006)Anon (2006)Francis Galton. Available athttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton (Accessed 1/11/2006)Anon (2006)Critical Period. Available athttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period (Accessed 1/11/2006)Devlin, D., Daniels, M., & Roeder K., 1997. The heritability of IQ.