Culture and Socialisation — Sociology STD 11 Humanities — Question

Cultural lag: When the material culture is moving ahead and fast with times, but the non-material culture is not able to keep up with the fast pace of material culture propounded the theory a cultural lag.

1. Let us consider the basic need of hunger: We know that it has a biological basis, which is common among animals and human beings, but the way this need is gratified by human beings is extremely complex. For example, some people eat vegetarian food, while others eat non-vegetarian food.
2. Sexual behaviour can be taken as another example: We know that this behavior involves hormones and reflexive reactions in animals and human beings alike.
3. While among animals sexual behaviour is fairly simple and reflexive (all animals indulge in sexual behaviour almost in the same manner).
4. It is so complex among human beings that it can hardly be described as reflexive.
5. Partner preferences are a key feature of human sexual behaviour. The bases of these preferences widely differ within and across societies.
6. Human sexual behaviour is also governed by many rules, standards, values, and laws.
7. These examples illustrate that biological factors alone cannot help us very much in understanding human behaviour.
8. Human nature has evolved through an interplay of biological and cultural forces. These forces have made us similar in many ways and different in others.