Explain and define the social, personality, and cultural systems. In addition, define and explain each way these systems interpenetrate one another.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Actions are organized into three modes or realms: social systems, personality systems, and cultural systems. These systems are a simplified model of society that Parsons and Shils use to explain the organization of action. The social system refers to the level of integrated interaction between two or more actors. Social systems are not material structures or institutions (such as a university) but rather a complex arrangement of interconnected social roles. The personality system refers to a system of action organized by need-dispositions, both organic and emotional, at the level of the individual. For Parsons, the personality is a distinct level of social life; physical separateness of one’s body never entails complete social or cultural differentiation, as personal uniqueness is itself a function of interaction and socialization. The cultural system is made up of the values, norms and symbols which guide the choices made by actors and which limit the type of interaction which may occur among actors. It is composed of intangible ideas and broad symbolic patterns of meaning that establish boundaries of social behavior. The personality, social, and cultural systems interpenetrate each other through socialization, internalization, and institutionalization. Socialization refers to the process by which individuals come to regard specific norms as binding. It necessarily involves a community, as it is a process of social learning. Internalization refers to the process by which the individual personality system incorporates some specific interpretation of cultural symbols into its need-dispositions. Finally, cultural values and norms are institutionalized at the level of the social system. Institutionalization refers to the longstanding processes of communal association that bind actors to particular meanings. Institutionalization privileges particular symbolic constructions and, at the same time, curtails resistance to social norms.