Enculturation in Our Society

Society and Culture: Essay
Explain how the process of enculturation influences personal and social development, your response should draw upon both your own experiences as well as cross-cultural studies from other societies.
Human beings have common needs, but cultural solutions to satisfying these needs may vary: this can be shown as an example through two societies such as the Paravevo tribe in Papua New Guinea and our own western society. Through time all people, societies and cultures change; and the response to change will vary from one individual to another and one society to another. Ethnocentricity is displayed as different communities have altered thinking practices and social interactions which identify the enculturation development displayed in every society.
In a uniform culture it is expected that patterns of interaction will be accepted and understood by almost everyone in that society. The people of Papua New Guinea are as diverse as their country. It is impossible to describe the lifestyle of one village and say it is all typical of all. When focusing on the Paravevo tribe it’s interpersonal and intercultural practices differentiates from that of Australia’s western society.
Australia is composed of many smaller cultures, or subcultures, based not only on ethnic identity but also expressions of distinctive beliefs and lifestyles. This makes it difficult to identify cultural values which may be described as ‘Australian’. Even though we should be aware of the many subcultures in Australia, there are some aspects of everyday life in Australia which may be broadly indentified as part of an ‘Australian way of life’ and has become the context for young people growing up in this country. Traditions and rituals which become the basis for any social system are really just the formalisation of events which occur to many people within that society on a regular basis.
In tribal societies and in particular tribal non-literate societies, ceremony and...