What is Social Studies?

Social Studies looks at how people live and interact with each other. It includes people who are close,
such as family and friends, and those who live far away in other parts of the world. It includes people
living now, those who lived in the past and also future generations.

Who am I?
What are the characteristics that makes you UNIQUE, different from all others?

The FIVE types of selves

Your PHYSICAL self is everything to do with your physical body, including your appearance, health,
physical strengths and weaknesses.

Your SOCIAL self is who you are in relation to others, your relationships and the way you interact with
others

Your ETHICAL self is made up of your beliefs and principles about what is right and wrong, how you treat
others and the choices you make when facing a moral dilemma.

Your EMOTIONAL self is made up of your feelings and how you express them. What makes you feel
happy, sad, afraid, angry or disappointed? How do you express these emotions?

Your INTELLECTUAL self is made up of your thoughts, ideas and reasoning and the way you understand
and make sense of the world.

The influences of heredity and

environment on the personality of
an individual
Every human being is a product of heredity. That means that the physical and psychological (the mind
and behavior) traits that we inherit in our genes are from our biological parents and other ancestors. For
example our skin tones, colour eyes, hair texture and height.

Our personal identity is also shaped by the environment, which are our social and physical surroundings
in which we grow up. For example the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the friends we associate
with and the area in which we live all influence how we do things.
LIFE CYCLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL
The life cycle of every human being covers the following six stages:

1. Conception

2. Pre-natal

3. Childhood

4. Adolescence/Teenager

5. Adulthood

6. Old age/ Senescence

1. CONCEPTION

When the sperm of the male fertilizes the egg of the female. This happens during sexual intercourse.
This is when the female becomes pregnant.

2. PRE-NATAL

This is the stage before the birth of the baby. This is when the foetus develops within the womb that is
being formed into a human being. This development usually takes 9 months

3. CHILDHOOD (is sometimes broken down into three stages seen below: early, middle and late hence
there is said to be 8 stages)

Childhood starts at infancy, and continues until about the age of 12, and can be divided into three broad
periods: Early, Middle childhood and late childhood

This period begins at birth and ends around 2 years old. This is the time when children are most
dependent on others, especially their parents and other family members, with whom they form their
first social relationships. During the first months of this period, children are unable to feed, dress or take
care of themselves; they are not even able to talk or walk. At about 8 months’ old, children usually begin
to crawl.

When small children begin to walk, at around the age of a year and a half, they become toddlers.
Walking, like crawling, allows us to start exploring the environment around us. As infants and toddlers
see, taste, touch, smell and hear what is around them, they start making sense of what they are
experiencing.

Between approximately the ages of 2 and 6 years, children show increasing physical and mental
capabilities as they learn to run, push, pull, kick a ball, ride a tricycle, colour, draw, dress themselves,
count to 10, and listen to and tell stories.
During this period, young children begin to enjoy playing with other children and to develop values such
as fairness and honesty. They try to become more independent and develop a sense of the value of
accomplishment. Many children at this stage are in some form of early schooling, which helps accelerate
many of the changes that they are experiencing.

Middle and Late Childhood: This the period, from around 6 to 12 years, in which more formal schooling
and friends take on increasing importance in children’s lives. Children don’t grow as much during these
years as they did when they were younger but they become capable of doing much more physically.

Usually, for example, a 7 year old is less clumsy than a 5 year old. Very noticeable in this period is the
growth of a child’s mental skills. This means a rapid development of a child’s ability to acquire
knowledge in everyday life and in school subjects like mathematics. It also means an increase in self-
awareness, as children learn to cope with a wider range of emotions and an increasing number of social
contacts with peers.

During this period, children become much more aware of values like responsibilities, fairness and caring.
They learn the importance of being accountable, for their actions and of treating others well.

4. ADOLESCENCE/ TEENAGER

This is the stage from 12 to 18 years, that you are in or are about to enter right now.

It’s a time of many physical, emotional and social changes, and the more aware you are of what’s
happening to you, the better able you will be to take charge of your life.

5. ADULTHOOD

This is the period of a person’s life after age of 18 years and is commonly divided into two stages: Young
adult & Middle adult.

Young adult- between the ages 19 and 40 years. They have achieved physical maturity, they have grown
to their full height and their bodies are fully developed.

Middle adulthood- between the ages 40 and 65 years. At this stage you may experience physical
changes such as developing wrinkles, starting to go grey and weaker bones. Also at this stage you may
be more vulnerable to disease. However, healthy eating habits and regular exercise can help to
counterbalance many of the physical effects of aging.

6. OLD AGE/ SENESCENCE

This is the period when people are aged over 65 years.

During this period, most individual retire from work. Many people are grandparents and may live with
their children or other relatives, especially after they are widowed or cannot look after themselves.
What is a family?
A family is a group of two or more people who are connected by close ties.

Examples of close ties are: Marriage, Blood, Adoption and Intimate friendship. Some family members
live together, while some members of the family live at different homes.

Family Types
When a family lives together under the same roof, they form a household. Family households can be
made up of different types of families, such as:

Nuclear family – household made up of both parents and child/children only.

Single parent family – household consisting of one parent and child/children.

Extended family – household made up of a combination of blood relations for example parent/s,
child/children, grandparent/s, aunt/s,uncle/s, and cousin/s. Some extended families include close
friends or children who have been placed with the family because they have no other home.

Sibling family – household consisting of only siblings, with the older sibling assuming the role and
responsibilities of parents.

Reconstructed/ joint/ reorganized/ blended family – household made up of a couple who already have
a child/ children from previous relations and may have children together.

Family Unions
A male and a female may consent/choose to be joint together in a particular way. There are three
notable ways in which they can choose to become a couple. These are:

Marriage – this is a legal union. This means that the couple choose to have a relationship that is
registered with the government through a religious or civil marriage ceremony.

Common Law union – This is where the couple live together as if they are married, but no marriage
ceremony was performed. This also means that the couple choose not to be legally married to each
other.

Visiting Relationship – This is where the couple are not married, they donot live together but are in a
relationship, and may have child/children together.
As long as any of the above arrangement has the consent of the two people involved (the couple) with
each other, it can be referred to as a consensual relationship.

Family history
Our families usually provide us with a sense of belonging and identity. Many families have passed down
not only a surname but also skills, occupations, leisure interests, stories, customs and traditions. By
finding out about our own family history we can understand better who we are and where we come
from. We can also understand something about the social history of Trinidad and Tobago and the ethnic
groups which came to these islands.

In order to research our family history, we can use primary sources, such as interviews and original
documents, and secondary sources such as newspaper reports.

Family tree
A family tree is a diagram showing relationships in a family. It shows the different generations (such as
grandparents, parents, child/children) and relationships (such as marriage, parents and child/children
and siblings).

DRAW YOUR OWN FAMILY TREE SHOWING AT LEAST 2 GENERATIONS

Functions of the family

1. REPRODUCTION: The family is the unit or body responsible for procreation. That is, the husband and
the wife are tasked with the responsibility of adding or increasing the size of the population. This is the
biological function.

2. ECONOMIC NEEDS: All human beings have needs such as food, clothing, shelter and security. Many of
these needs are met by our families. Parents work to earn money to provide these needs and they teach
their children the skills required to live safely. This is the economic function of families.

3. SOCIALIZATION: Our families teach us how to socialize or interact with others. They teach us how to
respond, e.g. saying “Thank you”, how to ask “May I” or “Can I”, how to be courteous, how to help and
assist others and so much more. All of which are needed for our interaction in the home as well as
outside of the home.
4. NORMS AND VALUES: Our families are the persons who help us develop our value systems. This is
achieved when we interact with them as we practice fairness, honesty, responsibility and tolerance for
others.

5. EMOTIONAL NEEDS: We all have emotional and social needs that require love and caring from others,
and that motivates us to show love and care for others. Further, we all need relationships and
interaction with others, for intimacy, companionship and support. The family provides for many of us
these emotional and social needs throughout our lives. Friends may come and go, but family members
are usually there for life.

6. EDUCATIONAL SKILLS: The family is supposed to be the first educators for the child/children.

They are the ones who teach us knowledge and practical skills to help us get on in our adult life.

7. CULTURAL FUNCTION: Families pass on our culture from one generation to the next. Older members
may tell or read stories, sing songs or play games with younger members. Families often attend religious
services and celebrate festivals together.

CONFLICT
A serious disagreement or clash between two or more people is known as a conflict. Conflicts can give us
an opportunity to build our negotiation skills. Conflicts arise from differences of opinions, views, ideas or
needs. The differences may not look serious to someone outside the conflict. However, conflict can
trigger very strong feelings. Behind every conflict are powerful needs – the need to feel safe, the need to
feel respected, recognized or loved, or the need for closeness and connection.

Conflict resolution
The process of ending a conflict and finding a peaceful way forward is known as conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution involves several steps (see opposite). One way to resolve conflict is through
mediation. A mediator is a person who is not involved in the conflict, who can help guide the two sides
to reach an understanding

Conflicts are very common and may occur at home, at school and in the neighborhood.

Some causes include:

• Generation gap – when people of different ages have different views.

• Different views of parents and children – sometimes parents and children disagree.

• Choice of friends – when parents do not like or approve of their child’s friends.

• Problems with authority – teenagers want to make their own choices. This can lead to conflicts with
restrictions such as school rules, dress codes and demanding school work.

• Doing schoolwork – sometimes children spend less time on schoolwork than parents think they
should.
• Sibling rivalry – disagreements between brothers and sisters.

• Lack of finance – when a family does not have enough money.

• Drug use and abuse – drug abuse can lead to many other problems, including verbal and emotional
abuse.

• Bullying – when an individual or group tries to intimidate others through physical or verbal abuse.

• Extortion – forcing someone to pay money, usually by threats.

• Playing loud music – this can cause conflict between neighbours, or between teenagers and parents.

Conflict resolution is a process that two or more conflicting individuals or groups can use to find a
peaceful solution to their disagreements. When conflicts arise at home, they can bring up very strong
emotions, such as anger, frustration, disappointment and hurt. These feelings may be particularly strong
in conflicts at home as our relationships with family are our closest.

Different families deal with conflict differently. Strategies for dealing with conflict at home include:

• sorting it out before the family goes to sleep

• ‘sleeping on it and sorting it out tomorrow’

• taking time to ‘cool off’ alone

• calling a family meeting

• writing a letter or note

• doing something special as a family.