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Japanese school children on a field trip to Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, Japan

The term socialization is used by sociologists, social psychologists, and educationalists to refer to the process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it. For the individual, it provides the resources necessary for acting and participating within their society. For the society, socialization is the means of maintaining cultural continuity.

Popular Article: Cognitive dissonance

In the fable of "The Fox and the Grapes" by Aesop, on failing to reach the desired bunch of grapes, the fox then decides he does not truly want the fruit because it is sour.

Cognitive dissonance describes an incompatibility in the relationship between two cognitions, based on contradictory information, and the mental toll this takes on the person. This theory, first proposed by Leon Festinger, states that people need to maintain consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, in order to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions and bring them back into a consistent relationship.

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Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of unified China, was buried with an army of thousands of life size terracotta soldiers to guard him in the afterlife (source: Qin Shi Huang)

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