The foundation of the essay will be based on Bourdieu’s theory “habitus is a set of dispositions” and “dispositions are acquired through a gradual process of inculcation, in which early childhood experiences are particularly important”. (Bourdieu & Thompson 1991, p12). Dispositions would be best described as a perspective or frame of mind with regards to the essay’s context.
Bourdieu continues to elaborate that an individual’s habitus is the “internalisation” of their surroundings and that habitus is the relative reflection of the individual’s environment rather than the “product” of it. (Bourdieu, 1991, p14) Furthermore, he expands on the notion that an individual might not be fully consciously or aware of the influences of their surroundings which ultimately impact their habitus. (Bourdieu, 1991) The result of Bourdieu’s abstract…show more content… (On the assumption that some of these female youths participants who indicated having a member of the household who smokes and/or seen actors use cigarettes will eventually developed a smoking habit and will then participate in the pregnancy study when they become pregnant in the future.
Further evidence of a different scenario would be the case of victims of child abuse becoming child victimizers. A study done by the British Journal of Psychiatry reports that 82% of the participants who were once a victim of child abuse did not fall into the “victim to victimiser” cycle, despite their traumatic experiences. The significance of the data shows in despite once being a victim of child abuse, an individual is unlikely to become a perpetrator themselves, proving the argument that an individual is capable of growing out of their habitus, regardless of the experiences they have