Key terms

• High Culture - Art, Music, Literature, and Architecture that are considered to be of high quality and value
• Low Culture - Popular culture such as TV shows, movies, music, and video games.
• Popular Culture - The cultural products and practices produced by the mass media and consumed by large numbers of people.
• Subculture - A group within a larger society or culture with its own distinct values, norms, beliefs, and behaviors.
• Folk Culture - The culture of a particular group of people, such as a nation or ethnic group.
• Global Culture - The culture of the world as a whole, including the culture of all nations and peoples.
• Social roles - Patterns of behavior expected from and played by people in different positions
• Role Models - those whose behavior we consciously or unconsciously copy
• Norms - social rules which define as correct and acceptable behavior in certain social settings
• Customs - norms which have existed for a long time and become part of tradition
• values - a general beliefs and guidelines about what is right or wrong
• dress - clothing of a group of people
• diet - foods eaten by a particular group of people
• knowledge - facts and principles acquired from study
• skills - a developed talent or ability
• language - words and systems of use common to a group of people
• beliefs - thing accepted as true by a group of persons
• mores - behaviors that are seen as totally unacceptable in a culture
• Primary agent of socialization

  the family
• Secondary agent of socialization

  mass media, friends, religion
• Formal agent of socialization

  criminal justice system
• Ethnicity


  shared culture of a social group, give it's members a common identity in someway different from those in a different social group
• Minority ethnic group


  a social group that shares a culture identity different from the majority population
• Gender


  the culturally created differences between men and women learnt through socialisation
• Sex

  biological difference of men and women
• Determinism 


  peoples behavior is molded by there social surroundings suggesting they have little free-will control or choice over how they behave
• Interpretives


  study the individual or small groups of individuals rather than the social structure as a while
• Social action theories


  empathize free will and choice of individuals and their role in creating social structure
• Identity 


  characteristics and traits humans have that distinguish us from one another
• status

  social or professional position
• Socialization


  the life-long process of learning the culture of any society
• Sanctions

  reactions or responses to encourage or discourage certain behaviours
• Nature/nurture debate

  nature refers to how genetics influence our personalities. whereas nurture refers to how our environment impacts our development
• A meritocratic society 


  A social system where everyone has equal opportunity to succeed and where individuals' rewards and status are achieved by their own efforts.
• Ascribed status 


  status given by birth or family background which in general cannot be changed by individuals
• The Caste System 


  Traditional form of stratification in Hinduism divided into 4 groups
• Living in an open system 


  having the ability to move up and down the class system
• Life Chances


  an individuals opportunities to improve their chances of succeding and improving their quality of life
• Glass Ceiling


  refers too the individual barriers and bias that keep women and minorities from the opportunities to advance in the work place
• Social institution 


  established patterns of beliefs, behaviors and relationships that organize social life