culture

• Biologists have claimed that people act in the way that they do because they are genetically programmed in some way
• Sociologists say


  While it is possible people are influenced by their biology, our cultures are far more significant in influencing our actions
• Acquiring culture through socialisation


  1. We learn to be human and develop a sense of who we are from people around us

  2. This is an ongoing process so that, in each new situation, we learn written and unwritten social rules about how to behave and what is expected of us
• Sociologists say that we learn to be human and develop a sense of who we are from people around us
• This process of acquiring culture through socialisation is an ongoing process
• In each new situation, we learn written and unwritten social rules about how to behave and what is expected of us
• The act of telling social lies in order to please people is important in our culture
• All sociologists will agree that people learn to behave in socially accepted ways
• Each theoretical perspective puts a slightly different slant on how and why this happens
• Socialisation


  A lifelong process whereby people learn the rules for their own culture
• Norms


  Socially expected behaviours
• Roles


  Expected behaviours that are associated with any given position in society, e.g. students should work hard in school
• New Right


  A conservative political viewpoint based on functionalism
• Interactionists and postmodernists do not believe that identity is fixed
• We vary our identity and behaviour according to the situations in which we find ourselves and what we believe are the expected behaviours for that situation
• Culture


  The way of life of a group of people, including norms and values
• Cultural universals


  The common features that all cultures share family, common eating of food for celebrations
• The eating of meals together is a cultural universal: people share food
• Cultures vary significantly in what are accepted food items, so insects, reptiles and rats may be food in some cultures but disgusting to others
• Cultural diversity


  The acceptance and recognition that cultures vary
• British society is culturally diverse, so there are more than 300 languages spoken in London
• Generally, cultural diversity is seen as a strength of British society
• Aspects of culture


  • Dress and costume
  • Foods and eating
  • Musical forms and styles
  • Language and dialect
  • Norms and expected behaviour
  • Religious beliefs and practices
  • Heritage (history and tradition)
• Nurture theories


  Nurture refers to the process of rearing a child. Sociologists tend to reject nature theories saying that however important biology is, it is over-ruled by the importance of society
• Sociologists use nurture theory to explain behaviours
• Sociologists reject nature theory (biological determinism) using a variety of forms of evidence, including that behaviours and beliefs change over time and that people's behaviours vary depending on their cultural beliefs
• Nature theories


  These claim that people act as they do because of biological drivers
• Nurture theory


  These are theories that claim social behaviour is more important than biology in determining how people behave
• Feral children


  These are children who have not received a traditional socialisation and do not behave in socially acceptable ways
• Nature theory (biological determinism) says behaviour is governed by biological need and evolution
• Nurture theory (sociological) says behaviour is determined by socialisation and social rules
• Collective conscience


  A term used by Durkheim (1895) and functionalists to describe how people develop a collective way of thinking about the world
• Values


  A shared cultural belief system, which suggests what is considered important in a culture
• Norms


  Socially expected, normal and unremarkable behaviours
• Different types of norm

  • Folkways: normal activities and expectations
  • Moral norms or mores: if broken, will offend people
  • Taboo: an act so offensive that everyone will be disgusted
• Laws enforce many norms that are formally written down as a legal code
• Status (1)


  The amount of respect and prestige a person has in society
• Status (2)


  A particular position a person may hold in any given social situation
• Ascribed status


  Status that is given by other people or society as a whole, e.g. gender
• Achieved status


  Status a person has gained through their own actions, e.g. criminal or doctor