Core

• Culture


  The whole way of life of a society, including shared meanings, values, norms and practices
• Cultural differences


  • Religion
  • Music
  • Language
  • Food
• Cultural identity


  Provided through socialisation and passed down through generations
• Cultural diversity


  A society in which many different cultures exist
• Cultural diversity in the UK

  • Welsh customs differ from Scottish customs
  • Northern Ireland has strong religious values (Protestant or Catholic)
  • Men wearing kilts in Scotland on special occasions
• Cultural transmission


  The process of passing on norms and values to the next generation
• Norms


  Ideas about what is acceptable behaviour in a situation, acting as a guide
• Values


  Ideas which people regard as important, defining what is worth having and worth striving for
• Values influence norms about what is correct or unacceptable behaviour, and are often shared leading to social order
• Values can vary considerably over time and between cultures
• Ascribed status


  Social position given to you by your culture, fixed at birth
• Achieved status


  Social position achieved through ability or hard work
• Social roles


  The key expectations or norms attached to a particular social position
• Social roles are performed in relation to other roles and involve mutual expectations
• Identity


  How we see ourselves and how others see us
• Identity involves some choice on our part, where we actively identify with aspects of our culture, but is also partly imposed by our culture
• Subculture


  A group within a larger culture that shares aspects of that culture but also has some of its own values, norms, customs
• Subcultures


  • Criminal gang
  • Teenagers
  • Solicitors
  • Footballers
• Nature theory


  The view that people behave as they do because they are controlled by instinct
• Nurture theory


  The view that people behave as they do because they are taught how to behave through socialisation
• Social construction


  An idea that is created and given special meaning by people
• Social constructions influence our behaviour and how entire groups may be viewed
• Social change


  Shifts in society that bring about a transformation to that society and its individuals
• Periods of social change

  • Shift from agricultural to industrial society
  • Women working and pursuing careers
• Social inequality


  Unequal rewards or opportunities for different individuals within a group or society
• Social inequality


  • Wealthy middle class parents paying for advantageous education
  • Men dominating top jobs in society
• Social control


  The social processes by which the behaviour of individuals or groups is regulated
• Formal social control


  Controlling people through force
• Informal social control


  Controlling people through ideas
• Primary socialisation


  Socialisation that occurs largely within the family, involving acquiring basic skills and values
• Secondary socialisation


  Socialisation that occurs outside of the family, involving agents like education, peers, media, workplace, religion
• Role model


  A person or group of people who we look up to and aspire to be like
• Imitation


  A process of learning where individuals copy and echo behaviour seen
• Sanctions


  Consequences of behaviour, can be positive or negative
• Expectations


  Anticipated boundaries within which people should behave, set by agents of socialisation