Key concepts (unit 1)

Cards (86)

  • Sociology is about studying society and social behavior
  • Society is a group of people who share a common territory and culture and who interact with eachother
  • culture refers to a shared way of life of a society or group within a society
  • Norms
    Unwritten rules of society, expected behaviors in different social situations
  • Values
    ideas, beliefs, and important things that guide how we live our lives
  • Culture
    The collection of norms, values, customs, traditions, and ways of behaving that are shared by a society
  • Identity
    Your sense of self, how you see yourself and how others see you, influenced by class, age, gender, and ethnicity
  • Role
    A part or job that you play in society, people have multiple roles that can sometimes conflict
  • Status
    The level of importance or prestige associated with a person or their job in society, can be ascribed (given at birth) or achieved (earned through effort)
  • Socialization
    The process through which we learn the norms, values, and culture of our society
  • Agents of socialization
    • Family
    • Peer group
    • Media
    • Religion
    • Workplace
    • Education
  • Primary socialization
    Socialization by the family during early childhood (ages 0-5)
  • Secondary socialization 

    Socialization by other agents like school, media, peers after age 5
    • Education acts as a 'bridge' between the family and wider society, socializing us in a harsher way than the unconditional love of the family
  • How the media can socialize us
    • Influence of role models
    • Imitating behaviour of media figures
    • Promoting certain products or lifestyles
  • Media
    TV, newspapers, magazines, books, radio, music - anything that is consumed, watched, listened to or read
  • Role models in the media

    Famous figures like footballers or pop stars that people may imitate or be influenced by
  • Influence of media role models
    1. liking what they do
    2. imitating their behaviour
    3. promoting products they like
  • Media representation
    The way the media portrays and provides information about groups in society that people may not have direct contact with
  • Groups the media can represent 

    • Class
    • Age
    • Gender
    • Ethnicity
  • Formal curriculum
    the lessons and content taught at school
  • Hidden curriculum
    Anything learned in school that is not part of formal lessons, e.g. obedience, punctuality, competition
  • Sanctions
    Positive (rewards) or negative (punishments) consequences for actions
  • Peer groups
    • Can provide role models, peer pressure (positive or negative), and informal sanctions like ostracization
  • Gender roles
    Characteristics and behaviors associated with boys and girls in society
  • Gender socialization in the family

    1. canalization - giving children gendered toys and clothes
    2. manipulation - encouraging different behaviours in boys and girls
  • Gender socialization in schools 

    1. gendered subjects
    2. representation in textbooks
    3. teacher expectations
  • formal social control
    Groups whose job is to control behavior, e.g. police, courts, army
  • informal social control
    Other agents like family, education, peers that can influence behavior
  • formal sanctions
    Serious consequences from formal social control agents, e.g. arrest, fines, prison
  • informal sanctions
    Consequences from informal social control agents, e.g. being grounded, detentions
  • Ascribed status

    Status awarded to you at birth depending on your sex, position in your family or your familys role in society
  • Achieved status 

    Status which is earned through merits or actions and based on job
  • The nature nurture debate
    The argument about whether we act how we do because we were born to do so (nature) or whether it is because we are socialised to act this way (nurture)
  • The nature argument 

    argues that we inherit our behaviour genetically from our parents. our personality, intelligence, maternal instinct and and sexual orientation is inherited. argues women are more caring too
  • The nurture argument 

    argues human behaviour is learned . we are socialised into our culture of our family and society. taught how to act by the agents of socialisation. uses cultural diversity and feral children in argument
  • Cultural diversity
    how cultures change over different countries and time. supports the idea that human behaviour is learnt. Rules differ for different cultures, e.g. women in some cultures aren't allowed to show their faces or speak, in uk women are equal to men
  • Feral children
    'Feral' refers to unsocialised or wild. Children who have not been socialised to follow the rules of society and are unable to function as a human. They are unaware of social norms, e.g. using a knife and fork or walking on two feet. some feral children have been socialised by animals
  • what is the primary agent of socialisation?
    the family
  • parents act as role models for their babies as they imitate how to behave