Key concepts (unit 1)

• 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