Key concepts

• Socialisation


  It is the process by which people learn the culture of their society.
• The 2 types of socialisation:

  • Primary- this begins at birth and is the most important. Family teaches it.
  • Secondary- This begins when the child moves into wider society, schools play an important role.
• Social control:

  • Every society has various methods for ensuring its members conform.
  • Without social control society could not operate.
  • Family, law, and religions are major agencies of social control.
• Norms and values:

  • Norms are specific guides to behavior/ what is normal.
  • Norms are learned through socialization.
  • Values are more general guides to behavior.
• Nature V Nurture:

  • Nurture is the impact of environment and socialization.
  • Nature is the person's genetics.
  • Nature explanations argue that biological inheritance and genetics determine human behavior.
  • Nurture explanations argue that society, culture, and socialization explain human behavior.
  • Jensen, Jim Twins, Lombroso and Galton= nature.
  • Chicken girl, Skeels experiment= nurture.
• Social system approaches:

  • Focuses on how we are controlled by society.
  • Also called structuralist theories.
  • We are socialized into pre-set roles.
  • We are socialized in terms of culture, kept in line by mechanisms of social control, we learn roles, norms, and values and act accordingly.
  • People take a macro approach so they look at the bigger picture.
• Social action approach:

  • Focuses on how much free will we have.
  • Also called interpretive perspectives.
  • They believe we have our own motives, beliefs, interpretations, and control over our actions.
  • They tend to see roles, norms, and values as guidelines.
  • They place a lot of emphasis on the freedom of individuals.
  • They take a micro approach so they look more individually.
• Consensus approach which involves agreement (functionalism theory)
• Conflict approach (feminism or Marxism theory)