4. Agencies of socialisation passing on culture Flashcards
What is social control
Social control refers to the idea that people’s behaviour and thoughts are regulated by society.
Therefore, agencies of socialisation are also agents of social control as they are concerned with training people to fit into their cultures
What is formal control
This is the deliberate training of people to follow rules. These rules are generally codified so everyone’s aware of them eg: Law.
If those rules are broken then people can expect punishment. EG: Jail, suspension
What is informal control
This control is not as obvious as it consists of people following unwritten rules such as norms, values and morals.
Breaking these unwritten rules wont result in direct punishment but can result in others ignoring them as they can be seen as unusual or outcasts eg: washing hands isnt a written rule but can result in being ignored.
How does the family pass on Cultural rules and norms (how is the family an agent of socialisation)
- They offer protection from social disapproval and will teach them manners and hygiene
- They guide and deliberately teach traditions and rules of culture eg: Christmas in order to fit in with the rest of society
- They teach social control through sanctions
- The family offers socialisation through imitation or role models.
What are the agencies of secondary socialisation
- Peer groups
- Education
- Religion
- Media
- Work
How do peer groups perform secondary socialisation
Peer groups are made up of people of the same age and status eg: classroom, friendships at a young age develop children’s group norms and behaviours that’s different to the family’s norms.
Iona and Peter opie they stated that children have a different street culture that adults were excluded from and is developed from play.
However, this can end up with peer pressure and can help children gain independence from parents but can have a. Negative impact as children fear social reject
How does education perform secondary socialisation
Education allows children to gain cultural formally and informally. All sociologists argue that schools socialise children into work, this is good for functionalists but bad for Marxists.
There is the formal curriculum. This is timetabled knowledge given to children
There is the hidden curriculum, developed by durkheim This is a set of assumptions or beliefs taught unintentionally through education eg: Uniform rules
How does religion perform secondary socialisation
Religion teaches norms for certain cultures eg: monogamous marriage is apart of the christian religion but is also apart of law in the UK.
The collective conscience is a theory claimed by Durkheim that stated that it was impossible to have social life without a set of socially accepted rules or values eg: the collective conscience.
He argued that religion outlines this as its established the principles and beliefs that make society stable.
Many families will pass on Faith. Erikson said that children have little choice and take on the belief of the parents who will train their children in that community EG: communions, christmas.
How does media perform secondary socialisation
Copycat behaviour is a claim made by Bandura that children model their behaviour on role models they see through media EG: violence is rising in children due to the rise in violent games
Bandura claimed that there was a direct link between violence watched in the media and violent play amongst children.
The hypodermic syringe model is a marxist theory of the media that suggests that media acts a drug injected into peoples minds. Children are more vulnerable as they have a harder time depicting what is real from fiction
How does work perform secondary socialisation
Work is apart of adult socialisation as people have to adapt to the demands of their work position. This can be done through formal training eg: doctors or informal training eg: fast food.
Canteen culture is a term that claims that workers need to understand the practices of other employees and how to deal with certain problems and learning the attitude they need to survive eg: Punctuality
