AC 4.2 Flashcards
1
Q
Values
A
- general beliefs, principles or guidelines about how we should live our lives
- they tell us what is right and wrong or good and bad
- different societies may have different values
- in the UK we place high value on the individual but in tribal societies they place more value on the group rather than just the individual.
2
Q
Norms
A
- specific rules or socially accepted standards about how we are expected to behave in specific situations
- these rules can be informal and unwritten such as you shouldn’t skip the line in a queue
- these rules can be formal and written such as the law saying you cannot drive with a certain level of alcohol in your blood
- specific norms are often based on general values
- e.g., society values the idea that everyone is equal so we then have specific norms from this like making it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their race, sex or sexual orientation
3
Q
Mores
A
- the basic, essential norms that society sees as vital for maintaining standards of decency and civilised behaviour.
- mores are societies most important moral rules
- for example in most societies there is the taboo against incest
4
Q
Public perception of crime - drink driving
A
- due to the fact that laws change over time because of societies change in norms and values, the publics perception of the crime changes
- things that used to be seen as acceptable may no be wrong and vice versa
- over time views about drink driving have changed, leading to changes in law and policies
- the public now see it as a much more serious issue and laws have be tightened
- in 1925 drink driving became an offence but there was no specification of what drunk meant
- for many years it wasn’t seen as a major offence and the government didn’t even bother to collect figures on deaths caused by drink driving
- over time the number of people who owned a car began to increase and then the number of deaths also increased
5
Q
Public perception of crime - drink driving - changing perceptions
A
- road safety was becoming more of a concern e.g., law was introduced that all new cars had to have seatbelts
- the 1967 road safety act introduced the blood alcohol limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood
- it then became an offence to drive a motor vehicle above this level
6
Q
Public perception of crime - drink driving - breathalysers
A
- in 1968 the first breathalysers were used on roadsides
- this new device, along with campaign work, helped to reduce the number of road deaths by over 1000 and serious injuries by over 11,000
7
Q
Public perception of crime - drink driving - tougher laws
A
- in 1983 the High Risk Offender scheme was introduced so that people who have been disqualified more than once for drink driving have to undergo a medical before being allowed their licence back
- in 1991 causing death by driving under the influence of alcohol became a new offence with a prison sentence of up to 5 years no then further increased to 14 years
- the new laws and stricter sentences reflect the publics change in attitude about drink driving
8
Q
Public perceptions of crime - drink driving - campaigns
A
- the fall in deaths and change in attitudes is partly due to these campaigns
- THINK (a government campaign) conducted a survey and found that 91% of people thought that drink driving was unacceptable and 92% said they’d be offended if they were caught drinking and driving
9
Q
Demographic changes: immigration and racism
A
- The UK’s demographic (population) structure has changed into a multi ethnic one over time as more people from different areas of the world are immigrating
10
Q
Demographic changes: immigration and racism - the wind rush generation
A
- the early immigrants that arrived to the UK faced issues as white people had racist stereotypes of black people e.g., dirty, diseased and criminal
- throughout the 50’s and 60’s immigrants faced lots of discrimination in housing, employment and services.
- at the time it was legal to discriminate against a person because of their race
11
Q
Demographic changes: immigration and racism - the race relations act
A
- this act was passed in 1965 to ban discrimination in public places and made promoting hate against someone for their race, colour, ethnicity or national origin an offence
- a further act in 1968 banned discrimination in areas of employment, housing and services
- these acts were both replaced by the 1976 race relations act where it covered both direct and indirect discrimination
~ Direct discrimination = someone treats less favourably e.g., because of your colour
~ Indirect discrimination = there is a policy that applies to everyone but it has a worse affect on some groups - in 2010 the act was replaced by the equality act which brought together laws on racial, sex, age and disability discrimination
12
Q
Demographic changes: immigration and racism - cultural change
A
- there has been a cultural change over time as there has been a decline in prejudice against ethnic minorities
- as a result in change in attitudes there has been there has been a change in the public perception of discrimination and race as hate crimes
- people are now more likely to accept that these should be criminal offences
13
Q
Demographic changes: immigration and racism - reasons for the change
A
- this is partly due to the change in law as psychologists have said that if we are made to change our behaviour then we tend to change our attitudes
- other factors may have been responsible for the decline in discrimination
- people have said that mixing ethnicities in schools and workplaces etc was more important that race relations acts
- even though there has been change in levels of discrimination it hasn’t completely disappeared
14
Q
Cultural change and LGBT rights
A
- for centuries same sex activity was seen as immoral and sinful, and could be severely punished by the law (sometimes including the death penalty)
- Sir John Wolfenden reviewed the law and reported that private sexual activity between 2 men over 21 should be decriminalised
- in 1967 this was made legal in England and Wales
15
Q
Cultural change and LGBT rights - changing values and attitudes
A
- attitudes towards homosexuality have changed juristically over the years
- more people now believe that consenting adults should have the right to do as they wish in private
- these changes in attitudes have been caused by 3 things: individualism, equal rights and secularisation
- INDIVIDUALISM = the belief that people should have the right to choose how they live their life as long as it doesn’t harm others. This has become a central view in many areas of life e.g., divorce, abortion etc
- EQUAL RIGHTS = in Britain the idea of equal rights has grown
- SECULARISATION = refers to the declining influence of religion on peoples lives, attitudes and values. Religion generally were against homosexuality but now religion has less influence on people than it did in the past.
