Core Concepts Flashcards
What is ‘Culture’?
A term used by Sociologists to describe the shared way of life which binds individuals together into a society.
What are Values?
A set of beliefs governing what a social group holds as important. Values lead to norms.
What are Norms?
A set of guidelines which define appropriate and inappropriate behaviour
What is Civil Inattention?
By Goffman. Pretending to have our attention elsewhere, so that others can maintain a sense of privacy e.g people on the pavement.
What’s a social status?
A position on a social hierarchy
What’s an Ascribed Status?
A status that has been given to you, like your gender.
What’s an Achieved Status?
A status that you have gotten yourself, like your job.
What’s a Social Role?
Sociologists would describe a role as the part we play in a social situation- the patterns of behaviour that are expected of people of a certain position.
What is a Stereotype?
A widely known, fixed image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. They tend to be negative.
What is Nature?
A quality that you have developed naturally e.g through a chemical imbalance in the brain (criminals)
What is your Identity?
Who you are as a person and how we and others see ourselves
What is Nurture?
A quality you have developed through your upbringing e.g taught rules and regulatons by parents (criminals)
What’s a Feral Child?
A child that was not brought up by humans. Animals bring up children because they’re not a threat e.g big eyes make them seen innocent
What is your Primary Identity?
Who we truly are and the way we see ourselves.
What is your Secondary Identity?
The role we play in social situations.
When does our Secondary Identity become more influential?
Towards the end of our childhood, when we tend to care more about what others think of us.
How do we develop our identity?
We are told by other people, some identities are ascribed to us, others are achieved and by acting/speaking/dressing in a particular way.
Who are the Primary agents of Socialisation?
Family.
Who are the Secondary agents of Socialisation?
Education, media, religion, peers, workplace and community.
What are focal agencies?
Different agents will have more of a play in our socialisation at different times in our lives, for example when we are very young our family is our focal agent.
What is Socialisation?
The process which individuals learn the norms and values of a particular society or culture. This is usually achieved by the agents of socialisation through the methods of socialisation.
What are Sanctions (method of socialisation)?
Corrects or encourages certain behaviour. Positive to rewards and encourage certain behaviour, negative to punish and deter behaviours that are seen as damaging and undesirable in a culture, formal like prison or detention and informal like being ignored or treated badly (response to unwritten rule).
What’s Imitation (method of socialisation)?
Copying or mirroring the behaviour of others. It plays a big part in learning the norms, values and language of culture.
What are Role Models?
When people follow the example of thoe they respect and are of higher status. They tend to have a higher status but similar features to us e.g gender.
