General key terms Flashcards
Norms
an agreed form of behaviour
Values
a general principle/ belief that people agree on
status
social standing within society
achieved status
a status which someone works for/ earns
ascribed status
a status which someone is born into/ inherits
culture
a contested concept, commonly thought of as a way of life
high culture
cultural practices of the upper class such as opera, classical music and theatre
popular culture
cultural practices with mass participation, such as soap operas, pop music; culture of the masses
subculture
a group with shared norms and values; a distinct group within the majority culture
cultural diversity
a society with culturally embedded differences
multiculturalism
different ethnic groups living side by side in society
consumer culture
culture based on what we buy and consume, often based on spending and material goods
global culture
globalisation; where national boundaries become less relevant and the world becomes a smaller, more interconnected place
biological factors
the features an individual is born with e.g. gender
social factors
the socialising factors or nurturing of an individual
primary socialisation
socialisation in early life, from birth to 5 years old, only family and media influence
secondary socialisation
socialisation from the ages of 4/5 upwards, family decline in influence, more media, peers, workplace, education
gender roles
a set of behaviours attached to being male or female
formal curriculum
the subjects studied within a school
informal (hidden) curriculum
what is learnt in the school without being taught; often called the hidden curriculum
formal social control
police, courts etc that can punish you according to the law
informal social control
less formal social control, from parents who can punish you according to their power
social control
a means by which society controls its members
Identity
a contested concept, ideas of sameness = shared with others, and difference = characteristics/ features different from others
national identity
collectively focused, where group identity and an attachment to a team/ country is important
identity cards
the governments way of tackling issues of citizenship
identity fraud
carried out by individuals taking on the persona of someone else, usually for financial gain
corporate identity
the collective group identity of a company or vision
hegemonic masculinity
the dominant type of masculinity
proletariat
the working class, wage earners/ labouring classes
bourgeoisie
the upper classes
economic capital
an individuals wealth, money, earnings and property
cultural capital
cultural/ traditional knowledge of literature, arts, classical music
social capital
the extent to which an individual has an elite social network/ connections, is in contact with many groups
subjective class identity
arguing that a class only exists if people recognise that they are the same and share interests and goals in common
objective class identity
an individual is working class if they do manual work, irrespective of what class they feel they are in, and in this sense, there are fairly clear class boundaries in modern Britain.
achieved status
a status an individual has achieved/ earned e.g. Alan Sugar
ascribed status
a status given at birth/born into e.g. Prince William
social mobility
the moving up and down of the social ladder
open social system
system in exchange of matter with its environment, import and export.
closed social system
are held to be isolated from their environment e.g. upper classes
ethnicity
a personal cultural heritage
race
a biological category referring to such things as asking colour
othering
a process of defining the self in the positive ad the other in the negative
hybridity
a coming together of cultures, styles and identities resulting in the formation of new ones
code switching
the way in which some ethnic groups behave differently with family than with their peer groups; also described as wearing a white mask
youth
a period of life between childhood and adulthood between the ages of 15 and 30
middle age
a stage in life for reflection, associated with people in their 40s and 50s
old age
a period stereotyped for dependancy and loneliness
chronological age
age by order of date, not considering the state of mentality a person believes to be in
three ages
associated with Laslett
oldest olds
associated with Mckingsley, says that the segment of the population ages 85 and over is the fastest growing so we must consider an oldest old and youngest old
