General Knowledge Flashcards
Functionalism
The view that society operates like a human body with all institutions working to support one another. Based on class consensus and not conflict.
Positivism
Views sociology as a science and try to find cause-and-effect relationships by testing a hypothesis. Attempts to collect quantitative data which can be visualised on graphs and further used to compare a society in different time periods and to another society altogether. Is both reliable and repeatable.
Culture
Shared norms and values, customs, traditions, language, skills, knowledge and beliefs.
Transmitted from generation to generation.
Values
General principles or goals. Tell us what is good and what we should aim for. E.g. Achievement, wealth, life.
Norms
Specific rules that govern behaviour in particular social situations.
Primary Socialisation
Takes place in the early years of life and occurs largely within the family. We learn language, basic skills and norms.
Secondary Socialisation
Takes place later in education and wider society. We learn advanced skills and develop a wider understanding of norms.
Status
A position in society. Can be either ascribed or achieved.
Ascribed
Fixed characteristics we are born with such as gender and ethnicity which determine our status.
Achieved
Won though our own efforts such as getting into university, passing a test or getting promoted at work.
Role
A set of norms surrounding a particular status. The individual of the status is expected to follow the norms associated with it.
The Structural View
Entirely shaped by the structure of society. Sees us as behaving according to societies norms and expectations which we internalise through socialisation.
We are like puppets manipulated by society.
The Social Action View
Sees us having free will and choice. Emphasises the power of individuals to shape society through thief own actions and interactions.
Macro Sociology
The structural view.
Favoured by Positivists. Is the large study of society as a whole.
Micro Sociology
The social action view.
Favoured by interpretivists. Studies the individuals within society and how they shape it.
Marxists
See society as based on class conflict, not consensus. Divide society into 2 main classes; the Bourgeosie and the Proletariat.
Bourgeosie
The minority capitalist class that own the means to production such as factories, raw materials and land. Exploit the Proletariat and profit from their labour breeding class conflict.
Proletariat
The majority working class. Own nothing but their own labour which they sell to the Bourgeosie in return for income in order to survive. However they are exploited by being paid less than the market price of the items they manufacture and produce.
Karl Marx - (1818-83)
A German philosopher and sociologist. Believed the Proletariat would eventually overthrow the Bourgeosie and create a classless, equal society.
Author of the communist manifesto alongside Fredrich Engels.
Friedrich Engels -(1820-95)
German philosopher and social scientist. Helped create ‘scientific socialism’ alongside Karl Marx and aided him in writing the communist manifesto.
Sanctions
Anything that encourages people to conform to norms. Comes in two forms:
- Positive Sanctions
- Negative Sanctions
Positive Sanction
A reward for conforming to a norm.
Negative Sanctions
A punishment for not conforming to a norm.
Social Control
An active or passive process of social groups regulating itself according to its shared norms, values and beliefs in order to prevent negative deviance. Sanctions are a form of social control.
Subculture
A cultural group within a larger culture which often has beliefs, norms, values and attitudes at variance with those of the larger, mainstream culture. However some norms, values, beliefs and interests are also shared.
Feminists
Believe in conflict within society between gender. They regard society and its institutions as male-dominated or patriarchal.
E.g. The family is oppressive with women doing most of the housework.
Postmodernism
States we are now living in a post-modern society. Unlike modern society where individuals share a common culture, class or identity, postmodern society is fragmented into a wide variety of different groups. Ethnicity, age, gender, nationality, sexuality etc. Individuals can choose what they belong to.
Analysis
Explaining things in detail. Showing how ideas fit together, comparing, contrasting, organising answers logically and drawing conclusions.
Evaluation
Involves judgement, such as the advantages and disadvantages of different research methods or arguments for and against a sociologists views.
Application
Involves linking ideas, theories and studies to the set question. Clearly showing relevance to what you have been asked about.
Structuralism
Methodology that implies elements of the human culture must be understood by way of their relationship to the broader society or system.
Interpretivism
Studies the individuals in society rather than society as a whole. Aims to produce valid data which is qualitative and is centred around understanding the individuals feelings. The data can be categorised but not quantified, thus it is unreliable as it is based on interpretation.
Traditional Society
A rural-agricultural society where there was little social change, a strong sense of community and religion dominated people’s views of the world.
Modern Society
An urban-industrial society with social and technological change and a belief in progress and science.
Postmodern Society
A post-industrial society where change is increasingly rapid but uneven. People have lost faith in the ability of science to bring about progress.
Social Stratification
Inequalities between groups such as social class, gender, ethnicity and age.
Value Consensus
Agreement among society’s members about what values are important; a shared culture.
Vocational
Connected to a career.
The Underclass
Those at the lowest level of the social class system. Have their own separate, deviant culture and lifestyle E.g. Criminality.
Welfare State
Where the State takes responsibility for people’s wellbeing, especially their basic minimum needs. Includes various benefits to provide minimum income, the NHS, state education and council housing.
Subjectivity
Bias. The individuals own viewpoint influences their perception or judgement.
Interpretivists favour subjectivity.
Racism
A system of beliefs that defines certain people as superior or inferior and justified unequal treatment. This is done on the basis of skin colour or ethnicity.
Institutional Racism
The routine ways an organisation operates that have racist outcomes regardless of the intentions of the individuals within.
Secularisation
The decline of religion. The process whereby religious beliefs, practises and institutions lose their importance or influence.
Reserve Army of Labour
A Marxist concept describing groups that can be brought into the workforce when there is a labour shortage during the expansion of the capitalist economy.
E.g. Women were used as a reserve army of labour during WW1 and 2.
Quantitative Data
Information in numerical form.
- Percentages
- Tables
- Graphs
Neo-Liberalism
The theory that competition, choice and privatisation are the most efficient ways to run the economy, free from state regulation. Favours low taxation and reduced expenditure on education and healthcare.
Individuals are consumers free to make their own choices and are obliged to live with the consequences.
New Right
A conservative political perspective whose supporters believe in self-reliance and individual choice, rather than dependence on the state. Believe in free market principles and argue generous welfare benefits encourage the growth of the Underclass.
Interactionism
A sociological perspective that focuses on small scale, micro-level interactions between individuals and groups, rather than the large scale workings of society. Interactionists seek to understand the meanings social actors give to actions and situations typically by means of qualitative research.
Identity
The individuals sense of self influenced by socialisation and social interaction. Made up of social differentiation factors.
Function
The contribution that part of society makes to the stability or the well-being of society as a whole.
Deviance
Behaviour that doesn’t conform to the norms of the society or group.
Demography
The study of population including birth, death, fertility and infant mortality rates, immigration/emigration, and age structure.
Also studies reasons for these.
Ethnocentric
Seeing or judging things in a biased way from the viewpoint of one particular culture.
E.g. The National Curriculum values white/western literature, music, history, religion etc and disregards other cultures.
Exploitation
Paying workers less than the value of their labour. Here the middle class can profit from the working class and capitalise.
Fordism
A type of industrial production based on a detailed division of labour using closest supervised, low skilled workers and assembly line technology to mass produce standardised goods.
Customs
Traditional and regular norms of behaviour that are associated with specific social situations
E.g. 5th November Fireworks.
Social Differentiation
The distinction made between different social groups and persons on the basis of biological, physiological and sociocultural factors.
Age, Sex, Ethnicity, Disability and Social Class.
Ethnography
The systematic study of people and culture with their customs, habits and mutual differences. Typically done by means of participant observation and involves the researcher building mutual trust with the research population.
Produces rich qualitative data.
E.g. The researcher lives in a poor African village for 2 or more years.
Verstehen
The empathetic understanding of human behaviour.
German for:- ‘Understand in a deep way’
Absolute Monarchy
A political system in which the Monarch has complete control of a country.
Agents of Socialisation
People, groups and experiences which influence our behaviour and self-image.
Anomie
The feeling of being disconnected from society. Can occur when people aren’t provided institutionalised means to achieve their goals.
Anticipatory Socialization
The learning of new norms and values in anticipation of a future role.
Apartheid
A social system where there is a complete separation of the races.
Assimilation
The process where people give up parts of their own culture in order to integrate with a new culture.
Authoritarianism
A political system which doesn’t allow citizens to participate in government.
Belief
A specific idea that people feel to be true.
Bureaucracy
A system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
A non-elective government.
Capitalism
The economic system in which the means to production are owned privately and individuals are free to keep the profits they make.
The Capitalist Class
In industrialised societies, the rich and powerful owners of the means of production. Also known as the ‘elite’ and the ‘Bourgeosie’.
Caste System
A system of stratification and hierarchy based on ascribed statuses.
Church
A religious group integrated with society.
Class System
A system of stratification based on achieved status.
Colonialism
The tendency for a powerful country to invade a weaker county in order to exploit its resources by making it a colony.
Commoners
The lowest stratum of the estate system of stratification. Comprised of the masses that undertook hard, physical labour.
Communism
Similar to socialism. The means of production and all capital/profits are owned equally by everyone in society.
Constitutional Monarchy
Where the reigning member of the Royal Family is the symbolic Head of State but elected officials actually do the governing.
