INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY Flashcards
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
Study of human social relationships and institutions
WHAT DO SOCIOLOGISTS DO?
- Carry out research to collect evidence about society in order to analyse it
- Some analyse and describe society without offering judgements
- Others analyse society in order to change it
CULTURE
Term used to describe the way of life of a group of people
MATERIAL CULTURE
Refers to the physical things that people create + attach emotional meaning to
EG = clothing, houses, cars
NON - MATERIAL CULTURE
Refers to the ideas that people share
EG = rules, traditions, languages
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
Any idea that is created + given special meaning by people
EG = motherhood means more than birth
COLLECTIVIST CULTURES
Cultures that tend to emphasise belonging to the group as more important than personal freedom
EG = China or Japan
INDIVIDUALIST CULTURES
Cultures that tend to emphasise individual freedoms + personal gain; sometimes at the expense of others.
EG = Europe + North America
NORMS
Rules or guidelines for expected behaviours
MORES
Connect to norms as mores are ways of behaving that are seen as good or moral
BEHAVIORS THAT BREAK BRITISH NORMS
Bullying
Bad manners
Personal space invasion
Public nudity
NORMS THAT HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME
Children smoking
Corporal punishment
Child labour
Swimwear
VALUES
Widely accepted beliefs that some things are worthwhile and desirable
CUSTOMS
Traditional and regular forms of behavior associated with social occasions
STATUS
Persons standing or position in society, often based on respect
ASCRIBED
Born with something or given automatically
EG = royalty
ACHIEVED
Positions in life changed through efforts
SOCIAL ROLE
Based on your status, you are expected to follow particular norms of behavior
ROLE CONFLICT
When roles clash
EG = being a student who has to do homework, but having to work
SOCIAL CONTROL
Way of ensuring that people conform to norms and values so that social order can be maintained
FORMAL SOCIAL CONTROL
Official control on basis of clearly written down laws / rules
INFORMAL SOCIAL CONTROL
Unofficial control not based on written rules and often based on expectations
SANCTIONS ARE A FORM OF..
Social control
POSITIVE SANCTIONS
Reinforce behaviours throughout rewards
NEGATIVE SANCTIONS
Discourage behaviours through punishment
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
Any idea that is created and given special meaning by people
EG = culture
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Cultures varying significantly in what they see as normal and what they believe is the correct way to act
ETHNOCENTRIC
When your culture influenced your perspective, your own culture can seem the most normal and other cultures can seem different
WHO WOULD ARGUE THE NATURE DEBATE?
Biologists and psychologists
BEHAVIOURS INFLUENCED BY NATURE
Crying Sleeping Fear Breathing Communicating
WHO WOULD ARGUE THE NUTURE DEBATE?
Sociologists
BEHAVIOURS INFLUENCED BY NURTURE
Reading
Writing
Norms and values
Empathy
FERAL CHILDREN
Children brought up without the usual processes of human socialisation
AGENTS OF SOCIALISATION
Any person, social group or organisation that passes on cultural norms and values and essentially teaches us how to behave can be described as a agent
WHO CREATED THE IDEA OF 3 STAGES OF SOCIALISATION
Talcott Parsons (1955)
PRIMARY SOCIALISATION
Child leans from immediate family in the home. Adopts the values and beliefs of the family and learns the expectations the parent has of the child
SECONDARY SOCIALISATION
Where the child learns what wider society expects of its members. Generally takes places outside the home
TERITARY SOCIALISATION
Adult, takes place when people need to adapt to new situations
EG = becoming a parent
FORMAL SOCIALISATION
Processes where people deliberately and consciously manipulated to ensure they form certain rules
INFORMAL SOCIALISATION
More haphazard process where people learn to fit in their culture by watching and learning from others around them
WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM THE FAMILY?
Basic behaviours such as manners Social skills Ability to avoid danger Desire to achieve ambitions Cultural and family traditions
HOW DO YOU LEARN FROM THE FAMILY?
Parents teach children how to become functioning members of society through guided instructions or through informal social control and sanctions
IDENTITY
This our sense of who we are, our relationships to other people and our place in the social world
PRIMARY IDENTITY
Personal sense of self
SECONDARY IDENTITY
Our social sense of self and the roles we play in society
ANN OAKLEY CLAIMED..
Children learn expected behaviour for their gender through the following primary socialisation processes..
- Manipulation
- Verbal appellations
- Different activities
- Canalisation
MANIPULATION
Parents encourage behavior that is normal for the gender and discourage what they may see as inappropriate gender behavior.
EG = “boys don’t cry”
VERBAL APPELLATIONS
Girls will be called ‘angel’ and ‘princess’ whereas boys are often ‘little monster’ or ‘trouble’ or other more aggressive names
DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES
Girls are taken to dance lessons or kept at home to help whereas boys are let out to play or to football training
CANALISATION
Boys and girls are channeled into appropriate activities so boys are given ‘male’ toys that encourage physical activity and girls are offered dolls to encourage caring
HOW DOES THE WORKPLACE INFLUENCE GENDER IDENTITY
- men take STEM subjects, meaning higher paid jobs
- women go into hairdressing, nursing, childcare etc
- women’s maternity leave, asked in interviews whether they plan to have children
- more male doctors / lawyers
- gender pay gap
HOW DOES RELIGION INFLUENCE GENDER IDENTITY
- separate traditions depending on gender
- women start their periods = big ritual made of it
- clothing may differ
- in the bible men are seen as more powerful
HOW DOES EDUCATION INFLUENCE GENDER IDENTITY
- stem subjects men dominated
- English and sociology women dominated
HOW DO PEERS INFLUENCE GENDER IDENTITY
- close male friends seen as gay
- influence socialisation towards fashion and how they should act
- eg “man up”
- male friends promote masculinity
HOW DOES THE MEDIA INFLUENCE GENDER IDENTITY
- women portrayed as vulnerable and dependent
- males portrayed as strong
- females always have to be clean and pretty
- female and makeup adverts
HOW DOES RELIGION INFLUENCE CLASS IDENTITY
God has put you in this social position so you should respect that
India’s caste system
HOW DOES EDUCATION INFLUENCE CLASS IDENTITY
- private schools and state schools
- lower classes may have more negative experience of education and not want to carry on
HOW DOES THE FAMILY INFLUENCE CLASS IDENTITY
- parents views and opinions rub off on you so you may not try as hard in school
- allocates social class from parents
HOW DOES THE WORKPLACE INFLUENCE CLASS IDENTITY
- lower class people don’t have same connections as upper classes
- old boys network in high class jobs
- higher class people more respected in jobs
HOW DOES THE MEDIA INFLUENCE ETHNIC IDENTITY
- if you’re shown negative opinions about a particular ethnic group then you may share that opinion
- folk devils on news creating moral panic
- black males stopped and searched more by police
HOW DO PEERS INFLUENCE ETHNIC IDENTITY
If you associate yourself wit certain ethnicities / races then you may be encouraged to investigate these more
HOW DOES THE WORKPLACE INFLUENCE ETHNIC IDENTITY
- instructional racism
- traditional black names, less likely to get the job
- black carribeand most unemployed minority group
HOW DOES THE FAMILY INFLUENCE ETHNIC IDENTITY
Most of the time you are the same ethnicity and religion as your parents
- ascribed status
- values and morals rub off on the child
- primary socialisation
HOW DOES EDUCATION INFLUENCE ETHNIC IDENTITY
Minority ethnic groups perform lower
- instructional racism
- ethnocentric curriculum
- less opportunities
- fewer role models
NATIONHOOD
Linked to a specific geographical region
NATIONALITY
Most commonly based on place of birth / marriage but you can also gain nationality after meeting legal requirements
HOW CAN CIVIC NATIONALISM BE POSITIVE
- links different cultures together EG = the World Cup
- globalisation and sociol solidarity
- makes people feel pride in their country
EXTREME NATIONALISM IS NEGATIVE BECAUSE…
- extreme opinions towards each other
- intolerance of others
- racism and terrorism
- rise in distrustful behaviour
- ethnocentric
HOW CAN YOU BE SOCIALISED INTO NATIONALITY?
Bank holidays
Royal weddings
Education system
National curriculum
