Key Concepts

Question 1

Nature / Nurture Debate

Answer 1

The debate of how much of our behaviour is genetic and how much is learned.

Question 2

Culture

Answer 2

The things learned from and shared by, a society or group of people and transmitted from generation to generation - a way of life

Question 3

Norms

Answer 3

Social rules; guidelines for expected behaviour in specific social settings

Question 4

Values

Answer 4

Beliefs about what is good or bad

Question 5

Socialisation

Answer 5

The process of learning ones culture

Question 6

Subculture

Answer 6

A smaller culture within a culture that has its own norms and values

Question 7

Identity

Answer 7

the individual’s sense of self, influenced by socialisation and interactions with others

Question 8

Stratification

Answer 8

The division of society into a hierarchy of unequal groups, and these may be based on wealth, power and status.

Question 9

Ethnocentrism

Answer 9

the process of judging things in a biased way from the viewpoint of one particular culture

Question 10

Mores

Answer 10

Internalised social attitudes towards behaviour that is seen as taboo or morally unacceptable in certain cultures.

Question 11

Social Roles

Answer 11

Patterns of behaviour that are expected from people based on their position in society.

Question 12

Status

Answer 12

A position in society

Question 13

Ascribed status

Answer 13

The status you are born with

Question 14

Achieved status

Answer 14

The status someone achieves as a result of their efforts

Question 15

Social Class

Answer 15

Social groupings or hierarchy based on difference in wealth, income or occupation

Question 16

Social Construction

Answer 16

Something is created by society rather than occurring naturally - sociologists argue that childhood, gender and identity etc are social constructs

Question 17

Primary Socialisation

Answer 17

The process of learning society’s norms and values from those in our close family

Question 18

Secondary Socialisation

Answer 18

The process of learning society’s norms and values from outside the family

Question 19

Gender

Answer 19

The social and cultural characteristics of men and women learned through socialization

Question 20

Sanctions

Answer 20

Anyway of encouraging people to conform to norms.

Question 21

Social Control

Answer 21

The mechanisms used by society in order to get people to conform. One of the factors that needs to be kept in balance in order to a functionalist society to work and to achieve social solidarity.

Question 22

Social cohesion

Answer 22

The extent to which people in a society are bound together and integrated, and how much they share common values. One of the factors that needs to be kept in balance in order to a functionalist society to work and to achieve social solidarity.

Question 23

Structural Theory

Answer 23

A theory that sees society as controlled and shaped by its institutions such as family, education, media

Question 24

Consensus theory

Answer 24

A theory that sees people in society as having shared interests and society functioning on the basis of there being broad agreement on its norms and values.

Question 25

Collective conscience

Answer 25

The shared beliefs and values which form the moral ties, binding communities together and regulates individual behaviour

Question 26

Social Facts

Answer 26

Phenomena which exists outside the individual and independently of their minds, but constrain or mould their behaviour

Question 27

Anomie

Answer 27

A sense of normlessness, uncertainty and confusion over social norms

Question 28

Value consensus

Answer 28

A widespread agreement over the main values of a society

Question 29

Functional Prerequisites

Answer 29

The basic needs that must be met in order for society to survive

Question 30

Modernist Theory

Answer 30

Theory applies rational theory to the understanding and organisation of society. Two examples could be labelling and late-modernism

Question 31

Social solidarity

Answer 31

The integration of of people into society through shared values, culture and an understanding of the ties that bind them together

Question 32

Social integration

Answer 32

The coming together of individuals into social groups, binding them into society and building social cohesion