Key Concepts Flashcards
Nature/nurture debate
The debate about how much of our behaviour is genetic (natural) and how much is learned (culture/nurture)
Culture
The things learned from and shared by a society or group of people and transmitted from generation to generation. A way of life
Norms
Social rules. The guidelines for expected behaviour in specific social settings
Values
Beliefs about what is good or bad
Socialisation
The process of learning one’s culture
Subculture
A smaller culture within a culture that has its own norms and values. (Eg. Catholic and Protestant within Christianity)
Identity
The individuals sense of self, influenced by socialisation and interactions with others
Stratisfaction
The division of society into a hierarchy of unequal groups. These may be based on wealth, power and/or status
Ethnocentrism
The process of judging things in a biased way from the viewpoint of one particular culture
Mores
Internalised social attitudes towards behaviour that is seen as taboo or morally unacceptable in certain cultures
Social roles
Patterns of behaviour that are expected from people based on their position in society
Sanctions
Anyway of encouraging people to conform to norms
Status
A position in society (high status or low status)
Social class
Social groupings or hierarchy based on differences in wealth, income or occupation
Social construction
Something is created by society rather than occurring naturally. Sociologists argue that childhood, gender, identity etc are social constructs
