key concepts and processes of cultural trasmission Flashcards
what is culture
shared way of life of a person or group within society
it is passed on through generation
-includes all aspects that make up a society: norms values beliefs roles status, language religion
explain norms
expectations/ unwritten formal rules on how someone should behave in a certain situation e.g. how we eat,dress, behave
-provide order in society
-they change overtime e.g. commonfor people to smoke in workplace, now its prohibited in public places
how can norms vary
1- different cultures
2-different age
give examples
1- devout muslims will pray at set times throughout the day, when they cant go mosque they may have prayer mat and go somewhere convenient to pray
2- may be appropriate for girls to wear short skirts and crop tops but not elderly ladies
explain values
what is considered worthwhile and worth working for in society
they are learned and shared
they influence the way we behave
a culture has norms to indicate acceptable ways to achieve these values
explain how values vary between different cultures
important value in uk is aquiring wealth= therefore people focus on education or win lottery
-or good health= norms of society e.g. washing hands show ways to achieve this
- contrast= native american tribes value bravery - fighting for land
-monks and nuns give up jobs to care for the sick or elderly
explain status
held by an individual or group, based on a person’s position in society/ amount of respect position has
- jobs are ranked on status e.g professional jobs need qualifications (doctor has more status than labourer)
-given to those who have achieved goals of society/ succeeded at what is valued in society
explain ascribed status
status you have at birth ,
status that can come from your sex
position within your family/ of ur family
e.g. royal family= monarch is given, rest of family is born into this
achieved status
status earned , based or merit/ actions
e.g. getting a particular job or excellling in sport
e.g. alan sugar - self made businessman, success gave him a seat in house of lords giving him the title of a Baron= more status
in britan status is given to wealthy especially achieved wealth
roles
identifiable parts we play in society in daily lives, eg. teacher, mum, shopper
each role has collection of norms to go with that position/ status = defines the way people in that position should behave e.g. dress code
role conflict
when the responsiblities of an indivual clash as they have multiple roles to carry out
e.g. a mother who is a teacher may need to teach their own child
identity
how one views themselves or how others view them
nationality, sexuality
Class
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
identities are socially constructed and people are socialised into idenities by roles of socialisation
how does the family help create identities
point -impacts class identity by culture, attitude, value passed onto children
example- upper/middle class parents in uk more likely to have a form of language/ attitudes/ values to help children to succeed in education=passes way of living to children= then they do good in skl
(eval. working class parents dont have this type of culture=children do less well)
OR encoruages children to have ethnic identity, language spoken, food eaten, festivals, traditions= may send kids to voluntary skl to teach them abt their culture
pr families supporting specific countries in sports = support parents team = national identity
how does school help create identities according to class
point- some sociologists say school influences&reinforces class identity and treats kids of different social groups differently
evidence= middle-class to end up at top of class bc teachers assume theyre ‘clever’/ working class to be put in lower set (different sets taught differently so it disadvantages working class children)
how schools create identities according to ethnicity
p- curriculum biased towards culture of majority of population/ main culture of country
e- racism - unjust treatment against certain groups, teacher labelling
e -some schools may reinforce positive images of ethnicity,
others give ethnic groups negative identity- low expectatins on how theyll do, placed in low ability groups = affects pupils self image
how do schools contribute to national identity
teaching national identity , national language, religion, celebrating national festivals , singing anthems , history of country
how does the media play a role in creating identities
p- media portrays certain groups in positive/ negative light
e- comments in newspapers about unemployed people relying on benefits shown as lazy, working class (esp. youth) gets negative labels e.g. skinheads= shown in a negative fashion
e- presented negatively by media causes problems for rest of population e.g. ethnic groups migrants from eastern europe shown as problems
eval. blamed for unemployment, crime, shortages in nhs. media instead promotes national identity =encourages anti immigration stand and BREXIT
explain social control
society tries to ensure its members keep to the laws,norms,values of that society and approved ways of behaving = done by socialisation and use of sanctions
what is the first method of social control and how does this work
members of society socialised into norms &values of society, & acceptable ways of doing things through their lives
-socialised by family, peer group, school, media, workplace
- most effective as members behave appropriately, the way to behave is ingrained& almost automatic
- children= family most important agent of socialisation=how to talk walk eat , conduct themselves appropriately in society
why are agents of socialisation known as agents of social control
p- they make people conform to acceptable behaviour, use sanctions to make people conform
e- e.g. family socialises members through instruction, role modelling, use of positive/ negative sanctions
ex- sanctions are method of social control, puts pressure on its members to conform as people are not always willing to behave appropriately, designed to encourage and persude us to behave in an acceptable fashion, discourage unacceptable behaviour
explain informal social control
p-refers to the influence of socialisation on us, sanctions used by informal agents of socialisation= family, peer group, media, school
e- families give treats when kids are well behaved, ground them with pocket money
e- this is done with the hope they wont repeat their behaviour or to encourage it
eval- sometimes it does not work and formal control is needed
explain formal social control
p- control enforced by government to make people obey laws , organisations carry this out e.g. police,courts,army
e- if ppl break law, police have formal sanctions they can employ e.g. charges and arrests , courts impose fines
e-just the threat of sanctions being imposed can produce conformity
large organisations have rules written down= applies to everyone as a form of social control e.g. schools have formal rules written down , pupils disobeying formal rules may have sanction e.g. exclusion
explain cultural diversity over time
p- difference in cultures, customs varying between different cultures (over time and between groups)
e- until 1965, as part of british culture, death penalty enforced in britain for serious crimes, abortion against law (some has back street abortion which was dangerous done in secret by someone not qualified)- now death penalty no longer practiced, abortion available for those who want it on nhs
e- variation caused in cultures over time
cultural diversity between groups
p-customs vary considerably between different groups in the same country
e- different cultural practice e.g. sikh culture= turbans worn, cultural practice in britain to wear crash helmet on motorbike clashes with this until law passed to let sikhs ride without helmet
OR SUBCULTURE,different age groups in a culture: young people form groups like mods,goths with certain fashion and music taste the group distinct )
or hippies (subculture) differentcustoms in term of lifestyle,clothing , music e.g. make love not war, flowers to symbolise peace, nature
explain cultural diversity across the world
p- cultural difference between food,dress,custom,families
e- britain norm to eat with knife and fork
china norms to eat with chopstick
middle east india-eat with right hand
explanation- cultures vary throughout the world, on holiday youll notice cultural differences , something that is a norm in one country might be offensive in another
explain the nature vs nurture debate
do we act the way we do because we are born to do so or do we act the way we act because we have been taught to do so by agents of socialisation
explain the nature vs nurture debate
do we act the way we do because we are born to do so or do we act the way we act because we have been taught to do so by agents of socialisation
explain the nature argument
p- behaviour determined by genetic makeup: we inherit biologically from our parents
e- just as children inherit characteristics from parents e.g. eye colour, social behaviour is inherited-intelligence, sexuality
e- human traits like intelligence are largely inherited, clever adults to have clever children, difference in behaviour is due to natural differences at birth not how theyve been brought up e.g. twins brought up apart share similarities like intelligence level / women more caring so maternal instincts coded in genes so young child is cared for and human race continues
explain the nuture argument
p- nurture is more significant and human behaviour is learned, individuals are socialised into the culture of their family, taught how to live by agents of socialisation
e- intelligence and maternal instincts result of nature not nurture, clever adults provide stimulating environment for kids to learn, children have high chance of turning out clever
ex- the way we are brought up and socialised has most significance on how we behave,
explain how cultural diversity links to the nurture debate
p- differences between cultures show human behaviour is learned, if human behaviour was due to natural factors, it would be fairly similar all over the world, wouldnt change as much as it does over time
e- role of women in different societies show variations between cultures, role of women determined by society lived in, not by the factor of being female
ex-some societies, women confined to home, only work with other women, cover face and body outside home, may not be allowed to have education or job
in britain , women free to dress how they want, by law women have same opportunities as men , working full time while men can look after children
explain how feral children link to the nurture debate
p- feral children have been removed from normal human contact, missed out on human socialisation
e-oxana in ukraine in 1990s, until age of 8 she lived with dogs, she copied theirbehaviour and identified with them , unable to walk, talk, when in human care she was seen as intellectually damaged making learning skills difficult
e-, not learnt social behaviours, unable to participate as humans within society, no identities as people showing that human behvaiour is learned
eval , there is an influence of biological factors , children inherit physical traits e.g.height but diet also affects height, undernourished child will not reach potential height
explain primary socialisation
how the family an agent of socialisation
p- first stage taking place at infancy, family is most important agent as it is first place of contact for young,
e- parents instruct and demonstrate children how to behave, parents will be role models, children copy, sanctions encourage or discourage behaviour
e- begins as soon as child is virtually aware of circumstances, family teaches child values,norms,skills to function in society
explain secondary socialisation e.g. peer group
p- second stage of socialisation after early childhood, institutions other than the family become increasingly inportant e.g. media,peers,religion
e- peer group may use informal sanctions if someone does not conform to group norms, peer pressure to follow its norms and values, role models for group to follow
e-peer group of a young person is agent of socialisation, influenced by peers, spend long time at school, children and youth want to fit in so they take opinions seriously
how does education play a role in socialisation
p- children learn many things at school, they are taught subjects formally at school, they are socialised into appropriate norms, values,attitudes
e- formal curriculum- (national) set subjects taught
hidden- messages passed onto children without them realising e.g. if headteacher is male it could show them as superior, sanctions if rules are broken
how does the media play a role in socialisation
p- influences way people think about certain groups by the way they present and label them
e- tv, news, magazines, website
e.g. children influenced by role models- young boys might want to be like their favourite sporting personalities
e- media has large platform so messages are sent to a mass audience
eval. media can be negative- argued that violence in tv or films lead to young people copying violence in real life
how does religion play a role in socialisation
p- teaches individuals what to believe and how to live their lives
e- moral codes and written rules that members should follow e.g. some followers of muslim religion expect females to cover up body
e- religion uses sanctions to reinforce socialisation
negative sanctions used for disobeying rules e.g. banned from place of worship, positive is promise of future happiness in next life
how does the workplace play a role in socialisation
p- students will have part time jobs, learn norm and rules of workplace when starting full time work they will learn new set of norms and practices
e- workplace may have induction scheme in place to train new workers , a newly qualified teacher will have more experienced teacher to help them
e- workplace uses negative sanctions e.g warnings for a serious offence, positive sanctions e.g employee of the month
what does ann oakley argue about gender roles- feminist
how does the family play a role in gender role socialisation
p- families start off the process of constructing gender roles , from birth parents treat boys and girls differently,
e- CANALISATION- giving different toys, encourages girls to be caring and feminine, boys to be powerful and masculine
MANIPULATION- parents encourage different behaviour from boys and girls e.g. taking time on daughters hair= girls should take care of appearance, discourage behaviour as such from son, boys given construction kits to be physical
e- this teaches boys and girls what acceptable behaviour is for their sex in society, agents of socialisation create gender roles by passing on different gender messages to girls and boys from infancy
how does the school play a role in gender role socialisation
p- girls and boys treated differently in school,
e- school reading books show males and females in typical gender roles, some school subjects shown as suitable for one gender e.g. textile crafts for girls
boys dominate playground playing ball games, girlsfound in edges chatting
e-hidden curriculum transmits gender messages in lessons, textbooks ,interactions with teachers although in theory schools have an equal opportunities policy
how does the media play a role in gender socialisation
p- influences gender identity, media presents gender in steryotypical ways- oversimplified and generalised picture of a member of social group
e- e,g women in adverts as housewives, bombards us with gender based images, video games use women as helpless objects, damsel in distress,
e- gender steryotyping found throughout media e.g. in advertising media places emphasis on the idea body of males and females, leading roles etc more likely to be men, male actors better paid
how does the peer group play a role in gender socialisation
SUE LEE
p - important during teenage years, powerful influence over its members , encourages gendered messages
e- boy playing with dolls/tea sets will be ridiculed by friends, will be teased, excluded from group/ female interess more focus on fashion
SUE LEE-acceptable for boys to be sexually promiscuos’bit of a lad’, girls would be disapproved off =peer group controlling behaviour of girls
e- peer groups have double standards of sexual morality, boys gain status in peer group for being promiscuos but in girls this would be condemned
