Key terms (a) Flashcards
Culture
The way of life of a society
Norms
Behaviour societies expect of their members in particular situations
Values
Standards shared by members of a culture and used to judge whether behaviour is right or wrong
Roles
Patterns of behaviour expected of someone because of their status in society
Status
The position someone has in a society
Beliefs
Statements people hold to be true
Social construction
The idea that social situations and events are created and developed by society instead of existing naturally on their own
Social conformity
Acting in accordance with norms and social expectations
Social control
Ways in which members of a society are made to conform to norms and values
Agencies of social control
Institutions responsible for ensuring that members of a society conform to norms and values
Rewards
Positive sanctions/benefits received for good behaviour
Punishments
Negative sanctions given for unacceptable behaviour or acts
Sub-culture
A group of people within a larger culture that has its own distinctive norms and values
Youth sub-culture
A sub-culture of adolescents or young adults distinguishable by their style, dress and musical preference
Value consensus
A general agreement across a society on a set of values
Conflict
Disagreement between groups of people with different interests
Peer group
People of the same status, e.g. being of the same age
Ostracism
Excluding someone from the community or group
Peer pressure
The influence that a peer group has on its members to force or persuade them to conform
Formal social control
Ways in which a people or organisations with the authority to implement laws get people to conform to norms and values
Coercion
The use or threat of force or violence by police forces as a form of social control
Social order
The ways in which societies and their institutions remain stable over time
Masculinity
The expected behaviour associated with being male in a particular society
Ethnic minority
An ethnic group that is relatively small in number compared with the majority in a society and is seen as different
Globalisation
The process by which different cultures around the world increasingly interact with, are aware of and influence each other
Global culture
The idea that globalisation has caused or will cause a single culture shared by people all around the world
Diversity
The wide differences between human cultures
Lifestyle
The typical way of life of an individual, group or culture
Multicultural society
A society where many different cultures or sub-cultures exist alongside each other
Age group
Ways in which people of the same or similar age share a status and associated roles
Ethnicity
Refers to cultural differences such as religion, language as well as place of origin
Race
The supposed biological differences between different groups of people
