Socialisation

Question 1

What is Socialisation?

Answer 1

The process in which an individual learns the norms, values and culture of a society

Question 2

What is Primary Socialisation?

Answer 2

Occurs in early childhood as parents teach children dominant norms and values often through positive and negative sanctions and also parents act as positive role models too

Question 3

What is Secondary Socialisation?

Answer 3

A lifelong process and is socialisation outside of the family e.g. peers, education, media, religion and workplace

Question 4

What is the role of the family in socialisation?

Answer 4

It’s the main agent of primary socialisation and Functionalists see the female as the expressive leader who is mainly responsible for the nurturing and socialisation of children

Question 5

What is the role of peers in socialisation?

Answer 5

Refers to those of a similar age and includes friendships and year groups in school and subcultures- want to be popular with peers- strong desire to conform

Question 6

What are ‘Cultural comfort zones’?

Answer 6

Tony Sewell says youth prefer to spend their free time in cultural comfort zones- they prefer to hang around with those form similar backgrounds e.g afro-carribean boys preferring to hang out with other black boys instead of MC white boys

Question 7

What is the role of media in socialisation?

Answer 7

Violence is more rife due to it’s promotion in video games/TV, Feminists argue media over sexualises women, further oppressing them

Question 8

What is a ‘Bulimic society’?

Answer 8

Young says bulimic society is one which advertising and the focus on celebrity culture and rewards encouraged people to worship money and material success causing the poor to turn to crime as they cannot achieve these ‘status items’ legitimately

Question 9

What is the role of religion in socialisation?

Answer 9

Until the mid-20th century, Christianity in the UK was a major part of socialisation- it promoted values. However there has been a major decline in Christianity (secularisation)

Question 10

What is the formal (visible) curriculum?

Answer 10

Refers to the academic subjects taught in the education system

Question 11

What is the hidden curriculum?

Answer 11

The ways in which the routines and organisations of schools and teaching shape pupil attitudes and behaviour to produce conformity

Question 12

What did Bowles and Gintis say about the hidden curriculum?

Answer 12

The education system is a giant myth making machine which brainwashed children into obedience and an unquestioning attitude- also taught to believe in meritocracy

Question 13

What is the ‘long shadow of work’?

Answer 13

Marxists Bowles and Gintis argue that schooling stands in the long shadow of work meaning pupils are unconsciously socialised into blind obedience to higher authority, punctuality etc preparing WC children for factory work

Question 14

What is the role of the workplace in socialisation?

Answer 14

Teaches skills but also socialises them into formal rules e.g. dress, duties, codes of conduct which are backed up by sanctions

Question 15

What is ‘Canteen culture’?

Answer 15

It sets out informal rules for getting on with fellow workers e.g. the police force has a canteen culture involving racist jokes, misogyny and homophobia (Waddington)

Question 16

What is the ‘Nature’ side of the Nature/Nurture debate?

Answer 16

Sociobiologists claim that people inherit characteristics e.g. intelligence, personality, aggression etc. Also many sociobiologists believe that females and males are born with tendencies to behave in either a feminine or masculine way due to hormones

Question 17

What do Feminists argue about Nurture that contradicts the Nature argument?

Answer 17

Feminists state that if gender roles were biologically determined, men and women would behave the same way in all societies- this is not the case and therefore counters the Nature argument

Question 18

What are common criticisms of the Nature argument (support Nurture)?

Answer 18

People are not born with cultural values or social skills- they’re learned over time and are different in every culture. Also looking at feral children who lack socialisation further supports this point

Question 19

What is Social control?

Answer 19

The ways in which deviant or abnormal behaviour is deterred and conformity to the norms and rules of society is reinforced

Question 20

What are examples of formal agencies of social control?

Answer 20

Includes the police, the criminal justice system, security, military and the government .

Question 21

What are examples of informal agencies of control?

Answer 21

Families (parents reward or punish their children), Peers (positivity= friendship, negativity= excluded), Media, Religion, Education and Workplace

Question 22

What did Madell find regarding youth having phones?

Answer 22

91% of youth (2004) had mobile phones and in 2005 16y/os spent spent an average of 2.5 hours a day watching TV

Question 23

What did Skelton and Francis find?

Answer 23

Looked at primary peer groups- play was very gendered- boys played more active games, girls played hopscotch or braided hair- excluded form boy’s games

Question 24

What did Sue Lees say regarding double standards?

Answer 24

Looked at peer pressure teen girls faced by boys- double standards regarding sexuality- if girls are sexually active they’re labelled a slag and many other derogative terms whereas boys are praised for it

Question 25

What do Voas and Crockett say regarding religion?

Answer 25

Explored the concept of BWB (Believing without belonging) meaning some people say they are religious by don’t attend religious ceremonies

Question 26

What did Butler find?

Answer 26

Girls in Bradford and Coventry wanted to move on from ‘izzat’ (keeping family honour), and the traditional norms for a young Muslim girl- didn’t want arranged marriage

Question 27

What did Woodhead say?

Answer 27

The religious dress that young Muslim women wear, particularly the veil is an important part of their identity, but they can personalise them to some extent and this is known as ‘Muslim chic’, with a respectful nod to modesty, their religion and culture

Question 28

What did Mirza say?

Answer 28

Looked at what young Muslim women really thought about their religious dress wear and found many spoke positively about it, saying they could change the beading/ colours to show different identities

Question 29

What did Mulvey say?

Answer 29

Uses the concept ‘male gaze’ to describe how the cameras in films ‘eye up’ female characters, encouraging viewers to assess their bodies and their attractiveness from a male perspective