Socialisation and Identity Flashcards
Action theory
sociological perspective focusing on individuals and how their interactions create and re-create a sense of society.
Agency
free will or the ability to choose particular courses of action.
Anarchy
a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority or agencies of social control.
Anomie
according to Durkheim - a state of normlessness or moral uncertainty in which the social rules of behaviour are not clearly drawn, therefore making people more prone to deviance.
Appropriation
dishonest and unethical seizure of value or profit by the capitalist class of something produced by the labouring class.
Artefacts
material objects such as flags or monuments and buildings or cultural products such as sport, music and national dishes which have symbolic meaning for members of particular societies.
Authority
the power or right to give orders. Make decisions and enforce obedience. It normally derives from a legal source.
Beliefs
- ideas that members of society hold to be true.
- important and deep-rooted ideas that shape our values and are, in some respects, shaped by them. While all values express a belief, beliefs do not necessarily express a value.
Biological analogy
the human body resembles society in that, as an effective totality, it is the sum of all parts working together to ensure good health.
Black Feminism
Pending
Black Lives Matter
an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards Black people.
Bonding social capital
the sharing of information or resources that may create opportunities for jobs or mutual help.
Bourgeois ideology
a set of ideas that originates with the capitalist class which attempts to convince members of society that inequality is a natural or normal outcome and that those who succeed or fail in the capitalist system deserve to do so.
Bourgeoisie
the socio-economic group that owns the means of production and is responsible for the organisation of capitalism.
Bridging social capital
social and political alliances or networks that increase the potential for social change.
Capitalism
an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
Caste system
a religious and ascribed system of stratification mainly found in India and Indian communities abroad that categorises people into five status groups, which determine their occupation and the Hindu concept of religious purity.
Charismatic personality
somebody with a compelling personality who has the ability to influence the behaviour of others.
Class consciousness
a Marxist concept that relates to awareness of one’s place in a system of social class, especially as it relates to the class struggle.
Coercion
the action or practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.
Collective consciousness
a shared set of cultural values, norms and morality which function to unite society.
Collectivism
the practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual with in it.
Conflict
disagreement or clash of interest.
Conflict theories
theories such as Marxism and feminism which see societies as characterised by conflict between social classes or between men and women.
Conformity
- behaving in a socially acceptable way.
* abiding by or complying with social norms, rules and laws.
Conscience
refers to the moral sense of right and wrong introduced to children from a very young age during the socialisation process which aims to deter deviant behaviour by setting off feelings of guilt if the child thinks about doing wrong.
Consensual policing
the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
Consensus theory
a type of Structuralist approach which sees society as characterised by agreement and order; for example, functionalism.
Conspicuous consumption
expenditure on, and consumption of, luxuries on a lavish scale in an attempt to enhance one’s prestige.
Consumerism
- repeated exposure to affluent lifestyles and desirable consumer goods that suggests that ‘happiness’ is something that can be bought.
- the preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods.
Consumption
consumers spending money on commodities / goods (shopping).
Control by consent
persuading a social group that they should obey rules because they will benefit from them in the long term.
Cost-benefit analysis
a process that involves members of society rationally weighing up the benefit of, say, obeying the law against the cost of not doing so or rejecting the need for law altogether.
Critical theory
theory developed by and associated with Marxism that seeks to understand, criticise and change the nature of capitalist societies or some feature of such societies.
Cultural amnesia
the collective loss of memory.
Cultural appropriation
this involves members of a dominant culture taking cultural artefacts from a marginalised group without permission, and usually with little respect for or knowledge about that culture.
Cultural capital
the social, intellectual and cultural assets of a person that contribute to their educational success or social mobility, for example, knowing how to ‘dress for success’.
Cultural zombies
workers who have been convinced by bourgeois ideology that they are responsible for their own fate and that they should uncritically accept their social position.
Culture
- the way of life of a particular group or society.
- the way of a particular group of people, taught and learnt through socialisation.
- the language, beliefs, values and norms, customs, roles, knowledge and skills which combine to make up the way of life of any society (Browne, 2011).
Customs
- established and accepted cultural practices and behaviours.
- a regular pattern of behaviour that is accepted as a routine norm in a particular society; for example, shaking hands when greeting someone.
- norms which have existed for a long time (Browne, 2011).
Dalit
the non-caste of ‘untouchable’ who occupy the lowest social rung of the Indian caste system and who do the dirtiest jobs.
Decadence
spiritual emptiness.
Deferred gratification
the ability to forego or postpone gratification or pleasure now by making the decision to gain greater rewards later; say, by saving for the future or studying for a degree.
Demonisation
the social practice of treating some groups as if they were ‘social problems’ or a threat to those who belong to mainstream law-abiding society.
Development
improvement in the social and economic conditions of life of a society or people.
Deviance
behaviour that is regarded as either offensive or odd to a social group or society and is therefore regarded as requiring some from of formal or informal regulation.
Domain assumptions
fundamental assumptions on which a particular perspective or ideology is based. The domain assumptions of Marxism, for example, include economic exploitation and class conflict.
Dramaturgical approach
the idea that people’s day-to-day lives can be understood as resembling performers in action on a theatre stage.
Ethnocentrism
a tendency to see the experience of others in terms of one’s own culture. It often involves making judgements, because people assume that their cultural experience is ‘normal’ and all other experiences are ‘abnormal’.
Ethnomethodology
sociological approach that argues that all social interaction is underpinned by a search for meaning; if we can understand the meanings people give to a situation we can understand their behaviour in such situations. In this respect, it is possible to discover the nature of social order by disrupting it.
False class consciousness
being unaware that socio-economic position is caused by the organisation of the capitalist system.
Fatalism
the belief that all events are predetermined and inevitable, and that we are powerless and incapable of bringing about social change.
Fat-shaming
the action or practice of humiliating someone judged to be fat or overweight by mocking or critical comments about their size.
Feral children
children who have been deprived of interaction with other humans because they have been abandoned into the wild (and, in some cases, allegedly raised by animals) or kept in isolation.
Folk culture
a type of culture which stems from the experiences, customs, traditions and beliefs of rural communities such as the peasantry or tribes that make up part of a wider culture, and which is passed down by word-of-mouth.
Force
also referred to as coercion; using intimidation and threats to persuade someone to do something they do not want to do.
Formal social control
sanctions enforced by official agencies such as government in reaction to the breaking of written formal rules.
Free will
the power to make decisions or choices that are not shaped by social forces beyond the control of the individual.
Front
the way we present ourselves in any given social situation to create specific impressions in the mind of others.
Fundamentalism
a very conservative version of religion which believes that God’s word and religious texts are infallible and need to be interpreted literally.
Gender inequality
refers to inequalities in wealth, pay, political power, access to certain types of jobs, and in the distribution of domestic tasks such as childcare and housework.
Gender role socialisation
the process of learning behaviour that is culturally expected from males and females.
Gender roles
the social expectations that underpin what is expected of a boy/man and a girl/woman in any given society.
Gig economy
a labour market characterised by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.
Global risks
globalisation has increased people’s risk of being victims of global warming, terrorism, crime and so on.
Globalisation
the trend of increasing interaction between societies and people worldwide due to advances in transportation and digital communications.
Globalisation
the process through which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of increased trade and cultural exchange.
Glocalisation
a trend which sees global actors flexibility altering their global brands so that they suit the need of and respect local cultures. Local cultures may take aspects of a global product and adapt it so that it appeals to local consumers.
Hegemonic
culturally dominant.
Hegemonic feminity
a version of feminine which stresses that females are subordinate and their ‘natural’ roles should be confined to the spheres of motherhood and the home.
Hegemonic masculinity
a version of masculine identity which defines a ‘real man’ in terms of toughness, emotional hardness and the power to provide for his family.
Hidden curriculum
the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons, values and attitudes that encourage conformity that students allegedly learn in classrooms and schools.
High culture
cultural products, such as art and literature, that are regarded as rare, unique and the product of exceptional talent.
High modernity
the later stages of modern societies identified by Beck, associated with manufactured risks to the ecology of the planet and high levels of individualisation.
Human agency
the power people have to think from themselves and act in ways that shape their experiences and way of life.
Humanist approach
a micro or ‘bottom-up’ approach which is interested in how social reality is ‘interpreted’ by individuals during their everyday interaction with others.
Hybridised identity
a form of identity that is constructed by combining aspects of two or more cultures.
Identity
the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that constitute both how you see yourself and how other people may see or judge you.
Ideological
based on untrue information, propaganded by a powerful group, aimed at justifying and legitimating some type of inequality.
Ideological power
dominating culture or ideas.
Imitation
children copying the actions of significant role models in their lives, especially their parents.
Impression management
the conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event.
Individualisation
a social feature of late or postmodernity which encourages members of society to put the interest of themselves before the interest of the wider social group. It encourages selfishness rather than selflessness.
