Socialisation in sport 3.2 Flashcards
What is socialisation?
A lifelong process where members of a society learn its norms, values, ideas, practices and roles in order to take their place in that society
What is internalisation?
The learning of values or attitudes that are incorporated within yourself
What two main parts can socialisation be divided into?
Primary socialisation
Secondary socialisation
What is primary socialisation?
- Refers to socialisation during the early years of childhood which takes palce within the immeidate family
- A key process involved at this stage is the internalisation of societys culure where individuals absorb & accept its shared norms & values
What is an example of primary socialisation?
e.g. For many families, physical exercise provides a time when they come together, whether it be a shared involvement in an activity such as cycling
What is secondary socialisation?
Occurs during the later years (e.g as teenagers & adults)
When the family is less involved & other agencies are deliberately set up for the socialisation process & begin to exert more and more influence (e.g friends, peer groups,school)
What is gender socialisation?
The act of learning to conform to culturally defined gender roles through socialisation
What is social control?
Concept that refers to the way in which peoples thoughts, feeling, appearance & behaviour are regulated in social systems.
Historically how has our society been due to the lack of social control?
- Society has been male dominated, with restrictions placed on women engaging in sport
- Nowadays the contraints are less pronounced- however milder forms of social control exist in the form of what is deemed to be gender appropriate behaviour
e.g mild disapproval from their husband might persuade women to limit their physical activity to what they view as ‘respectable’
What can social pressures mean for women?
- Can sometimes be made to feel guilty about leaving a young baby & therefore tend to give up previous active leusire pursuits once their baby has been born
- A lack of free time compared to men & lower disposable income can also act as agents of social control & decrease the opportunities for women to involve themsleves in regular healthy sporting activity
What is social change?
An alteration in the social order of a society
When does social change occur?
- Occurs when institutions re-adjust to meet ‘new needs’ of groups in society
- such as local councils via more nursery facilities to minimise the negative effects of traditional childcare responsibilities & feelings of guilt leaving young children, while mothers participate in sporting activity.
Define social issues
Problems that affect many people within a society
When does social inequality occur?
When resources in a society are unevenly distributed among socially defined categories of people.
What are some of the possible causes of social inequality in sport?
- Lack of money/costs of participating
- Lack of confidence/self-esteem
- Lack of role models to aspire to as participants/coaches/leaders of sports organisations in positions of responsibility
- Myths or setereotypes in some sections of society about capabilities of women, ethnic minorities & disabled people
What is social stratification?
A type of social inequality where society is divided into different levels on the basis of a social characteristic such as wealth or status
What is the importance of stratification?
Those at the top of the system have greater access to resources than those at the bottom.
(e.g in the feudal society of pre-industrial Britain, the upper class had greater access to equipment & facilities which meant they could participate in sports such as real tennis which used specialist courts & equipment)
How does social class/stratification affect low income families?
- Children from LI families tend to have poorer health than other children
- Poor health levels can undermine their physical abilities & or skill level
- Also have less money to spend on sport & sports equipment
What is the social action theory?
A way of viewing socialisation,emphasising social action
What is the interactionist approach?
The study of how individuals behave within a society
A theoretical perspective that stems from social processes for example co-operation & conflict, which occur when humans interact
How is the interactionist theory helpful?
Helpful in understanding how to:
- Change sports to match the perspectives and identities of those playing them
- Make sport organisations more democratic and less hierarchically organised (e.g via giving all members equal voting rights when making decisions related to the running of a sports club
What is prejudice in sport?
To form an unfavourable opinion of an individual, often based on inadequate facts (e.g dislike of people froma specific race,religion or culture)
What is discrimination in sport?
The unfair treatment of a person or, minority group; to make a distinction and act on a prejudice
What are the two types of discrimination in sport?
Overt discrimination
Covert discrimination
What is overt discrimination?
Discrimination when it is visible/obvious
(e.g verbal racist abuse of a player)
What is covert discrimination?
Discrimination that is hidden/less obvious
(e.g non-selection of an individual as captain because of their race)
What is stereotyping in sport?
A standardised image; making simple generalisations about all members of a group which allows others to categorise them & treat them accordingly (e.g. negative stereotypes about women)
What are the benefits of rasing participation?
- Improve health and fitness
- Healthy body weight- balance calories with weight
- Reduce blood pressure - When you exercise it prevents the build up of fatty deposits in your arteries.
- Lower stress/ anxiety levels-Can only release serotonin when exercising.
- Social benefits- Meeting new people/ making friends/ working collaboratively.
- Community integration
- Increase self confidence- putting yourself out there
- Economical benefits as people perform better e.g. people are going to be off sick less meaning more days at work- more disposable income- more money for the economy.
- Lower crime rates
What are some barriers to participation?
- Lack of time
- Negative social influences; poor P.E experiences
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of skill
- Lack of resources/costs of participation
- Family obligations/domestic responsibilities
What are some of the solutions to the barriers of participation?
Lack of time- Add physical actvity to a daily routine
Negative social influences; poor P.E experiences - Invite family & friends to exercise with you; join a group where physical activity plays an important part
Lack of motivation- Invite a friend with you on a regular basis
Describe the main concepts of the social action theory
- Social action theory considers how sport can impact society
- Society is created by social interaction/interactionalist theory
- By interacting with others, people create organisations e.g. schools/clubs/campaign groups
- These organisations influence people/shape wider society, eg expecting people to obey the rules
of the organisation/decreasing racism - Interactions lead to change in the social processes that exist
What is racism?
- Set of beliefs or ideas based on assumption that races have different hereditary characteristics that give some races an intrinsic superiority over others- may lead to physical/verbal abuse
Give some examples of racisim in sport.
- Stacking-refers to the practice of selecting athletes for a particular position or role within a team based on stereotypes, related to race
- e.g. Black athletes often “stacked” into speed- or power-based positions
- Research reported by sporting equals in 2015 suggests that more then 50% of people from black & ethnic minority (BME) comunities do not participate in sport or physical activity- According to sport England in 2005
What possible causes of under-representation of ethnic groups in sport/physical activity are there?
- A higher value placed on education as opposed to sporting participation: discouragement via family and friends
- Fear of racisim/abuse, prejudice, discrimincation
- Fewer role models to aspire to
- Fear of rejection/lower levels of self esteem
