Sociology Revision: Culture, Identity, and Socialisation

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Sociology Paper 2 revision notes, including types of culture, socialisation theories, and various social identities.

Culture

The language, beliefs, values, knowledge, roles, and norms in a society.

Norms

Ways of behaving or thinking that are seen as normal in society.

Values

Beliefs about what is important, right, or wrong.

Folk culture

The active culture created by local communities, linked to the experiences, customs, and beliefs of the everyday life of ordinary people.

Mass culture

A passive form of culture commercially manufactured by businesses for profit, aimed at the mass of ordinary people.

Macdonald ($1965$) on Mass Culture

Believes mass culture is trivial and inauthentic, serving as a form of social control that provides an illusion of choice.

High culture

Cultures seen as special, part of heritage, worth preserving, and aimed at the elite.

Bourdieu ($1971$) on High Culture

Argues high culture is only superior because the dominant class has the power to impose its ideas of good and bad taste on society.

Popular culture

Similar to mass and low culture but involves an active audience who shape and change culture.

Globalisation (Flew $2002$)

Technological change allowing information and goods to be accessed worldwide, making cultures more alike or homogenised.

Strinati ($1995$) on Popular Culture

Believes popular culture has value, is worthy of study, and offers wide diversity and choice for critical analysis.

Collective consciousness

A term used by Durkheim for the shared norms and values that act as a social glue to bond people together.

The Frankfurt School (Neo-Marxists)

They view mass culture negatively as a 'dumbing down' of culture resulting from mass media and family techniques.

Socialisation

How the norms and values of society are passed to future generations.

Primary socialisation

Socialisation taking place in early childhood, primarily through the family, where children learn values, norms, and skills.

Oakley ($1974$) - Manipulation

Parents encourage 'normal' behavior and discourage deviant behavior to shape a child's self-image.

Oakley ($1974$) - Canalisation

Parents channel their child's interests by providing gender-appropriate toys.

Oakley ($1974$) - Verbal appellation

The use of specific language and names by parents to define gender-appropriate roles.

Identity

The way we see ourselves, the way we perceive others, and the way others see us.

The looking glass self (Cooley $1902$)

The process of forming identity by seeing our image reflected in the views of others and modifying behavior accordingly.

Impression management (Goffman $1990$)

The way people act on society’s stage to manage the impression they give to others through symbols like clothing and language.

Cultural capital (Bourdieu $1984$)

The development of specific skills and knowledge (like reading 'good' books) by middle and upper classes to improve their social position.

Immediate gratification (Sugarman $1970$)

A characteristic associated with the lower/working class where people do not value education or save for the future.

Deferred gratification (Sugarman $1970$)

A characteristic associated with the middle class involving planning for the future and valuing education.

Crisis of masculinity (Ghaill $1994$)

A state where men feel lost and search for gender identity due to the loss of traditional manual jobs.

Brasians (Johal)

A hybrid identity where individuals switch between the culture inherited from their family and the culture of secondary socialisation.

Weeks ($1986$) on Sexuality

Argued that sexuality is a social and historical construct with meanings that change depending on society and time period.

Shakespeare ($1994$) on Disability

Argued that disability is a label used by society to categorise people and is essentially a social construct.

McDonaldisation (Ritzer)

A trend leading to culture homogenisation and less diversity, which threatens societal customs.

Parker ($1976$) - Extension

A link between work and leisure often found in professional jobs where both are connected.

Repressed consumers (Bauman)

Individuals who wish to consume cultural products but have their freedom limited by a lack of money.