Sociology booklet 1 culture definitions and studies

norm

a common behaviour in society in which we all follow e.g. holding open the doors and personal hygiene

value

a principle and belief in which most of society agrees on

status

a person’s rank in a particular context

relative

depending on the time, place, and context

ascribed status

a social status given at birth e.g. your race and gender

achieved status

a position in society someone has earned

culture

the way of life for a group of people

high culture

the culture of the elite e.g. playing polo

cultural capital

the ability to access and understand high culture

Bourdieu

upper and middle class children can access high culture and gain high levels of cultural capital, advantaging them in education.

Adorno

the media distracts people away from important matters with less important matters such as popular culture, as it is unsophisticated and easy to absorb

this creates a cycle of being exploited at work, and then coming home consuming poor culture and repeating the cycle

Strinati

• the media spreads popular culture

• this causes materialism (obsessing over what you can have)

  • popular culture borrows of high culture, making them accessible for the working classes

consumer culture

a culture in which the consumption of goods is the norm

Lury

identified 5 features of consumer culture

1. the availability of goods

2. shopping being a leisure pursuit

3. different forms of shopping

4. being in debt is a social norm

   1. packaging and promotion of goods is a large-scale business

Rizter

globalisation has led to ‘cultural homogenisation’ where people all over the world are becoming similar:

1. this can be seen with Americanisation

   1. as well as Mcdonaldisation

global culture

a culture shared by many people across the world

cultural diversity:

where there are people from many different cultures and backgrounds in a particular society

multiculturalism

the belief that ethnic groups have the rights to preserve their cultural heritage

assimilation

believing ethnic groups do not have the rights to have laws changed for them

subculture

a culture within a wider culture, which shares similarities but has distinct norms and values

Oxana Malaya

• she was an example of someone not being raised by humans with primary socialisation

  • she learnt how to be a dog and how to bark like them, taking in their norms rather than human norms

Primary socialisation

the process of teaching children the norms and values of society at an early age

Wilson

1. human behaviour is the result of biology

2. height, weight, and chances of illnesses are caused by genes

   1. therefore, psychological and social characteristics are also ‘wired’ before birth

Parsons

1. human behaviour is caused by primary socialisation

2. Parsons believes personalities are ‘made not born’

   1. the family is a ‘personality factory’

formal social control

social control with written rules and clear, formal sacntions

informal social control

social control with unwritten rules and no obvious sanctions

Althusser

the bourgeoisie control the proletariat through informal social control

Wilson 2

formal social control is needed to reinforce behaviours that are informally encourages

1. people break the law if they believe they will not be caught

   1. proving that the police are important in stopping people from breaking the law

secondary socialisation

learning norms and values after the age of 4