Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering sociology definitions, agents/categories of socialization, cultural levels, schools of thought, and key theorists discussed in the lecture notes.

Agent of Socialization

Individuals, groups, and institutions that shape a person’s social development, including their values, beliefs, roles, and identity.

Primary Agents of Socialization

The people closest to us, like family and caregivers, who shape our earliest values, language, and basic behaviours.

Secondary Agents of Socialization

Larger groups and institutions, such as peers, school, media, religion, and the workplace, that teach us how to function in the wider society.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which individuals learn the values, norms, behaviours, and social roles necessary to participate in their society and culture.

Primary Socialization

The first stage of learning basic skills, values, and cultural norms from family and caregivers during early childhood.

Secondary Socialization

The process of learning how to behave and function in wider society through environments outside the home like school, peers, and workplaces.

Anticipatory Socialization

The process of preparing for future roles by practicing the behaviours, values, and expectations of a group before officially joining it.

Resocialization

The process of unlearning old behaviours and adopting new norms and habits when entering a completely different social environment.

Values

Shared beliefs within a society about what is important, such as honesty, fairness, and respect.

Norms

The rules for expected behaviour in society, such as waiting in line or raising hands in a classroom.

Micro Culture

Culture at the smallest level involving family traditions and daily life practices, such as saying grace before meals.

Meso-level Culture

Cultural layers involving schools, neighbourhoods, and religions, such as celebrating community or religious holidays.

Macro Culture

Culture at the national level involving shared language, laws, and national identity, such as singing a national anthem.

Global Culture

Cultural influences from worldwide trends in fashion, music, and technology across the globe.

Gender Socialization

The process by which individuals learn society’s expectations about gender roles, behaviours, and identities.

Racial Socialization

The process of learning the values, attitudes, and behaviours associated with racial identity and how society views race.

Class Socialization

The process of learning norms, values, and behaviours based on one’s social and economic class.

Structural Functionalism

A school of thought that sees society as a system made up of different parts (structures) that each serve a function to maintain stability.

Manifest Functions

The intended or explicit roles that social institutions play, such as a school's role in educating students.

Latent Functions

The unintended or hidden roles that social institutions play, such as the creation of social networks and friendships in schools.

Conflict Theory

A sociological perspective that views society as shaped by inequality, power struggles, and competing interests among groups.

Bourgeoisie

The wealthy, owning class who control resources, factories, and businesses.

Proletariat

The working class who sell their labour to survive but do not own resources or businesses.

Symbolic Interactionism

A microsociological perspective focusing on how society is built from the meanings people give to symbols and everyday interactions.

Feminist Sociology

A perspective that studies how gender shapes society, focusing on power, inequality, and the experiences of women and marginalized genders.

Patriarchy

A system where men dominate social, political, and economic life.

Standpoint Theory

Dorothy Smith's theory that knowledge is shaped by one's social position and that women’s everyday experiences give unique insight into society.

Microsociology

The study of small-scale, everyday interactions between individuals and groups.

Macrosociology

The study of large-scale social structures and processes that shape whole societies.

Society

A large group of people who share a common territory, culture, and set of social relationships organized by institutions.

Scientific Revolution

A historical force (1500s–1600s) that promoted systematic observation and evidence, providing the groundwork for the scientific study of human behaviour.

Industrial Revolution

A period (1700s–1800s) of rapid social change including urbanization and shifting class roles that drove the birth of sociology.

French Revolution

A political upheaval (1789–1799) that raised questions about order, equality, and democracy, influencing sociological interest in social change.

Positivism

Auguste Comte's belief that society should be studied using the scientific method, relying on observation and evidence rather than speculation.

Social Facts

Émile Durkheim's term for external rules, values, and structures (like laws and religious beliefs) that shape individual behaviour.

Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills' concept that personal problems are often linked to larger social forces and historical events.

Social Action

Max Weber's concept regarding how individuals act with intention and meaning based on the expectations of others.