O Level Sociology Chapter 2: Identity, Self and Society

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering O Level Sociology Chapter 2, including theories of identity, socialisation processes, agencies of social control, and the impact of globalisation and postmodernism.

Social Construction

The sociological argument that behaviours, categories, and expectations are created by people and passed on through culture rather than being natural givens.

Culture

The learned way of life of a group, including shared beliefs, language, customs, religion, and traditions.

Values

Shared principles about what is important in society, such as fairness, respect, or equality.

Norms

The specific rules of behaviour that put values into practice, such as the norm of queuing to express the value of fairness.

Status

A person's social position within society.

Ascribed Status

A social position that is fixed at birth, such as ethnicity or sex.

Achieved Status

A social position earned through individual effort, such as becoming a doctor or a teacher.

Roles

Sets of expected behaviours associated with a particular status, such as a student's role to learn.

Role Conflict

A situation where different roles a person holds clash, such as a parent balancing childcare with work responsibilities.

Master Status

The dominant identity that overshadows all other aspects of a person's identity, such as a profession or a criminal past.

Stigma

A negative label linked to a master status that Erving Goffman argued can 'spoil' an individual's identity.

Stereotypes

Fixed and oversimplified ideas about groups that ignore individuality and can reinforce social inequality.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

A process where an individual internalizes a label—such as being 'lazy'—and begins to behave in a way that matches the expectation.

Dramaturgical Theory

Erving Goffman's theory describing identity as a performance where people manage 'front stage' behaviour for the public and 'back stage' behaviour in private.

Nature versus Nurture Debate

The examination of whether identity is shaped by biology (genes and hormones) or socialisation (learning and culture).

Feral Children

Children like Genie or Oxana Malaya who were raised without human socialisation, proving that human identity depends on nurture.

Cultural Relativity

The idea that norms and values are not universal but change between different societies and across historical time.

Globalisation

The growing interconnectedness of societies through trade, migration, and media, which transforms identities by spreading cultural influences.

Hybrid Identities

Identities that mix elements from different cultures, such as a British Asian teenager following both Western and traditional customs.

Pick-and-mix Identity

A Postmodernist concept where individuals choose influences from various cultures and lifestyles to create their own identity.

Socialisation

The process of learning culture, norms, and values to participate in society.

Primary Socialisation

The first stage of socialisation occurring in the family, providing the emotional foundation and initial learning of language and traditions.

Secondary Socialisation

The stage of socialisation occurring later in life through institutions like schools, peers, media, religion, and the workplace.

Manipulation

One of Ann Oakley's four processes where parents reward or discourage behaviour based on gender expectations.

Canalisation

The process described by Ann Oakley where children are directed into gendered toys and activities, such as dolls for girls and cars for boys.

Verbal Appellations

The use of gendered labels or nicknames, like 'princess' or 'brave boy', to reinforce stereotypes.

Formal Curriculum

The academic knowledge and subjects explicitly taught in schools.

Hidden Curriculum

The unspoken lessons in schools, such as obedience, punctuality, and discipline, that prepare students for society and the workplace.

Peer Pressure

The influence exerted by a peer group to encourage conformity to group norms, particularly powerful during adolescence.

Role Modelling

A process of learning where individuals observe and copy the behaviour of people they admire.

Consensus Theory

The sociological perspective, like Functionalism, that argues society works because people share common norms and values (value consensus).

Conflict Theory

Sociological perspectives, such as Marxism and Feminism, that argue society is built on inequality and that socialisation serves the interests of dominant groups.

Organic Analogy

The Functionalist comparison of society's institutions (family, education, etc.) to organs in a human body working together to maintain stability.

Social Cohesion

A sense of belonging to society that Functionalists believe is created through shared values and socialisation.

Bourgeoisie

The ruling class in Marxist theory who own the means of production and use socialisation to spread capitalist ideology.

Proletariat

The working class in Marxist theory who are socialised to accept their position and hierarchy in a capitalist society.

Patriarchy

A social system in which men dominate women, reinforced through gender role socialisation according to Feminists.

Looking-glass Self

Charles Cooley's concept suggesting that individuals form their identity by imagining how others perceive and react to them.

Interactionism

A micro-level perspective focusing on how individuals actively create and negotiate identity through daily social interactions.

Social Control

The process through which society encourages conformity to norms and values and discourages deviance.

Formal Social Control

Official regulation of behaviour backed by laws and state authority, enforced by the police, courts, and prisons.

Informal Social Control

Unofficial regulation of behaviour carried out in everyday life by families, peers, religion, and the media through unwritten expectations.

Positive Sanctions

Rewards used to encourage conformity, such as praise, promotions, or certificates.

Negative Sanctions

Punishments used to discourage deviance, such as fines, imprisonment, or social disapproval.

Coercion

The use of threats or physical force by formal agencies, such as the police, to ensure social conformity.

Ostracism

An informal sanction where an individual is ignored or excluded from a group for breaking social norms.

Everyday Resistance

Subtle, small-scale acts described by James C. Scott (1990) that undermine social control, such as mocking authority or ignoring minor rules.

Digital Self

The identities individuals construct and perform in online spaces, such as social media or gaming communities.

Cultural Homogenisation

The process where global cultures become more similar, often through the dominance of Western brands, media, and the English language.

Multiculturalism

A social state where different cultures live side by side while maintaining their own distinct traditions and identities.

Hyper-reality

Jean Baudrillard's concept that media representations come to shape our perception of reality more than actual experiences do.