AICE sociology A level paper 1 and paper 2

Physical Space

Geographically where a physical border such as a river or non physical border such as a country line where one society begins and another ends

Mental space

A separation of people based on the beliefs they have about the similarities they share with the people within their society and the differences from other societies

Material Culture

Involves physical objects (cars, phones, books)

Non-material culture

Consists of knowledge and beliefs valued by a particular culture (religious and scientific beliefs)

Customs

Established and accepted behaviors and cultural practices

Culture

The way of life for a particular group, taught through socialization

Socialization

The process in which people get taught accepted behaviors and norms of their society.

Social Construction

Idea that our perception of what is real is created through a variety of historical and cultural processes, rather than something that is fixed and naturally occuring.

Roles

expected patterns of behavior expected with each position that we hold, such as being a friend, student or teacher.

Values

Core beliefs or standards that guide behavior and decisions in a society, influencing how individuals identify right and wrong.

Norms

A socially acceptable way of behaving in a certain role

Anomie

A term coined by Emilie Durkheim; a situation in which an individual cannot predetermine the behavior of others because they are acting in a profound way against the system of norms and values.

Feral Children

Children who have grown up with minimal human contact, lacking cultural norms and values.

Erving Goffman

A sociologist known for his work on symbols and social interaction, particularly in the context of face-to-face encounters and the concept of "dramaturgy".

dramaturgy

A sociological perspective proposed by Erving Goffman, which views social life as a series of performances where individuals manage impressions in social interactions.

The I and the me

is a concept introduced by sociologist George Herbert Mead, describing the two aspects of the self. The "I" represents the spontaneous, unpredictable self, while the "me" represents the socialized aspect that reflects society's expectations.

Social Control

The mechanisms, strategies, and institutions used by society to regulate individual behavior and maintain social order, including laws, norms, and informal sanctions.

Formal control

Written rules or laws or sanctions enforced by agencies like police, teachers, bosses, that tells people in a group what is acceptable and what is not acceptable

Informal Control

Punishments/rewards in everyday settings, sarcasm, disapproving looks,

Sanctions

Ways of rewarding or punishing acceptable or unacceptable behavior; usually used in the sense of punishments (positive and negative)

Agencies of Socialization

Social institutions and groups, such as the family, media, education, religion, and peers which influence behavior by providing guidance, sanctions, and examples.

Family

A social institution comprising of a group of people linked by kinship ties. (Responsible for primary socialization)

Marxism

A sociological, political, and economic school of thought comprised on the works of Karl Marx.

Peers

people of similar status, and usually age, whom a person usually has frequent contact with.

Subcultures

Culture within a larger culture that develops their own norms and values

George Herbert Mead

Laid the foundation for the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism; ‘me’ and ‘I’

Nature V. Nurture

Nature refers to how genetics influence an individual’s personality (feral children), whereas nurture refers to how an individuals interactions and environment impact their behavior.

Primary Socialization

Teaching and learning process that is carried out by the family. Teaches socially acceptable norms and values carried by the family

Secondary socializaiton

Learning processes that occur outside of primary contact; mostly from people that we do not have attachment to.

Consensus

general agreement on a set of values.

Consumerism

Repeated experience of wealthy lifestyles and desirable consumer goods that suggest that happiness can be bought.

Structuralist

People do not have free will and are controlled like puppets in society; focuses on analyzing society in terms of its institutional relationship and their effect on individual beliefs.

Determinism

Claim that human behavior is shaped by forces beyond one’s control on individuals, such as social structures or society.

Interactionist

People have free will to do as they please; focused on the behavior of individuals, based on the concept of social action. (opposite of determinism)

Agency

When a person has some control of their lives and can make choices and decisions rather than their behavior being determined by forces beyond their control. (Argument against determinism)

Interpretivist study

Learning to labor by Paul Willis looks to answer the question on why working class children get working class jobs.

Positivist study (Le Suicide)

A study conducted by Emilie Durkheim in which he aims to provide a sociological study of suicide, he took factors like country, education, religion, and marital status. He concluded that suicide had more social causes rather than it just being a result of a persons temperament which was groundbreaking for its time. His findings also concluded that protestants who were more likely to have higher education had a higher rate of suicide while Catholics who had less education had a lower rate of suicide. While Jews were the only ones who went against this with higher education and lower suicide rates.

Macrosociology

Focuses on the study of large groups

Microsociology

Study of individuals and small groups (symbolic interactionism)

Deviance

Not acting in accordance of social norms and values.

Social class

Division of society into socioeconomic groups, with different levels of power and wealth.

Relationships of production

The relationship for example between the people involved in production such as the owner and workers.

Forces of production

Ways in which technology and peoples labor can be transformed in goods for sale

Ideology

A set of beliefs which aims to explain how society works or how it should work.

Capitalism

An economic system based on the private ownership of property and pursuit of profit. (Socialism is the opposite of capitalism)

Liberal feminism

Seeks to bring out equal opportunities for men and women without changing the system. Liberal feminists do change through the law such as title 9

Radical Feminism

Focuses on patriarchy as the cause of women’s oppression

Marxism Feminism

Combines feminism with Marxism to argue that women are exploited by both the patriarchy and capitalist society (workplace).

Karl Marx

Created conflict theory/Marxism

Over-Socialized conception of man

Phillip wong argued that behavior was merely a response to external influence

Conformity

Acting in ways that are socially acceptable

Power

The ability to get people to do what you want even if it goes against their will.

Force

Using threats and intimidation to get someone to do something they do not want to do.

Surveillance

When people or places are watched over carefully; a way of controlling behavior

Non-Conformity

When an individual acts in a way that goes against the norms and values of society (deviance)

Under socialization

When the amount of socialization is not adequate or incomplete

Marginalization

The pushing out of an individual or group to the edge of society; refusing them an active voice.

Cultural deprivation

Not having the values or attitudes that are likely to give you success in society

Resistance

The ways in which people combat or contest the dominant power in society

Neo-Marxism

Any developments or changings made to the original Marxism

Social Identity

Collective or group identities applied to important roles

Working class

Old working class: traditional manufacturing industries; New working class: privatized or home centered: comfortable

Middle class

Professional business workers and their families.

Upper class

Traditional source of power - historic ownership of land and political connections to the monarchy. The business elite great wealth and income based on ownership of significant national, international, or global companies.

Age cohort

The group of people who move together from one age to the next

Autonomous Feminity

Acting on motives, reasons, or values that are ones own.

Hegemonic Masculinity

Men are encouraged to adopt a certain body type that emphasizes physical strength.

Fletcher

Argued that modern families preform two different types of functions.

1. Core functions

   Things that cannot be done on an individual level such as reproduction or keeping the physical and physiological development in good status

2. Peripheral functions

   Things that can be preformed by some families but have been largely taken over by other institutions such as education and healthcare

Nuclear Family

Family unit based on 2 generations two parents and dependent children

Reconstituted Family

Also known as a step family, a family dissolves and reassembles as a new family from marriage or cohabitation

Divorce

legal dissolution of a marriage

Common-law family

Adult couple living together with children but without being legally married.

Couple household

Couples who have not started a family, or are empty nesters.

Partnership

Being part of a couple, often living as married but without any legal ties without children.

Lone-parent

Broken nuclear family through divorce or seperation

Single-parent

Not the result of a family “break-up”

Extended family

3 or more generations living in the same household

Matrifocal

focused on women, such as grandmother

Modified extended family

Family members remain in contact with one another, but rarely live in close contact with one another.

Household

residential unit consisting of one or more people that share meals and living conditions

Single-person households

Adults live alone

Couple households

two people living together without children

Industrialization

machines are widely used in the production of goods

Urbanization

people moving from rural to urban cities

Globalization

The movement of ideas/beliefs around the world

fit theory

The idea that individuals and social structures have a relationship where their characteristics and functions must align to achieve a desired outcome, such as maintaining social order or wellbeing.

Kinship networks

Family relationships

Beanpole family

A vertical modern family that is multigenerational but does not consist of many uncles, aunts, or cousins.