Sociological concepts

Culture

Things that are learnt and shared by a society

• shared norms and values

Examples: traditions, language skills, customs, beliefs

Values

Things deemed as important or valuable to a society

General principles - guide behaviours

Person beliefs/goals

Examples: democracy, respect, law education, innocence of children

Norms

Rules about what is acceptable (normal) and unacceptable behaviour- implicit + explicit

Implicit examples: treating others with respect, stealing

Explicit examples: Being quiet in the cinema, manners, dress code

Deviance

Breaking societies norms

Examples: sanctions, punishments

swearing in public

Sanctions

Reactions from society that encourage people to follow norms + values

Positive (rewards) : praise, money, housepoints

Negative (punishment) : detention, exclusion, prison

Status - ascribed and achieved

Status: your position in society

Ascribed: based on characteristics we are born with e.g. born into royal family, Lords, Ladies, Nobility

Achieved: through effort + success, working for a position e.g Zendaya, Drake

Status Quo

Keeping things the same as they have always been there in terms of hierarchy

Examples: upper class wants working class to stay working, men used to want women to stay housewives so they have the upper hand

Social stratification

Societies being divided into hierarchies, strata or layers. Each layer unequally ranked

Example: wealth, status, class

Subcultures

A group of individuals who reject values of that society and develop alternative values

Examples: criminals, goth/punk, drag queens, skaters

Life chances

The chances that sections of societies have of achieving the things which are values by society

Examples: white British born/black British born Males/females

Social construction

Defines by society; not fixed, changes overtime, changes between cultures

Examples: beauty standards, gender roles, crime

Socialisation

process of learning norms and values (primary+ secondary)

Primary socialisation

Takes place in the family, first type of socialisation we get as individuals

Examples: Respect/manners, morals - right vs wrong, languages/communication, emotional regulation

Secondary socialisation

Takes place in school, media, religion

Examples: dress code, eating practices in certain religion, classroom practices, routines