Sociology Key Concepts: Culture, Socialization, and Social Control

Customs

Accepted cultural behaviors

Culture

The way of life of someone taught through socialization.

Socialization

Learning the forms of cultures.

Social Construction

The idea of what we perceive as real is but a construct of historical and cultural processes.

Roles

Expected patterns of someone in a certain position.

Values

Beliefs or ideas are important to the person who holds them.

Norms

Socially acceptable ways of behaving in certain roles.

Anomie

A situation where you cannot predict the behaviors of someone because they are not following the regular system of their norms and values is not being followed.

Social Control

Ways in which people in society conform to norms and values.

Sanctions

Ways of punishing or rewarding acceptable and non-acceptable behaviors.

Agencies of Social Control

The social institution and groups that provide guidance and examples.

Family

A social institution of people bonded by kinship.

Marxism

Political, sociological, and economic school of thought based on the works of Karl Marx.

Peers

A connection someone has with someone else, usually this person is in the same range of age and similar status.

Subcultures

A culture within a much larger culture. A branch. They developed their own values and norms.

Consumerism

The idea that happiness can be bought through examples of reparative wealthy lifestyles.

Patriarchy

Males dominate society/unit.

Structuralist

The focus is on analyzing society in terms of its relationships!

Determinism

The idea that human behavior is controlled by something beyond their control. Like social structures of 'society.'

Interactionist

The idea that society is moved by small interactions between people.

Agency

When people have full control of their lives, rather than something beyond controlling it for them.

Consensus

General agreement across a society on a set of values seen by functionalists as essential for society to be stable.

Deviance

Behavior that breaks the norms or values of a group.

Social Class

The division of society into socio-economic groups, with different levels of power and wealth.

Relations of Production

The relationships between the people involved in production, such as between the owners and the workers.

Forces of Production

The ways in which capital can be transformed through technology and people's labour into goods for sale.

Ideology

A set of ideas and ideals which explain how society works or should work.

Capitalism

An economic system based on the private ownership of property and the pursuit of profit.

Liberal Feminism

A feminist approach which seeks to bring about equal opportunities for men and women without changing the system.

Marxist Feminism

A feminist approach which combines feminism with Marxism to argue that women are exploited by both capitalism and patriarchy.

Radical Feminism

A feminist approach which focuses on patriarchy as the cause of women's oppression.

Microsociology

A type of sociology focused on the study of individuals and small groups.

Over-Socialized Conception of Man

Criticism of the claim that human beings are simply the product of their socialization and that behavior can be understood as merely a response to external influence.

Structure

Theory, developed by Giddens, which argues that structure and action are equally significant in terms of our ability to understand the relationship between the individual and society.

Conformity

Behaving in a socially acceptable way.

Force

Also referred to as coercion, using intimidation and threats to persuade someone to do something they do not want to do.

Power

The ability to make others do what you want, even against their will.

Surveillance

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

Non-conformity

When a person acts in ways that go against the norms and values of society.

Under-Socialization

When the process of socialization is incomplete or inadequate.

Marginalization

The pushing of an individual or group to the edge of a group or society, denying them an active voice and identity.

Cultural Deprivation

Not having the values and attitudes which are likely to bring success in society.

Resistance

The ways in which people combat and contest the dominant power in a society. Used for a wide range of activities.

Neo-Marxism

Any development from original Marxism, adapting it to meet changing circumstances.

Social Identity

Collective or group identities applied to important roles. Cultures classify, group and give meaning to broad identities, such as male or female, that define how 'men' and 'women' are generally expected to behave.

Age Cohort

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