Sociology Chapter2: Socialisation, Culture and Identity

Belief

Statements that people hold to be true

Coercion

The practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats

Customs

Norms in a particular society that are widely accepted and carry on over time. e.g arranged marriages in south asian communities

Agencies of socialisation

institutions in which people are socialised (eg: parents, peers, media, school)

Imitation

Young children learning by copying the behavior of others

Culture

The way of life in a society. e.g. language, dressing, food

Values

Standards shared by members of a culture and to judge whether behaviour is right or wrong. Things deemed important and worth striving for. e.g religion, culture, lifestyle

Norms

The behavior that societies expect of their members in a particular situation. e.g modesty, privacy

Laws

Rules that are given force by being formalised by governments. e.g illegal to chew gum in singapore

Status

the position that someone occupies in a social group. It can be ascribed or achieved

Role

The patterns of behaviour expected of someone of their status in society. e.g a mother should be nurturing

social institutions

Parts of society that have their own sets of norms and values. e.g family, education

Social identity

individuals' perception of themselves, based partly on ideas about how others see them

stereotype

the attributes people think (often wrongly) characterise a group by making overgeneralisations

nature

the influence of biological factors on human behaviour. e.g personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions through instinct

nurture

the influence of society and culture on human behaviour. e.g personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

Socialisation

the lifelong process of learning the culture of a society

primary sociolisation

the first and foremost and most important period in which the individual learns the basic norms of behavior e.g family

secondary socialisation

later socialisation, usually involving learning more specific norms for particular statuses and roles