Sociology A Level Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the Sociology A Level introductory material and glossary.

Personal identity

An individual's sense of who they are and how they see themselves.

Social Identity

The way an individual identifies themselves in relation to social groups they belong to.

Subjective

Based on personal opinions, feelings, interpretations or experiences rather than objective facts.

Globalisation

The process by which countries and society become increasingly connected and dependent on each other.

Postmodernism

Belief that we have moved to a more fragmented society in which there are diverse sources of identity.

Social Institutions

The way society is organised so that people generally follow shared norms and values allowing society to function in a stable and predictible way.

Conflict

Dissagreement or struggle between different groups in society because they have different interests, values or acess to power & resources.

Marxism

Conflict theory that argues society is divided into 2 main social classes, and the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat to maintain wealth and power.

Bourgeoisie

Social class that owns the means of production such as factories, raw materials, and land.

Proletariat

Social class that owns nothing but their own labour, which they have to sell to the bourgeoisie to survive.

Means of Production

Machines, production, and land that are owned by the bourgeoisie.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

When a prediction or expectation about someone leads them to behave in ways that make the prediction come true.

Interpretations

The way people understand and give meaning to social actions, behaviour, and situations.

Social Control

A way of ensuring society's members behave as others expect them to.

Industrialisation

Process in which the work force increasingly moved out of agriculture and onto factory production.

Differentiation

The process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they precieve their ability.

Stratification

Inequality between groups such as social classes, men, women, ethnic groups, and age groups.

Meritocracy

Equal opportunity for every individual to achieve.

Open Society

A society where social position is largely achieved through individual ability & effort, with greater opportunity for social mobility.

Closed Society

A society where social position is largely ascribed at birth, meaning little opportunity for social mobility.

Functionalism

Theory that society is held together by a shared culture into which all its members are socialised.

Consensus

People agreeing about how society should work.

Value Consensus

Agreement among members of society about shared values and norms.

Sociology

The study of society and of people and their behaviour.

Nature

The view that human behaviour is influenced by biological and genetic factors we are born with.

Nurture

Upbringing in society.

Innate

A characteristic or behaviour that is natural and present from birth, rather than learned and acquired through socialisation.

Culture

All those things that are learned and shared by a society or group of people.

Norms

Specific rules that govern behaviour in particular situations.

Values

General principles or goals.

Status

A position in society.

Role

Set of expectations, behaviours, and responsibilities associated with a particular social position or status.

Socialisation

Not only learning the general culture as a whole, but also needing to perform particular roles within society.

Sanctions

Used to describe anything that encourages people to conform to norms.