definitions

Culture

· The culture of a society is its whole way of life, that is, shared meanings, values, norms and practices which are taught to us.

· Culture can differ around the world by religion, music, language, food etc. - for example the French eat snails whilst the British eat fish and chips.

· Culture provides us with our identity through socialisation passed through generations- for example the West value materialism which encourages us to possess “stuff” from plasma TVs to designer clothes.

Cultural Diversity/Multi-Cultural

· Cultural diversity or a multi – cultural society describes a society in which many different cultures exist. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Welsh have many different customs to the Scottish. In Wales, people’s culture is to celebrate St David’s day by dressing up in traditional costumes and to wear daffodils.

· Values can differ within many different cultures in one society. For example, in Northern Ireland there is a strong religious value whether its Protestant or Catholic. However, in England people are deemed to be quite secular.

· Norms can differ due to cultural diversity. Men wearing kilts in Scotland on special occasions is a norm within Scottish culture and the French kiss publicly on the cheek as a greeting gesture.

Cultural Transmission

· Cultural Transmission - a term sometimes used to refer to the process whereby

norms and values are passed on or transmitted to the next generation.

· This process is done through socialisation within the family, school, religion,

and the media e.g. learning to share our toys with our siblings in our family

· Each culture will pass on different norms and values e.g. eating with a knife

and fork in Western Society whilst in Japan you are taught to use chopsticks.

Norms

· Norms are the ideas that we have about what is acceptable behaviour for any situation and act as a guide. For example, queuing for a bus is the appropriate behaviour at a bus stop.

· Social norms provide social control and make social life predictable. For example, they govern the way we dress and the way we eat.

· A norm does not imply that everyone should follow them all the time, but that there is widespread agreement that in social settings, people ought to adhere to certain standards of behaviour.

Values

· Values are generally ideas which people regard as important, defining what is worth having and worth striving for, e.g. most societies place a high value on human life.

· Values influence our norms, about what is correct or unacceptable behaviour, and are often shared leading to social order. For example, it is wrong to kill or steal.

· Values can often vary considerably over time and between cultures. For example, the Japanese value community and peace far more than any other culture.

Status

· This is the social position given to you by your culture, it refers to the prestige attached to the roles we perform.

· Status can be ascribed, where it is fixed at birth and you have no say in the matter, for example the monarchy, son, or daughter

· Or your status can be achieved, where you have achieved through ability or hard work e.g. Teacher, lawyer.

Social Roles

· The key expectations or norms attached a particular social position e.g. mother; brother

· Social roles are performed in relation to other roles and involve mutual expectations so a teacher’s role is played in relation to a pupil’s and both have ideas about each other should behave in those roles e.g. teacher to be authoritative and pupil to be obedient.

· Social roles help society to be predictable as we know what to expect which causes less stress or strain and maintains social order.

Identity

· Identity is made up of two components – how we see ourselves and how others see us.

· It involves some choice on our part, where we actively identify with aspects of our culture with regard to particular groups or activities, e.g. supporting a football team

· Our identity is partly imposed by our culture. We are born into particular cultural positions or statuses, for example we do not choose our social class, gender and ethnicity. For example, Prince William born into aristocracy.

Subculture

· This is a group within a larger culture that shares aspects of that culture but also has some of its own values, norms, customs and so on. For example, a criminal gang may value gaining money illegally.

· The subculture may be distinctive because of the age of its members, or by their race, ethnicity, class and/or gender. For example, a group of teenagers will have differing tastes in music and fashion compared to a group of old age pensioners.

· The qualities that determine a subculture as distinct could derive from religious, occupational, political, sexual or a combination of these factors. For example, a group of solicitors will have different subcultural beliefs to a group of footballers.

Nature

· Biologists think that people behave as they do because they are controlled by nature. This is known as Nature theory.

· Humans are compared to animals and seen to act on instinct. For example, mothers are often naturally protective of their children.

· Not all behaviour is instinctive, however, with some behaviour being learnt. E.g. Language and communication skills are learnt.

Nurture

· Sociologists believe that people behave as they do because they are taught how to behave. This is known as a Nurture theory of human behaviour.

· Socialisation takes place within primary and secondary agents of socialisation - the family, school, workplace and amongst our peers. This means the way you are brought up, firstly by your family and secondly by friends and education impacts your learnt behaviour.

· Sociologists say that women look after children because they were taught to look after children when they were small. For example, girls are given dolls to play with and this teaches them to look after children.

· Feral children, who are wild children, brought up without other human beings are evidence that our behaviour is learnt – nurture. They illustrate the importance of socialisation and are important evidence in the nature/nurture debate.

· The evidence for nurture can be found as behaviour changes over time, differs from culture to culture and due to the existence of feral children.

Social Rules

· We are governed by social rules.

· Some of the rules are written down. For example, laws such as do not steal.

· Functionalist Durkheim argues that we are socialised into social rules so society can function. He calls this the collective conscience. For example, it is an accepted social rule to use manners when talking to people, such as saying please and thank you.

Social Construction

· This is an idea that is created and given special meaning by people. For example, motherhood means a lot more than the ability to give birth. There are a distinct set of rules for being a good mother.

· These constructions then influence our behaviour and entire groups may be viewed in a particular way, for example all nurses are angels.

· Culture is a social construction regarding what we see as normal and what is the correct way to act.

Social Change

· This refers to the shifts in society that bring about a transformation to that society and its’ individuals. Changes can emerge due to changes in the social structure e.g. economy or people may actively pursue change e.g. Communist revolution and civil rights movement.

· Significant periods of social change are the shifts from agricultural to industrial society whereby people moved from living in rural areas and farming to living in newly emerging urban areas and working in factories.

· Aspects of social change might include fundamental and radical changes in behaviour such as challenging discriminatory behaviour such as women working and pursuing careers

Social Inequality

· Social inequality refers to the unequal rewards or opportunities for different individuals within a group or society. For example, a child may have limited cultural experiences from a single parent family compared to a child from a nuclear family.

· It can be associated with social class. For example, wealthy middle-class parents may pay for their child’s education at an advantageous public school compared to working class families.

· Social inequality can also be associated with your gender. For example, men dominate the top jobs in society as women are associated with childbearing and many sacrifice careers for their children.

Social Control

· Social control is a broad term used by sociologists to refer to the social processes by which the behaviour of individuals or groups is regulated.

· Social control is a mechanism for ensuring conformity to norms in society and for dealing with deviance usually through some form of sanction when people break those norms.

· Social control is maintained in two important ways: Formal social control through

force and Informal social control involves controlling people through ideas.

Primary Socialisation

· Socialisation is the process by which an individual learns the culture of society.

· Primary socialisation occurs largely within the family and involves acquiring basic skills and values. For example, eating your dinner with a knife and fork.

· This is seen as the most important stage of socialisation, as it allows children to function in society and other institutions to build upon this. For example, children learn basic communication skills.

Secondary Socialisation

· Socialisation is the process by which an individual learns the culture of society.

· Secondary socialisation occurs outside of the family. Agents include the education system, our peers, the mass media, the workplace, and religion.

· Other agents begin to have an influence on our norms and values in support of us integrating into wider society. For example, the education system passes on knowledge and experiences which are needed for work.

Role Models

· A role model is a person or group of people who we look up to and aspire to be

like.

· Individuals often copy the behaviour of their role model, seeking to adopt the same

norms, behavioural traits, and social roles. For example, many young boys look up

to famous footballers such as David Beckham and see them as successful.

· Role models can be members of the public, famous individuals and members of

our family. For example, many young children look up to their parent, often of the

same sex.

Imitation

· Imitation is a process of learning, where individuals copy and echo behaviour seen.

· Children imitate the behaviour of their parents as a way of learning. For example, children often use basic language which parents speak to me i.e. Juice, mama, and please.

· The process of imitating others can be both positive and negative. For example, if a younger sibling witnesses an older sibling being violent, they may simply copy this believing it to be acceptable.

Sanctions

· Sanctions are a consequence of your behaviour; they can be both positive and

negative.

· Rewards and punishments are used as a means of social control. For example, a

detention at school for bad behaviour and a merit for good behaviour.

· Sanctions can be imposed formally and informally. For example, a fine for

speeding and imprisonment for murder.

Expectations

· Expectations refer to anticipated boundaries within which people should behave.

· A number of agents of socialisation set these boundaries. For example, parents will expect children to use their manners and the education system will expect children to be punctual.

· Boundaries set vary across society. Within the family home they are often personal yet within society they become universal. For example, different families set different bedtimes for children, but the work place has the same start time for all.