OCR Sociology - Paper 1 Notes

Culture - concepts

CultureCulture-. A culture is the behaviour and beliefs in a society or group, this includes things such as: knowledge, faith, art, music and morals. Cultures vary from across the world. Culture has also been described as the way and life of a society

NormsNorms- Norms are expected patterns of behaviour based on the values of a culture, for example in the UK it’s a norm to wear clothes in public, based on the values of modesty. To eat food with a knife and fork, based on the values of hygiene and manners. Another example is that it’s a norm to queue in the line, which shows the values of patience.

Norms of any culture are relative which means they are not the same for everyone, for example it’s a norm to eat with a knife and fork, but in Eastern Asia, it’s more common to eat with chopsticks.

Norms are linked to values, the reason we perform behaviour is because we hold certain beliefs. For example, it’s a norm to be nice to others, which shows the values of friendliness.

ValuesValues- Values are beliefs and ideas that society sees as important, and accepted by a majority of society. Values are things we believe in and strive to achieve, which guide our behaviour. For example, in the UK we value life, success, honesty, loyalty and family. Values are relative, meaning they aren’t the same for every culture, values may also change over time.

Cultural diversityCultural diversity- cultural diversity refers to variety or difference in cultures. 

Inter-cultural diversity is cultural diversity seen between cultures, for example, asian cultures and british cultures have distinct differences, such as tikka masala and sausage and mash.

Intra-cultural is cultural diversity within cultures, for example Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales have different customs and live side by side.

The UK is culturally diverse, this means there are a diverse variety of norms and values within UK culture.  Diversity impacts on the overall UK culture, adding to the range of things that become norms. 

SubculturesSubcultures- a subculture is defined as a culture within a culture, it’s a small group of people who share distinct norms and values within a wider culture. For example, within the UK culture, there are subcultures based on age, ethnicity and political beliefs. These groups are part of the wider UK culture, but also part of distinctive subcultures. Subcultures links to cultural diversity, a society with many subcultures will be culturally diverse. Subcultures may be based on social class, and region.  For example, violent gangs found in urban districts and spectacular youth subcultures, studied by the CCCS such as punks, teddy boys and skinheads being formed due to the economic system. 

Cultural hybridityCultural Hybridity- a hybrid is a cross between merging of two or more things, when cultures merge it’s referred to as cultural hybridity. For example, UK culture is often described as hybrid because it contains aspects of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish culture, but also influences from Asian cultures…