Key Sociology terms

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Structural theory
a theory with a macro approach which looks at society as a whole and argues that people are moulded and shaped by to become the products of their society
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Social Action theory
a theory with a micro approach which looks at small scale interactions between groups and people and argues that people's actions shape society
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Consensus
a theory which is based on agreement in society with the belief that norms and values are shared and agreed on by members of society causing it to be stable and harmonious
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conflict
a theory which sees conflict as the main feature of society arguing that norms and values are not agreed but imposed and that society is made up of groups with unequal power
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norms
social rules and expectations that control the way we behave
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values
ideas or beliefs about principles and goals, things which we see as important
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culture
the things learned and shared by a group of people and passed on through the generations
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socialisation
the process where the individual learns the culture, norms and values of their society through interaction
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primary socialisation
the first and most important type of socialisation which takes place in the early stages of life and happens within the family
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secondary socialisation
the socialisation that takes place in later life outside of the family from other institutions such as education where individuals learn the wider norms and values of society
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social control
the methods used by society to ensure we follow the rules and expectations of society
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formal social control
social control that is created by the government and written in the law which everyone must obey. they are enforced through the police, courts and prisons
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informal social control
social control that not everyone must follow, usually to make us comply with the expectations of other institutions like the family, education and peer groups. it is enforced by institutions other than the government
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gender
the social and cultural characteristics of men and women and the differences men and women have in behaviour and appearance. these differences are learned through socialisation
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sex
the biological differences between men and women
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patriarchy
a male dominated society
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underclass
the lowest social class in society with high rates of lone parents, unemployment and crime
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working class
a large social class in society which includes people in manual labour jobs which included skilled and unskilled work
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middle class
a higher social class in society including those who work in non-manual jobs. the top of the middle class is highly paid and have highly skilled professions, the lower middle class are paid less
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upper class
the highest social class including the main owners of societies wealth including business and land owners and aristocracy
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stratification
the division of society into a hierarchy of unequal groups such as social class, age or gender
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function
the contribution that a part of society make to the stability of society as a whole
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role
how someone who occupies a certain status is expected to act
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subculture
a group of people within society who share the same norms and values that differ from the norms and values of society
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identity
a person's sense of self influenced by the socialisation process and interactions
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ethnicity
a persons heritage, culture and identity including the same religion, language and location
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ideology
a set of ideas and beliefs
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functionalism
a consensus, structural theory that sees society based on shared norms and values through socialisation. they see society like a human body where all of the institutions work together and perform essential functions to create a stable society
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marxism
a conflict, structural theory based on the ideas of Karl Marx which sees society being made up of two unequal groups, proletariat and bourgeoisie based on their social class causing exploitation and inequality
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feminism
a conflict, structural theory which is focused on women's oppression caused by men and the struggle to end it
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new right theory
a consensus, structural theory with similar views to the Conservative party, having a strong emphasis on traditional norms and values and the nuclear family. they promote self reliance and disagree with welfare benefits
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interactionism
a social action theory based on interactions between individuals and groups. they are interested in a process called labelling
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

a theory with a micro approach which looks at small scale interactions between groups and people and argues that people's actions shape society

Back

Social Action theory

Card 3

Front

a theory which is based on agreement in society with the belief that norms and values are shared and agreed on by members of society causing it to be stable and harmonious

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

a theory which sees conflict as the main feature of society arguing that norms and values are not agreed but imposed and that society is made up of groups with unequal power

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

social rules and expectations that control the way we behave

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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