Socialisation, culture and social identity

Last time

Before we start: last time, in Types of data and evidence, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.

Who are you?

Nobody is born knowing their language, religion, or how to behave at a wedding. We learn all of it from the people and institutions around us. This lesson covers culture, norms and values, socialisation, and what shapes our identity.

Culture, norms and values

Culture is the whole way of life of a society: its language, beliefs, customs and knowledge. Values are general beliefs about what is important, such as respect for elders or honesty. Norms are specific rules of behaviour that follow from values, such as standing when a teacher enters.

Roles and status

A role is the behaviour expected of someone in a position, such as a parent, student or doctor. Ascribed status is given at birth, such as gender or caste. Achieved status is earned, such as a job title. Values shape behaviour: valuing education leads students to study hard.

Socialisation

Socialisation is the lifelong process of learning the culture of a society. Primary socialisation happens in early childhood, mainly in the family: language, basic norms, gender roles. Secondary socialisation continues through school, peer groups, religion, the media and the workplace.

Nature or nurture?

Is behaviour inborn, nature, or learned, nurture? Sociologists stress nurture. Feral children, raised with little human contact, could not speak or behave normally, showing how much is learned. Different cultures have very different norms, which also shows behaviour is learned.

Agencies of socialisation

The family teaches through imitation, rewards and punishments. The school through the formal and hidden curriculum. Peer groups through pressure to conform. The media through role models and stereotypes. Religion teaches moral values and rituals.

Social identity

Identity is how we see ourselves and how others see us. It is shaped by gender, age, ethnicity, class, religion and nationality. Gender identity is learned through gender socialisation: different toys, clothes and expectations for girls and boys. Ethnic identity comes from shared culture, language, religion and history.

Identity in a global world

Globalisation spreads media, products and ideas across the world, so identities mix. A pick-and-mix society is one where people choose elements of identity from different cultures, such as fashion, music and food. Multiculturalism is when different cultures live side by side, each respected and keeping its identity.

Subcultures

A subculture is a group with norms and values that differ in some ways from the main culture, such as a youth subculture. Members share styles of dress, music and language. Some subcultures are seen as deviant, while others are simply different.

Mistakes that lose marks

Mistake one: mixing up norms and values. Mistake two: listing agencies without explaining how they socialise. Mistake three: describing examples that do not match the question's term. The fix: define, then explain with an example.

The full-marks tip

The full-marks tip: define each concept first: values are beliefs, norms are rules. For 'describe three examples', give three clearly different, developed examples.

On one card

So, on one card: identity and socialisation. Keep it for revision.