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Cogito, Ergo Sum.
© Cambridge University Press 2019
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chris Livesey and Jonathan Blundell
Cambridge International AS & A Level
Sociology
Coursebook
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Contents
Introduction
Syllabus coverage
How to use this book
1 Socialisation and the creation of social identity
2 Methods of research
3 The family
4 Education
5 Globalisation
6 Media
7 Religion
8 Preparing for assessment
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Introduction
This book aims to provide you with the knowledge and understanding to aid your learning of Sociology and to
help you prepare for your AS and A Level exams. It has been designed and written to reflect changes to the
Cambridge International AS & A Level Sociology syllabus (9699) for examination from 2021. This book has
been designed to:
•
help you understand exactly what is required by the structure of the new syllabus in terms of content and
skills
•
provide content clearly focused on this structure; a central feature of the text is complete coverage of the
syllabus content.
This book can be used both for individual work and if you are part of a larger teaching group.
Content
The structure of each chapter reflects the order of the content of the syllabus. This allows you to track your
progress through the syllabus in a logical way.
AS Level consists of three compulsory topics, covered in the first three chapters of this book.
Chapter 1: Socialisation and the creation of social identity. This considers the process of learning and
socialisation, and social identity and change.
Chapter 2: Methods of research. This looks at the range of methods available to sociologists, including the
methods’ strengths and limitations, and the process of designing research. It also covers key ideas used to
assess the value of different research methods, the issues raised about research design and the debate about
whether sociology can and should be based on the natural sciences.
Chapter 3: The family. This considers theories of the family and social change and family roles and changing
relationships.
The first two of these, Socialisation and the creation of social identity and Methods of Research, are examined
on Paper 1. The Family is examined on Paper 2.
For A Level, as well as the AS Level content, there is one compulsory topic and three optional topics. You will
need to study at least two of the optional topics.
Chapter 4: Education (compulsory). This considers education in social context and structures and
processes within schools.
Chapter 5: Globalisation (optional). This considers globalisation and social change and the consequences
of globalisation.
Chapter 6: Media (optional). This considers ownership and control of the media and media representations
and effects.
Chapter 7: Religion (optional). This considers religion and social change and religious movements.
Education is assessed on Paper 3, and the three optional topics are assessed on Paper 4.
Chapter 8 offers tips and techniques for preparing for assessment. These range from basic revision through
assessment techniques, to timing and planning.
Throughout the topics, there are key concepts which will help you develop a deep understanding of sociology
and make links between different parts of the course. These are inequality and opportunity; power, control and
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
resistance; social change and development; socialisation, culture and identity; and structure and human
agency.
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Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Syllabus coverage
Syllabus reference
Chapter
number
Coursebook section heading
Paper 1 – Socialisation, identity and methods of research
1. Socialisation and the creation of social
identity
1.1 The process of learning and socialisation
Chapter 1
1.1 The process of learning and
socialisation
1.2 Social control, conformity and resistance
1.2 Social control, conformity and
resistance
1.3 Social identity and change
1.3 Social identity and change
2. Methods of research
2.1 Types of data, methods and research design
Chapter 2
2.1 Types of data, methods and research
design
2.2 Approaches to sociological research
2.2 Approaches to sociological research
2.3 Research issues
2.3 Research issues
Paper 2 – The family
3. Theories of the family and social change
3.1 Perspectives on the role of the family
3.1 Perspectives on the role of the family
3.2 Diversity and social change
3.2 Diversity and social change
4. Family roles and changing relationships
Chapter 3
4.1 Gender equality and experiences of family
life
3.3 Gender equality and experiences of
family life
4.2 Age and family life
3.4 Age and family life
Paper 3 - Education
5. Education and society
Chapter 4
5.1 Theories about the role of education
4.1 Theories about the role of education
5.2 Education and social mobility
4.2 Education and social mobility
5.3 Influences on the curriculum
4.3 Influences on the curriculum
6. Education and inequality
6.1 Intelligence and educational attainment
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
4.4 Intelligence and educational
attainment
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Syllabus reference
Chapter
number
Coursebook section heading
Paper 1 – Socialisation, identity and methods of research
6.2 Social class and educational attainment
4.5 Social class and educational
attainment
6.3 Ethnicity and educational attainment
4.6 Ethnicity and educational attainment
6.4 Gender and educational attainment
4.7 Gender and educational attainment
Paper 4 – Globalisation
7. Key debates, concepts and perspectives
7.1 Perspectives on globalisation
5.1 Perspectives on globalisation
7.2 Globalisation and identity
5.2 Globalisation and identity
7.3 Globalisation, power and politics
8. Contemporary issues
Chapter 5
5.3 Globalisation, power and politics
8.1 Globalisation, poverty and inequalities
5.4 Globalisation, poverty and inequalities
8.2 Globalisation and migration
5.5 Globalisation and migration
8.3 Globalisation and crime
5.6 Globalisation and crime
Paper 4 – Media
9. Ownership and control of media
9.1 The traditional and the new media
6.1 The traditional and the new media
9.2 Theories of the media and influences on
media content
6.2 Theories of the media and influences
on media content
9.3 The impact of the new media
10. Media representation and effects
Chapter 6
6.3 The impact of the new media
10.1 Media representations of class, gender,
ethnicity, and age groups
6.4 Media representations of class,
gender, ethnicity, and age groups
10.2 Different models of media effects
6.5 Different models of media effects
10.3 The impact of the media on behaviour
6.6 The impact of the media on behaviour
Paper 4 – Religion
11. Religion and social order
Chapter 7
11.1 Religion and society
7.1 Religion and society
11.2 Religion and social order
7.2 Religion and social order
11.3 Religion as a source of social change
7.3 Religion as a source of social change
12. The influence of religion
12.1 The secularisation debate
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
7.4 The secularisation debate
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Syllabus reference
Chapter
number
Coursebook section heading
Paper 1 – Socialisation, identity and methods of research
12.2 Gender, feminism and religion
7.5 Gender, feminism and religion
12.3 Religion and postmodernity
7.6 Religion and postmodernity
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
How to use this book
This book contains a number of features to help you in your study.
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Chapter 1
Socialisation and the creation of social identity
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ The process of learning and socialisation
■ Social control, social conformity and resistance
■ Social identity and change
Before you start
This chapter starts with questions about how it is that we become members of human groups. These include:
•
How do we learn to get on with others?
•
Are the ways we behave shaped more by nature or by the way we are brought up?
•
How do we learn to judge what others think of us and how they will react to what we do and say?
•
Are we able to affect the social reality around us?
•
Think about each of these questions in relation to your own life, then share your ideas with a partner.
Reflection: How much control have you had over things that have happened in your life so far? How much has been decided
for you by others?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
1.1 The process of learning and socialisation
Culture, roles, norms, values, beliefs, customs, ideology, power and status as
elements in the social construction of reality
Defining society
While ‘a society’ is a simple concept – we all probably understand what is meant by Indian, Mauritian, Nigerian
or British society – it is more difficult to define. One key feature, however, is that people see themselves as
having something in common with others in their society and, by extension, they consider themselves to be
different from people in other societies. In this respect, different societies involve two types of space:
1 Physical space, in the sense of a distinctive geographical area marked by either a physical border, such as a
river, or a non-physical border – perhaps a made up line that marks where one society ends and another
begins.
2 Mental space, which separates people based on the beliefs they have about the similarities they share with
people in ‘their’ society and the differences from people in other societies.
It seems straightforward to define a society in terms of physical space – Mauritius occupies a certain geographic
area, Nigeria another and India yet another. Yet in itself this space is a mental construction; we are simply giving
a particular meaning and importance to what is effectively a line on a map.
Anderson (1983) describes societies as ‘imagined communities’ – things that exist only in the mind. He points
out that ‘the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members, meet them, or
even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion’. Societies are mentally
constructed by:
•
geographic borders that set physical boundaries – we might, for example, consider that everyone born within
these borders belongs to a particular society
•
a system of government, which may involve, for example, a royal family (monarchy), parliament and civil
service
•
common language, customs and traditions that people share
•
a sense of belonging and identification that involves developing the view that ‘our’ society is different from
other societies; Indians, for example, may see themselves as different from Pakistanis or Bangladeshis.
The social construction of reality
Societies are mental constructions, therefore their reality is socially constructed. To understand how this occurs,
we need to explore the concept of culture. Culture refers to a ‘way of life’ that has to be taught and learnt
through primary and secondary socialisation. We can develop this concept to understand how culture
contributes to the social construction of reality. Cultures are ‘dynamic’ and constantly changing. All cultures
have two basic parts:
1 Material culture involves the physical objects (‘artefacts’), such as cars, phones and books that a society
produces and that reflect cultural knowledge, skills and interests.
2 Non-material culture consists of the knowledge and beliefs valued by a particular culture. This includes
religious and scientific beliefs, as well as the meanings people give to material objects. Merton (1957)
suggested that objects such as cars, houses and clothes can function in two ways. Their manifest function
refers to the purpose for which they exist; clothes, for example, function to keep you warm. Their latent
function, however, may be hidden. For example, material objects may function as status symbols – owning
something a culture feels is desirable says something about you to others.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.1: A map of Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, which has an ethnically diverse
population: about 68% are Indo-Mauritian, 25% are Creole (African descent or mixed race) with smaller
numbers of Franco-Mauritian and Sino-Mauritians. How are societies ‘imagined communities’?
ACTIVITY 1.1
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.2: This phone is at the same time an example both of material and non-material culture.
1 Explain how the phone can at the same time be an example both of material and non-material culture.
2 Identify other objects to which this also applies.
Reflection: Compare your examples of objects with a partner. Discuss to what extent your examples are the same and how you
have identified other objects. Revisit your list and see whether there is anything you would change.
The idea that cultural objects can have different meanings suggests that cultural interaction, especially in
contemporary societies, is both sophisticated and complex. The more sophisticated the interaction in any
society, the more open it is to misunderstanding.
In order to make sense of cultural interaction, therefore, we need to create common meanings and establish a
structure within which behaviour can happen in predictable ways. For a society to function it must have order
and stability, and for these to exist people’s behaviour must display patterns and regularities. While cultures may
develop differently, they are all constructed from the same basic materials: roles, values and norms.
Roles
Roles are a building block of culture for two reasons:
1 They are always played in relation to other roles. For someone to play the role of teacher, for example,
others must play the role of student. Roles contribute to the creation of culture because they demand both
social interactions – people have to cooperate to successfully perform certain tasks – and that people are
aware of others. In this respect, roles help individuals develop the ability to form groups and communities.
This is particularly the case when they involve role-sets; that is, when the role involves a set of different
relationships with different types of people, such as a doctor’s relationship with patients, nurses, other
doctors, patient’s relatives and so on. This adds a further dimension to the cultural framework because it
locks people into a range of relationships, each with its own routines and responsibilities.
2 Every role has a name (or label). This name identifies a particular role and carries with it a sense of how
people are expected to behave in any situation.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Values
These common expectations provide a sense of order and predictability because role play is guided by
behavioural rules in two ways:
1 All roles have a prescribed aspect based on beliefs about how people should behave. Playing a role is
guided (governed) by values that provide general behavioural guidelines – a teacher should teach their
students, a parent should care for their child and so on.
2 Values provide only broad guidance for role behaviour. For example, it is understood that someone playing
the role of teacher should teach, but values do not tell them how to play this role. The specific behavioural
guides that tell people how to successfully play a role are known as norms.
Norms
Norms are specific rules showing how people should act in a particular situation (whereas values give only a
general idea). Norms, therefore, are rules used to perform roles predictably and acceptably. This is important,
according to Merton (1938), because without order and predictability, behaviour becomes risky and confusing.
He used the term anomie to describe a condition where people who fail to understand the norms operating in a
particular situation react in a range of ways – from confusion, through anger to fear.
Goffman (1959) argues that norms are more open to interpretation and negotiation than either roles or values.
This means that they can quickly adapt to changes in the social environment. There are many ways to perform
a teaching role, depending on a range of personal and cultural factors, including the behaviour of those in the
teacher’s role-set. Some teachers interpret their role as meaning that they need to be strict; others adopt a more
friendly approach. However, these interpretations can change; even the strictest teacher may relax their
approach at certain times.
Figure 1.3: How do different teachers interpret their roles differently?
Beliefs
Roles, values and norms provide an important framework within which relationships can be ordered and made
mainly predictable. A further layer of cultural structuring involves beliefs. These are the important, deep-rooted
ideas that shape our values and are, in some respects, shaped by them. While all values express a belief,
beliefs do not necessarily express a value. They are more general behavioural guidelines that include ideas,
opinions, views and attitudes. These may, or may not, be true; what matters is that they are believed to be true.
Beliefs in contemporary societies are many and varied, but they perform a significant structuring role when
combined with ideologies, which are discussed later in the chapter.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The importance of socialisation in influencing human behaviour, including the
nurture versus nature debate
Socialisation is a process that describes how we are taught the behavioural rules we need to become both a
member of a particular society/culture and an able social actor.
Biology, rather than culture, may influence some of the ways people behave. Like all animal species, humans
seem to be programmed by their genes to some extent, for example, there seem to be ‘drives’ for procreation
and for self-preservation. Genetics suggests that behaviour may be guided by instincts based on biological
instructions that can be seen as part of ‘human nature’.
Instincts are fixed human features. These are things we are born knowing and our cultural environment plays
little or no role in the development of these instincts, for example many females have a ‘mothering instinct’.
A weaker expression of this idea is that people are born with certain capabilities that are then put into practice
through environmental experiences. ‘Nature’ gives us strong hints about behavioural rules, but people are free
to ignore those hints. If women have greater child-caring capabilities than men, then it makes genetic sense for
them to take on a caring role within a family. However, this is not something their genes force them to do. One
way to test whether nature, in the form of instincts, or nurture, in the form of socialisation, is the more important
factor is to take advantage of a naturally occurring form of experimentation – the study of unsocialised or feral
children.
Feral children
Feral children have missed out on primary socialisation by humans. Examples attract a lot of media attention,
but in most cases the evidence is very unclear (for example, it is usually uncertain how long the child was away
from people) and some, often noted, cases have been proved fake. Feral children can be raised by animals or
survive on their own.
Evidence of human infants raised by animals is rare and not always reliable. One recent example is Saturday
Mthiyane, who was discovered in 1987, aged five, living with a pack of monkeys in South Africa and who years
later still behaved in ways associated with monkeys rather than humans. However, evidence of children raised
with little, or no, human contact is more common. A well-documented example is ‘Genie’, a 13-year-old
Californian girl discovered in 1970. Pines (1997) notes that Genie had been ‘isolated in a small room and had
not been spoken to by her parents since infancy. She was malnourished, abused, unloved, bereft of any toys or
companionship’. When Genie was found, ‘she could not stand erect … she was unable to speak: she could only
whimper’.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.4: Dani (above), often described as a feral child because she was severely neglected for years.
How do feral children demonstrate the importance of socialisation?
Feral children are sociologically significant for two main reasons. First, when children are raised without human
contact they fail to show the social and physical development we would expect from an ordinary raised child –
for example, walking upright, talking, using a knife and fork. Children raised by animals behave as the animals
do, suggesting that they learn by imitation. Second, if human behaviour is instinctive it is not clear why children
such as Genie should develop so differently from children raised with human contact. We would also expect
that, once returned to human society, feral children would quickly pick up normal human behaviours. This,
however, is not the case, suggesting that if children miss out on socialisation by humans at an early stage in
their life this cannot be corrected later.
Further evidence for the significance of socialisation is the fact that different cultures develop different ways of
doing things. If human behaviours were governed by instinct, we would expect there to be few, if any,
differences between societies. In fact, of course, there are huge variations between cultures, Sometimes, these
cultural differences are relatively trivial. Billikopf (1999) discovered through his own experience that ‘in Russia,
when a man peels a banana for a lady it means he has a romantic interest in her’. At other times, cultural
differences are more fundamental. Wojtczak (2009) argues that in Victorian Britain most women ‘lived in a state
little better than slavery’. As she notes: ‘women’s sole purpose was to marry and reproduce.’ This is not a
situation we would recognise in British society today. If human behaviour was instinctive, it would be much the
same, in any place or time.
ACTIVITY 1.2
Suggest ways in which feral children can be used to test the influence of nature or nurture on human behaviour.
Reflection: Consider the ‘Think like a sociologist’ box on page 7 and then come back to this activity. Looking at it again, would
you define the problems in the same way, or is there anything you would do differently?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Thinking about what you have learnt about feral children and the importance of primary
socialisation, how would this knowledge and understanding be useful to people working with
children, such as nannies and nursery teachers?
The ‘I’ and the ‘Me’
Basic human skills have to be taught and learnt. The symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead (1934)
argued that the same was true of more advanced social skills. He claimed that the social context in which
behaviour occurs conditions how people behave. While self-awareness – the ability to see ourselves as others
see us and react accordingly – is often seen as an instinctive human skill, Mead argued that it is in fact learnt. It
involves developing a concept of Self and this is what sets humans apart from animals. For Mead, ‘the Self’ (an
awareness of who we are) has two related aspects:
•
an ‘I’ aspect based around our opinion of ourselves as a whole. We each respond to the behaviour of others
as an ‘I’. Mead called this the ‘unsocialised self’.
•
a ‘Me’ aspect that consists of an awareness of how others expect us to behave in a given situation. Mead
called this the ‘social self’ because it develops through socialisation.
We can illustrate these ideas in the following way. If you accidentally put your hand in a fire, the ‘I’ is expressed
by how you react to the pain. The ‘Me’, however, specifically conditions how you choose to express that pain;
your reaction will be conditioned by factors such as:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
who you are – whether you are adult or child, male or female and so on
•
where you are – alone at home or in a public place
•
who you are with – such as family, friends or strangers.
If you are a young child, for example, your reaction to being burnt may be to cry. If you are a young man, you
may feel that crying is not a socially acceptable reaction – so you may swear loudly instead. Swearing loudly
may be acceptable if you are at home by yourself, but may not be acceptable if you are fixing a stranger’s fire as
part of your job. Similarly, if you had been messing around with friends when you burnt your hand, their reaction
may be to laugh and make fun of your pain. Laughter would though not be an appropriate reaction if it was your
child who had burnt their hand.
The presentation of self
If the social context of an act changes both its meaning and how people react, it follows that an awareness of
self is constructed and developed socially. Goffman (1959) argues that who we believe ourselves to be – our
sense of identity – is also constructed socially through how we present ourselves to others.
Goffman proposed a model of self and identity in which he described social life as a series of dramatic episodes.
People are actors. Sometimes, they write and speak their own lines – this is their personal identity. Sometimes,
they follow lines that are written for them – the external influences that inform how people behave in particular
situations and roles. For example, because we understand how our society defines masculinity and femininity,
we know how we are expected to behave if we are male or female. We can also work out how others will react
to our behaviour; we can see ourselves as others do and adjust our behaviour so as to try to make the
impression on them that we want to achieve.
The idea of creating an impression is also significant in relation to how we present ourselves in different
situations. Goffman suggests that when we adopt a particular identity, we ‘perform’ to others in order to
‘manage’ the impression they have of us. Identity performance, therefore, is about achieving a desired result:
when you want to create a favourable impression on someone, you ‘act’ in ways you believe they will like. For
example, if you want to be seen as a good Sociology student, you could carry around a textbook and a full
folder of notes.
Fifty years before Goffman, Cooley (1909) suggested that in the majority of social encounters other people are
used as a looking-glass self. They are like mirrors reflecting our self as others see us; when we ‘look into the
mirror’ of how others behave towards us, we see reflected an image of the person they think we are.
The presentation of self always involves:
•
The importance of interpretation: identities are broad social categories whose meaning differs both
historically and across different cultures.
•
The significance of negotiation. Identities are always open to discussion; what it means to be male, female,
young, old and so on, is constantly changing as people ‘push the negotiated boundaries’ of these identities.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Erving Goffman (1922–82)
The Canadian-American social psychologist, Erving Goffman, built on the earlier work of Mead, Cooley and others, developing
theories of social interaction. He developed the dramaturgical approach to studying interaction, exploring the ways in which
individuals perform actions in a similar way to performers in a play. He was interested in everyday life and, as well as his theoretical
work, he carried out ethnographic research, most notably participant observation as an assistant in a mental institution, published as
Asylums: Essays on the Condition of the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. His other best-known books are The
Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life, Stigma and Gender Advertisements. His daughter Alice is also a sociologist, known for her
ethnographic work On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City, about low-income African-American communities.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Try to extend Goffman’s ideas about social life being like acting in a play. Think about stage and
backstage areas, being off stage, other members of the cast, who the audience is and so on.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
ACTIVITY 1.3
With a partner, suggest ways that you try to manage the impression people have of you. How can this impression be negotiated?
Reflection: Think about who you have talked to this week – have you modified your behaviour with them? If you had done
something differently would it have changed your interaction with them?
Alternatives
Not all scientific disciplines place the same emphasis on socialisation as sociology does when explaining how
individuals become competent social actors. For example, biological ideas about evolution have sometimes
been used to explain social development. These ideas range from relatively simple forms of ‘social Darwinism’,
based on the idea that social life simply involves ‘the survival of the fittest’, to the more sophisticated arguments
of sociobiology. In these, biological principles of natural selection and evolution are applied to the ‘human
animal’ to produce what Wilson (1979) argued is a ‘biological basis’ for all human behaviour. He claimed that
although human behaviour is not genetically determined, it is strongly influenced by ‘biological programming’ or
‘biogrammars’.
Wilson believed that these ‘biogrammars’ suggest that humans are likely to behave in particular ways.
For example, he believed that men and women are biologically programmed with different traits that lead them
to perform different cultural roles:
•
Women are passive, nurturing and caring, which makes them best suited to child-rearing.
•
Male traits of aggression best suit them to a ‘providing role’ that translates into paid work in contemporary
societies.
These arguments influenced sociology in, for example, the work of functionalist sociologists such as Parsons
(1959a). He argued that in most societies, family roles are organised to reflect the belief that women play an
expressive role – that of caring for others. Men, however, play an instrumental role – with a focus on providing
for the family. Both of these roles are based, in part, on evolutionary biological principles.
While males and females can choose not to take these roles, Parsons believed, over-riding the biogrammar,
behaviour that opposes this biological instinct is seen as a less efficient way of organising human cultural
relationships. So, for example, men can take on the expressive role and women the instrumental role, but this is
likely to cause social problems because it is not making the best use of the different capabilities of males and
females.
Evolutionary psychology explains contemporary psychological and social traits in terms of the general principles
of natural selection: those behaviours that are evolutionarily successful are selected and reproduced. In this
way, various forms of social behaviour, such as family development and gender roles, can be explained as
evolutionary adaptations occurring over many centuries. They represent successful adaptations to problems
common to all human societies, such as how to raise children while also providing the things family members
need for survival.
Psychology is, however, a diverse field and there are many different explanations for human development.
These range from those focused on genetics (such as evolutionary psychology), through disciplines such as
neuropsychology, to social psychological approaches broadly similar to the interactionist theories found in the
works of Mead and Goffman.
Social psychology places greater stress on how environmental factors, such as family and work relationships,
affect the development of genetic or psychological predispositions. Meins et al. (2002) noted that although there
exists a genetic instinct for babies to become attached to their primary care-giver, this can be affected by
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
environmental factors. The most important of these is the ability of the care-giver to recognise and understand
the needs of the child.
ACTIVITY 1.4
Make a list of anything you think might be instinctive human behaviour (such as eating, sleeping, crime, childcare and so on).
Remove an item from the list if people have a choice about whether or not to do it (such as crime) or how and when we do it (such as
eating). What do the remaining items on your list tell you about the influence of instincts and culture on human behaviour?
Reflection: Compare your list with a partner's to see whether you have the same remaining items. Looking at your list, do you
think your own personal experience or unconscious bias has affected your judgement?
Agencies of socialisation and social control, including family, education, peergroup, media and religion
The socialisation process takes two main forms:
1 Primary socialisation occurs mainly within the family and is the first stage of socialisation. This type of
socialisation is essential to the development of behaviours we recognise as fundamentally human, such as
learning language. The first primary relationship we form is usually with our parents. This is followed by
primary attachments to other family members, people of our own age (friends) and, subsequently, to other
adults such as work colleagues. Primary socialisation is necessary because human infants need other
people in order to develop both as human beings and as members of a particular culture. We do not just
need to learn general human behaviours, we must also learn about social relationships, how to play roles
and so on.
2 Secondary socialisation involves secondary groups and is characterised, according to Berger and Luckmann
(1967), by ‘a sense of detachment from the ones teaching socialisation’. Secondary socialisations are
situations in which we do not necessarily have close, personal contacts with those doing the socialising.
Parsons (1959a) argued that one of the main purposes of secondary socialisation is to ‘liberate the individual
from a dependence on the primary attachments and relationships formed within the family group’. In
contemporary societies, where the majority of people we meet are strangers, it would be impossible and
undesirable to treat them in the same way that we treat people we love or know well. This is why we develop
instrumental relationships – those based on what people can do for us, or what we can do for them, in
particular situations. Berger and Luckmann suggest that while primary socialisation involves ‘emotionally
charged identification’ with people such as our parents, secondary socialisation is characterised by ‘formality
and anonymity’. You do not, for example, treat a stranger who asks you for directions as your closest friend.
ACTIVITY 1.5
Identify differences between primary and secondary socialisation. Why does primary socialisation have to take place before
secondary socialisation?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.5: How does requiring people to dress identically contribute to their socialisation?
Social control
The process of socialisation brings order, stability and predictability to people’s behaviour. If a child is socialised
into a perceived ‘right’ way of doing something, such as eating with a knife and fork, there must also be a
perceived ‘wrong’ or deviant way (in this example perhaps eating with their fingers), which should be
discouraged. Socialisation, therefore, is also a form of social control – it involves limiting the range of
behaviours open to individuals. Social control is linked to the idea that human behaviour involves a life-long
process of rule-learning, built on sanctions – the things we do to make people conform. The agencies of
socialisation described below are also agencies of social control.
Agencies of socialisation
We can look at selected agencies of socialisation in terms of the roles, values and norms they try to teach and
the sanctions they set/impose.
Primary socialisation
Family: Although there are only a small number of family roles, these tend to be played out over long periods
and involve complex forms of role development, especially in societies that allow divorce and remarriage. Adults
may have to learn roles ranging from husband/wife to parent/step-parent. Child development also involves a
range of roles: baby, infant, child, teenager and, eventually perhaps, an adult with children of their own.
The ability to develop roles within the context of a group mainly governed by relationships based on love,
responsibility and duty, means that we can make mistakes and learn lessons as we go without causing too
much harm. Mead refers to parents as significant others. They shape both our basic values, such as how to
address adults, and our moral values, for example our understanding of the difference between right and wrong.
Basic norms, such as how to address family members (for example, ‘Mum’, ‘Dad’), when, where and how to eat
and sleep, and definitions of acceptable behaviour are normally taught within the family. Sanctions are mainly
informal, with positive sanctions involving things such as:
•
facial expressions (for example, smiling)
•
verbal approval/reinforcement (‘good boy/girl’)
•
physical rewards (such as gifts).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.6: Within a family, how do children play their roles differently from adults?
Negative sanctions are similarly wide-ranging – from showing disapproval through language (such as shouting)
to physical punishment.
Functionalists often see primary socialisation as a one-way process that passes from adults to children.
However, socialisation involves more than an unquestioning acceptance of the behaviours we learn within the
family group. Although children are socialised by being encouraged to copy behaviour, they are also actively
involved in negotiating their socialisation. For example, children do not always obey their parents; they may
even choose not to obey as part of a test of the limits of social control. Children may also receive different
socialisation messages: a relative may reward behaviour that a parent would punish. Children have to learn that
the same behaviour may receive different reactions from different people in different situations. Faced with a
new situation, they need to be able to judge what the reactions are likely to be.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931)
Mead can be seen as the ‘forgotten’ father of sociology; he developed the symbolic interactionist approach which became the
alternative tradition within sociology to the structural approaches of functionalism and Marxism. He did not publish any books. His
ideas were spread after his death when some of his students at the University of Chicago in the USA put together several volumes
made up of notes from his lectures, records of courses he taught and unpublished papers. He was interested in social action and the
micro scale, with his work often was seen as social psychology rather than sociology. He developed the idea of the self as made up
of the ‘me’, based on how the individual understands they are seen by the ‘generalised other’ and the ‘I’, based on the individual’s
impulses.
Peers: Peer-groups are made up of people of a similar age, for example, teenagers. They can be considered
primary agencies of socialisation because we usually choose friends of a similar age, and personal interaction
with them influences our behaviour – from how we dress and talk to the things we love or hate. Peer-groups can
also be secondary agencies because they may be used as a reference group – what Hughes et al. (2002) call
‘the models we use for appraising and shaping our attitudes, feelings and actions’. In the recent past, this has
included youth subcultures such as hippies and punks. Although most people do not interact with groups as
specific as this, we all have reference groups of people we identify with and whose appearance and behaviour
we model our own on. Our behaviour may be influenced by things such as the fashions and the general
behaviour of people our own age or status. This is an example of peer pressure as a form of social control.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.7: How do your friends influence your behaviour?
We play a range of peer-related roles, depending on our age group and situation. ‘Friend’, for example,
expresses very personal role play, whereas at school or work we may have a variety of people we don’t know
very well (acquaintances). In the workplace, too, we are likely to play the role of colleague to at least some of
our peers. Similarly, the values we are taught within a friendship or peer-group vary with age and circumstances.
However, we will probably carry the value of friendship with us throughout our lives.
Peer-group norms often relate to ideas about age-appropriate behaviour. Young children, for example, are
usually not permitted by law to smoke cigarettes or to buy alcohol. Also, it is generally not considered ageappropriate for the elderly to take part in extreme sports or wear clothes designed for younger people. Peergroup sanctions, or social sanctions, are generally informal and include things such as disapproving looks and
negative comments. This is mainly because peer-group norms vary considerably, and the same behaviour may
result in different responses depending on the situation. Swearing at a grandparent will probably be met with
disapproval; swearing among friends may be perfectly acceptable. Approving gestures and language, laughing
at your jokes and seeking out your company may represent positive sanctions. Refusing to speak to someone,
rejecting friendship or engaging in physical violence are negative sanctions associated with peer-group.
Secondary socialisation
Agencies of secondary socialisation include schools, religious organisations and the media. In some cases,
such as education, we are in daily contact with other members of the group without ever developing a primary
attachment to them. In other examples, such as admiring a particular actor or musician, we may never meet the
rest of the group, yet we might be influenced by their behaviour in several ways.
Education: Education involves two kinds of curriculum:
•
the formal curriculum that specifies the subjects, knowledge and skills that children are explicitly taught in
school
•
a hidden curriculum: the things we learn from the experience of attending school, such as how to deal with
strangers, listen to adult authority and have respect for the system.
School is also a place where we ‘learn to limit our individual desires’ – to think about the needs of others rather
than our own. School may be one of the first times that children are separated from their parent(s) for any length
of time. It provides both opportunities (to demonstrate talents to a wider, non-family, audience) and challenges –
the need to learn, for example, how to deal with people who are not family and with authority figures such as
teachers.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Parsons (1959a) argued that school plays a particularly significant role in secondary socialisation for two
reasons:
1 It ‘emancipates the child from primary attachment’ to their family. It moves children away from the affective
relationships found in the family and introduces them to the instrumental relationships they will meet in adult
life. It is in effect a bridge between the family home and the wider social world.
2 It allows children to ‘internalise a level of society’s values and norms that is a step higher than those learnt
within families’. Through interaction with ‘strangers’ in the educational system, a child begins to adopt wider
social values into their personal value system. This process loosens the hold of primary groups and allows
children to gradually mix into adult society, something that also promotes social solidarity and value
consensus.
Like any institution, schools involve a range of roles, such as teacher and student, which are themselves linked
to a range of related roles called a role-set. This further extends the idea of cultural relationships because we
become fixed into a range of expected behaviours. A student, for example, plays this role in relation to the roles
that others are playing in the school environment:
•
other students in their class
•
students of different ages
•
their subject teachers
•
teachers of other subjects
•
school buildings’ staff such as caretakers
•
administration staff
•
parent(s)/guardian(s).
Schools teach a range of values. These range from the idea that students should work hard to achieve
qualifications, to ideas about individual competition for academic rewards, teamwork, conformity to authority (not
questioning what is being learnt and why it is necessary to learn it) and achievement on the basis of merit.
Sometimes values are openly taught (for example, an assembly may be all about the importance of helping
others, or why bullying is wrong), but more often they are present in the way that schools and education are
organised.
In many education systems, for example, one hidden value is that academic ability, such as a talent for writing
essays, is more highly valued than work-related ability, such as bricklaying. Another value is individual
achievement; working with others may be valued in the workplace but in school may be seen as ‘copying’ and
wrong. Many of these values relate not just to education but also to the wider social world.
From a Marxist perspective, Bowles and Gintis (2002) argue that there is a correspondence between school
norms and workplace norms: Schools prepare students for adult work by socialising them into values and norms
that will make them uncomplaining workers. This correspondence theory is shown through school norms such
as:
•
the daily need for attendance
•
always being in the place you are supposed to be at certain times
•
the right of those in authority to give orders that must be obeyed.
These ideas are backed up by positive sanctions that include the gaining of grades, qualifications and prizes, as
well as more personal things such as praise and encouragement. On the negative side, schools use
punishments: detentions, suspensions and exclusions. Failure to achieve qualifications or gaining a reputation
for being unintelligent also function as negative sanctions. These sanctions prepare children for sanctions at
work – from bonuses for good work to the threat of being sacked.
ACTIVITY 1.6
Suggest two further examples of the connection between school and work.
Are there any ways in which school may not help prepare people for the world of work?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Mass media: The media are slightly unusual secondary agencies because our relationship with it is impersonal;
we are unlikely to meet those doing the socialising. While there is little evidence that the media have a direct,
long-term effect on behaviour, there is stronger evidence of short-term effects. Advertising, for example, aims to
make short-term changes in behaviour by encouraging people to try different consumer products. Potter (2003)
suggests that short-term effects include:
•
imitation, such as copying behaviour seen on television
•
desensitisation – the idea that constant and repeated experience of something, such as violence or poverty,
gradually lowers our emotional reaction
•
learning, in which we are introduced to new ideas and places.
Figure 1.8: Does repeated experience of images of violence, poverty or racism reduce our reaction to
such issues?
There is also some evidence for indirect long-term effects, in that people come to accept as ‘natural’ values or
other aspects of social life that are socially constructed:
•
consumerism – advertising, and much other media content, takes as natural the active and ever-increasing
pursuit of goods and services that define lifestyles and identities in contemporary capitalist societies
•
fear – experience of negative and violent media leads some people to overestimate things such as the
extent of crime or their chances of being a victim of terrorism or of a disaster
•
agenda setting – Philo et al. (1982) argue that the media determine how something will be debated; in the
UK, for example, immigration is discussed in the media mainly in terms of numbers of immigrants, with an
assumption that high numbers are bad. This gets in the way of consideration of the qualitative effects of
immigration on British society.
The extent to which the media can enforce values is uncertain. However, the media are undoubtedly influential
in supporting or weakening certain values. It has a loud voice in debates over nationality (for example, what it
means to be ‘Peruvian’ or ‘Chinese’). It also promotes certain values over others – for example, many English
newspapers take an ‘anti-European Union’ stance. Potter suggests that media influence comes about through a
process of habituation: the more people experience certain images and ideas, the more likely it is that they will
add them to their personal value systems. In relation to norms, the media have what Durkheim (1912) called a
‘boundary-marking function’. It promotes acceptable and unacceptable forms of behaviour to strengthen
perceptions of expected behaviours. The media may try to preserve particular ways of behaving, through
campaigns to ‘save the family’, for example, but they may also promote changes in behaviour, such as
campaigns against racism. To strengthen (reinforce) their message, the media use a range of sanctions.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Positive sanctions involve the use of praise, positive pictures and uncritical features. Negative sanctions might
include being pictured in a negative pose, critical articles or behaviour being publicly criticised.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Young people increasingly use social media apps. In what ways can social media be an agency of
socialisation, or of social control?
Religion: Whether or not we see ourselves as ‘religious’, religion plays a significant role in the general
socialisation process in many societies, particularly in relation to ceremonial functions, such as marriages and
funerals. It can also be argued that important moral values – very strong beliefs about how people should
behave – are influenced by religious values. For example, several of the Ten Commandments in the Christian
religion are reflected in legal systems around the world. The unacceptability of some crimes, such as theft and
murder, is emphasised in world religions.
Religious values are powerful forces for those who believe. Religion can be regarded as a ‘design for living’ – a
force that provides help and guidance to live a life as God wishes, but religious beliefs and values can also be a
source of conflict:
•
between religions, such as the history of conflict between Christians and Muslims dating back to the 11th
century
•
within the same religion: Northern Ireland, for example, has experienced major conflicts between Protestant
and Catholic Christians over the past 50 years.
Religious values are frequently displayed through styles of dress, such as the Muslim hijab or Sikh turban,
something that indicates both religiosity (a measure of people’s commitment to religion) and ethnic identity.
Many of the world’s major religions, from Christianity to Islam, have been said to promote patriarchy through
both their general organisation (many religions have an entirely male leadership) and the gender roles and
values they encourage. However, they also promote concepts of love and care that can be attractive to people,
and can be seen as providing women with a sense of shelter and safety in a threatening world and belonging.
Swatos (1998) argues that religions are going through important changes that are making them more ‘female
friendly’. For example, God is increasingly shown as loving and consoling rather than as authoritarian and
judgemental, and clergy are seen as ‘helping professionals’ rather than as ‘representatives of God’s justice’.
Religions apply positive sanctions on their followers in different ways:
•
Hinduism involves a belief in reincarnation (when you die you are reborn into a new life) based on how well
you observed religious laws in your previous life; the reward for good behaviour in one lifetime is rebirth into
a higher social position.
•
Ideas of sin in Christian religions can also be significant features of religious control, because the believer is
encouraged to live a life free of sin in the hope of rewards in heaven.
Negative sanctions are also many and varied. Catholicism, for example, has the sanction of excommunication
(exclusion from the church), whereas some forms of Islam specify a range of punishments for those who break
Shari’ah law. Such punishments may also be applied to ‘non-believers’ in theocratic societies, such as Iran,
where government is dominated by religious authorities.
ACTIVITY 1.7
Draw a spider diagram that describes any role you play. Try to illustrate its role-set.
What does this diagram tell you about how you present yourself to society or a particular social group? What types of influence are
making you take on the role, and why? See an example below.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.9
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIALISATION, CULTURE AND IDENTITY
How do the norms and values learned through socialisation vary between societies?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
1.2 Social control, conformity and resistance
The role of structure and agency in shaping the relationship between the
individual and society, including an awareness of the differences between
structuralist and interactionist views
The two main theories in sociology, functionalist theory and Marxist theory, provide different interpretations of
how order and control are created and maintained. Both perspectives are structuralist (or macrosociological);
they argue that how societies are organised at the level of families, governments and economies (the
institutional or system level), determines how individuals view their world and behave within it (structural
determinism). This perspective presents society as a powerful force that controls and shapes how people think
and behave. This makes them fundamentally different to another approach that has always been present in
sociology, the interactionist view, which focuses on the microsociological and how individuals can shape the
social world. Human lives are not seen as decided by social forces; rather, people have agency.
Structuralist theories originated in the work of Durkheim and Marx. From a structuralist perspective, social action
is the product of deep, underlying forces in society that reach beyond the level of individual consciousness and
control. These structural forces shape our behaviour and have a major influence on our thought processes.
Marx claimed that the capitalist relations of production were the main structural force in modern industrial
societies. The way in which capitalist production of goods and services is organised, with the workers separated
from ownership of land and factories, can be seen as an invisible system that controls the way in which all other
aspects of a society operate. By contrast, the functionalist perspective sees the structure of society more in
terms of the institutional arrangements required to ensure the smooth running of society. So, for example,
institutions such as the family, education and government are associated with established patterns of behaviour
that together create an order and structure in society.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.10: Is society, like gravity, an invisible force acting on us all?
For structuralists, the established social order represents a powerful force that the individual has little or no
freedom to oppose. For various reasons, people accept the established institutional patterns of behaviour as if
they were a hidden force controlling their actions. By following social rules in this way, each person’s actions
reflect the strong influence of the social structure.
For structuralists, therefore, sociology should be the study of the effects of the structure of society on social life.
In other words, sociologists should adopt a macro or large-scale view. The actions of the individual should be
explained in terms of the influences of the overall structure or organisational arrangements of a society. For
example, a structural explanation might identify poverty (which can be seen as part of the structure of society)
as the cause of an increase in the crime rate. Likewise, differences in suicide rates might be explained in terms
of differences in beliefs and practices between religious groups (religious institutions being part of the structure
of society).
The idea of social structure becomes a little clearer if we think about the different ways in which behaviour is
governed by informal rules or norms that define expected behaviours in any given situation:
•
Every relationship we form, such as making a new friend, becoming a parent or getting a new boss, involves
playing a role – an idea that refers to people ‘playing a part’ in society. Just as an actor performs a role in a
play, people take on and perform various roles (such as student, sister, brother, friend and employee) in their
day-to-day life.
•
Each role has certain associated values or beliefs about how something should be. For example, we may
believe that friends should keep the secrets we tell them. There are also norms associated with each role,
such as friends helping us if we are in trouble.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Every time we play a role, therefore, we experience the effect of social structures – rules that shape our
behavioural choices. This suggests that social structures apply a significant influence on how we behave.
ACTIVITY 1.8
Identify two values associated with any two roles that you play.
Is one of these values a stronger influence than the other? Justify your choice.
Consensus structuralism
Functionalism is a consensus structuralist approach. For functionalists, any explanation of how order and
stability are created and maintained involves looking at how societies are organised at the level of the social
system. This involves the idea that the various parts of a society (family, education, work and so on) work in
harmony. Each part is dependent on the others. Just as the different parts of the body – such as the heart, lungs
and brain – work together to form something more complex than the sum of their individual parts (a living body),
the different parts of a society work together to form a social system. Parsons (1937) argued that every social
system consists of four ‘functional sub-systems’ – political, economic, cultural and family. Each of these subsystems performs a different but related function that addresses certain ‘problems’ faced by every society.
The connections between the various parts of the social system – family, culture, work and government – are
created by institutional purposes and needs. While order is created at the institutional level through these
relationships, Parsons (1959a) explained how individuals fit into the overall structure of society on the basis of
functional prerequisites – things that must happen if society is to function properly. For individuals to survive and
do well, they need to be part of larger cooperative groups – they must combine to solve important problems.
Every social institution, from families to schools to workplaces, must develop ways to ensure that individuals
conform to the needs of both the institution and society as a whole. For Parsons, institutions do this by
developing ways to solve ‘four problems of their existence’. We can show this using the example of education.
1 Goal maintenance: institutions must provide people with goals to achieve, such as academic qualifications.
2 Adaptation: to achieve institutional goals, people need a cooperative environment, such as a classroom and
teachers, within which people can work.
3 Integration: people must be motivated to achieve (educational) goals, and one way to do this is to encourage
a ‘sense of belonging’, to both the wider society, where educational qualifications are used to sort
(differentiate) adults in the workplace, and to the education system itself. A school, for example, makes
people feel they ‘belong’ to the institution and that they have things in common with other students and
teachers.
4 Latency: conflicts within an institution must be managed and rules created to encourage desirable behaviour
and punish rule-breaking (deviance). In schools, these rules cover things such as attendance, behaviour
and dress. They are designed to maintain a particular way of life in the institution.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.11: Functional sub-systems Source: Parsons, 1937
Societies and their institutions can only function if people feel they are part of a much larger community. This
requires the members of a society to be socialised into a shared value system, creating consensus. Behaviour
will then be the same (consistent) and broadly predictable so that social order is maintained for the benefit of
everyone. Agencies of socialisation and social control are therefore essential in creating a stable society based
on shared values. People can be encouraged to conform willingly by convincing them that following certain rules
is in their best interests. If that fails, however, institutions might use agents of control. These could be ‘soft’ (for
example, teachers) or hard (the police or armed forces).
Conflict structuralism
Whereas the consensus approach concentrates on how society determines our lives for the benefit of all,
conflict structuralism shows how this works to divide society so that powerful groups can control society at the
cost of relatively powerless groups. Societies may appear stable, but are based on conflicts of interest between
groups. The leading conflict structuralist approach, Marxism, sees this in economic terms with different social
classes fighting against each other. Feminism expresses this conflict in gender terms with men as more
powerful than women in most, or all, societies.
Marxism
For Marxists, work is the most important activity in any society because no other social activity (politics, family or
culture) can exist without people first having found a way to survive. Thus, how work is socially organised (who
does it, what they do and who benefits from it) is the key to understanding how all other social relationships are
organised. Marxists refer to a relationship between ‘base and superstructure’. By this, they mean the
relationship between economic, political and ideological institutions, which they claim is the basis for social
order and control:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
The economic base is the basis or foundation on which society is built. It is the world of work and involves
particular types of relationships (the relations of production), such as owner, manager, wage labourer and
organisation. The capitalist workplace is organised in order, one group above another. Those further up in
the order (hierarchy) have more power and control than those lower down.
•
The political and ideological superstructure ‘rests’ on the economic base and involves political institutions,
such as government and agencies of social control (the police, judges and courts) and ideological institutions
including religion, education and the mass media.
Figure 1.12: The relationship between base and superstructure in capitalist society
The workplace is a key area of conflict because of its organisational structure. In capitalist society, the ‘means of
economic production’ – the tools, factories and machines that are used to create wealth – are owned by one
class (the bourgeoisie, or ruling class). The majority owns little or nothing and so are forced to sell their ability to
work. This ability is known as their labour power. It is part of what Marxists call the forces of production: how
labour power is organised to produce wealth by attaching it to various forms of technology – from simple tools to
advanced machinery.
In capitalist societies, members of a small bourgeois class become very rich because they keep the profits
made from goods and services and most people own nothing but their ability to work for wages. The emphasis
on conflict suggests that capitalist societies are naturally weak or unstable. However, this is not the case –
Marxists argue that the ruling class is not only economically powerful but also politically powerful. It controls
what Althusser (1972) called ‘repressive state apparatuses’ (RSAs) or ways of getting people to conform by
force. This can range from hard policing (the police and armed forces as agents of social control) to soft policing
(social workers and welfare agencies ‘policing’ the behaviour of the lower classes).
Ownership and control of institutions such as the media also allow the ruling class to influence how others see
the world. Althusser called these institutions that deal in ideas ‘ideological state apparatuses’ (ISAs). The
education system, for example, does not just teach knowledge and skills, it also teaches the values of
competition, individualism (‘educational success’ is measured by how successfully students compete against
each other) and respect for authority. All these ideas fit neatly into a capitalist economic system that most
benefits the bourgeoisie.
Order and stability are maintained at a system level through the institutions that make up the political and
ideological superstructure. These, in turn, are controlled by a ruling class whose power comes from ownership
of the economic base. Most people are fixed in to capitalist society by the need to earn a living for themselves
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
and their family. They are also fixed in by a range of ideas that support the current system, which are spread by
the media, education, religion and other institutions.
Socialisation, therefore, is an effective form of control – a type of ideological control that seeks either to
convince people that the interests of the ruling class are really the interests of everyone or to present society as
impossible for the individual to influence or change. Socialisation may be more effective in the long term
because people include the basic ideology of capitalism in their personal value system. However, this involves
making economic and political agreements with the lower classes to ensure their cooperation.
Earlier types of society had different types of stratification system that can be compared with class systems. For
example, India had the caste system, where social position was ascribed at birth. People tended to accept the
level of society they were born into, doing the same work and marrying someone from the same background.
This allows very little social mobility; the class system is more open, with some mobility up and down the
system.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Karl Marx 1818–83
Marx was a philosopher, economist, historian, political theorist and activist and a sociologist. He is considered to be one of the
founding fathers of sociology, alongside Durkheim and Weber, but was writing before both of them. Marxism, named after him, is a
structural conflict approach which emphasises the centrality of class conflict in any analysis of society. Marx’s work has provided a
starting point for much theory in sociology and other disciplines, and became the foundation of the global socialist movement that
sought to create an equal society in which class had been abolished. Marx wrote a lot throughout his life. His most important works
are Das Kapital and, with Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto.
Feminist theory
Although there are many forms of feminist theory, they all share the belief that contemporary societies are
patriarchal to some degree; the interests of men are always considered more important than those of women. In
basic terms, therefore, order and control are based on male power expressed in two ways. Interpersonal power
refers to things like physical violence or the various ways that female labour is exploited within the family group.
Cultural power focuses on how male-dominated societies are structured to oppress and exploit women. In such
societies, men dominate the highest levels of economic, political and cultural institutions.
Different types of feminism emphasise different forms of control as the way to understand a male-dominated
social order. For liberal feminism, the key form of control is sexual discrimination, while for Marxist feminism,
class inequality provides the context in which female oppression, exploitation and discrimination occur. In a
competitive, capitalist society, men are encouraged to exploit any ‘weaknesses’ in women’s market position (the
fact that women may be out of the workforce during and after pregnancy, for example) to their own advantage.
For radical feminism, patriarchy is the source of female oppression. Radical feminists believe that patriarchy is
a feature of all known human societies and results in men dominating the social order in two areas: the public –
such as the workplace, where women are paid less and have lower status, and the private – the home, where
women carry out the majority of unpaid domestic work.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
ACTIVITY 1.9
Suggest two differences between consensus and conflict approaches to explaining social change.
Identify one strength and one limitation of each approach.
Interactionism
This general microsociological approach, also called the social action approach, claims that order and control
are created ‘from the bottom up’. It is based on the idea that people create and re-create ‘society’ on a daily
basis through their daily routines. People constantly, if not always knowingly, produce and reproduce social
order through their individual and combined behaviour. From this viewpoint, ‘society’ is merely a term people
use to explain the limits they place on behaviour. Although society does not exist physically, it does exist
mentally. People act as though society is a real force having an effect on them, limiting and controlling their
behaviour. This creates order and stability.
To understand how order is maintained, therefore, we must examine the socio-psychological processes through
which social groups and a sense of society are constructed. From this perspective, social life involves a series
of encounters – separate but linked episodes that give the appearance of order and stability; they exist for as
long as we act in ways that maintain them. Garfinkel (1967) demonstrated the weak nature of our beliefs about
social order by disrupting people’s daily routines and observing how upset, confused and angry people became.
Order is more psychologically desirable than disorder, and people try to impose order through the meanings
given to behaviour in two ways:
1 To interact, people must develop shared definitions of a situation. In a school classroom, if a teacher defines
the situation as a period of time for teaching, but her students define it as a time for messing around and
having fun, this will almost certainly result in disorder.
2 Where meanings are negotiated, they can easily change. For example, the identities associated with
masculinity and femininity have changed dramatically over the past 30 years in many countries.
Interactionists argue that to explain human behaviour we need to study people’s interactions at the micro level –
that is, as they go about their daily lives – because, as Schutz (1962) argues, ‘subjective meanings give rise to
an apparently objective social world’. Societies are constructed through social interaction and this, in turn, is
based on meanings. We live in a complex, symbolic world in which the meaning of our actions, our choice of
clothes or the language we use is always open to interpretation. The meaning of something, whether a physical
object such as a mobile phone or a symbolic system such as language, is never completely clear and its
meaning can be changed by the social context in which it appears and can be negotiated through interaction.
ACTIVITY 1.10
How can a mobile phone be a status symbol? With a partner, think of a list of ideas about why different types of people might want
different phones.
Reflection: What other objects are status symbols? Which are the most important to your age group? Discuss your ideas with
other students and consider how your views differ and why.
To understand how social context can determine or change the meaning of something, consider two people
fighting:
•
If the fight occurs in the street, we might interpret this as unacceptable and call the police.
•
If the two people were fighting in a boxing ring, rather than disapproving we might cheer and encourage our
favoured fighter.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
While this example demonstrates that meanings must always be interpreted, it also suggests that interaction is
based on shared definitions of a situation, which themselves may be the product of negotiation. Social
interaction, therefore, does not simply involve obeying rules without question, because the meaning of
behaviour can change depending on its social context. Wrong (1961) criticised what he calls an ‘oversocialised conception of man’. He rejects the idea that human behaviour is governed entirely by the effects of
socialisations. For Wrong, people are able to exercise a degree of freedom from the influences of their social
environment.
Figure 1.13: Could ‘society’ be just a label we give to social interaction?
The idea of labelling demonstrates how interactionists view society as the product of social interaction. Labelling
theory argues that when we name something, such as categorising people as ‘male’ or ‘female’, we associate
the name with a set of characteristics that are then used to guide our behaviour. These characteristics influence
our behaviour and attitude to the named person, object or situation. If the meaning of something is only
developed through interaction, then meanings can change. For example, male and female social identities have
changed over the past 50 years. In Western societies, female identity has changed dramatically. Previously, a
woman was defined almost exclusively in terms of marriage, motherhood and caring for others. Today, there is a
wider range of definitions, such as the single career woman, which reflects changing ideas about equality and
perceptions of women.
Structuration
Concepts of structure and action are both important in helping us understand the relationship between society
and the individual. Although we are all individuals, our behavioural choices are influenced, limited and improved
by the framework of rules and responsibilities (social structures) that surround us. Just as we cannot imagine a
society without individuals, it is impossible to think about people without referring to the ways in which their
behaviour is structured. Giddens (1984) developed a perspective called structuration, which outlined the
importance of both structure and action in considering the relationship between society and the individual.
Structuration is the idea that as people develop relationships, the rules they use to guide their behaviours are
formalised into routine ways of behaving towards each other (practices). Through the huge range of practices in
our lives, a sense of structure develops in our social world – and this involves rules. This idea is important
because it indicates the way our actions create behavioural rules and demonstrates how such rules become
externalised (they seem to take on a life of their own, separate from our individual behaviours). Thus, although
we may show rule-making behaviour, these rules ‘reflect back’ (reflexivity) on our behaviour in ways that
suggest or demand conformity.
In explaining why some rules are created and accepted while others are rejected, Giddens uses the idea of
social resources and power relationships. Some rules are negotiated; friendship, for example, is based on a
series of unwritten and unspoken rules that develop over time. Other rules, such as laws governing
punishments for murder, cannot be negotiated; they are simply forced on individuals by powerful groups.
KEY CONCEPT - STRUCTURE AND HUMAN AGENCY
Is behaviour shaped by wider social forces or is the social world shaped by the actions of individuals?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
ACTIVITY 1.11
Think about the groups to which you belong (such as family, school or college, work, friends and peers) and about these questions:
1 How do these groups shape your behaviour?
2 How does your behaviour shape the behaviour of other people in these groups?
Which groups have the most influence on your behaviour? Give reasons for your answer.
Factors explaining why individuals conform to social expectations, including
sanctions, social pressure, self-interest and social exchange
Most of the time, most people conform to social expectations; social life would not be possible if they did not.
The agencies of socialisation – family, peers, education, media and religion – also act as agencies of social
control. There are also some specialised agencies of social control, such as the police and the legal system.
Agencies are able to apply pressure to make people act in some ways and not others. One way they do this is
through the use of positive or negative sanctions:
•
Positive sanctions (rewards) are the pleasant things we do to make people behave in routine, predictable,
ways. These range from smiling, through praise and encouragement, to gifts.
•
Negative sanctions (punishments) are the reverse. They include not talking to people if they annoy us,
frowns or words of disapproval, fines, taking away liberty, putting people in prison and the ultimate negative
sanction – killing someone.
Social controls take two basic forms:
1 Formal controls involve written rules, such as laws, that apply equally to everyone in a society. They also
include non-legal rules that apply to everyone playing a particular role in an organisation (such as a school
or factory). Sanctions are enforced by agencies of social control – for example, the police and the legal
system. Formal controls tell everyone within a group exactly what is and is not acceptable behaviour.
Breaking these rules (deviance) may result in formal sanctions – such as a fine or imprisonment for breaking
the law, or being sacked for breaking a company’s organisational rules.
2 Informal controls reward or punish acceptable/unacceptable behaviour in everyday, settings (such as the
family). These controls do not normally involve written rules and procedures. Rather, they operate through
informal enforcement mechanisms that might include ridicule, sarcasm, disapproving looks or personal
violence. Such controls mainly apply to the regulation of primary relationships and groups. However, there
are exceptions because primary relationships can occur within secondary groups – a teacher, for example,
may also be a friend or even a relative. Informal controls also relate to the ‘unofficial rules’ we create in
casual groups. A few of these rules might be applied generally – for example, unless you are in a boxing
ring, punching someone in the face is generally regarded as unacceptable. However, the majority of
unofficial rules are specific to a particular group. Swearing among friends, for example, may not invite
sanction, but swearing at your mother or father might.
Belonging to a group – and wanting to continue to belong to it, with the approval of the other group members –
is itself a strong form of social pressure. Ostracism is the exclusion of someone from a group, a very strong
negative sanction that is a strong reason to conform to the group.
Another factor which influences people to conform most of the time is self-interest. In order to survive and live
as a member of society, it is necessary to get on with others. We all need to cooperate with others, and we know
that other people are less likely to support those who act in ways they disapprove of. Individuals therefore
conform because they can see that it is in their own interests to do so. This can be extended to the idea of
social exchange. This is the view that people give to others (either material goods, or status or approval)
because this creates a relationship with joint obligations, so that the giver is likely to receive in return. When
individuals are choosing a course of action, they weigh up the likely consequences, and so are likely to choose
one which will result in a benefit to themselves. This means that they are likely to conform to social
expectations, and to follow the socially approved norms and values.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Louis Althusser (1918–90)
The French philosopher Louis Althusser revived Marxist thought in the mid twentieth century, developing ideas about ideology and
other Marxist concepts to apply them to political and economic changes of the time. He is known for the concepts of repressive and
ideological state apparatuses and how the latter interpellate individuals, turning them into subjects by getting them to internalise
ideology and see it as natural and obvious. His best-known works are For Marx and Reading Capital. He suffered from depression
and a feeling of intellectual failure. He killed his wife, the sociologist Hélène Rytmann, in 1980 while in a fit of depression, was
committed to a psychiatric hospital and did very little further writing.
The mechanisms through which order is maintained, including power, ideology,
force and consensus
This section looks further at some of the ways in which order is maintained in society. We have already
considered formal and informal social control, and the ways in which socialisation and nature shape people’s
behaviour.
Ideology
Ideologies are sets of beliefs whose ultimate purpose is to explain something. This might be:
•
the meaning of life (scientific and religious ideologies)
•
the nature of family organisation (familial ideologies)
•
the superiority/inferiority of selected social groups (sexist or racist ideologies)
•
how societies should be organised and governed (political ideologies).
The word ‘ideology’ is now often used to describe a set of ideas that is not true, or rather that the person using
the word ‘ideology’ believes is not true. Ideologies involve a partial or biased account. Ideologies can be used to
explain and approve the social structure and culture, justifying particular attitudes and behaviours. The term
‘dominant ideology’ refers to the set of ideas which is most widely accepted in a society, usually imposed by a
powerful group.
Marxists argue that ideologies have a controlling or manipulative element: for example, a capitalist-controlled
media directly attempts to influence its audience by constructing and presenting a version of reality favourable
to the ruling class. The ruling class control the state, and use state institutions to impose the dominant ideology.
Althusser (1971) referred to these institutions as ideological state apparatuses; they include the education
system, the family, media and religion. Adorno and Horkheimer (1944), part of the Marxist Frankfurt School,
argued that ruling-class ideology is passed on through a culture industry that creates forms of popular culture –
film, magazines, comics, newspapers and so on – which are consumed uncritically and passively by the people.
By controlling the culture industry, a ruling class controls the means of mental production – how people see and
think about the social world. The working class, absorbing this ideology, is prevented from realising what it is
really going on; they have what Marxists call ‘false class consciousness’, believing, because they are repeatedly
told this, that the system they live under is fair and honest, and that their own low position is the result of their
own failure or lack of ability. The reality of exploitation and oppression is hidden by the ideology. If the working
class becomes able to see their real situation and protest, the ruling class can then call on what Althusser calls
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
the repressive state apparatus – the police, armed forces and so on – who can control the working class by
force.
Ideologies are important in the social construction of reality because they play an overall structural role in any
society. They represent complete systems of belief enabling events to be located within wider contexts and
related to similar events In this sense, ideologies are mental maps that tell us not only where we have been –
our cultural history – but also where a society wants to go in terms of economic, political and cultural
development. Ideologies are powerful structuring agencies because they pull together and make sense of the
various strands of our individual and cultural existence and give the social world meaning, stability and order.
ACTIVITY 1.12
Suggest an example of an ideology in your society and identify some of its related beliefs.
Assess the extent to which this ideology influences behaviour in your society.
Power
Power is an important, but often difficult, concept. Dugan (2003) defines power actively, suggesting that it
involves ‘the capacity to bring about change’. Lukes (1990), however, defines power passively, arguing that one
definition involves the power to ‘do nothing’ by making others believe nothing has to change. Power also has
many sources. Weber (1922) distinguishes between two types:
1 Force or coercive power, where people are forced to obey under threat of punishment.
2 Consensual power (authority), where people obey because they believe it right to do so.
The second type, authority, can be further broken up:
•
Charismatic power involves people obeying because they trust the person issuing a command.
•
Traditional power is based on custom and practice – the way things have always been done.
•
Rational/legal power expresses the idea that people expect commands to be obeyed because their position
in an authority structure gives them the right to demand control.
Power also has a number of dimensions. We can define power in terms of decision-making. It involves:
•
the ability to make decisions – teachers, for example, can decide what their students do in the classroom
•
preventing others making decisions – a teacher can stop their students doing things they might like to do
(such as gazing out of the window)
•
removing decision-making from the agenda – the ability to ‘do nothing’ because others are convinced that no
decision has to be made.
Those with power can impose their interests and their definition of reality on others. In doing so, they can bring
about order and stability.
However, Foucault (1983) argued that power in modern societies is different from power in past societies
because it is opaque, or ‘difficult to see’. People are unaware of the power that other individuals or groups such
as governments have over them. This has occurred because the way people think about and experience power
in everyday life has changed. In the past, social control was mainly based on coercive power in a range of ways,
from a king or queen exercising supreme power to prison systems that maintained total control over the body. In
modern societies, Foucault claimed, power is exercised in increasingly subtle modes ways, such as
technological surveillance – both ‘from above’, such as closed circuit television (CCTV) being used to film
people, and ‘from below’ – for example, how someone’s use of a smartphone can be used to gather information
about them.
Foucault further argues that knowledge about the social world and the language we use to express such
knowledge are both aspects of belief systems that control behaviour by influencing how people think about the
world. If, for example, we believe in ideas like ‘male’ and ‘female’, this controls how we behave both as males
and females and towards other males and females.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Although reality is socially constructed, the construction process itself involves a complex relationship between
beliefs, ideologies and power on one side (the broad structural elements of culture) and everyday ideas about
roles, values and norms on the other.
ACTIVITY 1.13
To illustrate how the social construction of reality takes place on an everyday basis, take a walk around your school or college and
record the different ways you classify the people you meet. For example, you will probably meet some or all of the following classes
of people: strangers, acquaintances (people you recognise but don’t really know very well), friends, close friends, best friends. There
will, of course, be other categories to discover.
Reflection: How does this classification affect your behaviour towards the people you encounter?
Consensus
The functionalist view is that order is maintained through a consensus, a general agreement on a set of values.
This is not seen as being imposed from above by a ruling class, as in Marxist theory, but rather the outcome of
the majority accepting it. Those in authority have the power to punish those who break the consensus (for
example, by committing a crime) but they will have the support of society in doing this. The punishing of
criminals reinforces the boundaries of the value system; it actually strengthens it, be reminding everyone of
which behaviours are not tolerated. The consensus is also reinforced by collective rituals, when the members of
the society join together to confirm their acceptance of the consensus; this may be through religious
ceremonies, or the use of symbols such as flags or singing a national anthem. The consensus can change over
time. If opinion changes within a society, then rules and laws will change to reflect this. In this way, the society is
able to remain stable despite change.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Most of the time, most school students conform to most of the school rules. Make a list of reasons
why they do this. Then imagine you are a head teacher and want to have even greater conformity
– what would you do?
How sociologists explain deviance and non-conformity, including reference to
subcultures, under-socialisation, marginalisation, cultural deprivation and social
resistance
Subcultures
Within complex societies, there will be more than one single value system. There will be groups which have
different values – subcultures. In Western societies, some sociologists have argued that working-class
subcultures are very different from the wider culture. Some of the features of working-class subcultures have
been seen as being (Miller 1962):
•
trouble: willingness to accept that life involves conflict, and to get involved in fights
•
toughness: demonstrating ‘maleness’ through physical strength, drinking, etc.
•
smartness: status among peers involves dressing as well as possible
•
excitement: as work is repetitive, fun and enjoyment are highly valued
•
fate: believing there is little that can be done to influence their lives
•
autonomy: dislike of authority – of anyone trying to tell them what to do.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Miller (1962) suggested that these are normal features of working-class subculture that bring young working
class males into conflict with wider society. Their choices of leisure activities lead to involvement in gangs and
conflict with authority in the form of the police, so the behaviours of these young men seems to be an example
of non-conformity. But the working-class youths are in fact conforming at their subcultural values – in that
sense, they are not deviant.
Other groups of young people have formed distinctive subcultures based on particular styles. These are
considered in the section on resistance.
Under-socialisation
Another explanation for deviance is that socialisation has been partial or unsuccessful (under-socialisation).
During primary socialisation, individuals internalise the norms and values of their family and then of the wider
society. There will not always be complete agreement between the family’s values and those of wider society;
an individual may be socialised in a family where some deviance is tolerated or approved (even criminals have
families). Alternatively, the family may fail to socialise a child adequately, perhaps through lack of care or
inability to devote time. The child may not completely internalise moral values (learning the difference between
right and wrong), or may not develop the ability to judge what behaviour is appropriate in different situations.
Marginalisation
Some individuals and groups are pushed to the fringes of society, both economically and politically. In the UK,
the term ‘marginalisation’ has been applied particularly to working-class youth in inner city areas. These areas
lack resources and facilities; the schools may not be good and there are few job opportunities. The concerns of
young people have not been taken seriously by the authorities; they have no politicians to speak on their behalf.
With high rates of unemployment, they can feel they have no future. This weakens the hold of the dominant
value system or ideology over them, because they do not feel that society is doing anything for them. They may
develop subcultures that express resistance, or turn to forms of deviance such as drug taking or minor crimes.
Cultural deprivation
A further argument suggests that some groups in society lack the attitudes and values which would allow them
to be successful, for example by obtaining qualifications and being upwardly socially mobile; for example, the
working class. Having a different set of values from those that are dominant places such groups at a
disadvantage. For example, to succeed in education, it helps to be able to take a long term view, working hard
and postponing leisure; that is, to defer gratification. Children whose family background has socialised them into
thinking and acting like this stand a better chance of success. Children from working-class backgrounds are
more likely to have been socialised into preferring immediate gratification and are thus less likely to have such
attitudes. They can be said to be culturally deprived as this can lead to under-achievement at school and
limitation of their prospects.
Resistance
Resistance is associated with conflict views of society, because it assumes a dominant group within society
whose power can be resisted. Neo-Marxists have suggested that where relatively powerless groups lack an
understanding of the capitalist system but are aware and resentful of their disadvantaged position within it, they
can respond with deviant behaviour which expresses their anger. This cannot become a revolution that will bring
down the ruling class and capitalism, and is arguably a form of showing anger which can strengthen the system.
This is used to explain the deviant behaviour of youth subcultures. Young people are relatively free to resist –
they are less likely to have long-term financial commitments, families to support or jobs they might lose. So they
are a relatively weak point where resistance to the dominant ideology can be expressed. Young people face
problems they can temporarily solve through rejecting the dominant values of society (which may seem to have
rejected the young people) through their choice of style, appearance and behaviour. Neo-Marxists have studied
various youth subcultures, such as mods and skinheads, and attempted to show that the deviant style and
behaviour are in fact forms of resistance. One criticism of this explanation is that it would probably not be
accepted by the young people themselves – it assumes that the sociologist knows the underlying reasons for
behaviour that the people involved are unaware of. This is an over-deterministic view that undervalues the
meanings that people attach to their actions.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
KEY CONCEPT - POWER, CONTROL AND RESISTANCE
How do the ideas here illustrate how people may organise to oppose and resist the exercise of power?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture
By Paul Hodkinson
Oxford, Berg (2002)
This is an ethnographic study of a distinctive subculture which emerged from post-punk styles in the 1980s.
The Goth style involves the sombre and macabre, with black dominant in clothing but Hodkinson shows that this does not mean a
gloomy outlook on life. He was a participant himself in the Goth scene and describes his role as a ‘critical insider’. He shows that
for many Goths, being a Goth was a very important part of their identity, with some describing it as being like belonging to a tribe.
For many of them, taking part in subcultural events (such as specialist Goth club and pub nights, and annual festivals) were
major activities that led to them socialising more with Goths than non-Goths. Goths were often geographically dispersed but links
with other Goths and with the subculture were strong through use of specialist Goth shops and media. Overall, the research
shows how subcultures continue to provide distinctive alternatives to mainstream culture despite the postmodern claim that ‘pick
‘n’ mix’ styles with little substance or meaning have replaced subcultures.
Question: What other subcultures do you know of?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
1.3 Social identity and change
Social class, gender, ethnicity and age as elements in the construction of social
identity
This section examines the ways that people use concepts such as class, gender ethnicity and age to create
social identities that fix them within particular cultures and societies.
Class identities
Social class can be difficult to define, but Crompton (2003) suggests that occupation is a good general measure
that can allow us to define simple class groupings, such as working, middle and upper class. Occupation can
also suggest ways in which class identities develop out of different work-related experiences.
Working class
Traditional working-class identities are fixed (or centred) around manual work and the manufacturing industry. A
further dimension to class identity came from the largely urban and close communities within which the
traditional working class lived. Here, people of a similar class, occupation and general social outlook had their
cultural beliefs continually reinforced through personal experience and socialisation: the ‘working-class Self’
could be contrasted with the ‘middle-/upper-class Other’. In such circumstances, class identity was built not just
around what people were or believed themselves to be, but also around what they were not. More recently,
however, Crompton has suggested changes to the nature of work:
•
a decline in traditional manufacturing industries
•
a rise of service industries such as banking, computing and a range of lesser-status service jobs.
This has led to the emergence of a new working class. Goldthorpe et al. (1968) argued that this section of the
working class developed new forms of identity:
•
privatised or home-centred
•
instrumental: work was a means to an end – the creation of a comfortable home and family life – rather than
an end in itself.
In terms of general class identity, however, Devine (1992) suggested that there were still important differences
between the new working class and the middle classes. The former, for example, retained a strong sense of
‘being working class’.
Middle class
Middle-class identities are constructed around a range of occupational identities. These include:
•
professionals such as doctors, whose identity combines high levels of educational achievement with
personal autonomy (freedom of action) and decision-making
•
managers involved in the day-to-day running of private and public companies – an identity, Brooks (2006)
suggests, that combines career progression, decision-making, power and control over others and the
organisation of work routines
•
intellectuals, such as university lecturers, who reflect an academic identity dealing with knowledge and
information services
•
consultants focused on selling knowledge, information and skills across both national and global markets
•
routine service workers (such as shop assistants), who represent an expanding identity group situated at the
bottom of the middle-class hierarchy; they may have lower earnings and levels of skill than some higher
working-class occupations, but they qualify as middle class on the basis of their non-manual work and, in the
case of occupations such as nursing, higher levels of social status (a significant factor in all types of middleclass identity).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Upper class
Upper-class identities are based on two major groupings:
•
The landed aristocracy is a relatively small group whose traditional source of power is its historic ownership
of land and its political connections to the monarchy. In the past, this made it the most significant section of
society. Over the course of the 20th century, the economic power and influence of the aristocracy may have
declined, but there remains a significant upper-class section of society.
•
The business elite now represents a major section of the upper class – one characterised by great income
and wealth based on ownership of significant national, international and global companies.
Self and Zealey (2007) note that:
•
21% of the UK’s total wealth is owned by the wealthiest 1% of its population.
•
7% of the nation’s wealth is owned by the least wealthy 50%.
In India, a similar pattern of income equality emerges:
•
The top 10% of wage-earners earn 12 times more than the bottom 10%.
•
42% of India’s 1.2 billion population live on around $1.25 a day.
On a global scale, Davies et al. (2008) note that the world’s richest 1% own 40% of the total global wealth. Of
this 1%, 60% live in just two countries: the USA and Japan.
ACTIVITY 1.14
Describe three cultural practices in your society that are commonly used to identify class distinctions.
Compare these three cultural practices. Which would be the most appropriate for sociological research, and why?
Gender identities
Connell et al. (1987) argued that we are not born a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’; we become ‘men’ and ‘women’ through
the social construction of gender identities. In other words, while biological sex refers to the physical
characteristics that cause people to be labelled male or female, gender refers to the social characteristics given
to each sex. Lips (1993) argued that differences in male and female identities do not occur naturally from
biological differences. Gender identities differ historically and cross-culturally, which means that they are both
learnt and relative. Connell (1995) suggested that there are two forms of dominant gender identities:
1 Hegemonic masculinity, where ‘traditional’ forms of masculinity are based on a variety of physical and mental
characteristics. For example, men are encouraged to adopt a particular body shape that, ideally, emphasises
physical strength. Mental characteristics include ideas about men as leaders, providers, being unemotional,
rational, calm, cool and so on.
2 Emphasised femininity relates to the idea that female identities were traditionally defined by how they could
accommodate the interests and needs of men. The dominant identity was one that matched and
complemented hegemonic masculinity. Women were regarded as essentially passive, emotional beings
whose identity was expressed in the service of others. Kitchen (2006) calls this a ‘complicit femininity’,
because it is defined by male needs and desires.
Male identities
Although hegemonic masculinity is dominant, alternative masculinities exist. Schauer (2004) suggests the
following forms of masculinity:
•
Subordinate masculinities are generally seen as ‘lesser forms’ of masculinity, particularly for men who are
unable or unwilling to perform hegemonic masculinity, such as those with physical disabilities.
•
Subversive masculinities involve an alternative masculinity that challenges and undermines hegemonic
masculinity. An example here might be the ‘serious student’ who works hard at school rather than being part
of a gang that is disruptive in class.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Complicit masculinities refer to newly feminised masculinities such as the ‘new man’; men who combine paid
work with their share of unpaid housework and childcare, taking on aspects of the traditional feminine role.
This type of masculinity sees women as equals and occurs, Connell (1995) argued, because ‘as women
have become more powerful, male identities have begun to change’.
Figure 1.14: How does this behaviour challenge notions of hegemonic masculinity?
•
Marginalised masculinities refer to men who feel they have been ‘pushed to the margins’ of family life due to
long-term unemployment, for example; they no longer feel able to perform what they see as the traditional
masculine roles of money earner and family provider. Willott and Griffin (1996) noted this type of masculinity
developing among the long-term unemployed working class as traditional beliefs about ‘the good family man’
providing for wife and kids clashed with an inability to provide for their partner and children as traditional
working-class occupations disappeared.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Young Masculinities
By Stephen Frosh and Ann Phoenix, Basingstoke, Palgrave (2002)
The researchers used individual and focus group interviews to gain an insight into how boys aged 11 to 14 (younger than in most
research of this kind) in schools in London, United Kingdom, negotiated their gender identities.
Although there is a popular stereotype of teenage boys being unable or unwilling to talk, especially about
emotions, this was not the case in these interviews. It was found that it was important for the boys that they
were seen as different from girls and separate from things associated with feminism. There was pressure to
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
be ‘hard’, shown by success in sports, casual attitudes to school work and swearing. Football was important
for masculinity; boys were expected to talk about football.
Looking good was important too, but played down because caring about appearance was seen as feminine.
Some boys put up a ‘front’ of masculinity with other boys but were willing to discard this in one to one
interviews or when around girls. The boys did not want girls as friends, although they recognised they would
be able to talk about emotions more with girls.
Many boys worked continuously on re-establishing their masculinity. Overall this research shows the
importance of ideas about masculinity for boys’ identities, and how attitudes are formed at quite an early
age.
Question: Can you recognise any of these aspects of masculinity and masculine behaviour in your school
or college?
Female identities
Ann Oakley (1972) suggested that female identities were shaped in childhood. Girls and boys are socialised
differently, into gendered roles that involve gendered identities. This happens in several ways. Girls and boys
are treated differently by their parents, dressed in different clothes, are given different toys to play with and so
on. Oakley suggested four main ways in which children are socialised into gender roles:
•
By manipulation: for example, by stressing the importance of appearance for girls and of being brave or
strong for boys.
•
By canalisation: channelling children’s time and attention onto different activities, such as the girl helping her
mother cook while the boy plays sport with his father.
•
By verbal appellation: how children are spoken to; for example, telling a girl she is pretty reinforces the idea
that attractiveness in females is important.
•
By different activities: what children see their parents and others doing leads to ideas about what is
appropriate for each sex, for example that cooking and cleaning are for women.
According to Oakley, there are three main forms of feminine identity in contemporary societies:
1 Contingent femininities are framed and shaped by male beliefs, behaviours and demands:
•
•
Normalised identities, for example, involve women learning to play a secondary role to men – as
mothers, girlfriends, partners and the like. Chambers et al. (2003) argue that such identities continually
struggle with the problem of ‘producing a femininity that will secure male approval’.
Sexualised identities are made through male eyes and fantasies. In these types of identity, women are
sexual objects that exist for male gratification.
2 Assertive identities reflect the changing position of women in many societies. They involve women breaking
free from traditional ideas about femininity, but not completely setting themselves apart from men. Froyum
(2005) suggests that assertive femininities are adopted to ‘resist male power without actually threatening to
overthrow such power’. Different types of assertive identity include:
•
‘Girl power’ identities: Hollows (2000) suggests that these emphasise ‘sex as fun’ and the importance of
female friendship. These identities represent a way of ‘coping with masculinity’, but older women are
excluded from this identity.
•
Modernised femininities that relate to a slightly older age group. These locate new-found female
economic and cultural power within the context of family relationships. The assertive aspect here is a
desire for personal freedom and expression – what McRobbie (1996) termed ‘individualism, liberty and
the entitlement to sexual self-expression’ – within the context of traditional gender relationships.
Ageing femininities, which assert the right of elderly women to be fashionable, active and sexual beings.
•
3 Autonomous femininities, which involve competition with men, on female terms. Evans (2006), for example,
points to a female individualism as part of a ‘new gender regime that frees women from traditional
constraints’, such as pregnancy and childcare. Autonomous women are likely to be:
•
highly educated
•
successful
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
professional middle class
•
career-focussed.
They also tend to form non-committal heterosexual attachments. These may involve marriage but are unlikely to
involve children.
Ethnic identities
When thinking about ethnic identities, it is helpful to keep two things in mind:
1 Ethnicity is not the same thing as race. As Ossorio (2003) argues, ‘the simple biological notion of race is
wrong’ – there is no solid scientific evidence of genetically different ‘racial groups’.
2 Avoid thinking about ethnicity in terms of ‘minorities’. The Center for Social Welfare Research (1999) stated:
‘For all of us, identity is in some sense ‘ethnic’ in that we have diverse origins … related to how we are
perceived and treated by others.’
Ethnicity, therefore, refers to a combination of cultural differences, in areas such as:
•
religion
•
family structures
•
beliefs
•
values
•
norms.
Winston (2005) suggests that ethnic identities develop when people ‘see themselves as being distinctive in
some way from others’ because of a shared cultural background and history. Song (2003) claims that this is
often expressed in terms of distinctive markers such as a common ancestry and ‘memories of a shared past’. A
sense of ethnic identity is based on ‘symbolic elements … such as family and kinship, religion, language,
territory, nationality or physical appearance’. Ethnic identity does not necessarily relate to ‘any actual evidence
of cultural distinctiveness as a group’. The key factor is whether people are ‘conscious of belonging to the
group’.
Ethnicity as a source of personal and social identity is built on a range of ideas that include referring to:
•
country of birth and the sense of a common geographic location
•
traditions and customs that contribute to unique cultural practices that distinguish one ethnic group from
another
•
shared histories and experiences as a defining sense of identity, as with victims of slavery in the case of
Black Caribbean and African identities or the Nazi holocaust in the case of Jewish identities
•
religious beliefs, celebrations and traditions that connect people on the basis of shared cultural practices,
such as common forms of worship.
Unlike racial identities, ethnic identities can be negotiated. Their nature and meaning can change because of
external and internal factors. External factors might include contact with other cultures; internal factors might be
a clash of ideas and experiences between different age, class or gender groups within a particular ethnic group.
For this reason, ethnic identities require constant maintenance through collective activities, such as festivals,
celebrations or religious gatherings, and a variety of material and symbolic cultural artefacts, such as traditional
forms of dress, food and crafts.
Wimmer (2008) argues that an important aspect of ethnic identities is how they are defined in relation to other
ethnic groups by constructing a sense of difference, which establishes boundaries for a particular identity. Ethnic
boundaries may be positive, conferring a sense of belonging to a definable cultural group, or may protect – as a
way of fighting racism and discrimination, for example. Boundaries may also be imposed through cultural
stereotypes about ethnic groups and identities. This may in fact reinforce a stereotyped group’s sense of
identity.
Another way in which ethnic identities can be imposed relates to how minority identities can be defined by
majority ethnicities in terms of their ‘Otherness’; how ‘They’ are different from ‘Us’. While this relationship
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
strengthens both majority and minority ethnic identities, it can also result in minority ethnicities being portrayed
as a threat in two main ways:
•
cultural, where minority beliefs and practices are set up as challenges to a particular way of life
•
physical, where in countries such as Britain and the USA, following the 11 September 2001 World Trade
Center attacks, the media framed and referenced this threat in terms of ‘Muslims’ and ‘terrorism’.
ACTIVITY 1.15
Use the internet, and other forms of media, to find images of different class, gender and ethnic identities. In small groups, take it in
turns to present your representations to one another. Explain clearly what the various elements of the image say about the social
identity of the individual, or individuals, represented. Also, assess how far the image matches what you see as the social reality.
Combine your findings, and those of other groups, and present them in the form of a poster suitable for wall display.
Age Identities
On one level age is simply a matter of how many years someone has been alive, but sociologists are interested
in the meanings attached to age. Age is a social construction, which means that what it means to be young, or
old, or any age, depends on the society at the time.
In Western cultures, age is worked out by counting from the year of birth to the current time or until death
occurs. Age is considered to be very important; it is the basis on which individuals are able to do certain things,
or are prevented from doing other things.
In many traditional societies, in contrast, people may not know how old they are. Chronological age may not be
recognised, or may be considered unimportant. The passing of time may be measured, not by dates, but by
important events, or the passing of seasons. More important is the age set people belong to – the group of
people with whom they go through important stages in life, especially initiation into adulthood. In many
traditional African societies, for example, there are three main stages in men’s lives – as children, warriors and
elders. Boys of roughly the same age are initiated into adulthood and become adults at the same time. The
initiation may involve instruction in traditions and lore, and adult responsibilities, and an ordeal or test of
strength.
Industrial societies, in contrast, usually place a great emphasis on age in terms of years. Some rights and
responsibilities are only given to individuals when they reach a certain age.
Status in industrial societies is closely based on occupation and income. Children are usually unable to work
and are therefore dependent on adults. Older people may be prevented from working and so are often on low
income, which means they may have less status than African elders, who may be just as infirm, but are usually
seen as sources of knowledge and experience.
Members of an age group who share a common experience of growing up at the same point in history are an
age cohort. They grow up and grow old together experiencing the same significant events. This means that
whatever differences of gender and ethnicity there may be, everyone born in a certain year will belong to the
same age cohort throughout their lives; they will, for example, be leaving school and, later, entering retirement
at around the same age.
Older people
In many societies older people are respected and appreciated for the guidance based on experience that they
can offer to the community. Elders, for example, can be sources of wisdom and can help to solve disputes. This
aspect of old age has been less obvious in modern industrial societies where communities and extended
families are often weaker. Based on the idea that we now live in a ‘global village’, a group called The Elders, first
brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007, offers its collective wisdom to help solve some of the world’s
problems and to inspire younger people to act on them.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.15: The Elders
More people survive into old age than used to be the case. ‘Old age’ in modern industrial societies now covers
such a huge age range that it has become widely accepted to think of it as being sub-divided:
•
65 to 74: the young elderly
•
75 to 84: the old elderly
•
85 and over: the very elderly
This helps us recognise that there can be big differences within the category of ‘old age’.
One important role of many older people is as grandparents, or even great-grandparents. In modern industrial
societies, more people today know their grandparents than was the case in the past.
“Whilst an average woman of the mid-18th century could expect to die twelve years before her last grandchild
was born, a woman of the 1970s could expect to live twenty five years after the birth of her last grandchild.”
(Anderson, 1985, page 70).
Because there has been a trend in many developed countries for people having children later in life, it may
become normal for people to become a grandparent in their eighties if they have had children late and their
children do too. There is a very wide variation in the ages at which people become grandparents, from their late
thirties to advanced old age, which leads to variations in the role and identity of a grandparent.
Better health at a later age has led to many older people being able to play an active role in family life as
grandparents. Rather than being seen as a burden, needing to be financially supported and cared for by their
adult children, many grandparents are able to play a positive part by, for example:
•
contributing financially, especially if they are still working
•
looking after young grandchildren, especially where the parents both work
•
playing a part in the primary socialisation of their grandchildren
•
providing nurturing and emotional support
•
helping to keep cultural traditions alive, passing on stories and wisdom to their grandchildren.
While some grandparents live close to their children and their families and help out on a daily basis (for
example, taking the role of an unpaid childminder if both parents or a single-parent are working) many live too
far from their children for this. Both parents and children tend to lead full lives and time with grandchildren may
have to be planned and may involve specific activities.
The role of older people in families is explored further in the section on age and family life in Chapter 3, The
family.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Children
The way in which childhood is socially constructed has, according to historical research, changed completely in
the last 500 years. Philippe Aries (1962) has gone so far as to argue that childhood in the modern sense did not
exist in the Middle Ages. Children were not seen as different from adults; they wore the same clothes, worked
alongside adults and shared the same recreations. The invention of the printing press, and the growth of formal
education, created a new separate world of childhood. Today whole professions (educational psychologists,
paediatricians, teachers, child psychiatrists, etc.) are based on the assumption that children are not yet fully
developed people, that they are vulnerable, and need protection and guidance. Aries says this idea of childhood
is a modern invention, or ‘social construction’.
One of the most striking aspects of a child’s identity is that it is defined in relation to adults. Adults have authority
over children and children are largely dependent on adults. Children have to obey their parents and their
teachers, and may be physically punished if they do not obey. Hood-Williams (1990) argues that there are three
types of adult control of children
•
Space: children are required to stay within spaces; they may be told to play in the house, or allowed to go a
certain distance from home. Children in traditional societies often have greater freedom to roam over a wider
area; in Western societies, concern over safety, related to both traffic, or danger from other people,
sometimes known as ‘stranger danger’, means that children are watched over more and kept closer to
home.
•
Time: parents often control children’s time, such as when they must go to bed, or how long they spend on
homework and watching television. Children have to go to school for set hours. Adults also decide whether a
child is old enough for particular activities or privileges.
•
Bodies: what children wear, their hair style and the ways they sit, walk, run etc. are all controlled by adults.
Children have ways of resisting adult authority. Children can ‘act up’; that is behave as if they were adults,
perhaps by smoking or swearing. Children often look for ways to give the impression that they are older than
they really are. They can also sometimes ‘act down’, acting younger than they are in order to get some of the
concessions given to the very young. Both forms of resistance can be seen as being about children trying to
escape from being seen as children.
Part of the idea of childhood in the twentieth century was that it was a period of happiness and innocence in
which children were, or at least should be, free of adult worries. Neil Postman (1994) argued that childhood
changed again with the growth of television, computers and videos. These mean that children are exposed to
the adult world earlier - they cannot be kept innocent of the adult world of sex, violence and so on. Postman
cites increases in crime by children, and the tendency for children to dress and behave more like adults. Since
Postman first raised these concerns, the growth of the internet, and the relative ease with which ‘adult’ images
and content can be accessed, has probably shortened the period of childhood innocence for many children.
Teenagers
The idea of a youth, or teenager, is a relatively modern one. It was only in Western societies in the second half
of the 20th century that people of this age were thought of as a distinctive category. Growing affluence by the
1950s meant that teenagers had money to spend and industries, such as popular music and fashion, developed
to meet the demands of this new market. There was concern that the emergence of this new group meant a
‘generation gap’, with teenagers and people of their parents’ generation having few shared interests, little in
common and different opinions.
Functionalists like Eisenstadt view the teenage years as a difficult period because they involve status anxiety industrial societies emphasise achieved, not ascribed statuses, and, therefore, young people feel pressure to
achieve. One response is to rely on the peer-group; they are after all people who are going through the same
problems and anxieties. Young people therefore tended to share norms and values, even to form a youth
culture, but Eisenstadt saw this as functional since it helped people through the transition to adult life. Some
breaking of norms, even if teenagers got into trouble with the authorities, was seen as a testing of the
boundaries of acceptable behaviour as young people sought to establish their status and identity.
This view came into question with the development from the 1950s onwards of youth subcultures which were
seen as rejecting, or rebelling, against the dominant culture’s values. Neo-Marxists developed the idea of
working-class youth subcultures as resistance to capitalism. Young people were able to rebel because they
were less held back than adults by responsibilities. These youth subcultures were marked by rejection of
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
mainstream society’s norms and values; for example, the music and clothing was often designed to provoke a
negative reaction from authority, or from older people in general. A good example of this is the punk style of the
mid 1970s.
How social class, gender, ethnicity and age identities may be changing due to
globalisation, increased choice and the creation of new/hybrid identities
Some sociologists, such as postmodernists, believe that the old certainties of identity are giving way to new
uncertainties. Identities until fairly recently were considered to be stable and fixed. For most people, important
aspects of their identity were outside their control and decided by birth; for example, being born with a fixed
gender identity into a particular social class, in a society where gender and class were decisive influences on
identity. Until very recently, identities were clear, relatively fixed and certain in terms of what is expected by
others. For example, people had a clear idea about what it means to be ‘a man’ or ‘a woman’ because there are
relatively few choices available to them in how these categories are defined, or in how to live as someone
belonging to one sex. The social rules governing how to be young or old, male or female, upper-class or
working-class were clear, consistent and firmly enforced. This has begun to change, at least for people in more
highly developed societies. Reasons for this include:
•
Globalisation: A key social change is the development of global economic and cultural influences, which
have opened up societies, communities and individuals to new and different experiences, behaviours and
ideas. In the UK, for example, people eat food from the USA, India and Thailand, wear clothes from China
and listen to music from Korea. They have imported a range of cultural ideas, styles and fashions from
around the globe. This cultural trend has resulted in broken up (fragmented) identities and has increased the
choices available.
•
Increased choice: Many people now have much greater choice. On one level, this is simply about what they
can buy – a far greater range of goods are available and often affordable. This has led to society being
based on consumerism. The choices people make have consequences beyond simply satisfying needs or
owning something – they have become a way of impressing on others who and what you are. One way of
expressing cultural identity, therefore, is through a display of wealth that emphasises an individual’s social
status and position. More generally, consumption is linked to identity because it represents a ‘background
presentation’ of the self. What we buy, how we dress and where, and how, we spend our leisure time all
reveal something about who and what we are.
New and hybrid identities
In the globalised world, there are so many ways to express identities that it is no longer possible to support,
sustain and control simple, centred social identities. As a result, the rules governing the correct way to play out
these identities (‘real men don’t cry’, ‘a woman’s place is in the home’) are relaxed, as people develop the
freedom to both invent, and adapt, identities to their personal tastes and styles.
One outcome of this change is that identities become decentred; people are less certain about how to behave. If
there are many ways to be ‘middle-class’, which is the ‘right’ way? Identity categories are also more easily
combined to create a whole new range of hybrid identities. Some young British Asians, for example, define
themselves as Brasian – a mix of both British and Asian cultures and identities. This is a new identity, not open
to previous generations, but also a hybrid one, because it combines aspects of at least two ethnic identities. The
problem with almost unlimited choice from which we pick and mix identities is uncertainty and confusion about
who we are and how we are supposed to behave.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 1.16: How does the idea of choice produce uncertainty?
People are still socialised into a variety of roles, values and norms, but social identities no longer set certain
standards of belief and behaviour. Rather, individuals shape their lives through the development of personal
identities that are always unique in some way, shape or form. While individual development (or personal
narrative) is influenced by others, it is in not determined by these relationships. Whereas, for structuralist
sociologists, socialisation controls the behaviour of the individual, interactionists believe that socialisation covers
a range of possibilities. Every time new choices are added, the pattern of socialisation changes. Eventually,
even tiny changes to an individual’s life can have a significant outcome. This explains how, and why, those
socialised in the same family, in apparently very similar ways, develop different adult personalities.
The decentring of culture and identity means that people are increasingly open to, and accepting of, different
experiences, both ‘the new’, in the sense of something not previously seen or done, and ‘the newly different’, in
the sense of changing how we relate to existing experiences. Rampton (2002) suggests that identity
construction in postmodern societies is ‘something that involves assembling, or piecing together a sense of
identity from many changing options’. Each individual creates their identity through their consumption choices
and practices – something shown by the difference between shopping at a market stall in a small village and a
vast mall situated on the edge of town, or the even wider range available online. The market stall presents a
narrow range of goods from which to choose, as was the case with identities in the past. Shopping malls
present people with the freedom to browse huge spaces filled with a wide range of consumer goods – where
they ‘shop for identities’. The online shopper no longer needs to go to the mall.
ACTIVITY 1.16
Assess the extent to which your social identity is shaped by the things that you own.
Reflection: What other factors influence your social identity? Ask other students for their views. Would you change your own
views based on what they've said? Why/Why not?
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
How do the changes explained here help us understand the transition from ‘modern’ to ‘postmodern’ societies?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
‘The Question of Identity’
By Stuart Hall. In Hall, S., Held, D. and McGrew, T. (eds), Modernity and Its Futures Cambridge, Polity (1992)
Stuart Hall suggests in this essay that we have now reached a third historical stage in the development of ideas about identity,
the stage of the postmodern subject. During the period of the Enlightenment subject (16th to 18th centuries in Europe), it was
thought that each person had a unique individual and indivisible identity. Then, during the 19th century, the sociological subject,
seeing the individual citizen as enmeshed in a network of relationships with the modern state developed. Now, however, identities
are increasingly fragmented; people no longer have a single, unified idea of who they are and can have several possibly
conflicting identities. Hall relates this change to globalisation, the rise of new social movements, including feminism and identity
politics, and of surveillance. These can lead to a defensive reassertion of national identity (for example, against immigrants), to
minority ethnic groups identifying with the cultures of their countries of origin, and to new and hybrid identities. Identities have
been decentred. Hall’s is a strong argument for postmodern ideas about identity. This has been criticised for not recognising that
older sources of identity, such as social class, are still important.
Question: List the different aspects of your identity – gender, ethnic group, age group and so on. Are there situations where one,
or more, of these are more, or less, important than others?
Changing class identities
Peele (2004) argues that recent global economic changes have resulted in ‘a blurring of traditional class
identities’. We can see this in cultural changes in taste and consumption. In particular, a joining up of workingclass and middle-class tastes makes it increasingly difficult to define class identity clearly. Clear boundary lines
between working-, middle- and upper-class identities have changed dramatically, although they have not
disappeared completely.
Savage (2007) argues that, although people still use class categories as a source of identity, the meaning of
these categories has changed. Greater emphasis is placed on individual, rather than collective, experiences;
this undermines the importance of class, which is by its nature collective. As a result, working-class identities, in
particular, have become more varied. Class identity is becoming increasingly fluid – based on someone’s ability
to choose who they are or who they want to be.
Figure 1.17: What are the elements of working- and middle-class taste cultures in the 21st century?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
The Great British Class Survey
Research team led by Mike Savage and Fiona Devine
Savage, M., Devine, F., Cunningham, N., Taylor, M., Li, Y., Hjellbrekke, J., Le Roux, B., Friedman, S., Miles, A. (2013). ‘A New
Model of Social Class: Findings from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey Experiment’. Sociology, volume 47 number 2
(accessed 1 January 2018)
The largest ever survey of the British class system, with responses from more than 160 000 respondents, combined conventional
ways of measuring social class based on income and occupation with data on social and cultural capital. For example, the survey
asked about leisure activities, and interests and tastes in music and food, and also who respondents knew, reflecting changes in
thinking about social class. The research demonstrated the existence of an elite clearly separate from the middle-class. Overall,
the researchers suggested that there were now seven classes, reflecting the social polarisation of British society and growing
fragmentation, especially in the middle layers of society. The lowest class is described as the precariat, to indicate its precarious
position in society. Its members score lowly on all forms of capital, live in old industrial areas and have high levels of insecurity.
The emergence of this class has been seen as a worrying development in British society.
Question: Why are ‘leisure activities, and interests and tastes in music and food, and also who respondents knew’ a new
development in researching and thinking about class? How important do you think they are?
Changing gender identities
Benyon (2002) argues that contemporary global societies are experiencing a crisis of masculine identity caused
by a combination of:
•
long-term unemployment
•
the loss of traditional male employment in manufacturing industries
•
lower educational achievement relative to girls
•
the rise of female-friendly service industries.
Male identities once focused on traditional ideas such as providing for a family, but this is no longer the case for
all. Marginalised masculinities cannot demonstrate traditional male qualities because they no longer control the
economic resources on which such masculinity was based. This male identity crisis has resulted in the rise of
forms of exaggerated masculinity that try to bring back traditional forms of male identity. Retributive
masculinities aim to get back traditional masculinity from their ‘emasculated’ peers. Typical behaviours include
heavy drinking, fighting and romancing women. These behaviours are based on an idealised version of a
traditional masculinity. This identity is:
•
firmly patriarchal
•
aggressive, both physically and verbally
•
oppositional, in the sense of rejecting complicit masculinities
•
reclamational – it seeks to ‘reclaim masculinity’ as an identity.
These types of masculinity, reacting against social change, can be seen, for example, in violence against
women and sexual minorities.
Feminine identities are also changing as ideas about gender equality are more accepted globally. This enables
more women to move away from the conventional feminine role based on the home and family, and take on new
work-based identities. Some work-based identities, such as that of domestic servant, are still strongly linked to
the feminine role. Globalisation has led to many women from developing countries migrating to work as
domestic servants, nannies and similar roles, sending remittances (money) to their families. This has led to a
‘care deficit’ as children are raised by grandparents, or others, while the mother cares for another family’s
children abroad. There has also been an increase in the number of women working in the global sex trade, often
due to trafficking, carrying out a conventional female role of provider of sexual services in a newly globalised
industry.
Changing ethnic identities
Globalisation, and the associated movement of people around the world, mean, that many societies are more
ethnically mixed than in the past. This happens through two main processes:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
immigration, where different ethnic groups physically meet
•
cultural globalisation, where, through agencies such as the internet, ethnic cultures and identities are
increasingly exposed to different cultural influences.
This can lead to established identities gradually changing, by constantly drawing on new influences and reestablishing old identities in the face of new challenges. White English youth identities have, for example,
included aspects of other cultures relating to:
•
music, such as rock, pop, rap and hip-hop
•
food, such as hamburgers, Asian cuisine and German beer
•
language, especially slang terms associated with youth cultures and subcultures
•
clothing that includes jeans and T-shirts.
These processes can also lead to a mixing of distinctive ethnic styles to produce new and unique identities. This
mixing tends to take place on the margins of identity, involving the combination of specific features of ethnic
identities rather than a complete change. Examples include things such as:
•
Food: Indian, Chinese and Italian cuisine, for example, have become a key part of British culture, often with
subtle changes that give them a unique ‘British’ identity twist.
•
Clothing, where the American style of jeans and T-shirts has been added into a variety of global ethnic
identities.
•
Music, such as Bhangra, which displays cross-over styles to produce unique musical mixtures and genres.
Changing age identities
Age identities are also changing in response to social changes linked to globalisation and increased choice.
Older people
For many older people in developed countries, there are greater opportunities in later life than existed for
previous generations. Pensions, better health care, and other developments, mean more years of active life
after retirement. Pensions, in particular, have given older people financial power they did not often have in the
past – this spending power is known in the UK as the ‘grey pound’, and has led to a range of industries and
services aimed at older people. For example, some types of holidays such as cruises are aimed mainly at
people in this age group. Some older people have also adopted new technology, often as a way of staying in
contact (via social media) with relatives who live far away.
At the same time, rising life expectancy and lower birth rates mean that the populations of developed countries
are ageing – the average age is going up, so that older people represent a growing proportion of the total
population. This is referred to as the ageing population. Although older people are healthier and more active
than many in the past, the last few years of life are still for many people marked by declining health and a
growing reliance on care and support. This is likely to be provided by a combination of family and state.
Some older people take up new challenges and continue to contribute to family and community life in many
ways. However, concern about the cost to governments of pensions has led to recent increases in the age at
which people can retire, so that working life is being extended beyond the previous expected retirement age.
This means that some people who in the past would have retired are still working and contributing to the
economy by, for example, paying taxes and this is changing perceptions about when old age begins.
Young people and children
There are fewer children in most developed countries as a result of falling birth and fertility rates. As a
consequence, children are highly valued and societies have become more child-centred. As with older people, a
growing range of industries and services are aimed at children, and allow them the possibility of making
consumer choices that contribute to shaping their identities.
In developing countries, the age profile of populations is very different, with far more children and young people.
In Africa, 77% of the population is under 35 – a total of around 770 million people. Many of these young people
have, or will soon have, access to social media via mobile phones and will have greater choices for shaping
their identities. They will be more aware of lifestyles and living standards in the developed world. Without strong
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
economic growth, it is likely that many young African people will aspire to migrate to developed countries to
improve their life chances.
Social changes have led to the period of adolescence being extended. In developed countries in the mid-20th
century, it was common for people to start full-time work in the mid to late teenage years and to marry in their
early twenties. In most developed countries, the period of compulsory education has been extended, while at
the same time many more young people go into higher education, such as studying for a degree at a university.
This means that young people tend to be dependent on their parents for longer, with more living at home until
well into adulthood, so they do not gain independence until they are older than previous generations were. In
some countries, this situation has been added to by a lack of jobs for younger people and by the rising cost of
renting or buying accommodation, which pushes young people toward staying in their parents’ home. These
trends have also pushed up the ages at which people first get married and at which they have their first child.
KEY CONCEPT - INEQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY
How do these different elements of social identity (social class, gender, ethnicity and age) help us understand how inequality
affects different sections of society?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
The process of learning and socialisation
■ Culture, roles, norms, values, beliefs, customs, ideology, power and status are elements in the social
construction of reality.
■ Socialisation is important in influencing human behaviour.
■ There is a debate about the roles of nature and nurture in influencing human behaviour.
■ Agencies of socialisation and social control include family, education, peer-group, media and religion.
Social control, conformity and resistance
■ Structure and agency shape the relationship between the individual and society.
■ There are differences between structuralist and interactionist views.
■ Factors explaining why individuals conform to social expectations include sanctions, social pressure,
self-interest and social exchange.
■ The mechanisms through which order is maintained include power, ideology, force and consensus.
■ Sociologists explain deviance and non-conformity by reference to subcultures, under-socialisation,
marginalisation, cultural deprivation and social resistance.
Social identity and change
■ Social class, gender, ethnicity and age are elements in the construction of social identity.
■ Social class, gender, ethnicity and age identities may be changing due to globalisation, increased
choice and the creation of new/hybrid identities.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
Choose one set of questions to answer in the time available.
Set 1
1 ‘Fixed gender roles are important for making societies stable’.
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
2 Evaluate the view that class identities are no longer as important as they used to be.
[26]
Set 2
1 ‘Globalisation is changing gendered identities’.
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
2 Evaluate the view that nature is more important than nurture in shaping human behaviour.
[26]
Set 3
1 ‘Globalisation is giving people greater choice over their identities’.
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
2 Evaluate the view that families are the most important influence on an individual’s identity.
[26]
Set 4
1 ‘Nature is more important than nurture in explaining human behaviour’.
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
2 Evaluate the view that age identities are changing.
[6]
[26]
Sample answer and activity
Set 1
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
1 Fixed gender roles are important for making societies stable.
a Explain this view.
[10]
You should make at least two clear and developed points in your answer.
Here is an example of a developed point:
The view that the family is the most important agency of social control is based on the
fact that socialisation within the family when a child is very young is the most
important stage of socialisation, referred to as primary socialisation. This is when the
child, at an impressionable age, learns and internalises the main norms and values of
their society from their parents and others in their immediate family. Parents are
important in this because of the strong bond with their children. This includes
learning the limits of acceptable behaviour, and so socialisation also is bound to
involve social control. This learning is done in a variety of informal ways, including
imitation (when the child copies the behaviour of a parent, who is acting as a role
model), comments and smiles by parents that reinforce approved behaviour.
Point 1: Notice that this answer has already included a number of key sociological terms, such as primary
socialisation, internalises, social control and imitation. It is important to demonstrate your sociological
knowledge and understanding by using key terms whenever possible.
Point 2: This point could be improved by including some sociological theory. In this case, functionalism is
the obvious choice, but both Marxists and feminists would have different views on the norms and values
transmitted during primary socialisation. This opens up possibilities analysis and evaluation.
ACTIVITY 1.17
Now continue this answer by writing about the sanctions that can be used within families. Be sure to include a range of
sanctions, and to explain why these may be successful in ensuring children conform to the norms and values of their family
and of wider society.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 2
Methods of research
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ Types of data, methods and research design
■ Approaches to sociological research
■ Research issues
Before you start
Research involves gathering evidence. What ways do you know of already for gathering evidence? For
example, if you wanted to find out about the family life of people you know, in what different ways could you do
this?
Reflection: What strengths and limitations can you see with the ways you have identified?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
2.1 Types of data, methods and research design
The differences between primary and secondary sources of data and between
quantitative and qualitative data
Primary data
Primary data involves information collected personally by a researcher. The researcher may use a range of
methods, such as questionnaires, interviews and observational studies.
Strengths
The researcher has complete control over how data is collected, by whom and for what purpose. In addition,
where a researcher designs and carries out their own research they have greater control over the reliability and
validity of the data, as well as how representative it is.
Limitations
Primary research can be time-consuming to design, construct and carry out, especially if it involves personally
interviewing large numbers of people. Primary research can also be expensive. In addition, the researcher may
have difficulty gaining access to the target group. Some people may refuse to participate or, in the case of
historical research, potential respondents may no longer be alive.
Secondary data
Secondary data is data that already exists in some form, such as documents (government reports and
statistics, personal letters and diaries) or previous research completed by other sociologists.
Strengths
The researcher is able to save time, money and effort by using existing data such as official government
statistics about crime, marriage or divorce. There may also be situations where secondary data is the only
available resource, such as when researching suicide. Secondary data is also useful for historical and
comparative purposes.
Some forms of secondary data, such as official statistics, may be highly reliable because the data is collected
consistently, in the same way from the same sources. This type of data is also more likely to represent what it
claims to represent.
Limitations
Secondary data is not always produced with the needs of sociologists in mind. For example, official definitions of
poverty, class or ethnicity may be different from sociological definitions. Sources, such as personal documents,
can be unreliable. Some forms of secondary data, such as historical documents, may only reflect the views of a
single individual rather than representing wider opinions.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.1: Why might personal websites involve unreliable secondary data?
Quantitative data
Quantitative data expresses information numerically, in one of three ways:
1 A raw number, such as the total number of people who live in a society.
2 A percentage, or the number of people per 100, in a population; for example, around 80% of Indians follow
the Hindu religion.
3 A rate, or the number of people per 1,000 in a population; a birth rate of 1, for example, means that for every
1,000 people in a population, one baby is born each year.
Strengths
The ability to express relationships statistically can be useful if the researcher does not need to explore the
reasons for people’s behaviour – if they simply need to compare numbers.
Quantitative data allows sociologists to summarise sources of information and make comparisons. Statistical
comparisons and correlations can test whether a hypothesis is true or false. They can also track changes in
the behaviour of the same group over time (a longitudinal study).
Quantitative research is more reliable because it is easier to repeat (replicate) the study. Standardised questions
that do not change, for example, can be asked of different groups or the same group at different times. The
results can then be quantified and compared. If the answers are the same, or very similar, then the research is
more likely to be reliable.
Quantitative data also makes it easier for researchers to remain objective. They do not need to have a close
personal involvement with the subjects of the study, so their personal views or biases are less likely to get in the
way of (intrude into) the data-collection process.
Limitations
Quantification is often achieved by placing the respondent in an ‘artificial social setting’ in order to control the
responses and the data collected. People rarely, if ever, encounter situations where they are asked to respond
to a list of questions from a stranger, or have their behaviour observed in a laboratory.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.2: Quantitative data, such as that collected from questionnaires, is intended to limit subjective
judgements by asking uniform questions and even providing the choice of responses. Does quantitative
data reduce subjective judgements?
Some argue that it is impossible to capture people’s ‘normal’ behaviour or collect ‘real’ responses when the
subjects are placed in such an artificial environment.
Quantitative data only captures a relatively narrow range of information – the ‘who, what, when and where’ of
people’s behaviour.
Quantitative data does not usually reveal the reasons for behaviour because it lacks depth; the more detailed
the behavioural data, the more difficult it is to quantify. As a result, quantitative data is often seen as surface
level only data and superficial.
Qualitative data
Qualitative data aims to capture the quality of people’s behaviour by exploring the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what,
when and where’. It involves questions about how people feel about their experiences and can be used to
understand the meanings applied to behaviour. For example, in the USA Venkatesh (2009) studied a young
gang from the viewpoint of its members, while Goffman (1961) examined the experiences of patients in a mental
institution. Both were trying to capture the quality of people’s behaviour: what the subjects understand, how they
feel and, most importantly, why they behave in particular ways in different situations.
Strengths
The aim of qualitative research is to understand people’s behaviour, so they must be allowed to talk and act
freely. This allows the researcher to capture the complex reasons for behaviour. Qualitative methods, such as
participant observation involve the researcher establishing a strong personal relationship or rapport with
respondents in order to experience their lives. By collecting qualitative data in this way, researchers have
greater freedom to study people in their ‘normal’ settings. The results are more likely to show how people really
behave and what they really believe.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Limitations
Qualitative research focuses on the intensive study of relatively small groups, which may limit the opportunity for
applying the data more widely – such groups may not be representative of anything but themselves. It is also
difficult to compare qualitative data across time and location because no two groups will ever be qualitatively the
same. The depth and detail of the data also makes such research difficult to replicate, which means their
reliability is generally lower than that of quantitative research.
ACTIVITY 2.1
Which of the following types of data do you think are most suitable to collect in sociological research? Give reasons for your answer.
1 quantitative
2 qualitative
3 quantitative and qualitative.
Make a list of the strengths and limitations of each type of data.
Reflection: Compare your answers with those of other students and listen to their reasons. Do you agree? Would you
reconsider your reasons?
The strengths and limitations of different secondary sources of data, including
official statistics, personal documents, digital content and media sources
Official statistics
Official statistics created and published by governments are a major source of secondary quantitative data used
by sociologists to examine trends and patterns within and between societies:
•
Patterns of behaviour may be picked up by statistical analysis because they provide a broad overview of
behaviour across potentially wide areas: local, national and international. Durkheim (1897), for example,
identified distinct patterns to suicidal behaviour based on a comparative analysis of official suicide statistics
across a range of different societies.
•
In terms of trends, statistical data drawn from different years can be used to understand how something has
changed.
Statistics can be used for comparisons within groups, such as differences in middle- and working-class family
size, and between societies.
Strengths
In practical terms, official statistics may be the only available source covering a particular area of study, such as
suicide. In addition, data that would be costly, time-consuming and difficult to collect, such as statistics on
marriage, divorce or crime, is readily available – especially since the development of the internet. Another
strength of official statistics is their representativeness because they are often based on carefully chosen large
samples. Many official statistics, in areas including crime, unemployment, marriages, births and divorces, are
recorded by law. Sociologists use the term ‘hard statistics’ to refer to those that have a high level of accuracy
and cannot be doubted. For example, statistics about the number of divorces in a society can be viewed as
‘hard’ evidence. This is because a divorce has to be legally registered, so clear and accurate records are
available. Statistics that are considered to be less accurate are referred to as ‘soft statistics’. Official statistics
about the unemployment rate may be ‘soft’, because there are different ways of defining ‘unemployment’;
depending on which definition is used, the figures may vary greatly.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917)
The French sociologist Émile Durkheim is seen, with Weber and Marx, as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of modern sociology. He is
usually described as a functionalist and as influencing the development of American structural functionalism, which dominated
Western sociology for much of the 20th century. He wrote influential works in a number of fields, including religion and suicide,
developing important concepts such as anomie and the collective conscience. His book Le Suicide is seen as exemplifying the
positivist approach, taking statistical data on suicide from different regions and countries and attempting to establish a correlation
between differences in suicide rates and differences in social factors, such as religious beliefs and the extent to which people were
integrated into families and communities.
Limitations
Apart from not providing any great depth or detail, official statistics involve problems of validity due to what
governments include in or exclude from published data. Such data may only give a partial picture of reality for
two reasons:
1 Not all information may be available to those collecting the statistics. For example, while official crime
statistics provide valuable data about crimes reported to the police, they tell us little or nothing about the
‘dark figure of crime’ – crimes that are not reported or recorded.
2 Statistical data do not reveal much about the reasons for people’s behaviour. For example, although we
have a reasonably precise figure for the number of year-on-year murders in countries around the world, this
data tells us little about why people kill each other.
Although quantitative data is normally considered more objective than qualitative data, its significance must
always be interpreted by researchers; who decide what the data means. A statistical rise in crime, for example,
may be the result of:
•
a real rise
•
a different way of defining and counting crime
•
police targeting certain types of crime and arresting more people.
Governments occasionally change the definition of key concepts. Different governments may also define a
concept differently. Such changes and differences bring into question the reliability of the data, because when
making comparisons the researcher must compare like with like.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.3: Does having to legally record statistical information make it more reliable?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Whenever you come across statistics, think about how they came to be produced. They will be
socially constructed – the result of decisions made by people about what to count or measure and
how.
Personal documents, digital content and media sources
Some of the personal documents which can be used by sociologists are letters, diaries, oral histories,
autobiographies and photographs. The media, such as newspapers, books and moving images, are also
valuable sources of information. Increasing use is also now being made of online sources such as blogs and
websites. The strengths and limitations of these three categories of sources are similar and will be treated
together.
Strengths
Documents give the researcher access to data that would cost a lot of money, time and effort to collect
personally. They can provide secondary data in situations where it is not possible to collect primary data (about
things that happened in the past, for example). Historical documents can also be used for comparative
purposes; contrasting how people once lived with how we live now is useful for tracking and understanding
social change. Historical analysis also reveals the differences in people’s behaviour – things we now take for
granted may have been seen differently in the past, and the other way around.
Documents can provide qualitative data of great depth and detail. For example, diaries such as those of Samuel
Pepys, who recorded life in England during the 1660s, or Anne Frank, who recorded her life in hiding from the
Nazis in Amsterdam during the Second World War, provide extensive and valuable details about people and
their daily lives. In addition, it is sometimes possible to compare accounts across time to test the validity of
current accounts of social behaviour. Comparisons of past and present accounts of family and working lives can
help us understand the similarities and changes in individual and institutional behaviour. Pearson (1983), for
example, used media accounts going back over 100 years to demonstrate that violent ‘hooligan’ or ‘yobbish’
behaviour is not a recent phenomenon in the UK.
Documents can also be analysed by comparing what they actually say (their literal meaning) and their hidden
meanings – what they tell us about the hopes, fears and beliefs of whoever produced them. Newspaper articles,
for example, may tell us more about their writers and how they see social problems than they do about the topic
of the article.
Limitations
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Practical limitations tend to focus on the availability of documentary sources – they are not always easy to find –
and where they come from. Paper documents can be faked and a researcher needs to know whether they are
originals or copies that may have been changed by other authors. Similar considerations apply to digital text,
photographic and video sources. We do not always know why or by whom a document was created, which
means we cannot always be sure if it is a believable source. Did the author have first-hand experience of the
things they describe, or are they simply repeating something they heard?
Documents offer reliability problems in that they may be:
•
incomplete
•
inaccurate
•
unrepresentative – diaries, for example, may simply be one individual’s view.
Digital sources can be subject to change; old websites become inaccessible while others may be updated so
that the original content is lost. Some sources may become harder to access as technologies become no longer
used (for example floppy disks).
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
How have sociologists had to adapt research methods because of changes such as the digital revolution in technology?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Diaries are a commonly used personal document. As a sociologist, you would want to ask
questions that help you assess the usefulness of diaries. For example, what people keep diaries?
Why do they keep them? Did they intend for other people to read them? What things do they put
in (and what do they leave out?) Which diaries from the past have survived and why?
ACTIVITY 2.2
Identify some personal documents that you have. How useful could they be in sociological research?
Reflection: How would you feel about your own documents (such as a diary you kept) being used by researchers? What does
this tell you about ethical considerations in using personal documents? Would it make you reconsider how you conduct your own
research?
The strengths and limitations of different quantitative research methods,
including questionnaires, structured interviews, experiments and content
analysis
Questionnaires
Questionnaires consist of written questions that take one of two forms:
1 Postal questionnaires are normally completed in private without the researcher being present. Today this
includes web-based or emailed questionnaires.
2 Researcher-administered questionnaires are completed in the presence of the researcher, with respondents
answering questions verbally: these are structured interviews.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Postal questionnaires
Questionnaires involve two basic types of question. Closed-ended or pre-coded questions involve the
researcher providing a set of answers from which the respondent can choose. The researcher limits the
responses that can be given, as in the following example:
Do you own a sociology textbook?
Yes
No
Don’t Know
Code
[1]
[2]
[3]
There are variations on this type of question, such as those that measure respondent attitudes, but their defining
characteristic is that they do not allow the respondent to develop an answer beyond the listed categories.
In open-ended questions, the researcher does not provide possible answers. Rather, the respondent answers in
their own words. For example:
‘What do you like about studying sociology?’
This type of question finds out more about the respondent’s opinions and produces a limited form of qualitative
data – although the main aim of a questionnaire is usually to quantify responses. Many questionnaires contain a
mix of open and closed questions.
Strengths
Pre-coded questions make it easier to quantify data, because the options are already known, they are limited in
number and easy to count. Such questions are also quick and easy to code; this can be just a simple count of
the number of responses. Pre-coded questions are useful when the researcher needs to contact large numbers
of people quickly and efficiently. The respondents do the time-consuming work of completing the questionnaire.
Questionnaires can result in highly reliable data; because everyone answers the same questions, it is easy to
replicate the research. The fact that respondents often remain unknown (anonymous) means that the validity of
the research is improved, especially when it involves questions that might be seen as personal. There is also
less risk that the respondent will give biased answers or try to anticipate what the researcher wants to hear.
Limitations
One significant practical problem with questionnaires is a low response rate, where only a small number of
those receiving a questionnaire return it. This can result in a carefully designed sample becoming
unrepresentative, because it effectively selects itself. There is also nothing the researcher can do if respondents
ignore questions or respond incorrectly, such as choosing two answers when only one was requested.
The questionnaire format makes it difficult to examine complex issues and opinions. Another weakness is the
fact that the researcher has to decide at the start of the study what is and is not significant. There is no
opportunity to change this later on.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.4: Are questionnaires reliable, unreliable, don’t know?
The researcher has no way of knowing whether a respondent has understood a question properly. The
researcher also has to trust that the questions mean the same thing to all respondents. While remaining
unknown (anonymity) may encourage honesty, if someone other than the intended respondent completes the
questionnaire, it will affect the validity and representativeness of the research. Some of these problems can be
avoided by pilot studies (see below), but they cannot be totally removed.
A further problem involves (unintentional) biased questions. These can take a number of forms:
•
If a question has more than one meaning, people will be answering different questions.
•
Leading questions suggest a required answer. For example, “Why do you think it is important to study
Sociology?” doesn’t allow respondents to question whether it is important.
•
If an option is not precisely defined, it will mean different things to different people. For example, people may
define the word ‘occasionally’ or ‘often’ in different ways.
Structured interviews
A structured interview is where the researcher asks questions to respondents in person. To achieve consistent
and comparable results, the same questions are asked in the same order each time; there is no flexibility to
change the order or the questions.
Strengths
Potential reliability problems, such as respondents misunderstanding or not answering questions, can be fixed
by the researcher. In addition, a structured interview avoids the problem of unrepresentative samples – the
response rates will be 100%.
Limitations
Structured interviews involve assumptions (pre-judgements) about people’s behaviour and, like questionnaires,
can also contain (not on purpose) biased questions. The lack of anonymity in an interview also contributes to
two related limitations:
1 The interview effect occurs when a respondent tries to ‘help’ the researcher by providing answers designed
to please. This reduces validity because respondents simply provide answers they think the researcher
wants or which will make a good impression.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
2 The researcher effect is when the relationship between researcher and respondent may bias responses:
•
•
Aggressive interviewers, for example, may introduce bias by forcing (intimidating) respondents into giving
answers that they do not really believe.
Status considerations, based on factors such as gender, age, class and ethnicity, may also bias the data.
For example, a female respondent may feel embarrassed about answering personal questions posed by
a male interviewer, and vice versa.
ACTIVITY 2.3
Design a short questionnaire, with a mixture of closed and open questions, for your fellow sociology students about how they study.
Reflection: Compare your questionnaire with others and ask them to evaluate yours. What changes would you now make and
why?
ACTIVITY 2.4
What are the similarities and differences between a structured interview and a postal questionnaire?
What research topics would be better studied using postal questionnaires rather than structured interviews? For which topics would
structured interviews be better?
Experiments
Experiments involve testing the relationship between different variables – things that can change under
controlled conditions. The researcher changes (manipulates) independent variables to see whether they
produce a change in dependent variables that are not changed by the researcher; any changes must be caused
by a change in the independent variable.
Experiments, therefore, are based on changing an independent variable and measuring any later change in a
dependent variable. This relationship can be one of two types:
1 Correlations occur when two or more things happen at roughly the same time. These only suggest a
relationship, however, because it is possible for them to occur by chance.
2 Causation involves the idea that when one action occurs, another always follows. Causal relationships are
powerful because they allow a researcher to predict the future behaviour of something.
It is not always easy to distinguish between correlation and causation in the real world of sociological research,
because things often happen at the same time by chance or coincidence. However, there are two ways to
separate correlation from causality:
1 Test and retest a relationship. The more times a test is replicated with the same result, the greater the
chances that the relationship is causal.
2 Use different groups with exactly the same characteristics:
•
an experimental group whose behaviour is manipulated
•
a control group whose behaviour is not manipulated.
Laboratory experiments
Laboratory experiments take place in a closed environment where conditions can be precisely monitored and
controlled. This ensures that no ‘outside’ or uncontrolled variables affect the relationship between the dependent
and independent variables. These kind of experiements are unusual in socioogy, because they involve an
artificially created situation and so it is unlikely that the findings will apply to the ‘real’ world. Participants will be
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
aware that research is taking place and this will affect how they behave. Laboratory experiments also raise
ethical issues about permission (consent).
Field experiments
Field experiments are more appropriate for sociological research, because they are not conducted in a closed,
controlled environment.
It is very difficult to control all possible independent variables in a natural setting, which means that natural
experiments tend to establish correlations rather than causation. However, the basic principles of the
experiments are the same. Researchers use dependent and independent variables to test a hypothesis or
answer a research question:
•
To test the hypothesis that teachers’ expectations influence how well their students do in school, Rosenthal
and Jacobson (1968) conducted a study of low educational achievement in children. The dependent variable
was their level of achievement and the independent variable was the expectations that teachers had about
the ability of their students. Rosenthal and Jacobson manipulated the independent variable by pretending to
be psychologists who could, on the basis of a sophisticated IQ test, identify children who would display
‘dramatic intellectual growth’. In fact, they tested the students and then randomly classed some students as
‘later developers’. The researchers informed the teachers of their ‘findings’. They retested the students at a
later date and discovered that the IQ scores of those students whose teachers believed were ‘latedeveloping high flyers’ had significantly improved.
Strengths
Laboratory experiments are easier to replicate than field experiments because the researcher has more control
over both the research conditions and the variables being tested. Standardised research conditions give
experiments a high level of reliability. Experiments can also create powerful, highly valid statements about
behaviour based on cause-and-effect relationships. Field experiments can be used to manipulate situations in
the real world to understand the underlying reasons for everyday behaviour.
Limitations
It can be difficult to control all possible influences on behaviour, even in a laboratory setting. A simple
awareness of being studied, for example, may introduce an uncontrolled independent variable into an
experiment. The Hawthorne (or observer) effect, named after a study by Mayo (1933) at the Hawthorne
factory in Chicago, refers to changes in people’s behaviour directly resulting from their knowledge of being
studied. The working conditions at the factory were manipulated in different ways, such as changing the
brightness of the lighting and the temperature in the factory. However, the results were always the same: the
work rate of the workers increased, because they knew they were being studied.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.5: How might the knowledge of being watched change people’s behaviour?
Content analysis
Content analysis has both quantitative and qualitative forms. What both types have in common is the study of
texts (data sources such as television, written documents and so on). Quantitative analysis of media texts, for
example, uses statistical techniques to categorise and count the frequency of people’s behaviour using a
content analysis table or grid (Table 2.1).
Although the grid below is a simple example, content analysis can be complex and wide-ranging. Meehan’s
(1983) study of US daytime television, for example, identified and analysed the stereotypical roles played by
female characters in soap operas.
Character
Gender
Age
Place and purpose On screen
Azir Khan
Male
25
Office (employee)
30 seconds
Safiq Dhonna
Male
56
Office (customer)
43 seconds
Angelique Basson
Female
37
Shop (customer)
84 seconds
Table 2.1 Simple content analysis grid to record the behaviour of characters in a television programme
Strengths
Content analysis can identify underlying themes and patterns of behaviour that may not be immediately
apparent; for example, the extent to which women in television or magazine advertisements are associated with
housework and cleaning.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.6: Content analysis can be used to reveal hidden social processes, such as how websites
collect private information
Content analysis can also be used for ‘concept mapping’. Page (2005) tracked how media professionals
portrayed global warming in order to show how far global warming was reported in terms of ‘natural’ or ‘social’
causes. The quantification of such behaviour allows researchers to draw complex conclusions from quite simple
data-collection techniques. The use of a standardised framework (the grid) also means that data can be
checked and replicated.
Limitations: In some types of content analysis, reliability may be limited because researchers must make
subjective judgements about what they are counting. Not only do they have to decide which categories will and
will not be used, they may also have to judge which forms of behaviour fit which categories. This raises
questions about whether all observed behaviour can be neatly categorised. Content analysis does not tell us
very much about how or why audiences receive, understand, accept or ignore themes and patterns discovered
by the research.
The strengths and limitations of different qualitative research methods,
including unstructured interviews, semi-structured interviews, group interviews,
overt and covert participant and non-participant observation
Unstructured interviews
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Unstructured interviews enable researchers to acquire an understanding of how people think and feel.
Respondents are encouraged to talk freely about the things they feel are important.
Strengths
The researcher’s limited input means that data reflects the interests of the respondent. It is therefore more likely
to be an accurate and detailed expression of their beliefs. Allowing the respondents to talk freely in their own
words avoids the problem of the researcher pre-judging what makes important or irrelevant data.
The researcher must establish a strong understanding with respondents. If this is achieved, people who don’t
trust being studied can open up to the researcher, allowing sensitive issues to be explored in depth. If the
research is relatively informal, it can take place somewhere the respondent will feel at ease, such as in their
own home.
Figure 2.7: How are unstructured interviews like a conversation?
Limitations
Carrying out unstructured interviews requires considerable skill. The researcher must resist the temptation to
influence, encourage or interrupt. The researcher, by design, has little control over the direction of the interview
and the conversation may lead into areas that later prove irrelevant to the research. The interviews are timeconsuming and so are analysing and interpreting all the data they generate (analysing may involve listening to a
recording of the interview and transcribing it). Reliability is low because the non-standardised format makes the
interview impossible to replicate.
Another limitation is that all forms of interviewing are naturally biased by interview effects. Respondents may try
to please the researcher by telling them what they believe the researcher wants to hear, perhaps influenced by
what they know of the interviewer from their interaction.
ACTIVITY 2.5
With a partner, carry out an unstructured interview about how they like to spend their leisure time. Take it in turns to be the interviewer
and interviewee.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Reflection: Together, draw up a list of the skills you have found out are important for unstructured interviews. Do you and your
partner have these skills? Are they skills you could improve with practice?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Many of the skills needed for interviewing are what we call transferable skills – that is, they are
very useful in other, completely non-sociological, contexts too. Think of ways in which these skills
might be useful beyond sociology.
Semi-structured interviews
This type of interview attempts to combine the strengths of unstructured and structured interviews. Researchers
are free to ask questions in any order and to phrase the questions as they think best. Semi-structured
interviews, therefore, allow a respondent to talk at length and in depth about a particular subject. The interview
has a structure or ‘interview schedule’ – the areas the interviewer wants to focus on – but there is no list of
specific questions. Different respondents may be asked different questions on the same topic, depending on
how the interview develops. The aim is to understand things from the respondent’s viewpoint, rather than to
make generalisations about behaviour.
Open-ended questions are frequently used in semi-structured interviews. Some of these are created before the
interview, while others arise naturally from whatever the respondent wants to talk about.
Strengths
As there are no specific questions prepared, there is less risk of the researcher deciding (predetermining) what
will be discussed. Where the respondent can talk about things that interest them, it is possible to pick up ideas
and information that may not have occurred to the interviewer or of which they had no previous knowledge. This
new knowledge can be used to inform later interviews with different respondents and to suggest further
questions.
By allowing respondents to develop their ideas, the researcher tries to discover what someone really means,
thinks or believes. The focus on issues that the respondent considers important results in a much greater depth
of information. This may increase the validity of the data as it is more likely that the research will achieve its real
aims.
Limitations
This method demands certain skills in the researcher, such as asking the right questions, establishing a good
rapport and thinking quickly about relevant question opportunities.
Semi-structured interviews are not only more time-consuming than questionnaires but the large amounts of
information they produce must also be analysed and interpreted. This data is rarely tightly focused on a
particular topic, so a researcher may spend a lot of time analysing data that has little or no use to the study.
Respondents must remember and describe past events, and this creates problems for both researcher and
respondent. While a researcher has no way of knowing whether someone is telling the truth, a further problem is
that it may not only be difficult to remember things that have happened months or years ago, but memories can
also be selective – respondents only remember those things that seem important to them: imperfect recall.
Finally, semi-structured interviews lack standardisation; the same questions are not necessarily put to all
respondents and similar questions may be phrased differently. This makes analysing data and generalising
difficult.
Group interviews
Group interviews involve respondents gathering to discuss a topic decided in advance by the researcher.
These groups may be selected as representative samples – a cross-section of society, for example – or they
may simply represent a group that the researcher wants to explore in detail. Focus groups are often same-sex
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
and from similar backgrounds to prevent gender and class variables affecting the reliability and validity of the
data. The success of group interviews depends on:
•
an interview structure with clear guidelines for the participants, to avoid arguments within the group
•
advance (predetermined) questions through which the experiences of participants can be explored
•
interaction within the group, which Gibbs (1997) argues gives ‘unique insights into people’s shared
understandings of everyday life’
•
the skill of the researcher who must, for example, try to ensure that the discussion is not dominated by one
or two individuals.
Figure 2.8: What practical advantages do group interviews have over individual interviews?
Strengths
In group interviews, the researcher can help the discussion. They can:
•
control the pace and extent (scope) of the discussion
•
plan a schedule that allows them to focus and refocus the discussion
•
ask questions, stop or change the focus of discussions
•
create a situation that reflects how people naturally share and discuss ideas.
Because social life does not involve individuals on their own, those who prefer group interviews argue that they
are more realistic. We decide how we think and feel about things not on our own but by talking to and listening
to others; this is what happens in a group interview.
Limitations
The researcher must control the behaviour of the group to allow people to speak freely and openly about an
issue while maintaining the focus of the research, which can require considerable skill.
There may also be problems with representativeness: if in a carefully selected group of ten, one person does
not show up, the sample becomes unrepresentative.
Group interviews are also at risk from another type of ‘interview effect’, which has been called ‘Groupthink’. This
refers to the pressure people feel to arrive at ‘desired outcomes’, such as saying what they believe the
researcher or the rest of the group wants to hear. Group interviews also run the risk of simply reflecting a ‘group
consensus’ rather than revealing what individuals really believe; individuals may not want to say what they really
think if they feel that they are on their own.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
In what ways is conducting a focus group interview like chairing a business meeting?
Observation
Observational methods are based on the idea that data are more valid if they are gathered by seeing how
people behave, rather than taking on trust that people do what they say they do. There are two main
observational techniques: non-participant and participant.
Participant observation
Participant observation is when the researcher takes part in the behaviour being studied. It is based, in part, on
what Weber (1922) termed verstehen – ‘to understand by experiencing’ or, as Mead (1934) described it, the
researcher’s ability to take the part of the other and see things from their viewpoint (empathy). Participant
observation can take two forms: overt and covert.
Overt participant observation involves participating in the behaviour of people who know they are being
studied. The researcher joins the group openly, and usually conducts the research with the permission and
cooperation of the group (or significant members of the group).
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Max Weber (1864–1920)
The German sociologist Max Weber is, with Marx and Durkheim, seen as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of modern sociology. Much of
his work develops an anti-positivist approach, rejecting the idea that there are social facts to be discovered and instead focusing on
understanding the meanings that people attach to their actions. This led to the social action and interpretivist approaches within
sociology. Weber’s concept of ‘verstehen’ (meaning ‘empathy’) is still widely used. He argued that social life was complex so that it is
pointless to look for single causes. He is also known for his essay ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’, in which he
argued that capitalism developed in parts of Europe because religious beliefs encouraged people to save money, rather than spend it
on worldly goods, and this saved money was then invested as capital in business. This challenges the Marxist view that ideology
cannot bring about social change.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Harriet Martineau (1802–76)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The idea of ‘founding fathers’ of sociology plays down the role of women such as Harriet Martineau, who helped shape sociology
today. Martineau introduced sociology to Britain by translating Comte, and also conducted her own research while travelling around
the United States. She argued that the study of society must include understanding the lives of women, and also issues which tended
to be ignored at the time, such as race relations and domestic life. She campaigned for women’s rights and the emancipation of
slaves. She thus belongs at the start of a long tradition, involving many feminists, race theorists and others, of sociologists combining
the study of society with advocating change and progress towards a better society.
Strengths
On a practical level, recording data is relatively easy because the group knows and understands the role of the
researcher. The researcher can ask questions, take notes and observe behaviour openly. With groups that have
hierarchical structures, such as large businesses, the researcher can gain access to all levels – the boardroom
as well as the shop floor.
It can be difficult to get access to some groups, so researchers may use sponsorship to find a way in. This
involves gaining the trust and cooperation of an important group member. Venkatesh’s (2009) study of a black
American gang, for example, was only possible because a gang leader called ‘JT’ ‘sponsored’ and protected
Venkatesh while he observed the gang and eventually gained access to some of its more powerful members.
Sponsorship makes it easier to separate the roles of participant and observer.
It reduces the chance of researchers becoming so involved in a group that they stop observing and simply
become participants (known as ‘going native’). Even so, Venkatesh found there were times when his
involvement was so complete that he acted ‘like one of them’ and effectively ceased to be an objective and fair
observer.
The ability to ask questions, observe individual behaviours and experience the day-to-day life of respondents
helps researchers to build up a highly detailed picture of the lives they are describing. This means that the
researcher not only gets to understand what people say they do, but also witnesses and experiences what
people actually do (which may be different). This increases the validity of the data.
Where the observer’s role is clearly defined, there is also less risk of involvement in unethical, criminal,
dangerous or destructive behaviours. The researcher can, for example, pull back from risky situations without
necessarily losing the trust or causing the suspicions of those being studied.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.9: What advantages are there to experiencing behaviour rather than simply observing it?
Limitations
if a group refuses the researcher permission to observe it, then the research cannot be carried out. In addition,
overt observation requires substantial amounts of time, effort and money. Venkatesh, for example, spent around
eight years on his study of a single gang in a small area of one US city.
Theoretical criticisms focus on the observer/Hawthorne effect and the extent to which knowledge of being
watched changes how people behave. While people may be studied in their natural environment, an awareness
of the presence of the researcher may make them behave unnaturally. For example, Venkatesh witnessed a
fake punishment beating designed to demonstrate the limits of his observational role; higher-level gang
members were ‘putting on a show’ for his benefit.
A further limitation is the researcher’s level of involvement:
•
Without full participation, researcher involvement may be too superficial to allow a true understanding of
behaviour.
•
Ethical concerns, such as not participating in illegal behaviour, may affect the extent to which the researcher
is truly experiencing how people normally behave.
•
There is a risk that the researcher will become too involved and effectively ‘become the story’ they are
reporting. Their presence becomes the focal point around which people adapt their behaviour. Venkatesh
was given ‘special treatment’; he was invited to meetings and was introduced to people he would not have
met if he had not been known as a researcher sponsored by a gang leader.
Overt participant observation is impossible to replicate; others must trust that the researcher saw and
experienced the behaviour they document. In addition, it can be difficult for researchers to accurately record
behaviour while they are in the middle of it. No researcher can record and document everything that happens,
which means that this method will always involve the selection, interpretation and retelling of ideas and events.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Gang Leader for A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh
Penguin, 2009
This book is one that A Level Sociology students can read and enjoy, written in an accessible style and with incidents that will
make you want to keep reading. Throughout this chapter, you will find Venkatesh’s work used to illustrate many interesting
aspects of ethnographic research. He spent eight years with an African-American gang in a housing development in Chicago,
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
where he was a sociology student. He explains how he became interested in the gang, how he was accepted by them (thanks
largely to the gang leader, JT) and how, for one day, JT let him experience what the role of the leader was. Venkatesh was an
overt observer, participating only to a limited extent because his Indian background prevented his full acceptance and because
he wanted to avoid involvement in the gang’s illegal activities. He shows how the gang played an important social support role for
many residents in the tower block, where the police and social workers rarely ventured.
Question: How might the research have been different if Venkatesh had been (a) white American or (b) African-American?
In covert participant observation, the researcher secretly (covertly) joins the group, so the subjects are unaware
that they are being studied. The main aim is to experience behaviour in its ‘natural setting’; to watch people
behave as they normally behave. Unlike overt participation, the researcher must balance the roles of researcher
and participant without revealing their true role to other group members.
Strengths
Covert observation may be the only way to study people who would not normally allow themselves to be
researched. Such people may include:
•
Criminal or deviant groups: Ward (2008) ‘was a member of the rave dance drugs culture’ when she began
her five-year study ‘in London nightclubs, dance parties, bars, pubs and people’s houses’. Her knowledge of
the ‘dance scene’, added to her friendship with those involved, meant that she was able to gain easy access
to this world.
•
Closed groups: Lofland and Stark (1965) secretly studied the behaviour of a religious sect because this was
the only way to gain access.
•
Defensive groups: Ray (1987) covertly studied Australian environmental groups who would have been
suspicious of his motives if he had tried to study them openly.
Covert participation avoids the observer effect – the subjects’ behaviour is largely unaffected by the researcher’s
presence. Through personal experience, the researcher gains valuable understanding (insights) of the
meanings, motivations and relationships within a group. These can explain why people behave in certain ways.
The ability to experience things from the point of view of those involved, coupled with the sociological insights a
researcher brings to the role of observer, means that they can make sense of behaviour even in situations
where group members may not fully understand the reasons for that behaviour.
Limitations
Goffman’s study of a US mental institution identified three major problems for the covert participant observer:
1 Getting in: while gaining covert entry to any group can be a problem, some groups are more difficult to enter
than others:
•
Entry to some groups is by invitation only. Unless researchers are invited, they cannot join.
•
Some groups have entry requirements. To covertly study accountants or doctors, the researcher would
need to hold the qualifications these professions require.
•
The characteristics of the observer must match those of the observed. A man, for example, could not
covertly participate in a group of female nuns. (There are, however, ways around this problem. Goffman,
while neither a doctor nor mentally ill, was able to covertly observe by taking a manual job within the
institution.)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.10: Chinese police officers. A police officer in uniform is intended to stand out from the crowd.
Why are the characteristics of the researcher and the group significant in covert participant
observation?
2 Staying in: once inside, the researcher may not have access to all areas. For example, an observer
pretending to be a school student could not freely enter places, such as staff rooms, reserved for teachers.
Someone being where they are not supposed to be would raise suspicions, and the researcher runs the risk
of being discovered by ‘gatekeepers’ – those whose job it is to limit access.
The researcher has to quickly learn the culture and dynamics of a group if they are to participate fully. This can
require a range of skills, including the ability to mix easily with strangers, create and maintain a believable and
convincing ‘back story’ (past) and to think quickly on their feet when questioned or challenged.
If a researcher lacks the ‘insider knowledge’, they risk being found out. The ability to successfully mix into a
group carries its own problems. It can be difficult to separate the roles of participant and observer, especially if
the researcher is well mixed (integrated) into a group:
•
At one extreme, the researcher may have to choose between participation and observation, for example if a
group participates in criminal activities.
•
At the other extreme, the researcher may become so much a part of the group they go native and stop being
an observer, which can raise doubts about the validity of the research.
3 Getting out: it can be difficult to stop participating. A member of a criminal gang, for example, cannot simply
leave. In other groups leaving may raise ethical questions, such as the effect of leaving people who have
grown to trust and depend on the researcher. This type of research raises further ethical questions, such as
whether a researcher has the right to pretend to be one of the group or use its members for their own
purposes.
In addition to problems of entrance, acceptance and departure, further limitations include:
•
research cannot be replicated
•
we have to trust that the researcher saw what they claim to have seen
•
recording data is frequently difficult; the researcher cannot take notes, ask too many questions or openly
record conversations.
ACTIVITY 2.6
Identify two differences between overt and covert participant observation.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Which type would be best for studying how students behave in a school or college? Why?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Our movements and actions can be observed by others in many ways, for example by closed
circuit television. If people are told they are being observed, the observation is overt, though there
is no opportunity to give consent (permission). If not, it is covert.
How important is it that people are told they are being observed (for example, by a sign saying that
there is CCTV)?
Non-participant observation
Non-participant observation involves observing behaviour from a distance so that the research subjects do
not know they are being observed. The ethical issue of consent may not be a problem here. A researcher
observing behaviour in a shopping mall or the crowd at a sporting event could not be expected to get permission
from everyone. Non-participant observation usually means that the researcher does not become personally
involved in the behaviour they are studying. This kind of research, unlike participant observation, can be used to
produce quantitative data, such as the number of times people are observed carrying out a particular act.
Strengths
Access is one practical advantage of non-participant observation. It allows research on people who may not
want to be studied because their behaviour is illegal, secret or personally embarrassing, for example. When the
researcher does not participate in the behaviour being observed, respondents can be objectively studied in a
natural setting. The researcher gets to see ‘everyday behaviour’ just as it would normally occur.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.11: How does this picture illustrate the idea that we can’t always trust the evidence of our own
eyes?
Limitations
Observational studies cannot be easily or exactly replicated because the characteristics and structure of a group
may change over time. Observing people ‘from a distance’ may also produce data that fails to capture the
depth, richness and personal (intimate) details of their behaviour. This type of study also raises ethical
questions, because people are being observed without their permission.
ACTIVITY 2.7
With a partner, observe for a few minutes a public area that’s close to you, for example a street or open area where there are people.
Then decide between you in what ways this kind of research might be better than asking questions.
Think of topics that sociologists might study for which watching is better than asking questions. Then think of topics for which asking
questions might be better.
Type
Overt or covert
Participation
Characteristics
Non-participant
Overt/covert
None/minimal
Complete observer
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Type
Overt or covert
Participation
Characteristics
Covert participant
Covert
Full
Complete participant
Overt participant
Overt
Full
Participant-as-observer
Table 2.2 Types of observation Source: Brewer (2000)
Stages of research design, including deciding on research strategy, formulating
research questions and hypotheses, sampling frames, sampling techniques,
pilot studies, operationalisation, conducting research and interpreting results
Research design
This section looks more generally at the design of sociological research. Oberg (1999) suggests that there are
four linked stages of research design:
1 Planning is where the researcher decides on the strategy – such as what to research and how to research it
– and plans (formulates) research hypotheses or questions.
2 Information gathering involves identifying a sample to study, conducting an initial pilot study and applying
research methods to collect data.
3 Information processing relates to the idea that once data has been gathered, its meaning must be analysed
and interpreted.
4 Evaluation involves both an internal analysis that asks questions about how the research was conducted
(whether the research method was appropriate, for example) and an external analysis, by which conclusions
are reported to a wider public audience for their analysis and criticism.
The research problem
This is the initial stage, when the sociologist decides things such as the general topic to study and then
develops more specific ideas about what aspect to study. This decision may be based on factors such as
•
the personal interests of the researcher
•
current interest in the topic, among sociologists or society in general
•
whether money (funding) can be obtained
•
practical factors such as whether it will be possible to contact respondents easily.
At this stage, the researcher will review previous research in the area under consideration. A review like this
may generate ideas about what to study, whether to replicate previous research and how to avoid errors made
in previous research.
Research hypothesis or question
This sets the basic theme for a study:
•
If a hypothesis is used – for example, Ginn and Arber’s (2002) analysis of how motherhood affects the lives
of graduate women was based on the hypothesis ‘The effect of motherhood on full-time employment is
minimal for graduate women’ – it must be tested and this means using research methods suitable for this
purpose. Hypotheses are associated more with methods that produce quantitative data.
•
If a research question is used – Conway’s (1997) examination of parental choice in secondary education was
based on the question ‘Does parental choice help to strengthen the advantage of the middle classes over
the working class?’– the research method used must be capable of generating high levels of descriptive
data. Research questions are associated more with methods that produce qualitative data.
Collecting data
Before data can be collected, the researcher needs to identify the people – or respondents – who will be the
subject of the research. Although it would be ideal to select and study everyone in a particular group (the target
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
population), this is not always possible. For example, if the target population was ‘doctors in India’, the size and
geographic distribution of such a population would make it impossible to observe or question everyone
personally. This is where sampling enters the research process.
A sample is a relatively small number of people who belong to the target population. In the example above, the
researcher might choose 1000 doctors in India and, by studying their behaviour draw certain conclusions about
all doctors in India. However, this only works if the sample is representative of the target population.
Representativeness may be more significant than sample size because it relates to whether the characteristics
of the sample accurately reflect those of the target population. For example, if 60% of doctors are male, then
60% of the sample should be also. If the sample is representative, anything discovered can be generalised to
the target population. A researcher can make statements about the larger group they have not studied (the
target population) based on the behaviour of the smaller group they have studied (the sample).
Sampling frame
Constructing a representative sample often requires a sampling frame. This is a list of everyone in a target
population, such as a voting (an electoral) or school register, and it is used for two main reasons:
1 Unless everyone in the target population can be identified, the sample drawn may not accurately reflect the
characteristics of the population.
2 For a researcher to contact people in their sample, to interview them for example, they must know who they
are.
However, simply because a sampling frame exists does not mean that a researcher will automatically have
access to it. This may be denied for reasons of:
•
Legality: names cannot be revealed by law.
•
Confidentiality: a business may deny access to its payment records, for example.
•
Privacy: some groups do not want to be studied.
There are a number of sampling techniques for choosing the sample.
Random sampling
This is based on the probability that the random selection of names from a sampling frame will produce a
representative sample. For the sample to be truly random, everyone in the target population must have an equal
chance of being chosen. A simple random sample, therefore, is similar to a lottery.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.12: Random samples are based on chance distributions
Systematic sampling
This is a variation on simple random sampling that is often used when the target population is very large. It
involves taking a sample directly from a sampling frame. For a 25% sample of a target population containing
100 names, every fourth name would be chosen. This technique is not truly random – for example, the fifth
name on the list could never be included in the sample so not everyone has an equal chance of being included.
However, it is random enough for most samples.
Stratified random sampling
Although simple and stratified (divided) random samples can be used in many research situations, problems
can occur when a target population is made up of small groups, such as a population with many age groups. A
biased sample can easily occur by chance, with some groups over-represented and others under-represented.
Stratified random sampling avoids these problems by stratifying the target population into groups whose
characteristics are known to the researcher, such as different age groups. Each group is then treated as a
separate random sample in its own right.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.13: A simple worked example of stratified random sampling
Stratified quota sampling
Although a sampling frame is always useful, it is not strictly necessary. It is enough just to know the
characteristics of the respondents in order to construct a sample. The selection is done on an opportunity basis.
The researcher may, for example, need 20 males for the sample; they then ask men to be part of the sample
and once 20 males have agreed, the quota (allowed amount) is complete and no further males can be selected.
Non-representative sampling
Researchers generally find representative samples useful, but there are times when a non-representative
sample serves the purpose. For some types of research, the sociologist might not want to make generalisations
about a very large group based only on a small sample. They might simply be interested in the behaviour of the
group itself, rather than what it represents. In Venkatesh’s gang study, the fact that the gang was only
representative of itself was unimportant, as he did not want to generalise from his findings and simply wanted to
understand that gang in depth.
Opportunity sampling
In some circumstances, it may not be possible to create a representative sample. Here, the researcher may be
forced to settle for opportunity sampling, a general type of sampling – with two main sub-divisions:
1 Best opportunity sampling involves deliberately choosing a sample that gives the best possible opportunity to
test a hypothesis. If the hypothesis is false for this group, it will probably be false for other similar groups.
Goldthorpe et al. (1968), for example, wanted to test the claim that the working class in the UK was
becoming hard to tell from the middle class. Their best opportunity sample consisted of highly paid carassembly workers in Luton. This group was chosen because if any working-class group was likely to show
lifestyles similar to their middle-class peers, it would be these ‘affluent workers’.
2 Snowball samples work on the principle of ‘rolling up’ more and more people to include in the sample over
time, like a snowball. The researcher would identify someone in the target population who was willing to
participate in their research. This person then suggests more people who are also willing to participate.
These then suggest further possible participants, until the researcher has a usable sample. Although this
technique is unrepresentative, it may be the only option in certain situations.
Opportunity sampling can be a useful technique when no sampling frame is available and the researcher knows
little or nothing about the characteristics of their target population.
Pilot studies
Before starting a full-scale study, many researchers choose to run a pilot study to test the various elements of
their research design. Pilot studies are a research tool normally used for one of two reasons:
1 As a ‘mini version’ of a full-scale study designed to test the feasibility of carrying out such a study. In other
words, before starting a study that may take up large amounts of time, money and effort, a researcher may
conduct a smaller study to identify any problems, such as access to respondents, that may occur in a larger
study. A pilot study is also helpful in working out the resources, such as staffing and finance, needed for a
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
study. The results of a pilot study can be used to demonstrate to funding bodies that a full study would be
feasible and worthwhile.
2 To pre-test a research method, such as a questionnaire. This might involve testing different types of
question, examining and analysing the data it produces to ensure the questions will get the data required,
and identifying and removing possible sources of bias or unreliability, such as leading or unclear
(ambiguous) questions.
Operationalisation
Sociological research often involves ideas and concepts that non-sociologists may find difficult or unclear. In
carrying out research and in asking questions, sociologists need to make decisions about how to put these
ideas and concepts into practice – that is, to operationalise them.
An example is the term ‘social class’. Most people are familiar with the term, and with terms such as ‘middleclass’ and ‘working-class’ but they won’t agree on exactly what they mean or how to measure then. If
respondents were asked which social class they belong to, they would give answers based on their different
understandings of these terms.
The researcher will therefore operationalise the term by asking questions, the answers to which enable the
researcher to judge what class the respondent belongs to. For example, they might ask about occupation or
income.
ACTIVITY 2.8
Make a list of sociological concepts you have come across that might need to be operationalised. How would you operationalise
them?
Which of the concepts you chose would be the most difficult to operationalise? Why?
Interpreting results
Research findings do not simply ‘speak for themselves’; the researcher needs to analyse them to work out what
they mean. The researcher will look for common themes and trends in the data and will reflect on the data,
asking, for example, whether the data supports the hypothesis or not.
Once the data has been analysed and interpreted, the data can be presented in terms of:
•
findings
•
conclusions about the hypothesis or research question
•
limitations, which might include discussion of various research problems that may have affected the study,
such as sample, response rate or questions about validity
•
suggestions for further research
•
improvements to the research design.
ACTIVITY 2.9
Design a poster that identifies and explains the different stages of research design.
Reflection: Once you have completed your poster, choose a sociological topic that interests you, and think about how you
would approach the research of this topic, based on your poster. Make a clear connection between the outcomes you want from
the research and the methods you would employ to get to those outcomes.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
2.2. Approaches to sociological research
The use of approaches drawing on different research methods, including case
studies, social surveys, ethnography and longitudinal studies
Case studies
This type of research studies the characteristics of a particular group or ‘case’, such as Westwood’s (1984) 12month participant observation study of female workers in a ‘Stitchco’ factory. A case study is not really a
research method, but rather a technique, in which different methods can be used to generate data. Such
studies are usually based on qualitative methods.
Strengths
The focus on a single group studied over time provides great depth and detail of information that has greater
validity than simple quantitative studies. In cases where the sample is relatively small and self-contained, such
as a factory (Westwood), a school (Lacey, 1970) or a gang (Venkatesh), large amounts of data can be collected
in a relatively cost-effective way.
Such studies help to uncover the meanings that people give to everyday behaviour. They often make use of
participant observation, but other methods are also used in case studies. Small-scale case studies can also be
used as pilot studies to allow a researcher to develop hypotheses, test data-collection methods and identify
potential problems in preparation for a larger study.
Limitations
Case studies have a range of practical limitations that depend to some extent on their size and scope. Largescale, in-depth studies can take a lot of time, effort and money. Regardless of their size, the intensive and
detailed nature of case studies means that they make higher demands on the skills of researchers, who may
spend months or years living and working with their subjects, and respondents, who may be subject to
extensive and detailed questioning and observation throughout the study.
It is difficult to generalise from case studies because they tend to focus on small groups that may only be
representative of themselves. It might, however, be possible to draw comparisons between similar groups.
Social surveys
One particular type of survey is the cross-sectional survey, which is explicitly designed to produce a
‘snapshot’ of behaviour at any given time:
•
Qualitative forms of cross-sectional surveys are generally descriptive, with the aim being to illustrate a
particular type of behaviour. It may involve, for example, looking at a certain population characteristic, such
as suicide, income or poverty, applied to a single country, a large area within a country or a specific feature
of different countries.
•
Quantitative forms, the more common type, are analytic: the aim is to analyse both correlations and
causations between different phenomena. Durkheim’s study of suicide, for example, used cross-sectional
surveys taken from different societies to build up a comparative analysis of variable suicide rates. He used
these as the basis for a theoretical explanation of different types of suicide.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
The Census for England and Wales
Most countries carry out a census at fixed intervals. A census is a complete count of the population, gathering information from
questions covering a wide range of aspects of family and social life. Censuses are carried out by governments, because they
have the resources to carry out research on this scale. The Census for England and Wales is in effect a very large-scale social
survey, with a questionnaire sent to every household. It is carried out every ten years, on one set day; the most recent one was
in 2011. As there is a census every ten years, comparisons can be made over time. Because people can be fined for not
completing the census, most people do complete it. The findings take a long time to analyse but when published provide
valuable information to local and national government, and to sociologists, for whom large-scale government-funded surveys are
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
an important source of secondary data, saving time and money and suggesting areas for further research. Great care is taken to
word questions so that they are clear and that people are able to give the answers they want to. This kind of research is high in
reliability. There are, however, some doubts about its validity, for example it may not count homeless people because they
cannot be contacted easily.
Question: Find out whether your country has a census, when the most recent one was and what information it gathered.
Both types of cross-sectional survey normally require representative samples because one of the main goals is
to make generalisations about behaviour. Cross-sectional surveys tend to focus on identifying groups that
share broad similarities, such as income, education and gender. They measure differences using a single
variable, such as death or suicide rates. By comparing standardised groups, it is possible to explain differences
in death or suicide rates using variations in standardised variables – whether, for example, people with a high
level of education have higher rates of suicide than those with a lower level of education.
Ethnography
Ethnography (also sometimes called fieldwork) is a way of researching which tries to achieve a detailed, indepth understanding of a group of people or of a social situation. It began in anthropology, the study of different
cultures, when researchers took part in the daily lives of people, often in traditional and pre-modern societies, in
an attempt to understand their view of the world. In sociology, it is strongly associated with participant
observation, whether overt or covert, but ethnographers may also use a range of other methods such as
unstructured interviews and qualitative documents. It can also involve some collection of quantitative data.
Longitudinal studies
These are a form of comparative analysis that involves tracking changes among a representative sample over
time, from a few months to many years. The same group is analysed at different stages in their lives, using
methods ranging from questionnaires to non-participant observation.
Longitudinal surveys are carried out at intervals (referred to as ‘waves’) over a significant period of time; they
can last many years. The researcher remains removed from the study group, having contact with the research
subjects only on a limited basis at set intervals.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Zimbabwe’s Migrants and South Africa’s Border Farms: The Roots of Impermanence by Maxim Bolt
Cambridge University Press, 2015
Each year the BBC radio sociology programme Thinking Allowed, presented by Laurie Taylor, has a competition, run with the
British Sociological Association, for the best piece of ethnographic research published in the past year. There are pages about
the Ethnography Award on the BBC’s website. In 2016, just before this book was written, the winner was Bolt’s account of
migrant workers from Zimbabwe on one white-owned farm in northern South Africa, based on 17 months of living among
seasonal workers there. Like the best ethnography, Bolt’s account vividly captures the lives of people of the farm, with the
judges saying that it made them feel they had been there. He covers the lives of seasonal workers, permanent black South
African workers, their dependents, white workers and farm managers and owners. Bolt works at the University of Birmingham in
the UK, the university’s website has a video of him talking about his work.
Question: What are some of the practical difficulties involved in research such as this?
Strengths
Longitudinal studies allow the researcher to identify and track personal and social changes over long periods,
revealing trends that would otherwise remain hidden.
A further advantage of longitudinal surveys is that they are usually based on large representative samples and
so can be used to suggest correlations and causal relationships.
Limitations
Sample attrition, or the number of people who drop out from the original sample over time, is a major limitation
of these surveys. People drop out of the research for a range of reasons; they may lose interest, move away
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
without leaving contact details or may die. High levels of attrition can reduce the representativeness of the
sample over time – a problem that grows the longer the study lasts.
While longitudinal studies can identify trends or allow researchers to make correlations and causal connections
between phenomena, such as income and life expectancy, they are only ever a quick look at behaviour at any
given moment. They can, therefore, be criticised for lacking depth and validity.
The mixed methods approach to research, including triangulation and
methodological pluralism
Methodological pluralism
Many research projects involve more than one method; this is referred to as methodological pluralism. This
can include combining methods that produce quantitative and qualitative data.
Researchers often use methodological pluralism because different research methods have different strengths
and weaknesses. Questionnaires may produce reliable data, but this data has low validity, while the reverse
may be true for covert participant observation. Rather than approaching research methodology from the
perspective of a ‘design problem’ – how to test a hypothesis (positivism) or answer a research question
(interpretivism) – we can approach it from a methodological perspective. This involves considering how to
collect data with the highest possible levels of reliability and validity, regardless of the methods or data types
used.
Triangulation
If methodological pluralism represents the theoretical argument for using mixed methods, triangulation is the
means through which this theory is put into practice. It refers to the various ways in which a researcher can
attempt to improve research reliability and validity.
Methodological triangulation involves the use of two or more research methods. Denzin (1970) suggests that
this allows the researcher to offset the weaknesses of one method with the strengths of another. For example:
•
A general weakness of questionnaires is that the researcher must assume that a respondent is telling the
truth.
•
A researcher could offset this by using an observational method, such as participant observation, to check
that respondents actually do what they say they do.
Alternatively, the researcher could compare the results from two different methods used on the same people
(such as a semi-structured interview and a focus group). If the conclusions drawn are broadly the same, this
helps confirm the reliability and validity of the data.
Methodological triangulation can involve any combination of:
•
two or more researchers using the same research technique
•
one researcher using two or more research techniques
•
two or more researchers using two or more research techniques.
Researcher triangulation can be used in studies that rely heavily on a researcher’s interpretations to generate
data. If different researchers using the same research method arrive at the same results, this can confirm the
reliability of the data. Alternatively, using researchers from different ethnic, age, gender and class groups can
help check for factors such as observer and interviewer bias that may lower reliability and validity.
Data triangulation involves gathering information through different sampling strategies – such as collecting data
at different times, in different contexts and from different people. This can be extended to include gathering
data from both the individuals involved in a particular situation and the researcher’s own experiences in that
situation. Venkatesh, for example, was able to make sense of certain forms of behaviour, such as drug dealing,
and experiences, such as being black and poor, in ways that would not have been possible if he had not been
intimately involved in the world he was studying. He gathered data from both those involved and from his own
experience of living in their world.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
To illustrate these ideas, we can point to a variety of sociological research that has used methodological
triangulation to good effect.
•
Barker (1984) used overt participant observation, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews in her
research on the Unification Church (‘Moonies’).
•
Hey (1997) studied girls’ friendships in two London schools using a combination of participant observation
and personal documentation. Some of the girls allowed her to read their diaries and she was also given
access to the notes the girls passed between themselves in the classroom.
Methodological pluralism and triangulation are, therefore, frequently employed by sociologists because they
improve reliability and validity. Using different methods and sampling strategies, a researcher can generally
improve overall the reliability of a research approach and the validity of the data collected. More specifically,
data collected using higher reliability methods, such as questionnaires, can offset the weaknesses in
observational methods; the reverse applies to validity.
ACTIVITY 2.10
Identify one way in which methodological pluralism and triangulation might improve reliability and one way in which they might
improve validity.
Choose any sociological research you are familiar with that used one method, and suggest another method that could be used to
improve either the reliability or validity of the findings.
Arguments in favour of methodological pluralism and triangulation are convincing, but these techniques still
have practical problems. Triangulation adds another layer of time, effort and expense to research, in terms of
things such as:
•
the time needed to analyse different data types created from a number of different methods
•
the need to employ more researchers
•
the general co-ordination of a much larger research project.
In addition, collecting and comparing different types of data can be complicated. Such data may not always be
easily and neatly compared. Where a researcher gets contradicting data from two different sources, it can be
difficult to distinguish ‘true’ from ‘false’. If the researcher receives two opposing accounts of the same thing,
which account is true? And more importantly, how can the researcher tell?
The positivist approach, with reference to scientific method, objectivity,
reliability and value freedom
Within sociology, there are two main theoretical approaches to research and to understanding the social world.
The earliest sociologists, such as Comte, developed the positivist approach, but for most of the history of
sociology interpretivism has existed alongside positivism as an alternative approach.
Positivism
According to this approach, it is both possible and desirable to study social behaviour using similar methods to
those used when studying the natural world; in other words, sociology can be like a science. We can examine
this belief by identifying some of its key ideas, beginning with the idea that social systems are made up of
structures that exist independently of individuals.
Institutions represent behaviour at the macro (very large group) level of society. As individuals we experience
social structures as forces bearing down on us, pushing us to behave in certain ways and shaping our
behavioural choices. Although we have a measure of choice in our daily lives, this is limited by social
structures.
For positivists, where social action is decided by structural forces it makes sense to study the causes of
behaviour. This means looking at the structural forces that make people choose one action over another, rather
than studying their effects – the choices themselves. Social structures are seen as real, objective forces;
people cannot stop these forces from acting on them.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Just as natural scientists have observed the effects of ‘unseen forces’ such as gravity or electro-magnetism,
social structures are unseen forces whose effect can be observed by positivists using similar techniques to
those of the natural sciences:
•
systematic observation
•
accurate testing
•
quantitative measurements that create reliable knowledge.
This systematic process results in the development of theories that explain the initial observations and predict
future behaviours.
Figure 2.14: How do we explain why some children achieve more than others?
Since this version of science is concerned only with what is, rather than how we might want something to be,
scientists must be personally objective. They do not participate in the behaviour being studied, so they do not
bias or influence the data-collection process. They prefer quantitative methods because they allow for the
collection of objective and reliable data. Positivists value reliability; they see it as essential that others can
replicate the research.
Questionnaires, structured interviews, experiments or comparative and observational studies offer higher levels
of reliability than qualitative methods. They also allow the researcher to maintain a high level of personal
objectivity by ‘standing apart’ from the behaviour being researched.
Research methods, therefore, should not depend on the subjective interpretations of a researcher; the
researcher is objective, and their values do not influence the research. Positivism involves a value-free
approach.
In summary, positivist methodology involves these key ideas:
•
The primary research goal is to explain, not describe, social phenomena.
•
Scientific research involves the ability to discover the ‘general rules’ (or structures) that decide individual
behaviour.
•
The social scientist must personally be objective – their research must not be influenced by their values,
beliefs, opinions and prejudices – and systemically objective; that is, they should use objective methods.
•
Scientific research involves the ability to quantify and measure behaviour.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Auguste Comte (1798–1857)
The French philosopher Auguste Comte is widely regarded as the founder of sociology. He established the positivist approach in
sociology, arguing that sociology was a science and could discover laws of human behaviour, just as scientists discovered laws of
nature. The methods of the sciences were therefore appropriate for sociology. He believed that sociology was the most important
and the last of the sciences to develop. He argued for society to be run by sociologists, because they would have the best
understanding of human behaviour and would be able to act in society’s best interests. Comte’s ideas influenced much of later
sociology, including the work of Durkheim and Marx and the development of anthropology.
The interpretivist approach, with reference to verstehen, meaning, subjectivity
and validity
Interpretivism
For interpretivists, the crucial difference between society and physical nature is that social reality is formed
through the interaction of people who have consciousness. This awareness of ourselves and our relationship to
others gives us the ability to act. People are able to exercise free will over the choices they make about how to
behave in different situations, rather than simply react to outside (structural) stimulation. In this sense, people
are unpredictable – they do not always react in the same way. This means that behaviour cannot be studied
and explained in the way that natural scientists study and explain the non-human world, and that the positivist
approach is not appropriate for sociology.
For interpretivists, unpredictability is constructed through meanings. ‘Society’ does not exist in an objective
form; it is created by the way people interact with each other and experienced subjectively because we give it
meaning through behaviour. People create and re-create a ‘sense of the social system’ on a daily basis.
Society is not something ‘out there’ to be objectively observed but something ‘in here’ to be experienced and
understood.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.15: Society is created through everyday behaviour and the interactions between individuals in
social settings
The fact that people actively create the social world makes it impossible to establish causal relationships either
in theory or in practice. Where social contexts define the meaning of behaviour, the best a researcher can do is
describe reality from the viewpoint of those who define it, whether they are in a classroom, a family or any other
social situation. Seeing the social world through the eyes of others involves empathy. Max Weber referred to
this as verstehen.
If researching social behaviour involves understanding how people individually and collectively experience and
interpret their situation, research methods must reflect this social construction of reality. The aim of interpretivist
research is to help respondents ‘tell their story’ and, by so doing, understand and explain their behavioural
choices.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.16: How do semi-structured and unstructured interviews help the recovery of subjective
meaning?
We can summarise interpretivist methodology as follows:
•
The primary aim is to describe social behaviour in terms of the meanings and interpretations of those
involved.
•
Behavioural rules are context bound; they change in subtle ways depending on the situation.
•
Uncovering and describing behavioural rules involves the close study of people’s behaviour; the researcher
must gain a good understanding of the context within which such rules are created. This is why researchers
in this methodology often use participant observation.
•
Participation can be desirable because this gives the researcher a deeper insight into behaviour, the kind of
‘objective detachment’ valued by positivists is explicitly rejected. Sociologists should not be objective and
should acknowledge their values rather than try to be value-free in their research.
•
While reliability is important, interpretivists place greater emphasis on achieving validity.
KEY CONCEPT - STRUCTURE AND HUMAN AGENCY
How do the different approaches of positivism and interpretivism relate to the debate about the relationship between structure and
agency?
The debates about whether sociology can/should be based on the methods and
procedures of the natural sciences and the role of values in sociological
research
Defining science
Science is a way of producing a particular kind of knowledge, one that is factual and objective rather than
based on opinion, guesses or faith. Science involves identifying a problem to study, collecting information about
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
it and offering an explanation for it. Science, therefore, is a methodology – a way of producing knowledge that
has two main qualities:
1 It is reliable. This refers to the idea that it is possible to check the accuracy of a piece of research by
repeating (replicating) it to see whether the same, or very similar, results are obtained.
2 It is valid. Data are only useful if they actually measure or describe what it claims to measure or describe. It
is possible to measure the extent of crime using government crime statistics. However, the validity of these
statistics may be limited if they only record crimes that are reported to the police because many crimes go
unreported.
So, a scientific methodology encompasses certain procedural and ethical rules that should be followed in order
to ‘do science’.
Procedural rules
Scientific knowledge is created by following a set of procedures, agreed by the scientific community, that
control how data can be collected and analysed. The hypothetico-deductive method is a standard example of a
scientific procedure. A scientific procedure generally begins with a hypothesis or research question. This
question must be tested or answered by the systematic collection, presentation and analysis of data. A crucial
idea here is that any conclusions drawn from scientific research have not been disproven or shown to be false
in the course of testing them against the available evidence. This procedure gives scientific knowledge greater
plausibility because it is based on tested facts rather than untested opinions. It also gives this knowledge a
crucial quality: the ability to make predictive statements. Scientific knowledge means that we can say with a
level of certainty that something will happen in the future.
Ethical rules (a scientific ethos)
To ensure that scientists follow the procedures outlined above, rather than making up their results, Merton
(1942) argued that a scientific ethos is required. There must be rules governing the general conditions that
research must satisfy in order to both attain and maintain scientific status. Science has to be:
1 Universal: knowledge is evaluated using objective, universally agreed, criteria. Personal values play no part
in this process and criticism of a scientist’s work should focus on trying to prove that their conclusions are
wrong or identifying weaknesses in the research process.
2 Communal: scientific knowledge is ‘public knowledge’ that must be freely shared within the scientific
community. Scientists must, for example, be able to build on the work done by other scientists. This inspires
scientists to develop new ideas based on those of other scientists, causing scientific understanding to
advance on a growing (cumulative) basis. By making their work available for peer review, scientists also
accept that scientific knowledge cannot be taken ‘on trust’. Other scientists must be free to replicate their
work, which requires detailed knowledge of the original research.
3 Disinterested: the main responsibility of the scientist is to seek knowledge. While scientists should be
recognised for their achievements and rewarded for their efforts, they should not have a personal interest,
financial or otherwise, in the outcome of their research. If the researcher was not disinterested, there would
be a risk of researcher bias, calling the validity of the research into question.
4 Sceptical: nothing is beyond criticism. The scientific community must continually evaluate knowledge
because this questioning process contributes to the development of human understanding. For Merton, this
‘sceptical attitude’ represented the main way in which scientific knowledge differed from other forms of
knowledge, such as religious faith (considered as knowledge by the faithful). Science is ‘true’ only because
it has not yet been disproved. Faith, however, is considered by believers to be self-evidently true; it cannot
be disproved.
We can develop these general ideas about how sociologists produce scientific knowledge by outlining two
different perspectives: positivism and interpretivism.
The earliest sociology was positivist; that is, it was based on the assumptions that the social world could be
explored in the same way as the natural world, and that there were laws of human behaviour to be discovered
in the same way as scientists discovered laws such as those of gravity and thermodynamics. These
assumptions meant that sociology should be based on the same principles as the natural sciences (chemistry,
biology, physics and so on) and should use the same methods. Sociologists, like scientists, should be objective
and should not let their values influence their research. These views took hold during the Enlightenment period,
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
when many were convinced that science would lead to complete understanding of the world and the universe
and that this would enable people to build better societies.
Later sociologists following the positivist approach moved away to some extent from this position. It was
recognised that because people think, reflect and make decisions about how to act, it was not always
appropriate to use the same methods. Positivists tried to be as objective as possible and to follow scientific
methods as far as possible, while recognising, for example, that complete objectivity was not achievable (for
example, the choice of what to study would be based on the researcher’s ideas about what was worthwhile
studying).
Interpretivism is a different tradition within sociology, based on different assumptions. Interpretivists argue that
scientific methods are not appropriate for sociology. The purpose of sociology is to try to understand why
people behave as they do. This is not a question of discovering laws of human behaviour but rather of trying to
see the world through their eyes, uncovering the meanings they give to their actions. This requires totally
different methods, which need to be assessed differently. The methods preferred by interpretivists are seen by
positivists as lacking reliability because they cannot be replicated, and the interpretivist researcher can be
criticised for lacking objectivity and for being influenced by their values. For interpretivists, reliability is less
important than validity, and qualitative methods are likely to produce valid data, capturing what social actions
mean to those carrying them out. Because complete objectivity is unachievable, the sociologist should be open
about their values, so that those reading their research reports can evaluate how far values have influenced the
research.
ACTIVITY 2.11
Identify two differences between positivist and interpretivist approaches.
Which of the two approaches do you think is the more useful? Why?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
2.3 Research issues
The theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing the choice of
topic, choice of method(s) and conduct of research
Theoretical research considerations
When faced with a problem such as hanging a picture, we reach for a hammer – the most appropriate tool for
the job. When carrying out sociological research, therefore, it makes sense to adopt a similar approach:
choose a resesearch topic and then select the most appropriate method of collecting data. Unfortunately,
although some methods are better suited than others to certain types of research, Ackroyd and Hughes
(1992) argued that we should not see these methods as ‘tools’ that are somehow appropriate or inappropriate
for particular tasks. Research methods do not have a clear, single and straightforward purpose. In addition to
this – as we have seen – sociological research is surrounded by theoretical beliefs about both the nature of
the social world and how it can be studied. When collecting data, therefore, a researcher has to make initial
decisions about factors such as what counts as data. Should the data be statistical or descriptive? Should the
research test a hypothesis or simply report what respondents say? When deciding how to carry out research,
sociologists need to confront and resolve a range of theoretical questions relating to choice of topic and
research method.
Figure 2.17: You can think about research methods in terms of a toolbox. Are research methods more
than just tools with a single purpose?
Topic choice
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
At a theoretical level, topic choice involves a number of considerations. The intended audience of the research
may influence (and in some cases actually dictate) topic choice. While Jessop’s (2003) ‘Governance and
Meta-governance: On Reflexivity, Requisite Variety, and Requisite Irony’ is perfectly acceptable for an
academic audience, it would make no sense to a non-academic audience. The purpose of research is also
important. If the goal is to test a hypothesis, the topic is likely to be narrower in scope than if the goal is a
descriptive account.
In both the social and natural worlds, there are many potential topics to study, but the general process is the
same. What is considered ‘worthy of being studied’ is influenced by a researcher’s values. These are:
•
Personal – the extent to which the researcher is interested in the topic; for example, they may find crime
more interesting than education.
•
Institutional – universities and governments are important sources of research funding. In the UK, for
example, university-based research is overseen and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council
which, in turn, is mainly funded by the UK government. The government may want to know more about a
social issue, so as to develop better policies, or on the other hand may prevent research on an issue
where it knows the findings would lead to criticism of its policies.
Choice of method
This is similarly surrounded by theoretical considerations, in particular the researcher’s perspective:
•
Interactionists tend to avoid using statistical methods, mainly because they are not trying to establish
causality.
•
Positivists are more likely to take the opposite view, mainly because they not interested in descriptive
accounts.
A researcher’s beliefs about the reliability and validity of particular methods will also play a part in which
approach they choose for their research. Such decisions may reflect a researcher’s value judgements about
how something should be studied. If the researcher believes that covert participation is both unethical and
methodologically invalid, they are unlikely to choose this method.
Practical research considerations
Topic choice
Practical considerations can influence a researcher’s choice of topic in a number of ways. Large-scale
research carried out over a long period of time may be expensive. Those who commission and pay for it may
have an important say in the choice of topic, method and overall conduct of the research. In addition, in the
UK and the USA, where government agencies or departments fund social research, it is usual to commission
and fund research designed to help policy-makers make decisions. Research that does not support this
process might not win funding.
A researcher may know what topic they want to study, but it may not be possible to do so. Two of the most
important practical considerations when choosing a research topic are:
•
access to research subjects (individuals)
•
their co-operation in the research.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.18: Researchers bring their own personalities to the research process. What problems might
there be with managing a large team of researchers?
Both of these factors may be denied. A researcher might choose to continue anyway by carrying out covert
research – Goffman (1961), for example, studied the patients and medical staff in a US mental institution while
pretending to be a member of the cleaning staff. However, some argue that such research is ethically
questionable. The problem of co-operation may be solved by sponsorship: a member of the group being
studied backs and ‘protects’ the researcher. Problems of access and co-operation may also explain why a lot
of sociological research focuses on the activities of the powerless, people who cannot say no, rather than the
powerful, who can and often do resist being studied.
Choice of method
Researchers must deal with a range of practical issues in assessing how and why various methods are ‘fit for
the purpose’ of testing a hypothesis or answering a research question. As Dunican (2005) suggests, fitness
for purpose ‘reflects how well the chosen research method is suited to the context of study. This is measured
in terms of how well it is suited to answering the issues posed in the research question’. We can use
Venkatesh’s study to illustrate this idea. He originally began ‘armed only with a questionnaire and a desire to
learn more about the lives of poor black people’. However, he asked only one question – ‘How does it feel to
be black and poor?’ – before his research subjects made him realise that in order to understand what it was
like, he needed to experience it for himself.
Choice of method is also affected by practical considerations such as the topic being studied. Some topics
lend themselves more easily to one method than another. Quantitative methods are useful when the
researcher wants reliable data to establish statistical relationships. An example of this is Kessler’s (2000)
study of the relationship between sponsorship and small business performance, where the main aim was to
test whether ‘those who are sponsored are more successful than non-sponsored individuals’.
Time is another consideration, because some methods are more time-consuming than others. Participant
observation may involve years of research. Venkatesh took around eight years documenting the lives of the
black residents – gang members and non-members alike – in a small area of Chicago.
The amount of funding available may directly influence a researcher’s choice of method. Questionnaires are
generally cheaper than in-depth interviews which, in turn, may be cheaper than participant observation. This
depends, of course, on the size and scope of the study. Funding levels also influence the size of any research
team. Similarly, the size and structure of the group being studied is a factor: questionnaires are suitable for
researching large, widely dispersed groups, while participant observation may be more appropriate for the
study of small, geographically localised groups.
Practical considerations are clearly important in the conduct of sociological research. If a researcher cannot
gain access to research subjects to administer questionnaires, organise interviews and experiments or
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
participate in the behaviour of a group, then other considerations are irrelevant. Similarly, if a researcher has
neither the time nor the funding to support themselves through a year-long observational study then, once
again, this research avenue is closed. Once these initial issues have been overcome, a researcher faces
another set of considerations – ethical issues relating to how the research should be carried out.
ACTIVITY 2.12
Identify the possible practical considerations involved in the study of the following:
a suicide
b lifestyles of the rich and famous
c the culture of the police
d the family life of teachers.
Which of these would be the most difficult to carry out? Why?
Ethical research considerations
Ethics refers to the morality of doing something. Ethical considerations apply to choices about the type of
research being done such as whether it is ethical to study people without their knowledge, and to researcher
behaviour – whether it is, for example, ethical to deceive people about the purpose of a research study.
Ethical issues, therefore, guide choices about how people are persuaded to participate in research, and how
they are physically and psychologically protected during and after the study. In this respect, both legal and
safety considerations influence the choice of topic and method, and the conduct of the research.
Legal considerations
Legal considerations can be a particularly significant factor when research involves observing or participating
in illegal behaviour, such as Ditton’s (1977) study of workplace theft. In terms of topic, the researcher must
decide whether it is ethical to research something like criminal behaviour in the first place. Choice of method
may also be influenced by the level of the researcher’s involvement. To avoid an ethical dilemma, for example,
a researcher may choose to avoid immersive methods such as participant observation when studying criminal
behaviours.
In addition, the researcher must consider their ethical responsibilities to both criminals and possible victims of
crime. Participants should also be made aware of the possible consequences of their co-operation, such as
negative media publicity. A researcher should gain the informed consent of those being researched in order to
avoid ethical questions about the conduct of the research. Finally, relationships need to be based on trust and
personal honesty. If the researcher promises anonymity, revealing identities to the authorities or the media
would be unethical.
Safety
The physical and psychological safety of everyone involved in a project is an important aspect of the research
process. Some types of research involve methods, such as covert participant observation, that require deep
involvement with respondents. A researcher must take care not to cause upset or distress to potentially weak
(vulnerable) people at the end of the study. For example, if the research involves regularly meeting and
interacting with elderly people, it would be unethical to simply break contact with them once it is complete,
because they may have seen the relationship as one of friendship. A researcher not prepared for this type of
involvement will, therefore, choose an alternative method.
Ethical practice
Sociological researchers try to keep to a code of ethical practice. To carry out research ethically, researchers
ask themselves these three questions:
1 Is it true? At its most extreme, unethical behaviour here involves things like the researcher deliberately
making up (fabricating) data or falsifying their results.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
2 Is it fair? Unethical behaviour here covers how others in the research process are treated and refers to
things such as:
•
•
ownership: for example, who can ethically claim to be the author?
plagiarism: passing off the work of others as your own.
3 Is it wise? This refers to wider questions about whether research can be morally justified and whether a
different research topic or method would have a greater moral argument.
The relationship between those doing the research and those being researched is equally important. As a rule
participants in research are asked to consent to taking part, having been fully informed of the purpose and
nature of the research. There can, however, be morally ambiguous areas, such as:
•
Studying people who do not want to be studied: Wallis (1977) wanted to research Scientology but the
church leaders refused him access to current members. He contacted former members and based his
research on their opinions and experiences.
•
Tricking people into co-operating: Rosenhan (1973) suspected that doctors could not accurately diagnose
schizophrenia and sent students displaying false symptoms into hospitals to test his hypothesis.
•
Experimenting on people who do not know they are being studied, or causing them distress: in Milgram’s
(1974) study of authority, respondents were convinced they were giving electric shocks to ‘learners’
whenever the learners gave an incorrect answer to a question. While no shocks were given and the
‘victims’ were pretending to react, some respondents broke down in the face of the pain they believed they
were causing.
ACTIVITY 2.13
Identify and assess the possible ethical considerations involved in the study of the following:
a suicide
b lifestyles of the rich and famous
c the culture of the police
d the family life of teachers.
Are there any areas of social life that you think should not be researched for ethical reasons?
How research findings may be biased by the actions and values of the
sociologist, and by choices made in designing and conducting the research
Sociological knowledge differs from other forms of knowledge – from journalism, through personal experience
to everyday conversation and thinking – because it deals in facts. To establish sociological knowledge, data is
collected and then analysed or tested objectively. In other words, the data collected and presented is ‘valuefree’ – it has not been influenced by the values, beliefs or prejudices of the researcher. More correctly, it is
value-neutral, since it is not possible to truly ‘act without values’. The best we can do is recognise the various
points at which values potentially intrude into the research process and adjust our research strategy to limit or
cancel their effect. It is possible to outline a range of points at which values potentially intrude into the
research process.
To carry out research, sociologists have to make certain practical choices. Researchers must choose a topic,
and decisions about who or what to study are influenced by their personal values and what they consider to
be important. These values will also decide whether a researcher studies the activities of the powerful – as in
Pearce’s (1998) study of corporate criminality in the chemical industry – or the relatively powerless. In
addition, these choices are influenced by personal views about danger and difficulty. For example, powerful
people tend to value their privacy, so gaining access to their world may not be easy.
Topic choice is also influenced by funding considerations. Those paying for the research may not only
influence what is studied but also how it is studied. This situation raises ethical questions (see below) about
whether a researcher should be held responsible for the purposes to which their research is put.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Decisions about the method of research used are also influenced by values because they inform a
researcher’s beliefs about how best to achieve reliability and validity in sociological research. As we have
seen, different sociologists have different ideas about the respective value of quantitative and qualitative data.
Where questions are asked of a respondent, judgements are made about who to question, what to ask and
how that person is permitted to respond. Positivists may prefer to limit respondent choice by giving them a list
of answers from which to choose – perhaps closed questions, where the answers are easy to quantify.
Interpretivists may encourage a respondent to answer in their own words by asking open-ended questions.
Values also influence data analysis: the researcher must make decisions about what data to include and what
to exclude from the completed research.
Research needs to be funded. This may involve a researcher getting approval for a project from a university or
other institution they work for, or it may involve applying for funding from another institution. In the UK, for
example, much research in the sociology and other social sciences is funded by the Economic and Social
Research Council. To be successful in an application, the researcher will have to convince the funding body
that the research is worthwhile. This is likely to mean that the proposed research fits in with the priorities of the
funding body at that time. Projects with a clear practical outcome are more likely to be funded, other proposals
may never be successful. Where governments directly or indirectly control the funding bodies, research that
may prove embarrassing or inconvenient to the government or may suggest that its policies are wrong is
unlikely to be funded.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Many professions make use of sociological knowledge; for example, health service workers and
people working in education. Would they prefer research on topics that affect their work to be
based on methods that produce quantitative data or methods that produce qualitative data?
Justify your choice.
Validity, reliability, objectivity, representativeness and ethics as important
concepts in assessing the value of different research methods
An important aspect of the relationship between theory and methods is that there is no general agreement
about how to collect data about the social world. Different methodological approaches develop their own ideas
about scientific sociology.
Validity
Validity is a concept that is used to assess different research methods and data. Validity is the idea that
methods and data are only useful if they actually measure or describe what they claim to measure or describe.
The term ‘validity’ covers several different areas concerned with how true to life answers and findings are.
Ecological validity refers to the extent to which research methods reflect the world being studied – the idea
that the closer we get to studying people in their natural environment, the more likely we are to get valid data.
Laboratory experiments have very low ecological validity, because laboratories are artificial situations in which
people do not behave as they would in other situations. Covert participant observation, on the other hand, has
much higher validity, because people are observed acting in ‘real life’.
Methods that produce qualitative data, such as participant observation and unstructured interviews, are
usually thought to have higher validity than those that produce quantitative data. This is because qualitative
methods get closer to the experience and perceptions of those being studied. In surveys and other
quantitative research, respondents may give wrong answers, for a variety of reasons. For example, they may
want to make a good impression on the researcher by giving a socially approved answer. The findings will
then be invalid (though they may be reliable, as the same answers would be given again to a different
researcher).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 2.19: A bride in India prepares for her wedding. Do marriage statistics have a high or low
validity?
Reliability
Reliability refers to how effective a research approach is at collecting consistent data; it is about whether the
accuracy of the data can be checked by repeating or replicating the research. If different answers are
obtained, the research approach is unreliable and any conclusions drawn from it will be limited. Reliability can
be improved by standardising the research approach, as this allows less scope for differences to occur in the
way that different researchers ask questions and collect data. If a standardised approach is used to collect
information from people who have the same or similar characteristics, the same study results should be
achieved each time.
It is easier to achieve a standardised approach using quantitative research methods, such as questionnaires
and structured interviews. For this reason, quantitative methods are often regarded as reliable. However,
research based on a quantitative approach is not automatically high in reliability. There may be weaknesses in
the way that the research was designed and/or carried out that make replication difficult. Moreover, when
replicating a study, it may be difficult to ensure that the subjects have the same characteristics as the original
group. Qualitative methods such as participant observation are difficult or impossible to repeat, so they tend to
be low in reliability.
Objectivity
One of the things that distinguishes sociological knowledge from journalism or common sense (the things that
everyone knows) is the ability to make objective statements about behaviour. Objectivity is a particularly
significant factor. The researcher not only has no personal stake in the truth or falsity of the behaviour they are
testing or describing, they also try to avoid unfairly influencing that behaviour. A researcher must try to
maintain an objective detachment.
Objectivity is something all sociologists, whether positivist or interpretivist, try to achieve. Without it,
sociological research has no greater reliability or validity than any other form of knowledge. However, there
are different views on the extent to which objectivity is achievable.
Positivists argue that we can study objective features of the social world (institutions such as families or
educational systems) because they are solid and permanent. Objectivity involves the idea that social
structures are real, exist independently of the observer and can be experienced directly or indirectly using
particular signs of their existence. Sociological research, therefore, involves discovery – the ability to gradually
uncover the principles on which the social world is based. Discovery is achieved by the researcher distancing
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
themselves from the behaviour being studied. Objectivity requires the researcher to place themselves ‘outside’
the behaviour they are studying – theoretically, if not always practically. Their personal values and beliefs
should not influence what they see; they must study the social world as a removed observer.
Interpretivists take a different view of objectivity. Where positivists sees a single reality that can be discovered
through systematic research, interpretivists argues that there are many realities, expressed through the
various ways in which people see and understand the social world. This world is not something ‘out there’
waiting to be discovered. It exists only as interpretations people make (how they understand behaviour). It
follows, therefore, that the aim of social research is subjective understanding. The researcher’s role is that of
an objective channel through which individuals ‘tell their story’ to uncover how and why people see the social
world in particular ways. Because of the nature of what they study, it is often harder for sociologists to be
objective than it is for researchers in the natural sciences. Interpretivists argue that sociologists should be
open about their values, rather than claiming to be able to put them aside in their research, others can then
judge the extent to which they have succeeded in doing this.
Representativeness
Representativeness refers the extent to which the research findings apply to a larger population.
Representativeness is the ability to generalise observations made about one relatively small sample group to
the much larger target population it represents. This is possible if the key characteristics of the respondents in
the sample are the same as those of the larger population – that is, if the sample is an accurate cross-section
of the population.
The importance of representativeness can be illustrated by the example of postal questionnaires. Response
rates for this research method are almost invariably low, which can create problems in two areas:
•
There is an increased chance of sampling error created by an unrepresentative self-selected sample (a
sample that ‘selects itself’ – those who bother to reply).
•
Survey-based research based on an unrepresentative sample will lack validity. The findings of the
research cannot be validly generalised to the target population.
ACTIVITY 2.14
A simple way to picture the reliability and validity of different methods is to create a methodological square such as the one in
Figure 2.20. Place all of the research methods you have studied in the appropriate segment.
Figure 2.20: Ethics
Devise an alternative way of visualising the research methods you have learned about.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Sociological research is also complicated by people’s awareness of both themselves as the object of research
and their relationship to others, such as those carrying out the research. It is further complicated by the fact
that different sociologists see the social world differently. Human relationships have an ethical dimension, and
this extends to the way we believe we should study human relationships through research.
For some sociologists, conducting experiments on people without consent can be morally justified because
the results of the research may prove valuable. For others, this behaviour is both morally wrong and
scientifically incorrect because to truly understand behaviour we must understand how it is subjectively
experienced. Such different views lead to different research approaches based on different beliefs – the most
fundamental of which is what we believe exists. Those who believe the social world consists of natural
responses to social stimulation will study it in a different way from those who believe it is socially constructed
through everyday behaviour and meanings.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
‘On the Problem of Over-researched Communities: The Case of the Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon’ by
Mayssoun Sukarieh and Stuart Tannock
Sociology, volume 47, number 3 (2012)
This article draws attention to a little-discussed issue in research, the fact that some groups and communities are researched
far more than others. Sukarieh noticed this when she was working as a volunteer at the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut,
Lebanon. This camp is probably one of the most heavily researched neighbourhoods anywhere, having attracted global
attention and being, conveniently for visiting researchers, close to an international airport.
Being ‘over-researched’ can bring benefits to a community but there can also be resentment, especially at the idea that
researchers come to gather information that will advance their careers, and then leave with no commitment or benefit to the
community. Researchers promise their work will help, but residents feel that this doesn’t happen. This draws attention to how
the research relationship can be one-sided – respondents give their time for no reward. Looking at the global picture, most
sociological research is carried out in a fairly small number of developed countries, and very little in most of the rest of the
world. Inevitably, this is reflected in how sociology is taught and in the contents of text books.
Question: What topics or groups are likely to be ‘over-researched’?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
Types of data, methods and research design
■ Sources of data can be primary or secondary.
■ Data can be quantitative or qualitative.
■ All sources of data have strengths and weaknesses.
■ Secondary sources of data include:
■ official statistics
■ personal documents
■ digital content and media sources.
■ Quantitative research methods include:
■ questionnaires
■ structured interviews
■ experiments
■ content analysis.
■ Qualitative research methods include
■ unstructured interviews
■ semi-structured interviews
■ group interviews
■ overt and covert participant and non-participant observation.
■ Stages of research design include:
■ deciding on research strategy
■ formulating research questions and hypotheses
■ sampling frames
■ sampling techniques
■ pilot studies
■ operationalisation
■ conducting research
■ interpreting results.
Approaches to sociological research
■ Approaches that draw on different research methods include:
■ case studies
■ social surveys
■ ethnography
■ longitudinal studies.
■ The mixed methods approach includes methodological pluralism and triangulation.
■ The positivist approach is based on scientific method, objectivity, reliability and value-freedom.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
■ The interpretivist approach is based on verstehen, meaning, subjectivity and validity.
■ There are debates about whether sociology can or should be based on the methods and procedures of
the natural sciences and about the role of values in sociological research.
Research issues
■ Theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influence the choice of topic, choice of research
method and the conduct of the research.
■ Research can be biased by the actions and values of the sociologist and by choices made in designing
and conducting the research.
■ Important concepts in assessing the value of different research methods include:
■ validity
■ reliability
■ objectivity
■ representativeness
■ ethics.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
Choose one set of questions to answer in the time available.
Set 1
1 Describe two sampling techniques.
[4]
2 a Explain two reasons why social surveys may not produce valid data.
[8]
b Explain one strength and one limitation of using unstructured interviews as a research
method.
[6]
3 Evaluate the view that a value-free sociology is possible and desirable.
[26]
Set 2
1 Describe two types of personal documents that can be used in sociological research.
[4]
2 a Explain two reasons why sociologists use different sampling techniques.
[8]
b Explain one strength and one weakness of using social surveys as a research method.
3 Evaluate the view that sociologists should try to discover laws underlying human behaviour.
[6]
[26]
Set 3
1 Describe two ways in which practical considerations might influence choice of research method.
[4]
2 a Explain two reasons why covert participant observation is not used often in sociology.
[8]
b Explain one strength and one weakness of using official statistics in sociological research.
[6]
3 Evaluate the view that sociology should be based on the methods and procedures of the natural
sciences.
[26]
Set 4
1 Describe two examples of ethical considerations in sociological research.
[4]
2 a Explain two reasons why laboratory experiments are not used often in sociology.
[8]
b Explain one strength and one weakness of using personal documents in sociological
research.
[6]
3 Evaluate the view that practical considerations are the most important when deciding upon a
topic and method for research.
[26]
Sample answer and activity
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Set 1 Question 1 and 2a answers
1 Describe two sampling techniques.
[4]
Question 1 requires an answer which identifies two sampling techniques and then briefly describes them.
Here is an example of an answer describing one sampling technique:
One sampling technique is random sampling. This is when everyone in the target
population has an equal chance of being selected, similar to a lottery.
Point 1: this answer identifies a technique by name, and then briefly describes it. A longer, more
developed answer is not needed.
ACTIVITY 2.15
Now write the second part of this answer, describing a second sampling technique.
2 a Explain two reasons why social surveys may not produce valid data.
[8]
You need to choose two reasons and then explain them, using sociological terms when appropriate. Here
is an example of one reason:
One reason why social surveys may not produce valid data is that it is difficult in
questionnaires (the most common form of survey) to obtain detailed information.
Questions are often closed and pre-coded. While this is useful for collating and
analysing responses, it means that the respondent has to choose from a list of answers
and may not be able to give the answer they would like to. The respondent also cannot
explain their answer, so that the researcher does not gain a valid insight.
Point 2: This answer is successful because it gives a clear reason which is then explained using
appropriate sociological terms (closed, pre-coded, collating, valid and so on). Repeating the wording of
the question in the opening sentence is not necessary but can help to ensure that you do answer the
question directly.
ACTIVITY 2.16
Now write a second reason. For example, you could think about reasons why respondents might not give valid responses, or
why questions may be unintentionally biased.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 3
The family
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ Theories of the family and social change:
■ Perspectives on the role of the family
■ Diversity and social change
■ Family roles and changing relationships:
■ Gender equality and experiences of family life
■ Age and family life
Before you start
How would you explain what is meant by the word ‘family’? Are there different types of family?
Are families different in other societies?
Reflection: Compare your answers with those of others. What changes would you now make to your original answers?
Sociologists see the family as a major social institution; that is, it is an important feature of human societies.
Families involve patterns of shared, stable behaviour that continue over time, from one generation to the next.
There are other ways that people share their lives, such as households, in which the people are not
necessarily related to each other by family ties.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Theories of the family and social change
3.1 Perspectives on the role of the family
Functionalist accounts of how the family benefits its members and society and
how the functions of families have changed over time, including the ‘loss of
functions’ debate
The anthropologist George Peter Murdock (1949) developed a definition of a family based on analysing data
from 250 different societies. He concluded that the family was universal (that is, it exists in all societies). No
society had an adequate alternative to the family. His definition involves the family having four characteristics:
•
common residence (live in the same home)
•
economic co-operation and reproduction
•
adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship
•
one or more children, own or adopted.
This functionalist definition is exclusive because it is based on the idea that families have characteristics that
make them different from other social groups, such as schools. This definition is flexible enough to
accommodate different types of family relationship and organisation. For example, families do not have to be
monogamous (based on monogamy, the marriage of one man to one woman); they can also be polygamous
(based on polygamy, where one person may have more than one marriage partner). One man can be married
to a number of women (polygyny) or one woman married to a number of men (polyandry).
Murdock’s definition distinguishes between family and non-family groups. However, it excludes many possible
living arrangements, such as single-parent and homosexual (gay and lesbian) households, that are considered
to be families in many modern societies. Later sociologists, such as Giddens (2006) have suggested an
alternative, inclusive, definition that focuses on kinship (blood relations) and the general relationships that make
families different from other social groups.
According to Giddens, families are defined through people directly linked by kin connections, where adult
members take responsibility for childcare. One advantage of an inclusive definition like this is that it covers a
variety of possible family forms and relationships. There is a problem if the definition is too broad, it may include
groups that most people would not normally consider to be families.
Murdock further argues that it is the nuclear family that is the universal social unit. Nuclear families consist of
parents and their children (two generations). In the past and in traditional societies, other relatives may also be
present, but Murdock argues that the nuclear family is at the heart of extended families. In modern industrial
societies, contact with wider kin, such as grandparents, tends to be infrequent and remote (by telephone, for
example) rather than meeting regularly in person. The nuclear family is a self-contained economic unit whose
members are expected to support each other socially and psychologically. It is sometimes called the isolated
nuclear family to emphasise its physical separation from wider kin and its economic separation from the rest of
society.
Murdock identified four functional prerequisites of the family.
1 Sexual control involves the idea that adult married or cohabiting couples do not have sexual relations with
anyone other than their current partner, something that provides ‘stability through exclusivity’.
2 Reproduction involves families ‘reproducing society’ by creating new members to replace those who die.
3 Socialisation involves children being taught values and norms and so becoming members of their society.
4 Economic provision involves the idea that families have to organise themselves to ensure the survival of the
family group and its individual members. They must develop a division of labour involving paid employment
and unpaid domestic work. The family looks after members who cannot support themselves, such as young
children, older people and the sick or weak (infirm).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Parsons and Bales (1956) argued that whereas in the past the family was multi-functional (performing different
functions), it has become increasingly specialised in modern societies. The development of ‘new’ social
institutions, such as education systems, meant that families gradually suffered a loss of functions. Parsons
(1959b) believed that these changes were consistent with family evolution because they left families free to
focus on two essential (or irreducible) functions:
•
Primary socialisation – families are socialisation ‘factories whose product is the development of human
personalities’. This function links to social order and system stability as the way through which new family
members come to understand and learn the values and norms needed to successfully play their adult roles.
•
The stabilisation of adult personalities involves adult family members providing physical and emotional
support. Family relationships provide both the motivation for paid work and the emotional and sexual
comforts that come from the development of relationships.
Fletcher (1973) drew these strands together by arguing that contemporary families performed two types of
function:
1 Core functions cannot be performed by either individuals working alone or by any other institution. Families
are needed for both giving birth to children (childbearing) and bringing up children (child-rearing). This
involves ensuring a child’s physical and psychological survival and its social development into adulthood
(primary socialisation). A child’s natural parents are best suited to this process because they have a personal
investment in their child’s survival and development. The family also provides both a ‘physical home’ (nurture
and shelter for the child) and an ‘emotional home’ in terms of the child’s psychological well-being; children
feel wanted and loved.
2 Peripheral functions are things that, while still performed by some families at some times, have been largely
taken over by other institutions. These include education, health care and recreation. For example, when
people are ill they are often looked after by their family before or as well as using health care services.
Neo-functionalism
Traditional functionalists saw the links between families and other institutions in broad terms: the economy
needed socialised individuals and it was the purpose of the family to provide them. Neo-functionalist
approaches focus more specifically on the processes involved in linking the individual to society. Horwitz (2005),
for example, argues that the family functions as a bridge connecting the ‘micro world’ of the individual with the
‘macro world’ of wider economic society. From their family, children learn both directly, through instruction, and
in an unspoken way, through examples, how they should and should not behave in the wider world. For Horwitz,
the family is the best site for learning in this way because:
•
Rules passed on and put in force by people who share a deep, emotional commitment are more likely to be
effectively taught and learnt.
•
Emotional closeness provides reasons to develop co-operative behaviour – for example, children want to
please their parents.
•
Rule-learning can be taught subconsciously by children observing and copying adult behaviour.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.1: What’s new about neo-functionalism?
ACTIVITY 3.1
“The family is a bridge between the individual and society.” In a small group, think of as many things as you can that support this
view. Now put your list in order of importance, starting with the most important. Be ready to give reasons for your choices.
Reflection: How did you decide on the order of importance in your group? Was everybody given the opportunity to give their
views? If you disagreed, how did you resolve this?
The ‘loss of functions’ debate
Functionalists argue that although the nuclear family is found in all societies, the exact forms that families take
will depend on the nature of the society. In particular, extended families are said to be common in traditional
societies because they can carry out a wide range of functions, whereas in modern industrial societies, there is
less need for extended families because other social institutions have taken over some of those functions, so
that there has been a loss of functions. The argument that the linked processes of industrialisation and
urbanisation led to changes in families and households in this way is called the ‘fit’ thesis.
As these processes developed between the late 18th and late 19th centuries, they changed the nature of work
and economic production from the land-based, rural, family-centred organisation of pre-industrial society to the
capital-intensive, urban, factory-centred organisation of industrial society. This led to a move from a mainly
extended family organisation to one dominated by nuclear families.
The extended families of pre-industrial society had been ideally suited to the demands of family-based
subsistence farming. However, as industrialisation spread, these extended families were replaced by nuclear
families that fitted two crucial economic requirements: geographic mobility and labour flexibility. Nuclear families
allowed people to move to jobs in the newly growing towns and cities. People were gradually forced to change
the way they lived.
The ‘fit’ thesis was put forward by functionalist sociologists, such as Parsons (1959b) and Goode (1963). These
sociologists claimed that extended family structures were the norm in pre-industrial society because families
and households were:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Multi-functional – a wide family network performed a range of functions related to the economic and social
well-being of family members.
•
Kinship-based – the extended family had a common economic position that involved working together,
mainly as subsistence farmers but also in various craft trades, brewing (beer) and baking, in and around the
home.
•
Economically productive – the extended family provided the only workable means of physical survival.
The idea of the family group as economically productive is related to three further factors:
1 Labour-intensive subsistence agriculture required as many people as possible – men, women and children –
to work the land, especially at particular times such as harvesting.
2 The ability to move away from the family group was limited by poor communications (there were no railways
or cars and only basic road systems). This meant that family members were physically unable to move far
from the family home, even if they wanted to.
3 Elderly, infirm and sick family members relied on their kin for care in the absence of any well-developed,
universal welfare system.
As industrialisation and urbanisation took hold, nuclear families gradually became the dominant family structure.
One of the most significant reasons for this was that people had to be mobile, moving away from rural areas to
the growing towns and cities in order to find and keep work in the new industrial processes. Another reason was
the decline of favouring friends and relatives over others (nepotism). The new industries demanded specific
skills and knowledge, so people could no longer be promoted simply because of their family connections. This
created new opportunities for social mobility.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Talcott Parsons (1902–79)
The American sociologist Talcott Parsons was the leading functionalist writer of the mid-20th century. He wrote extensively about
many aspects of social life including families. For this topic, he is best known for the idea that the nuclear family has two basic and
irreducible functions, and for the functional fit thesis, that the type of family which is dominant in any society will fit that society’s
needs. Parsons saw the nuclear family as the best kind of family for modern industrial societies because it provided clear, separate
roles for men and women, enabled socialisation of children and allowed families to be mobile, moving to where job opportunities
were. In these ways, he believed, the nuclear family fulfils functions for both the individual and society.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
In what ways has your own society changed as a result of industrialisation and urbanisation?
What evidence is there to support your answers?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.2: Agricultural workers in the 18th century. Why was the extended family well suited to this type
of existence?
Arguments against Parsons
Finch (1989) examined the idea that before the Industrial Revolution family obligations were much stronger and
family members provided greater support for each other than in the industrial and post-industrial eras. She
found little evidence to support this view of the pre-industrial family. Historical studies have also shown that
there was a wide range of household types in the pre-industrial period – there is no evidence that extended
families were the norm. Such studies have led some sociologists to question the idea of a ‘fit’ between the
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
nuclear family and the process of industrialisation. One alternative suggestion is that industrialisation and
urbanisation first occurred in parts of Western Europe because pre-industrial family structures were already
mainly nuclear rather than extended. As a result, they could respond to the new economic opportunities
requiring family mobility and flexibility. In other words, pre-industrial family structures, without unbreakable ties to
extended kin, were a contributing cause of industrial development.
Although extended families existed, they were not as common, nor as dominant, as ‘fit theorists’ have
suggested. One reason for this was that average life expectancy was low (around 35–40 years) so the majority
of adults did not live long enough to become grandparents, reducing the number of vertically extended families.
Industrialisation in the United Kingdom may also have been helped by the main inheritance system of
primogeniture; that is, the first-born son inherited all the family wealth, including the home, and younger brothers
and sisters (siblings) had to move out. This put wealth in fewer hands and money could be invested in growing
industries. The younger siblings moved to the cities as factory workers.
Anderson (1995) argued that no single family or household structure was dominant during the industrialisation
process. Both reconstituted and lone-parent families existed in pre-industrial societies, mainly because of high
death rates among the poor.
Anderson suggests that during the process of industrialisation, the working class developed a broadly extended
family structure, mainly as a consequence of urbanisation. As towns developed around factories, pressure on
living space resulted in extended families that satisfied a number of purposes:
•
The lack of government help for the sick or unemployed meant that working-class families relied on a strong
kinship network for their care and survival.
•
Most people could barely read or write, so kinship networks helped to secure jobs for family members by
recommending them to employers.
•
If both parents worked, relatives played a vital part in childcare.
•
Death rates were high, but children without parents (orphans) could be absorbed into the extended family
structure.
•
Children worked from quite a young age, so young relatives were used to add to family income.
Some functions once performed by families have been taken over by other institutions:
•
Education is now handled by a school system.
•
Health and social care has been largely handed over to a range of professionals, from doctors and nurses to
social workers.
•
Recreation and leisure, once focused on the family, has become either more individualised or something that
is done outside the home.
These functions can, however, be seen as having been modified rather than lost completely:
•
Many parents, especially among the middle classes, are actively involved in their children’s education.
•
Families play an important care role – non-critical illnesses are largely treated within the family and families
may carry out long-term care of the elderly.
•
Many families, especially those with young children, share leisure and recreation, although this may be
largely consumed outside the home as part of the leisure industry.
ACTIVITY 3.2
In a small group, design a poster to explain the fit thesis.
Reflection: Present your poster to other students and explain to them how you decided on the design. Are there ways it could
be improved?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Evaluation of functionalist accounts of the family
Functionalists were the first sociologists to focus on the importance of family life and to recognise that the two
generation nuclear family, with adults of both sexes and dependent children, was common around the world.
They drew attention to the various positive ways in which families provide support for individuals and in doing so
help to stabilise society. The nuclear family remains the type of family that many people live in, or hope to live in,
and it is still also the type of family encouraged by the policies of many governments. In these ways,
functionalists have made important contributions to the study of the family.
Functionalist accounts of the family have however been criticised in various ways. The functionalist approach
developed in the mid-20th century in the USA, and can be seen as being both out of date and as not applying to
all other societies. The accounts of Parsons, and others, are based on the experience on white middle-class
Americans at that time when (probably for a fairly brief period) it was possible to believe that the privatised
nuclear family was the most common and the best type of family. Differences of social class and ethnicity are
absent from functionalist accounts. The focus on the functions of the family tends to mean that functionalists
only see the ways that the nuclear family contributes in a positive way to the lives of individuals and of society.
Functionalists idealise this one type of family, which involves exaggerating its positive aspects (the security of
the children’s upbringing, for example) while downplaying the more negative aspects. These negative aspects
include:
•
The blocking of women’s aspirations and careers by being steered into the housewife role.
•
The limitation of men’s involvement in the expressive and nurturing aspects of family life because of the
breadwinner role.
•
The dominance of men in decision-making and the abuse of male power through, for example, domestic
violence and imposing of punishments.
•
The lack of support for family members in the privatised nuclear family from wider kin and communities.
•
The possibilities of the nuclear family contributing to mental and other problems.
The functionalist approach also involves failing to recognise the viability of other types of family and of
alternatives to the family. It also assumes the family is distinct and can be separated from other institutions and
aspects of life. For example, the remaining functions attributed to the family, such as primary socialisation, are in
fact shared by different agencies including schools, the media and peer-group. On the other hand, the family
often still plays a considerable role in providing functions it has supposedly lost (such as health care and
financial support). Families play an important role in society, but in conjunction with other parts of society.
Functionalists tend to see socialisation as a one-way process. In primary socialisation, children absorb the
norms and values of society from their close family. While this can help to explain how norms and values survive
over times, even as new generations replace older ones, most sociologists see socialisation as a two-way
process of interaction: children influence parents, as well as parents influencing children. What happens in
socialisation is more complicated than a process of transferring norms and values from parents to children who,
in the functionalist approach, can seem like ‘empty vessels’ rather than individuals with their own personalities
already.
Marxist accounts of how the family benefits capitalism, including idealogical
control, reproduction of labour and consumption
Marxism also adopts a systems approach to understanding the family’s relationship to the economy, but
emphasises conflict rather than agreement. In this approach, the family’s general role is to support a capitalist
economic system in three ways:
1 Ideological control: families spread ideas favourable to both capitalism and the ruling class. Althusser (1970),
for example, argued that the family is an ideological state apparatus (ISA) through which children learn
norms and values broadly supportive of the economic and political situation. Zaretsky (1976) argued that
socialisation involves the passing on of a ruling-class ideology. This encourages a largely unquestioning
acceptance of the capitalist system and the rights of the ruling class through beliefs about competition, the
importance of the work ethic and needing to obey authority.
2 Economically: families perform a productive role beneficial to capitalism by not only producing ‘future
workers’ (the reproduction of the labour force) but, more importantly, by taking on the substantial costs of
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
replacing those who become too old or sick to work. Althusser also argued that the family has a consumption
role in modern societies. In the past it was a unit of production, creating the things people needed to survive;
now it buys most of what it needs, from food and shelter to leisure, and this means that family members
have to find paid employment. Zaretsky also argued that families are important targets for advertisers; by
encouraging consumption, the family has progressively become a major source of profit.
3 Politically: the family acts as a steady (stabilising) force that helps maintain the political order needed for
companies to function profitably. Family members have to work in order to support each other and their
children financially. This responsibility for family members also acts as a political stabilising force. Zaretsky
argued that the growth of the privatised nuclear family encourages family members to focus on private
problems rather than wider social concerns such as social inequality. The family becomes a release for adult
frustrations. Most men are relatively powerless in the workplace, but this is disguised by the power they exert
– economic, psychological and occasionally physical – over their family. Political frustrations, therefore, are
directed away from their real causes and onto family members.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Eli Zaretsky
Eli Zaretsky is an American historian and sociologist. He discusses the relationship between the economy and the family from a
Marxist perspective in his influential short book, Capitalism, the family, and Personal life, published in 1973. Important ideas include
that the family has become a place where goods are consumed rather than produced and that children are socialised within the
family to accept ruling-class ideology. In these ways, the family helps capitalism. Families have also become privatised, which leads
people to see their problems as private rather than based in wider social inequalities.
Zaretsky, like the functionalists, sees the family as, to some extent, a refuge from the world of work in a capitalist
society. This can be criticised for focusing on the benefits to men; for women, providing the ‘refuge’ meant a life
of drudgery and housework. Within the family there would also be violence, cruelty and neglect, so Zaretsky, like
the functionalists, was ignoring the dark side of the family.
Overall, Marxism provides an important corrective to the functionalist view of the family. Marxism sees the family
in the context of capitalist societies divided by class and sees the family as playing an important part in
legitimising class inequalities. Marxists also recognise the ways in which families are targeted as consumers by
companies seeking to maximise profits. However, just as functionalists can be seen as exaggerating the positive
aspects of the family, Marxists may be exaggerating its negative aspects. For example, many people willingly
choose to live in nuclear families, so Marxists may be neglecting the real social and emotional fulfilment many
people get from family life. It is also possible that within the family parents may be able to socialise their children
into recognising the oppressive nature of capitalism and may prepare their children to resist it.
Neo-Marxism
This perspective adds a cultural dimension to the relationship between the family and the economic system. It
highlights how different types of family capital give advantages and disadvantages to children of different
classes. These types are cultural, social and symbolic capital.
1 Cultural capital: Bourdieu (1986) uses the concept of cultural capital – non-economic resources that can be
‘spent’ to give some families advantages over others – to argue that parents are differently positioned to
invest in their children: some have more cultural capital than others. Silva and Edwards (2005) argue that
middle-and upper-class parents are better able to equip their children with the knowledge and skills
necessary for an easy change (transition) to the workplace than working-class parents. Bourdieu argues that
cultural capital operates through the family to give some children a ‘head start’ in education, because
parents can motivate their children by passing on the attitudes and knowledge needed to succeed
educationally.
2 Social capital is another form of family capital that refers to people’s connections within a social network and
the value that these connections have for what Putnam (2000) calls ‘norms of reciprocity’ – what people do
for each other. As Cohen and Prusak (2001) argue, high levels of social capital involves ‘the trust, mutual
understanding, shared values and behaviours’ that tie wealthy families into networks strengthened
(reinforced) by mutual advantage, self-interest and co-operation. In this respect, middle- and upper-class
families have greater access to significant social networks, in schools or the workplace, that give their
children economic advantages.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
3 Symbolic capital relates to the characteristics that upper-class children develop, in particular:
•
authority – directing the efforts of others in the expectation of being obeyed
•
personal charm (charisma) used to manipulate others’ behaviour.
Feminist responses to functionalist and Marxist accounts of the role of the
family
Feminists challenge both the functionalist and Marxist perspectives by focusing on conflict within the family and,
in particular, on how women are exploited through traditional gender roles put in force and reinforced for the
benefit of men. From this perspective, the family is an oppressive structure, locking (imprisoning) women in a
narrow range of service roles and responsibilities, such as domestic labour and childcare. The links between the
family and the economy are generally indirect. Female family roles and responsibilities allow men to exercise
economic power through ‘free’ family services paid for by women’s domestic labour.
Feminism is an umbrella term that covers a range of related ideas. There are several main strands of thinking
within feminism, with different views on families.
•
Liberal feminism
•
Radical feminism
•
Marxist feminism
•
Black feminism
•
Difference feminism
Liberal feminists
Liberal feminists argue that the situation of women can be improved by changes such as new laws, or
individuals and families changing the way they live (for example, men doing more of the housework). This was a
very common view in the 1960s and early 1970s. Liberal feminists in the UK, and some other countries,
succeeded in getting new laws passed. In the UK, the most important were the Equal Pay Act and the Sex
Discrimination Act. These made things better in some ways, but radical feminists argued that there were still
deep-seated problems. Liberal feminists have been criticised by other feminists for not recognising that
patriarchy is deeply embedded in society and that equality cannot be achieved by passing laws but by
individuals changing.
Radical feminists
Radical feminists use the term ‘patriarchy’ to describe the domination of women and children by men. Society,
they believe, is patriarchal, but so is the nuclear family (and religion, politics and so on). The nuclear family suits
men, but exploits women. Women gain little from it and would be better off without it. Patriarchy, say radical
feminists, will not be removed by the kind of changes liberal feminists argue for – there needs to be farreaching, radical change that gets rid of patriarchy. Men are seen as responsible for much that is wrong with the
world, such as wars and environmental problems. Some radical feminists even argue that women need to live
completely separately from men and a few live in women-only communities.
Marxist feminists
Marxist feminists combine the insights of feminism and Marxism, and are particularly interested in the world of
work. They point out that men have always been able to work long hours (making profits for the bourgeoisie)
because women have been doing the domestic work. It is women who make capitalism possible, even though
this is usually ignored and the domestic work women do is not valued. The men cannot easily go on strike, or
stop working, because they have to support their families – this also suits the bourgeoisie. Marxist feminists
emphasise female exploitation through the idea of a dual burden (double shift). Women are doubly exploited
in the workplace (public sphere), as paid employees whose labour contributes to ruling-class profits, and in the
home (private sphere) as unpaid workers whose labour mainly benefits men. Duncombe and Marsden (1993)
argued that women now perform a triple shift, the third element being the time and effort women invest in the
psychological well-being of family members. Female investment in their children’s and partner’s emotional wellbeing not only benefits men within the home, but also contributes to wider economic stability.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Bruegel (1979) argued that women are a ‘reserve army of labour’ – women are called into the workforce when
there is a shortage of (male) labour and forced back into the family when there is a surplus. One aspect of this
‘reserve status’ is that women are generally a less important (marginalised) workforce, forced into low-pay, lowstatus employment on the basis of sexual bias (discrimination).
Black feminists
Black feminism developed mainly in the USA amongst African-American women who felt they had little in
common with white American feminists. They could see that African-American men were also exploited and that
problems they shared with those men were best tackled together, so they did not see all men as ‘the enemy’ in
the way some radical feminists did. They see black women as having a different situation within society
compared to white women and argue that white feminists are not sufficiently aware of this. White feminists are
often focused on issues such as domestic labour, seeing the family as a source of oppression, but black
feminists tend to focus more on issues outside the family, such as employment and discrimination, and see the
family as a haven from racism.
Difference feminists
Difference feminists emphasise the differences between men and women, and between different groups of
women. They disagree with liberal feminists who argue that men and women can be equal.
Evaluation of feminist approaches
Because feminism covers a range of different approaches, including those discussed here, it is difficult to make
overall judgements about it. The impact of feminist ideas in sociology in the 1970s, and later, provided a strong
and much needed challenge to functionalism, which had been the dominant approach until then. Feminists
insisted on including women in research and analysis, leading to a new focus on some previously neglected
areas of family life, such as domestic violence and the role of the housewife. This often involved qualitative
research methods which brought out the meanings women attached to family life and relationships. Feminists
also contributed to questioning of how normal and desirable nuclear families are, and to a greater awareness of
different types of family and living arrangements.
However, both Marxist and radical feminist approaches can be seen as having dated in parts of the world where
there have been significant economic and social changes. In these contexts, radical feminists can focus too
much on the nuclear family, when there is actually now much greater diversity, and by concentrating on male
power may also tend to show women as passive victims. Many women do find motherhood fulfilling, and many
men and women form strong bonds based on mutual love and respect; not all heterosexual relationships are
based on male domination.
ACTIVITY 3.3
Check your understanding of the four types of capital by writing one sentence on each and giving one example:
•
economic
•
cultural
•
social
•
symbolic.
Which of the types of capital do you think is the most important for deciding:
•
the school you attend
•
the person you will marry
•
the occupation you will achieve?
KEY CONCEPT - POWER, CONTROL AND RESISTANCE
How do theories about power, and how power is used to shape human behaviour, help us understand gender inequalities?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
3.2 Diversity and social change
The causes and consequences of changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation,
divorce and separation
This section uses evidence mainly from the United Kingdom, but similar patterns are found in other modern
industrial societies, with similar causes and consequences.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Hard Labour: The Sociology of Parenthood by Caroline Gattrell
2004, Open University Press
Gattrell’s research involved unstructured interviews with a sample of heterosexual married or cohabiting mothers of young
children and their male partners. The aim was to try to understand the lived experiences of parents trying to combine parenthood
with paid work. All the women were working, some were part-time. The study found that the parents found it difficult to combine
work and parenthood. For example, most of the women returned to demanding jobs within 12 weeks of giving birth. They found it
hard to give time to their partners and this could put strain on the relationship. The women were also physically very tired and
often had physical or mental problems as a result of a poor birth experience. Many new parents said they felt unprepared for the
changes in their lives. The women wanted to work not mainly for the income, but because they were committed to the work and
the job gave them a part of their self-identity. Almost all faced some kind of discrimination at work because of motherhood. For
example, a female hospital consultant was not allowed to switch to part-time work and lost her job.
Marriage
In modern industrial societies, the number of marriages and the marriage rate have been failing. This is partly
because people tend to marry at a later age, reducing the number of marriages in a given year, and also
because more people choose not to marry at all. Although there has been a consistent overall decline in
marriage, and a steady decline in first marriages in the UK, this has been balanced to some extent by
remarriages. Remarriages peaked in the 1980s and have since slowly declined, but as a percentage of all
marriages, remarriage has doubled in the past 50 years, reaching its highest point (peaking) around the turn of
the 21st century and slowly declining over the past 10 years. There has been an increase in serial monogamy,
when a person has several marriage partners over their lifetime, but only one at a time. This sometimes
happened in the past because of the death of a partner, but today divorce has become the main cause.
Causes of marital changes: Explanations for marital changes fall into two broad groups. The first suggests that
the general decline can be explained by population (demographic) changes rather than a change in people’s
behaviour. Marriage in the UK was most popular just after the Second World War and during the 1970s. During
these periods, there was a ‘baby boom’ when a greater than average number of babies were born over a
relatively short time. The Second World War had prevented many couples starting a family and by the 1950s the
average time for family completion (from first to last child) was a historically short 10 years. This produced a
population growth – a rapid, if temporary, increase in the number of children. This goes some way to explaining
both an increase in marriage and childbirth during the 1950s and the numbers marrying in the 1970s and 1980s
as the ‘baby boom generation’ reached adulthood.
A related explanation is that, in any society, some age groups (cohorts) are more likely than others to marry.
This means there are ‘peak periods’ for marriage (the age range at which marriage is more likely). The more
people there are in this age range, the more marriages there are likely to be. The number of children or elderly
in a population affects marriage statistics. The UK, in common with many industrial societies, has an ageing
population, in which there are more older people than young. The size of these two cohorts affects marriage
statistics. If we focus on those most likely to marry – the marriageable population – we find only a relatively
small decline in marriage rates over the past 30 years.
A second set of explanations focuses on wider influences on people’s behaviour. There are now fewer issues
(stigmas) attached to having children outside marriage and there is also less social pressure to get married.
Women now have more career opportunities, which allow them greater financial independence. As a result,
there is less economic pressure for them to marry. Increased female financial, career and personal
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
independence means that marriage is now a ‘lifestyle choice’, and women are less likely to enter a relationship
that limits their ability to work and develop a career.
Cohabitation as an alternative to marriage has increased in recent years and although many cohabiting couples
eventually marry, many do not. Self and Zealey suggest that falling marriage and rising cohabitation are the
result of more people choosing to delay marriage until later in life. Secularisation (religious beliefs having less
influence) has led to changes in the meaning and significance of marriage. There is less pressure to marry and
the importance of the institution of marriage has declined. Finally, Beck (1992) argued that people in
postmodern societies increasingly assess the likely risks and consequences of their actions. The likelihood of
divorce, with its emotional and economic consequences, can lead to the avoidance of risk by not marrying.
Cohabitation
Although Gillis (1985) argued that common-law marriage, where a couple live together ‘as if married’, was
extensively practised in the past, cohabitation is not legally recorded in the UK and so statistics are not very
reliable. Over the past 25 years, however, survey methods have produced more reliable estimates, with Hughes
and Church (2010) identifying a broad increase in cohabitation, from 10% of couples in 1986 to 25% in 2006.
Around 25% of young people aged 25–29 now cohabit, compared with around 18% in the mid-1990s. The
relative amount (proportion) of cohabiting couple families has also increased significantly in the past 10 years –
from 9% to 15% of all families.
The causes of the increase in cohabitation include:
•
reduced social pressures to marry
•
lower levels of stigma attached to living with someone without being married
•
the wider availability of birth control (contraception) and abortion.
Smart and Stevens (2000) suggest four main reasons for recent upward trends in cohabitation:
1 Changing attitudes to marriage: these range from no interest in the institution of marriage itself to uncertainty
about whether a partner is ‘suitable’ for marriage.
2 For some, cohabitation represents a test for their partner to prove they can settle down, gain and keep paid
work and interact successfully with the mother’s children. Before marriage, some males and females move
into and out of serial cohabitation – one cohabiting relationship followed by another.
3 Many cohabiting parents are either unwilling to enter into a legal relationship or they believe it is easier to
leave a cohabiting relationship if it does not work out.
4 There may be a philosophical resistance to marriage influenced by feminist ideas with some people believing
that cohabitation leads to more equal relationships.
Divorce and separation
There are a number of ways in which marriage relationships can end. A couple may continue to live together
after the marriage is effectively over, especially if they are not able to afford to live apart. This is referred to as
an empty shell marriage. Other couples may separate or divorce.
In the early to mid-20th century, there were a relatively small number of divorces. However, over the past 50
years, divorce has become more common, peaking in the 1990s. In recent years there has been a general
decline in divorce, although since 1981 there has been a doubling of ‘re-divorces’ – people experiencing
multiple marriages and divorces. One clear pattern is that divorced people (divorcees) have been getting older,
a fact that reflects the later average age of marriage.
As with marriage, numbers are also sensitive to population changes: ignoring any other factors, the higher the
number of marriages, the greater the likelihood of a proportion ending in divorce. For this reason, it is more
reliable to look at divorce rates, which peaked at the turn of the 21st century and have since gradually declined.
Causes of divorce
Patterns of divorce are affected by a range of social factors. One of the most significant of these factors is legal
change: each time divorce is made easier or cheaper, the number of divorces increases. However, it is
important to note that changes to the rules regarding divorce can create reliability problems. For example, the
1969 Divorce Reform Act in the UK introduced ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ as the only requirement
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
for divorce. Before that, one partner had to ‘find fault’ such as an affair (adultery) with the other. We do not know
how many people before 1969 would have divorced if the new rules had applied then.
The process of secularisation means that many couples no longer regard marriage as a ‘sacred institution’ that
must be preserved. There are also fewer stigmas attached to divorce. In addition, increasing life expectancy in
modern societies means that a marriage has longer to last, which may place greater strain on a relationship,
increasing the chances of divorce.
Finally, contemporary ideas about marriage are arguably influenced by romantic identity (individualism). Couples
enter a relationship seeking to meet (fulfil) their personal interests in the partnership in one of two ways:
1 Romantic love, where the love given to a partner is unconditional, but if one partner ‘falls out of love’ there is
nothing to hold the marriage together.
2 Confluent love where love is not unconditional – one partner gives it in return for something else. For
example, one partner may marry because they believe this will enhance their social status. If this fails to
happen or changes over time, there is nothing to keep the couple together.
Marriage, therefore, has increasingly become a search for personal happiness rather than a moral commitment,
and this may explain the increase in remarriages. Divorcees are not unhappy with marriage, they are unhappy
with the person they married. Divorce is more likely when what someone expects to happen in a marriage
doesn’t actually happen. People may have romanticised ideas about love and family life. When they realise that
such ideas are unrealistic, they choose divorce as a way out of an unhappy experience.
Figure 3.3: Is divorce just a result of falling out of love?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Different family and household forms, including nuclear, extended, lone-parent,
reconstituted, same-sex families, families of choice and single-person
households
Households
A household can be defined as one or more people living in a particular dwelling. This definition includes
families, of course, but while all families are households, not all households are families. This idea can be
illustrated by looking at three different types of household structure:
1 Single-person households are where an adult lives alone, either because of the death of a partner, the
breakdown of a relationship or through personal choice.
2 Couple households consist of two people without children. Such households may include:
• couples who have not yet started a family
•
•
those whose children have left home (often referred to as ‘empty nest’ syndrome)
those who have chosen to remain childless or who can’t have children.
Roseneil (2006) suggests that an additional category in this type of household is ‘couples who live apart’. These
are people in a stable relationship and who spend a significant amount of time together, but who do not share a
home. Some couples do this because work demands and different routines would make it difficult to live
together. Other couples choose this lifestyle because they want to maintain some independence, often because
they have demanding careers. This arrangement is often referred to as Living Apart Together (LAT).
3 Shared households involve a group of unrelated people living together. This may be temporary, such as
when students live together, or permanent, such as people who live in communes.
Nuclear families consist of parents and their children (two generations). They have been widely seen as the
most common form of family in modern industrial societies.
Figure 3.4: Why might nuclear families be seen as isolated in modern societies?
There are some variations on the two-generation structure of the nuclear family. These include reconstituted or
step-families resulting from the break-up of one family, due to death or divorce, and its reassembly as a new
family through marriage or cohabitation outside of marriage. Step-families may include children from both old
and new families.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
A more recent variation on the traditional nuclear family involves same-sex (gay or lesbian) couples. In the UK,
same-sex couples have been able to marry since 2014; some same-sex couples are in civil partnerships which
give them some of the same legal rights as married opposite sex (heterosexual) couples.
ACTIVITY 3.4
Suggest three reasons why the number of reconstituted families in modern industrial societies has been increasing.
Reflection: Share your answers with other members of your class. Which reasons are the most convincing and why? Did you
change your mind at any point? Why/Why not?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Stepfamilies by Graham Allan, Graham Crow and Sheila Hawker
Palgrave, 2011
Allan et al. looked at the dynamics of family life in step-families and how these differed from those in what they call ‘natural
families’. There are now many more families than in the past where one parent is not the natural parent of one or more children.
Step-families do not always have the sense of unity associated with natural families, for example children may feel closer to the
non-resident parent than to the step-parent. The boundaries of step-families are less clear. The role of the step-parent can also
be unclear and may need to be negotiated rather than taken for granted as it would be in a ‘natural’ family, for example children
may be less willing to accept instructions from a step-parent. The authors show through case studies how there is a wide range
of different circumstances involved, for example based on how old the children were when the parent or parents re-partnered.
Some children experience step-parenting for only a short period while others may experience serial step-parenting as a parent
has several partners in succession.
Lone-/single-parent families involve a mother or father bringing up children without a partner. In the past, this
kind of family was often seen negatively, as a ‘broken’ or ‘fatherless’ family. The adult may be married or
unmarried. Many single-parent families arise from death, separation or divorce but others from a decision to
have children without being married or cohabiting.
Extended families are a different type of family structure that takes two basic forms:
1 Vertically extended families involve three or more generations (grandparents, parents and children) living in,
or close to, the same household.
2 Horizontally extended families are those with branches within generations, such as aunts and uncles, living
with or close to each other.
Matrifocal families are a female-focused variation on the vertically extended family – for example, a female
grandparent, female parent and children, with little if any support from a male partner. Patrifocal families are
focused on men.
Both types of extended family (vertical and horizontal) exist in contemporary industrialised societies, but Gordon
(1972) suggested that the most common type is now the modified extended family. In this, wider family
members keep in touch both physically, through visits or exchanges of help and services, and emotionally, via
telephone and email perhaps, without necessarily having frequent personal contact.
Families of choice refers to close relationships that are chosen rather than being given by blood relationships
or through marriage (though many marriages are based on choice, they involve a legal commitment that cannot
easily be ended). The term families of choice has been used particularly for situations where people freely
choose to create a family-like relationship with others. It was first used by Weston (1991) to describe how gay,
lesbian and bisexual people were using the term ‘family’ for their social networks.
ACTIVITY 3.5
Draw a kinship diagram to show members of your immediate and extended family.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Compare your diagram with those of other students. Can you draw any conclusions about family diversity today?
ACTIVITY 3.6
Present the differences between different types of families and households in a visual way suitable for display.
Reflection: study the visual presentations by other members of your class. Which displays are best, and why?
Dimensions of family diversity, including organisational, cultural and class
diversity
We have talked in general terms about ‘the family’, but DeVault (1994) argues that ‘the family is a falsely
monolithic concept’. Rather than seeing it as a simple, all the same (homogenous) social group, we need to
understand family diversity across a range of categories.
Organisational Diversity
This refers to the different ways in which roles and responsibilities are distributed within families. The diversity
comes from different patterns of work both within and outside the home, and from changing patterns of marriage
and divorce. Differences in marital (conjugal) roles between social classes are discussed below.
Social class diversity
O’Neill (2002) makes several observations about single (never married) parents when compared to two-parent
families. Single parents are more likely to have working-class origins. They are also more likely to have lower
average incomes and to live in poverty than two-parent families of the same class.
While beanpole family structures are less common in middle-class families, the average age of working-class
mothers when they have their first child is much lower. As a result, four- or occasionally five-generation families
are more likely to develop.
Family relationships also show high levels of class diversity. Adult relationships in middle-class families are
more likely than in working-class families to be symmetrical – an idea developed by Willmott and Young (1973)
to describe relationships characterised by joint conjugal roles. These involve lower levels of gender inequality
in terms of both paid and unpaid (domestic) work. In contrast, working-class families are more often
characterised by segregated conjugal roles, with the female role focused on home and children and the male
role on paid work. In this situation, men have more power and control over women, and family roles and
relationships reflect the needs of male family members. Such patriarchal relationships are expressed in a range
of ways – from the threat or reality of violence, to dominance through decision-making. However, the extent to
which gender equality exists in middle-class families has been questioned. For example, a study by Pahl and
Vogler (1994) found that men make the most important financial decisions in middle-class families, whereas
women make decisions about everyday domestic spending, such as food and clothing.
Lareau (2003) suggests that parents of different classes interact with their children in different ways. Middleclass parents generally adopt a ‘deliberate’ parenting style that ‘actively fosters children’s individual talents,
opinions and skills’. Working-class parents are more likely to adopt a parenting style based around natural
growth: ‘Parents care for their children, love them, and set limits for them, but within these boundaries, they
allow the children to grow spontaneously … children generally negotiate institutional life, including their day-today school experiences, on their own’. Lareau claims that this results in middle-class children gaining ‘an
emerging sense of entitlement’ that makes them better equipped to meet the demands of higher education and
the workplace. While both approaches are child-centred, the middle and upper classes can invest a wider range
of family resources in their child’s development. For example, Reay et al. (2004) argue that middle-class women
are much more actively involved in their children’s education through monitoring school progress and
questioning teachers about their children’s school performance.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Modern industrial societies have been moving towards greater gender equality both at work and in
the family home. Have these kinds of changes affected your life and your family? In what ways?
To help think about this, you could ask an older member of your family about gender roles in the
past – what has changed and why?
Cultural and ethnic diversity
These relate to differences within and between cultural (or ethnic) groups, expressed in terms of attitudes and
lifestyles, for example those related to religious norms and values. The decline in the influence of organised
religion (secularisation) among some ethnic groups partly accounts for things such as:
•
an increase in cohabitation outside of marriage
•
a decline in the significance of marriage
•
an increase in divorce rates
•
the availability of remarriage after divorce.
For other ethnic groups, religion may place great emphasis on marriage and not allow divorce.
Ethnic differences are also found in, for example, family size, where different ethnicities have greater or lesser
numbers of children and extended family members. Differences can also be seen in marriage (whether this is
arranged by the parents or freely chosen by the participants); and the division of labour – (whether family roles
are patriarchal, matriarchal or symmetrical).
In the UK, Dale et al. (2004) found clear differences between ethnic groups in relation to female paid
employment, family roles and responsibilities. Migration to the United Kingdom of firstly Black Caribbean people
and then people from South Asia in the second half of the 20th century has led to greater diversity. Dale et al.
found that Black (African, Caribbean and Black British) women were more likely to work full time throughout the
period of raising a family than other ethnic groups. Within Britain’s Asian minorities, Indian women generally
choose part-time paid employment once they have a partner, but both Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are
more likely to stop paid work once they marry and have children.
Berthoud (2000) found that features of Afro-Caribbean families in the UK were low rates of marriage and high
rates of single parenthood. These practices can be traced back to the West Indies before migration to the UK,
but seem to be even stronger in the UK among the second generation, where they are linked to the idea of
‘modern individualism’, which emphasises individual choice and the quality of relationships rather than whether
they are formally recognised. Higher proportions of Afro-Caribbean children than of other ethnic groups
therefore did not have their father living with them. The fathers often have ‘visiting partner’ arrangements where
they have financial and other paternal responsibilities but do not live with the children, who are raised by the
mother often helped by the maternal grandmother.
In contrast, Berthoud found that South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) families in the United Kingdom
are characterised by the following:
•
higher proportions of adults are married
•
lower divorce rates
•
lower cohabitation rates
•
more three-generation families living together
The debate about the extent of family diversity and the dominance of the nuclear
family
Today, in many countries family and household structures are arguably more complex, broken up and diverse
than ever before. We have seen how there is a wider range of family types than in the past, and how there is
greater diversity. However, the extent of these changes can be exaggerated; many people live in nuclear
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
families, and others aim to do so (for example, they may hope to find an ideal partner to marry and have
children with). Media representations of the family also often assume that the nuclear family is still the main or
only kind of family. In many parts of the world, trends such as cohabitation and same-sex couples remain
relatively rare, often because they are still strongly disapproved of, for example for religious reasons.
Greater diversity has come about for three main reasons:
•
Social changes, such as relatively easy access to divorce, have led to greater numbers of
reconstituted/single-parent families and single-person households.
•
Changing social attitudes, such as greater social acceptance of single-parent and same-sex family
structures, have also resulted in structural diversity.
•
Increased life expectancy, more active lifestyles and changes to the welfare system have created changes
within family structures. These include a new style of grandparenting, in which grandparents play a greater
role in the care of grandchildren.
These trends have led to what Brannen (2003) calls the beanpole family. Beanpole families arise in developed
societies that have low or declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy. With fewer children being born,
horizontal (intra-generational) family extensions are weak. At the same time, higher life expectancies lead to
stronger vertical extensions between grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren.
ACTIVITY 3.7
Make a list of the types of family that have been discussed here. Then for each one, decide whether these also exist in your own
society, and to what extent. Try to find some statistics to support this.
Decide whether there is more or less diversity in your own culture. Suggest reasons why this is so.
Another striking feature of contemporary societies is the growth of lone-person households. Beaumont (2011),
for example, notes that nearly one third (29%) of British households contain only one person – the second most
common household structure after two-person households (35%). Over the past 50 years, one-person
households have increased around 2.5 times, up from 12% in 1961. Some of the reasons for this are:
•
There are more older people living alone after their partner has died.
•
There are more middle-aged people (usually men) living alone who have moved out of the family home after
a divorce.
•
More people choose to live alone and can afford to do so. For women, it has become acceptable to stay
single rather than marry, which at one time would have been extremely difficult for financial and other
reasons.
•
More people have a university education, which can often mean moving out of the family home and not
returning.
This trend towards more people living on their own may slow down if there is a shortage of suitable cheaper
housing.
The New Right and postmodernist perspectives on family diversity
The New Right perspective is based on the idea that the ‘traditional nuclear family’ consisting of two,
heterosexual, married adults, with clearly defined gender roles and relationships is the institution best equipped
to provide the base on which all other social relationships are built. For the New Right, diversity represents a
family breakdown that has significant consequences for both individual members and wider social relationships.
Stable nuclear family relationships provide emotional and psychological benefits to family members. In turn,
these benefit society as a whole because each adult partner plays a role that involves both personal sacrifice
and commitment to others.
From this perspective, the idea that all types of family structure are equal is wrong, because it challenges the
moral commitment to others that lies at the heart of social responsibility. The New Right endorses social policies
that encourage ‘beneficial’ family structures and discourage forms such as single parenthood that are regarded
as damaging to both individuals and communities. Morgan’s (2000) argument against cohabitation, for example,
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
illustrates this interpretation of family diversity as a source of social problems by suggesting that cohabitation
suffers from important flaws when compared to marriage:
1 Cohabiting relationships are more unstable and less likely to last than marriages are.
2 The sexual behaviour of cohabiting people is more like that of single people; they may have other partners.
3 Cohabitants with children who marry are more likely to divorce. Many cohabiting women will become single
parents.
4 The relationship is more likely to be cruel or abusive: both women and children are at greater risk of physical
and sexual abuse than they would be in married relationships.
More generally, New Right approaches argue that family and relationship diversity is undesirable and
dysfunctional. This can lead to a ‘moral chaos’, in which some behaviours, such as abortion practices that take
no account of the ‘rights of the unborn’, produce morally undesirable results.
A counter to family breakdown, therefore, is ‘family uniformity’. The traditional heterosexual nuclear family is
seen as more desirable than other family structures because it provides social, economic and psychological
stability, family continuity and successful primary socialisation. In such an environment, ‘traditional’ family values
can be emphasised and reinforced, creating a sense of individual and social responsibility that forms a barrier
against what the New Right see as selfishness. Horwitz (2005) argues that, within the traditional family, children
and adults learn moral values that they take into wider social relationships. Traditional nuclear families,
therefore, are seen as a vital source of both individual happiness and social stability because they have a moral
core that involves:
•
caring for family members
•
taking responsibility for both their own behaviour and that of their children
•
unconditional economic co-operation
•
the development of stable, successful, interpersonal relationships.
Critics of the New Right approach argue that it is based on an idealised view of white, middle-class families as
the desirable norm. It advocates a ‘one size fits all’ family that is no longer appropriate today. It also ignores the
darker side of traditional family life. Making divorce more difficult, for example, may indeed persuade some to try
to make their marriage work, but it also traps others in a loveless relationship characterised by violence and
abuse.
Figure 3.5: Even in the middle of great social changes, families still have a role in providing social care
for one another.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Postmodern optimism
Postmodern approaches involve a very different interpretation of family diversity; ‘a family’ is whatever people
want it to be. This rejects the idea of ‘the family’ and argues that people construct relationships in ways they
believe are acceptable and appropriate. Family groups, therefore, are seen as structures in which individuals
play out their personal life stories (narratives). The emphasis here is on choice. People increasingly make
behavioural decisions that suit their particular needs, desires and circumstances, regardless of what others may
believe or think. In postmodern societies, in every family, people work out their personal choices and lifestyles
as best they can. As Stacey (2002) puts it: ‘Every family is an alternative family.’
For Elkins (1992), the postmodern family was characterised by a family that ‘encompasses many different
family forms’:
•
traditional or nuclear
•
two parents working
•
single parent
•
blended (reconstituted)
•
adopted child
•
test-tube
•
surrogate mother
•
co-parent.
From this perspective, there is no single, correct, way to ‘be a family’. It makes no sense to talk about their
‘functions’ or ‘oppressive and exploitative structures’. Rather, we should ‘celebrate difference’. Family diversity
should be accepted, either because it points towards an optimistic change in family roles and relationships, or
because we are powerless to prevent it.
The constant access (exposure) to new ideas, for example through globalisation, makes people question
traditional ways of thinking and behaving. Custom and tradition – the way things have always been done – have
less influence than they once did. Diversity follows from the awareness and freedom to make different choices,
including ones that were once not allowed such as divorce and same-sex families. Traditional types of family
relationships, such as marriage and children, co-exist with newer forms, such as not having children or living
apart, while maintaining family relationships. As exposure to different cultural ideas increases, what was once
new and exotic becomes more acceptable.
Different groups of people accept or reject these changes to different degrees. This can be seen in different
ethnic groups in the UK.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.6: How do postmodern families speak to our need to develop ourselves?
•
At one extreme are those who keep to ‘old-fashioned’ values, such as marriage, as a way of reinforcing a
particular ethnic identity in a rapidly changing and confusing world. In the UK, Pakistani and Bangladeshi
ethnicities are closest to this point.
•
At the other extreme are those who embrace ‘modern individualism’, where single parenthood or divorce are
openly accepted. In the UK, both Black Caribbean and White ethnicities are closest to this point.
Figure 3.7: Members of a Pakistani family in Chitral District. How does this ethnic group represent ‘oldfashioned family values’?
Postmodern approaches to the family have drawn attention to the many changes in family life and relationships
in some modern industrial societies. The older theories still seem to be about times and places where these
changes have not happened. The strength of postmodernism is that it is open to recognising the many ways
people live their lives, and that it can break away from a narrow focus on the family to the wider subjects of
relationships and personal lives. However, others have argued that postmodernists exaggerate the extent of
changes, and point out that most people, for at least parts of their lives, live in conventional types of family. The
nuclear family remains the goal of many, even if for more people than in the past marriage comes later and does
not last for life. The greater diversity of family life is also a feature of more industrial societies; there is less
diversity on the whole in developing countries, in many of which strong family ties, often with strong pressure to
marry young and for life and with fairly fixed gender roles, remain strong.
ACTIVITY 3.8
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Organise a class debate with the motion of ‘This house believes the family has outlived its usefulness.’ Select a New Right, feminist
or postmodernist perspective and prepare your speech for the debate.
Reflection: Which perspective do you think had the strongest arguments? Why?
The state and social policy as influences on the family
Family life is surrounded by:
•
legal norms, controlling things such as marriage and divorce
•
moral values that shape ideas about what a family is and should be, what it does and should do.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.8: China operated a one child per family policy in order to limit population growth. How is this
an example of a state-directed approach to family life?
In other words, families are influenced and shaped by a family ideology. This ideology defines the family as both
a public institution supported by government and a private institution where family members should be left alone
to work out their relationships.
Functionalism
Traditional functionalist approaches stress the role that families play in maintaining order. The family group
performs certain essential functions for both individuals and wider society, which makes it crucial to any social
system. The relationship between the family and political institutions is, however, a mixed (ambivalent) one.
Throughout much of the industrialised world, the state has progressively removed a range of functions from the
family, especially in areas such as education and welfare.
The New Right
In the USA, Eichner (2010) argues for a ‘supportive state’ model, where political institutions act to ‘support
families in performing their caretaking and human development functions’. These ideas reflect ideas about the
basic importance of the family group in any society. The role of the state here involves encouraging family
structures and relationships that are seen as good and not encouraging those that are not. Government policies
should be directed at supporting traditional family relationships. Neale (2000) notes that this involves stable
family relationships created within married, heterosexual, dual-parent nuclear families.
These structures are seen as providing emotional and psychological benefits to family members. At the same
time, personal and social responsibilities are created, which benefit society in general. Children are given clear
moral and behavioural guidance, which makes them less likely to engage in deviant behaviour, and each adult
partner plays a role that involves both personal sacrifice and commitment to others.
From the New Right perspective, family structures and relationships such as single parenthood can only keep
going with government support – something that encourages a dependency culture.
Single parenthood, therefore, is considered both wrong and unproductive. It is seen as producing poorly
socialised, dysfunctional children who go on to live adult lives dependent on state benefits, crime or both.
Marxism
Conflict perspectives such as Marxism and feminism take a more critical approach to the relationship between
the family and the state. Marxism focuses on relating what the family does, such as socialisation, to how it
benefits powerful groups, for example how the ruling class benefits from ‘free family services’, such as bearing
the costs of raising children, because they are future employees. For Marxists, the relationship between the
family and the capitalist state is based on how the family helps to maintain and reproduce social inequalities by
presenting them as ‘normal’ and ‘natural’ within the socialisation process.
The state, as part of the political and ideological superstructure, is seen as supporting and promoting the family
group as a stabilising force. The financial and moral responsibilities people take on when they create family
groups lock them into capitalist economic relationships. For example, people have to work to provide for family
members. Having this responsibility also acts as an emotionally stabilising force. Althusser argues that families
are an ideological state apparatus. Through primary socialisation children learn values, such as the importance
of the work ethic, and norms, such as work itself, both paid and unpaid, that blend them into capitalist society.
Critics of this approach, however, have pointed out that the development of a welfare state, through free
universal education and health care has produced widespread and long-lasting benefits for working-class
families.
Feminism
Feminist sociology has traditionally focused on the family group as patriarchal and oppressive, imprisoning
women in a narrow range of service roles and responsibilities, such as domestic labour and childcare. Different
forms of feminism have different perspectives on the relationship between the state and the family. Liberal
feminism has traditionally looked to the state and legal agencies as a way of redressing gender imbalances in
family life through social policies that will break down barriers to female emancipation such as inequality in
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
political representation and in pay. Similarly, the legal system has been seen as both a source of protection for
women and as a way of enforcing equal gender rights.
Liberal feminists have also looked at how the state recognises the dual roles of females – as both family carers
and paid employees. Policies include the development of nursery schooling and childcare facilities that allow
women to both work and have family responsibilities.
The relationship between the family and the state in contemporary democratic societies is, therefore, a complex
one. There are ideological beliefs about the desirability of particular family forms, especially the nuclear family,
but states also generally try not to get involved (intervene) directly in the private life of the family except in
special circumstances, such as domestic violence and child abuse. Where states do intervene, they may try to
impose a particular family form from above (as with China’s one child per family policy) and may treat different
sections of the population differently.
Figure 3.9: How does capitalism lock individuals into family relationships?
ACTIVITY 3.9
Design a poster that shows different ways in which the family and the state are connected.
Based on what you have designed, what do you think the relationship between the state and families should be?
ACTIVITY 3.10
Your curiosity is aroused by various incidents in a neighbour’s house. You suspect domestic violence. Identify and discuss reasons
you would or would not intervene by informing the relevant authorities.
Use your response to the activity to identify reasons why domestic violence is under-reported.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Family roles and changing relationships
3.3 Gender equality and experiences of family life
Different feminist perspectives on equality and power in the family, including
liberal, radical and Marxist feminist
Different feminist perspectives have slightly different perspectives on equality and power within the family,
although all are in favour of equality.
Liberal feminism: Liberal feminism is based on the idea of equality of opportunity. In a conjugal relationship, men
and women should be free to choose both their roles and how these are performed in a family context. Liberal
feminism promotes practical and realistic ways of creating a gender balance within the family. This recognises
that some women choose to focus on domestic and child-rearing responsibilities, others focus on a career and
some want (or need) to combine family and work responsibilities. Equality of opportunity is based on the idea
that men and women can compete equally in both private and public areas. Other forms of feminism argue that
the patriarchal nature of society gives men an advantage in both the home and the workplace.
Marxist feminism: Marxist feminists apply Marxist ideas about economic equality to an explanation of gender
inequalities in conjugal roles in capitalist societies. They see women performing a service role in the family,
which gives them the status of ‘unpaid servants’. This role is sometimes performed willingly, but more often they
take on this responsibility because their partner is unable or unwilling to do so. With more women now entering
paid employment they may be doubly exploited, in the public sphere of work as paid employees and in the
private sphere as unpaid workers whose labour primarily benefits men. Marxist feminists, therefore, argue that
women increasingly suffer from two forms of economic exploitation: patriarchal, as unpaid domestic labourers
whose work benefits men and capitalist, as paid employees whose labour creates profits for a ruling class. In
this respect, capitalism is the ‘real cause of female oppression’ because it involves relations of domination,
subordination and oppression. Female exploitation inside and outside the family will continue for as long as
capitalism exists.
Radical feminism: Radical feminism sees patriarchy as the primary source of male domination within the family.
Firestone (1970) argued that biology is the essential gender difference from which all cultural differences flow.
The fact that women become pregnant and are forced to depend on men creates a culture of sex discrimination.
If technology can free women from this biological dependency, by enabling children to be born outside of
women, an essential gender difference will be removed and male powers of discrimination will disappear.
A second argument is that women should exploit the ‘values of femininity’ such as a sense of community, family,
understanding (empathy) and sharing. These are the characteristics that make them different from men, whose
interests are built on patriarchal values of aggression, selfishness and greed.
Friedan (1963) and Millett (1969) see the patriarchal structures and practices of the family itself as the source of
female oppression. The solution to gender inequality is either to abandon the patriarchal family or to develop
matriarchal family structures and conjugal roles that exclude men through, for example, lesbian relationships.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.10: Is gender just a matter of performance?
Conjugal roles and debates about gender equality in the family, including
housework, childcare, power and emotion work
ACTIVITY 3.11
Make a list of as many household tasks as you can and, for each one, decide which grandparent/parent/child in your family mainly
performs this task.
Reflection: What does your list tell you about gender equality in your household? Discuss your results with the class. How did
your views match or differ with those of the class? Does this matter?
Conjugal roles
In the past, there were clear behavioural guidelines for the two adults in a nuclear family; the wife/mother
worked in the home, raising children while the husband/father’s role was mainly outside the home as economic
provider. There were not many opportunities to develop personal identities that differed from the social norm.
Indeed, the penalties for breaking away from the norm were severe, ranging from male violence against women
who tried to reject or discuss their role within the family, to general social criticism.
Contemporary gender roles still have some connection to those of the past. The role of ‘mother’ is usually
marked out differently from that of ‘father’. They are, however, not as limited by social identities as they once
were and instead are usually open to discussion (negotiation). People have more personal freedom to decide
how they want to interpret parental roles.
Housework and child care
Domestic labour refers to the maintenance of a home and family, and involves a range of day-to-day tasks, such
as cooking, cleaning and childcare. Several observations about contemporary patterns of domestic labour within
the UK emerge from recent studies.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Gershuny et al. (2006) observe that women of all ages, ethnicities and classes do more domestic labour
than men. Women spend more time on routine domestic tasks, while men spend more time on jobs such as
repairs and gardening. This division of labour reflects both traditional beliefs about parental roles and the fact
that men, on average, spend more time in the paid workforce.
•
Kan (2001) found that levels of housework that women did were slightly reduced by paid employment. On
the other hand, retirement or unemployment increased female housework and reduced that of her partner.
•
Ramos (2003) notes that domestic labour is more likely to be equally distributed when the male is
unemployed and his partner works full time.
Although more women are now in paid employment, women still do the majority of work within the home. This is
particularly evident in families with dependent children. Women in this situation generally perform many of the
‘boring’ aspects of childcare, such as feeding and clothing, while men focus on the less ‘boring’ and more
pleasing, such as playing with their children. Willmott (2000), however, argues there is less dependence on
‘traditional roles when dividing up tasks in the home’. Changing family (and wider social) relationships mean that
domestic labour is ‘negotiated by every couple depending on their individual circumstances’. The significant
factors in deciding ‘who does what’ in the family are time and preference, not gender.
Figure 3.11: Why do women do more domestic labour than men?
Cultural beliefs about male and female abilities and roles may also help explain domestic labour differences.
Pilcher (1988) found that older people, unlike their younger peers (counterparts), did not talk about ‘equality’ but
instead thought about gender roles, responsibilities and relationships in traditional ways. This reflected their
socialisation and life experiences, where men undertook limited household work, married women had limited
involvement in paid work and domestic labour was divided by gender.
Sullivan et al. (2008) suggest that industrial societies have experienced a ‘quiet revolution’ in conjugal roles
based on a general acceptance of gender equality. Evidence for this can be seen in:
•
men doing a greater share of housework and women less
•
men spending more time on childcare
•
the family group becoming more home-centred.
Another new development is the idea in the media of the New Man, who combines traditional male ideas
(masculinity) with taking on a greater share of domestic work and being a ‘good’ father fully involved in raising
his children.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Ann Oakley (born 1944)
Ann Oakley was the first female sociology professor in the UK, and is a well-known feminist. Much of her early work focuses on
women’s role in society and in the family. Oakley studied housework and women’s domestic role, using concepts taken from the
sociology of work such as alienation and job satisfaction. She showed that the role of the housewife was a social construction,
appearing at a moment in history, proving that gender roles could not be said to be ‘natural’. She insisted that domestic labour was
important; her research showed that many women were ambivalent about the housewife role, taking pride in doing it well and
enjoying the freedom about what to do and when, but also felt the role was limiting and frustrating.
ACTIVITY 3.12
Design a short questionnaire for members of your class, to find out what they do to help with domestic work.
If you are in a mixed class, consider whether there are differences between girls and boys in what domestic work they do.
Analyse your findings. What factors might explain the results?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Technology, Culture, Family: Influences on Home Life
By Elizabeth Silva, Palgrave 2010
Silva used interviews and participant observation with a small sample of families in the United Kingdom to research how
technology affected the domestic division of labour in relation to gender. Homes now have more technology than in the past, and
many devices are marketed as ‘time saving’ and reducing effort. Silva found that the saving of time was unequal between men
and women. The washing machine was chosen by nearly all the women in the sample as the most useful piece of technology,
with most using it many times a week, depending on the numbers of children. But their male partners had very different ideas
about what technology was useful, and little interest in washing machines. As far as some were concerned, the washing machine
was too complicated to use and they left all the laundry to their wives. So the technology reinforced a gendered division of tasks
in the home and placed further demands on women.
Functionalism
Traditional functionalist approaches see family development in evolutionary terms. From this perspective,
uneven gender relationships, where males and females have separate roles characteristic of the early industrial
family, gradually give way to symmetrical relationships based on joint conjugal roles in late/post-industrial
society. This is based on the idea that as societies pass through different stages of industrialisation, gender
roles gradually meet through a process of what Willmott and Young (1973) call ‘stratified diffusion’. As conjugal
roles in the upper class moved towards greater equality, these changes came down through the class structure.
They were adopted next by middle-class families and, by the middle of the 20th century, the working class.
Traditional functionalism sees men and women as playing different family roles. Men generally take an
instrumental role, dealing with people in an objective, unemotional way, based on a mutually beneficial
relationship. For men to be successful in their provider role outside the family, they need instrumental directions.
Because they traditionally spend more time within the family, women tend to take an expressive role, dealing
with family members on the basis of love and affection. The traditional female role includes housework,
childcare and also emotion work; that is, the ways in women create relationships based on love and affection
within the family, and repair them when there are problems.
Marxism
Marxist analysis focuses on families as involving complex conflicts and power struggles. Morgan (2001)
illustrates this through three ‘family economies’, political, moral and emotional:
1 The political economy is about how money is received, controlled and managed. The husband/father usually
controls the most valued resources, such as family income, and so has the greatest power. It is usually men
who make the most important financial decisions. Other areas of major decision-making in two-income
families relate to whose work has the greatest priority when, for example, the family moves due to a change
in employment. Families are more likely to move to a new home for the man’s job rather than the woman’s.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
2 The moral economy refers to the values and norms relating to the conjugal roles and responsibilities of
different family members. The female partner can exercise high levels of power through her ability to
organise family resources and behaviours even where her partner may be the only breadwinner.
3 The emotional economy relates to interpersonal relationships and what Dallos et al. (1997) call ‘affective
power’. If someone ‘loves you’ this gives you power. Pahl suggests that this ‘family power’ can be subtle. It
can shift depending on such factors as who ‘loves’ the other the most: the partner who ‘loves least’ can use
this to exert power over the one who ‘loves more’.
An extreme form of the exercise of power within families is domestic violence. Domestic violence involves a
range of behaviours, both physical and emotional, aimed at aggressively controlling another family member. The
extent of domestic violence is difficult to estimate, as many victims do not report the attacks. Kirkwood (1993)
notes that there are several possible reasons for this:
•
the victim’s low confidence (a belief by the victim or others that the victim ‘deserves it’)
•
economic or psychological dependence on the offender
•
fear of further consequences (more violence).
Women and children are most at risk of domestic violence, and many victims experience violence on many
occasions. Men can also be victims, but this is less common, and also even less likely to be reported. Children
and others can also be victims of neglect, where the responsible adult does not carry out their role of looking
after them.
Debates about whether the experience of family life is positive or negative for
family members
How family life affects individuals is a matter of some sociological debate. Consensus theorists generally believe
that the benefits of family life make up for (outweigh) the problems, while conflict theorists take the opposite
view.
Consensus
Functionalists stress the positive aspects of family life, where they see the benefits as outweighing the possible
costs. They recognise that the family is not a perfect institution – it may be dysfunctional to some family
members and some families have a ‘darker side’ of domestic violence and child abuse, but these are
exceptions. They believe that the nuclear family is the best we have in terms of fulfilling a range of needs and
functions for both individuals and society, such as:
•
companionship
•
security (emotional, physical, sexual, psychological and economic)
•
raising children.
While functionalists such as Parsons (1959b) argue that contemporary families play an important stabilising role
for both the individual and society, postmodernists focus on individual psychological stability. This involves
questions about identity – ‘who we are’ and how we understand our position in society.
Cultural globalisation has given people more choice about their everyday behaviour. However, the disadvantage
of this almost unlimited choice is that it can cause uncertainty about who we are and how we are supposed to
behave. The old certainties of class, gender, age and ethnic social identities no longer guide us on how to
behave ‘appropriately’ in any given role, so our sense of identity has become increasingly unstable. Family life
can also suffer from this, but people now have more choices about how to be, for example, a ‘father’ or
‘daughter’ and so families are a strong focal point that provides a much clearer sense of who we are and how
we relate to others.
The sense of personal and social responsibility created within families has wider benefits for the community
because children are given clear moral and behavioural guidance. This also involves a sense of moral
commitment to others that forms the basis of social responsibility. Within the family, adult partners play roles
based on domestic labour and care for others, shared economic provision and so on, showing both personal
sacrifice and commitment to other family members. In return, people receive from their family what Becker
(1991) calls ‘psychic income’– the psychological pleasures gained from a relationship involving a sense of
personal commitment, love and affection.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.12: What benefits do families bring to individual members?
Conflict
The conflict interpretation argues that the costs of family life cancel out its benefits. Within this approach, there
are three general views – those who see the family as:
•
psychologically harmful: some writers have suggested that the nuclear family can have damaging
psychological effects on its members
•
socially oppressive and exploitative of women. This view is put forward mainly by Marxist feminists who draw
attention to the oppression and exploitation of women within the family. They see most women taking on an
exploited role as ‘unpaid servants’ to their partner and children. This service role, especially when part of a
double shift involving work inside and outside the home, contributes to the patriarchal exploitation of women
as domestic labourers through the provision of ‘free’ physical, psychological, sexual and emotional services.
•
having a dark side, including domestic violence and child abuse.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.13: Why might many women willingly perform this role?
Domestic violence
World Health Organization (2002) figures estimate that around 70% of female murder victims are killed by their
male partner and that around 25% of all women worldwide ‘experience sexual violence by an intimate partner in
their lifetime’, although there are wide variations across different countries (Table 3.1).
Country
Prevalence (%)
Finland
25
Hungary
10
Japan
6
Lithuania
18
Netherlands
28
Sweden
19
Switzerland
12
Peru
47
Thailand
30
Zimbabwe
25
USA
8
Table 3.1 Proportion of women experiencing rape or sexual assault within domestic settings in their
lifetime
Source: Kelly and Regan (2003)
Child abuse
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Child abuse has strong links to domestic violence. Men who are violent towards their partner are also often
violent and abusive towards children in their care.
The most likely abuser, according to the UK National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse
(1996), is someone known to the child, particularly a male parent or step-parent.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
What professions and occupations are likely to be involved in working in support of victims of
domestic violence and child abuse? What kind of training do you think they need? How will
studying the sociology of the family help them in their work?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
3.4 Age and family life
The social construction of childhood, and changes in the role and social
position of children in the family
Archard (2004) argues that every human society has developed a concept of childhood, but societies differ in
their definitions of childhood and, by extension, adulthood. If childhood was a simple biological category, we
would expect every society to see it in a similar way. The fact that this is not the case suggests that childhood is
socially constructed rather than biologically decided (determined).
Philippe Ariès argues that ‘childhood’ as a distinctive phase in social development only came into existence
around three centuries ago. Childhood is linked to the change from pre-industrial to industrial society. While
there were ‘non-adults’ in pre-industrial society, they were neither called ‘children’, nor treated in ways we would
currently recognise as appropriate to this stage in an individual’s life. In pre-industrial society, children lived and
worked alongside their parents, but the development of industrial society saw a gradual physical and cultural
separation between children and adults. In the UK, the development of an education system in the late 19th
century resulted in children spending less time working alongside others of all ages to spending time with their
peers at school. Ariès controversially suggested that there was no idea of childhood in pre-industrial society.
Adult attitudes towards childhood and children shift between the two extremes of seeing children as naturally
good and innocent, or seeing them as naturally bad and needing to be trained and disciplined. In modern
industrial societies, children are sometimes seen as:
•
objects of concern requiring adult protection
•
independent owners of rights
•
lacking awareness of right and wrong (moral consciousness)
•
aware of and responsible for their actions.
These different ideas reflect a basic uncertainty about the status of children.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.14: ‘Portrait of a Young Girl’, Adriaen van der Linde (c. 1570–1609). Why were children treated
as ‘little adults’?
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Philippe Ariès (1914–84)
Philippe Ariès was a French historian who studied the family and childhood. He popularised the idea that childhood is a social
construction. He used evidence such as paintings from the late medieval period to argue that childhood was not a separate category
at that time. Biologically immature people (‘children’ to us) were treated as miniature adults, working and playing alongside adults.
There was no separate period of life called childhood after about the age of seven when it was thought that children could look after
themselves. His evidence has been questioned and may have been taken out of context (for example, children shown as wearing
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
adult clothing in portraits may have been wearing it only for the portrait) but Ariès established childhood as an important topic for
research.
The cross-cultural dimension
The cross-cultural dimension is also significant because if childhood was a simple, biologically determined
category, we would expect different societies to have similar perceptions. However, evidence suggests that this
is not the case. Malinowski’s (1922) study of the Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea found that preindustrial tribal societies differed from their industrial counterparts in three main ways:
1 Children were given more responsibility and given more rights.
2 Adult–child relationships were closer, less strict and more supportive than is typically the case in modern
societies.
3 Children were encouraged to explore their sexuality. There was less guilt attached to ‘sex play’ and adults
were more open-minded of sexual discovery through play.
Recent studies in South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa have revealed a diverse range of child–
parent relationships. Hecht’s (1998) ethnographic study of the ‘unconventional childhood’ of Brazilian street
children shows that, while many children find themselves living and working on the streets from an early age,
they still maintain links with parents and wider family. This relationship frequently takes the form of helping to
provide for the family by begging or selling bottles, cans and cardboard.
Both historical and cross-cultural evidence points to the social construction of childhood, an idea underlined
by a range of views concerning the nature of childhood in contemporary industrial societies. One significant
argument is that childhood, as we have generally understood it over the past 50 years, has disappeared.
Postman argues that a major reason for this is the development of ‘open admission technologies’ that expose
children to images of adulthood (sex, violence, news) that make it more difficult to define where childhood ends
and adulthood begins. The internet, for example, gives children access to information and images that, in former
times, were denied until adulthood. Sue Palmer argues that childhood has become ‘toxic’ in a range of ways,
including lack of opportunities to learn through play, being restricted to the home because of parents’ fears for
their children’s safety, too much testing at school and exposure to violent computer games and to alcohol and
other drugs.
Robertson (2001) suggests that a further factor in the disappearance of childhood is that children are
encouraged to be consumers, using goods and services that were formerly available only to adults (for example,
mobile phones). Advertisers target ‘children’s markets’ in increasingly sophisticated ways, and this has led to the
development of a ‘consumption culture’ that makes the world of childhood more like the adult world.
The postmodernist view is that while children are increasingly consumers of products, they also shape those
products. Instead of being passive receivers of adult culture, they develop relatively sophisticated childhood
cultures. Postmodern child inhabits a world quite different from the children of even a generation ago. They are
exposed to a far wider and richer range of experiences, although ones still different from the adult world.
The social construction view applies to other age groups as well. For example, being a teenager in industrial
societies is frequently characterised as involving stresses and tensions that are blamed on biochemical changes
during puberty. However, comparisons between cultures suggest that these are cultural in origin, arising from a
long period of transition from being a child to being an adult. In societies where there is a transition (rite of
passage), a point at which a child becomes an adult, the idea of being a ‘teenager’ does not arise.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
1 What products and industries exist that are aimed at children as consumers?
2 Why is advertising and marketing aimed at children controversial?
ACTIVITY 3.13
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
This is a list of some rights that it has been suggested all children should have. Which of these rights do you agree or disagree with?
At what age?
•
Choice in their living arrangements (for example, which parent to live with if the parents have separated)
•
Choice in belief system (religion)
•
Work
•
Vote
•
Freedom from physical punishment
•
Own property (for example, a house or land)
•
Travel independently
•
Use legal drugs used by adults (for example, in many countries tobacco and alcohol)
What other rights would you add to this list, if any?
The role and social position of grandparents in the family, including crosscultural comparisons and the impact of changing life expectancy upon the
family
Life expectancy (the average number of years that a person will live) in many countries has increased
considerably and it is now more likely than in the past that several generations of the same family will be alive at
the same time. At the same time as life expectancy has increased, the birth rate (the number of children born
per 1000 people in the population) has fallen. In many modern industrial societies this has led to an ageing
population. This means that there are more older people, both in numbers and as a proportion of the
population, in many industrial societies. One consequence of these processes is an increased dependency
ratio. There are more retired, economically inactive older people relying on the economically active, taxpaying,
adults.
Older people may also rely on their adult children for support. The burden of caring for both her own ageing
parents and those of her husband often falls on the woman. Where adults are looking after both their dependent
children and their parents, they are referred to as the pivot generation or sandwich generation.
Today, due to improved health in later life and higher life expectancy, many grandparents act as a valuable
source of support for their adult children particularly in relation to childcare. Research in the UK has found that
around 30% of UK families depend on grandparents for childcare. This figure increases to nearly 50% in loneparent families (Wellard 2011).
Smallwood and Wilson (2007) argue that this has led to modifications in family structures. Although there are
few classic extended families, modified extended family networks that include grandparents have become more
important. Grandparents now provide childcare for many families as work pressures leave mothers with less
time for childcare. Reasons for this include:
•
more women working
•
parents working long and unsociable hours
•
the high cost of childcare
•
longer active life expectancy.
The contribution of grandparents is not restricted to childcare. Grandparents also now often provide financial
support for their grandchildren, and their relationships with their grandchildren are important for sociability and
emotional support. These relationships are not, however, one-way. Longer life expectancy in industrial societies
results in more children returning to the family home as adults to provide financial and domestic care for their
parent/s.
This is part of the way in which family roles and responsibilities are increasingly open to negotiation in postindustrial societies. The negotiation can involve grandparents resisting any belief by their adult children that they
can be taken for granted as child minders whenever required. Like childhood and adulthood, old age is also
socially constructed. Different societies interpret the start, meaning, significance and status of old age in
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
different ways. The differences can be found in all areas, from social life events, such as compulsory retirement
in industrial societies, to interpretations of the social position of the elderly.
Figure 3.15: Grandparents have become an increasingly valuable family resource, especially in an age
in which more mothers work outside the home.
Cross-cultural comparisons
Cross-cultural comparisons of the status of older people show differences between societies. The most obvious
example of this can be seen in a comparison between traditional and modern societies. There are, however,
also comparative differences within these categories. Modern societies such as the UK and the USA
demonstrate differences in the relationship between older people and other age groups.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
In some traditional societies, older people gain increased family status as patriarchs or matriarchs, valued for
their knowledge and experience. However, in Western industrial societies, old age is often seen as a diminished
identity, characterised by a loss of status. Older people are seen as less useful and powerful than young and
middle-aged adults. Part of the reason for this is the stigma attached to old age. Some people see ageing as an
inevitable process of decline, helplessness, withdrawal and loneliness. On the other hand, higher life
expectancy and more wealthy lifestyles have contributed to the reinvention and breaking up of elderly identities.
We can now make distinctions between the old and the very old, recognise changing patterns of consumption
and leisure, and produce different interpretations of the meaning of ‘being old’.
Figure 3.16: What knowledge and skills can the elderly contribute to societies?
Victor (1987) suggested that the status of older people depends upon a number of factors. These include the
nature of social organisation – an idea most clearly illustrated by wandering (nomadic) societies, where the
elderly are considered a problem when they are no longer able to easily follow the nomadic lifestyle. In more
settled societies, the knowledge and skills of older people may be considered valuable to the family group or
society as a whole. In Kagan’s (1980) study of a Colombian village, the older people remained socially and
economically active, as far as physically possible. She argued that they did not form a gerontocracy (where
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
older people are social leaders because of their age) but they were nevertheless seen as valued and respected
members of their communities.
Other forms of value that enhance the status of older people relate to the control of social resources. The status
of older people is higher in societies that value the knowledge and skills they possess. In many Native American
cultures, for example, older males are valued for their skills of leadership and their intimate knowledge of the
community’s tales of the past and ceremony. In Europe and America, older people who have control over
economic resources also have higher status. The key to social status, therefore, is control over valued social
and economic resources.
Cultural attitudes to life after death (the afterlife) also play a part here. In some societies, old age is valued
because older people are seen as closer to death and the spiritual afterlife – the older a person gets, the greater
the respect given to them. Among the Sherbro of Sierra Leone, a person’s status increases if they become
harder to understand because they are believed to be communicating directly with their ancestors. In other
societies, the signs of old age are welcomed because they represent the fact that the very old will soon begin
their ‘real life’ after death. In such cultures, where life is seen as a preparation for the next world, the status of
people increases as they grow older.
In modern industrial societies, the status and social position of older people is different, although social position
in modern societies is not simply a function of age but is complicated by concepts of class and gender. To be old
and wealthy represents a different social position to being old and poor. In the same way, older men may have
greater social status than older women. However, in general, older people are represented as social problems
and as a burden on others. They also tend to attract negative labels based on ideas about old age and
forgetfulness, illness (both mental and physical) and unattractiveness. This can be further enhanced by older
people being excluded from the workplace through retirement. Retirement from work can be a significant rite of
passage marking a diminished identity.
One view is that modern industrial societies have experienced changes that have led to greater ageism against
older people and a reduction in the status of older people. These changes include new technology, which older
people are seen as untrained or unprepared for, and separation from family and community networks.
However, it can be argued that age boundaries have become less distinct in recent times. The changes
suggested above have not affected all older people in the same way. When older people receive training and
companies invest in staff development, they can reach the same skill levels as younger people. Some
companies value older workers as more reliable.
While negative ideas may continue, they are balanced by ideas that reinvent the statuses of older people, in
ways that relate to things like the breaking up of elderly identities (for example, distinguishing between the old
and the very old), changing patterns of consumption and leisure, and different interpretations of the meaning of
‘being old’, whereby older people refuse to keep to conventional ideas and social identities. From this
perspective, age in years is becoming less significant than social age.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
In societies with ageing populations, a growing number of people work with older people.
1 What kinds of occupations will need more workers as populations age?
2 What other pressures will there be on services and institutions in society?
3 How will understanding the ideas in this chapter about how families change help people who work with older
people?
ACTIVITY 3.14
Thinking about your society, make a list of the ways that old age is socially constructed in terms of its:
•
start (at what age are people considered to be ‘old’)?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
meaning
•
significance
•
status.
Reflection: Share your answers with others. Discuss why they might have come up with different ideas, and then revisit your list
to see if there’s anything you would change.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
How have changes over time affected different family members at different stages of family life?
Social class, gender and ethnicity as factors affecting the experiences of
children in the family
Although historical and cross-cultural perspectives are necessary and useful, a further dimension is that of
divisions within contemporary societies. This is the idea that children of different classes, genders and
ethnicities have different experiences of childhood.
Social class
The class into which a child is born has a major impact on their experience of childhood. Hecht’s study of
Brazilian street children (1998) highlighted this by making a distinction between the ‘nurtured’ and the ‘nurturing’
child. The former are the children of the wealthy, for whom childhood is a time when they are looked after – by
parents, teachers and servants. The ‘nurturing child’ is the offspring of the poor, for whom childhood is largely
spent looking after others – parents, siblings and wider kin. The nurtured child is one who draws upon family
capital while the nurturing child is one who contributes substantially to that capital.
In societies without such extremes of wealth and poverty this distinction is played out more subtly, although
class-based experiences are always related to inequality – economic as well as cultural. In many countries
some upper-class children attend private boarding schools, which give them a very different experience of
childhood from their working- or middle-class peers. According to Bourdieu, the economic inequality on which
this is based (boarding school fees can sometimes cost almost as much as average full-time yearly earnings)
gives a range of cultural advantages based on social capital; that is, how people are connected to social
networks and the value that these connections have in adult life.
Historically, middle- and upper-class families were more child-centred, with family resources, attention and effort
invested in a child’s physical and social development. This cultural capital consists of non-economic resources,
such as the knowledge, skills and personal motivations, that allow middle-class families to see their children
successfully through the education system. In this respect, working-class childhood is frequently focused on the
‘here and now’ and immediate rewards, that is, taking something whenever it is offered, such as leaving school
at the earliest opportunity to take paid employment. Middle-class childhood is characterised by a future direction
and putting off of rewards – such as staying in education to get qualifications that will lead to professional
careers.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 3.17: Children at an independent school in India. How is education an important source of social
and cultural capital?
Gender
The argument that boys and girls have different experiences of childhood is based on the concept of contrasting
(differential) gender socialisation. Parents often assume boys are psychologically and emotionally different from
girls and treat them in different ways. Will et al. (1976) demonstrated this by observing young mothers
interacting with a baby called Beth. They offered her a doll to play with and used words like ‘sweet’ to describe
her. When introduced to a similar baby called Adam, they offered him a train and he received fewer smiles.
Despite being treated quite differently, Beth and Adam were the same child dressed in different-coloured
clothes.
Parents consciously and subconsciously treat their children in different ways by associating different objects,
behaviours and expectations with different genders. For example, toys are used to reinforce gender ideas: girls
are associated with dolls and domestic toys because they reflect a future caring role, while boys are associated
with active, mechanical and scientific activities. Parents often expect girls to do more domestic chores, and girls’
behaviour outside the home is more tightly controlled. Martin and Ruble (2004) suggest that children are ‘gender
detectives’. They search for clues about gender-appropriate behaviour from primary sources – parents, peers –
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
and secondary sources such as the media. They also seek to discover ‘why girls and boys differ’. Peers shape
and reinforce gender identities and different experiences of childhood through things such as games that are
traditionally played by one gender or the other. Similarly, shared activities and pastimes have gender meanings
(connotations) and expectations. For example, a common interest in cars, football or rap music (boys) or
fashion, cosmetics and shopping (girls) creates gender bonds and reinforces identity barriers. Individuals who
cross those invisible boundaries risk being negatively punished (sanctioned) for breaking identity norms. In this
respect, peer pressure can be an important influence on an individual’s experience of childhood. Negative
sanction may range from being bullied to exclusion from valued peer and friendship groups.
Ethnicity
Where different ethnic groups have their own sense of history, tradition and custom, these differences translate
into how childhood is constructed and interpreted. As we have seen, different ethnic groups define the duration
and extent of childhood differently, particularly the point at which childhood ends and adulthood begins. Different
ethnicities also develop their own ideas about childhood divisions. In modern industrial societies, for example,
the idea of childhood has gradually been extended to a later age through factors such as participation in
compulsory education. This has resulted in the development of different childhood categories, especially those
used to describe later childhood behaviours, such as ‘teenager’.
Different ethnic groups may experience different levels of poverty and affluence that place restrictions on, or
provide opportunities for, childhood experiences. Ethnic groups develop different ideas about how their children
should dress, speak to adults and with whom they can socialise. Brannen and Oakley (1994), for example,
found that Asian parents in the UK placed greater restrictions on their children’s freedom of movement and
association, particularly with their daughters, than their British counterparts. Song (1999) also noted the
significance of ‘the family as workplace’ for some ethnic minority children in the UK, particularly Chinese
ethnicities, but also extending into Italian and Asian identities. This relates to how children are co-opted into the
family work space. In the case of Chinese families running restaurants in the UK, Song noted how children are
expected to play a part in the family’s business; helping out is part of being a member of the family.
Changes in the concepts of motherhood and fatherhood
Motherhood
Societies have clear expectations of what mothers should be like. In modern industrial societies, mothers are
expected to devote themselves to their children. It is assumed that there is a ‘mothering instinct’ that a woman
will always want and be able to raise her children. In fact, motherhood is a social construction. It is society which
decides what a mother should be like and singles out (stigmatises) those who do not conform. In other societies,
it is not always taken for granted that the biological mother will raise the children. For example, grandparents or
other close kin may adopt the children of a young, unmarried mother.
In the UK, changes in the concept of motherhood have been influenced by changes in patterns of childbearing
such as:
•
a decline in birth rates, from around 30 live births per 1000 people in 1900 to around 10 in 2010
•
a decline in family size over the last 50 years from an average of 3 to 1.6 children
•
an increase in the average age at which women have their first child
•
births outside marriage now account for nearly half of all births.
The smaller number of children has, with other changes, led to families, and society more widely, becoming
more child-centred, which places more expectation on mothers to be ‘good’ mothers, spending a lot of time and
energy on their children.
Some types of mother have been thought of as straying from the stereotypical ‘good’ mother role. One example
is working mothers. Growing numbers of women do both paid work, often in demanding occupations, and carry
out the traditional expressive role, and face great difficulty trying to meet the often conflicting demands of the
two roles. There is a long-running debate over whether mothers, especially those with pre-school age children,
should go out to work, or work full time. Some people think that being a good mother means that the children
must be the mother’s priority, and therefore that it is wrong for a mother to go out to work. Nevertheless, many
women do work, and there are a range of options available for childcare by others, although these can be
expensive:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
care by a relative such as a grandparent or a childminder
•
a nanny (a common practice in British upper and middle class families in the past)
•
nurseries and nursery schools.
Britain has less childcare provision than most other European countries and very few companies and
organisations have workplace nurseries.
Getting used to being with different people can help a child to become more sociable and confident. Being with
a group of children at a nursery or similar institution is preparation for school and children learn about how to get
on with others. A child who has been looked after all the time by the mother, father or other relative may find
going to school a more difficult transition.
Fatherhood
The traditional view of the father is as head of the family and as breadwinner. The father’s role as breadwinner
usually meant that he was away from the home for most of the day, at work. His main role with regard to his
children, after providing materially for them, was to discipline them when required. The limits of the father’s role,
and the division of tasks by gender, were set by men, but supported by many women. Changing nappies and
feeding a baby were seen as not men’s work, and men who liked taking care of children might be thought of as
feminine. This created a real dilemma for men who wanted to have a strong relationship with their children.
Those who broke these restrictions faced being stigmatised by other men if it became known that they did
‘women’s work’. The separation (alienation) of fathers from their children was increased by being required to
impose punishments, which can make it harder to form a close bond.
The position of men in modern societies has changed in recent years, and this has had effects on how men
behave as fathers. Some of the changes involved in this shift are:
•
The decline of manufacturing industry, causing male unemployment, has affected the working class
particularly.
•
Abuse of women and children within families by men has become much better publicised and condemned.
•
The importance of men within families is questioned. More women can support families alone. Divorce laws
have been used mainly by women to divorce their husbands
•
Feminism has questioned traditional ideas about masculinity, suggesting that it is responsible for abuse of
power, war and damage to the environment.
ACTIVITY 3.15
For each of the four points listed above, suggest what effect this change might have on the traditional role of the father as
breadwinner, in charge of discipline.
How would you describe ‘fatherhood’ in your society? Has this changed in the last 50 years or so? (You could ask an older relative
about this.)
In the late 1980s there was much talk in the media of ‘New Man’, who was supposedly anti-sexist, gentle,
sensitive and fully involved in bringing up children. It seems that many people (men and women) approve of the
idea of ‘New Man’, but many couples find it hard to put it into practice. Some men are critical of the part their
own fathers played in their upbringing, and are determined to be different. More fathers are playing an active
part in the emotional side of child-rearing and spending more time with their children. However, bringing up
children is very expensive, and this often leads to men working very long hours and limits the time they can
spend with children.
Fathers are now expected to be involved with children more often and in more ways than before. At the same
time, they are often expected to still be the main provider. Arguably, many men, as well as women, take on a
dual burden of both the traditional role for their gender and aspects of the other gender’s role.
ACTIVITY 3.16
What kinds of things are fathers expected to do that make them more involved with their families than in the past? (Organising family
outings, helping with homework, giving lifts, watching children in sports and other events and so on.) Design a questionnaire or
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
interview schedule for fathers of teenage children to find out more about the role of fathers.
Analyse your findings. What conclusions can you draw about fatherhood today?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Dads on Dads: Need, and Expectations at home and at work by Warren Hatcher, Louise Vinter and Rachel Williams
2002, Equal Opportunities Commission Report
This study used structured interviews with fathers of children under ten in the UK to explore how men’s roles have changed (most
research has been on mothers). The traditional role of the breadwinner was found to be still very important to the men in the
study and they did not want to challenge the traditional gender roles. At the same time, they said that it was important to them to
be at home for the children. This created tensions between their roles as breadwinner and father. The study suggested there
were four kinds of fathers:
1 enforcer – responsible for discipline
2 entertainer – playing with the children
3 fully involved – taking nearly equal responsibility with the mother
4 useful – supporting the mother but in a secondary role.
Some fathers were ‘weekend dads’, busy at work in the week but setting aside family time at the weekend. The fathers reported a
lot of problems in being the father they wanted to be: they were expected to work long hours, could not take time off work when a
child was ill, attend events such as sports days in the day and so on.
ACTIVITY 3.17
For each of the following groups, make a list of their socially approved and disapproved activities in your society:
•
children
•
adults
•
the elderly.
Choosing an example from each group, what happens when people challenge the expected approvals/disapprovals?
Which of the three groups do you think suffers most from age discrimination? Give reasons for your answer.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
Perspectives on the role of the family
■ Consensus perspectives such as functionalism emphasise the positive effects of the family for both
individuals and society. They stress the role of the family in maintaining social order through carrying
out essential functions and by acting as a support for the state. There is a debate about the extent to
which the family has lost its functions.
■ Conflict perspectives such as Marxism emphasise the negative effects of family life for both individuals
and society and the support that the family provides for capitalism and ruling-class interests.
■ Feminist perspectives emphasise how families benefit men at the expense of women.
Diversity and social change
■ There have been changing patterns of:
■ marriage
■ cohabitation
■ divorce and separation.
■ There are different types of family and household form:
■ nuclear
■ lone-parent
■ reconstituted
■ extended
■ same-sex families
■ families of choice
■ single-person households.
■ Family diversity is proved across a number of dimensions:
■ organisational
■ cultural
■ class.
■ There is a debate about the extent of family diversity and the dominance of the nuclear family.
■ New Right perspectives see family diversity as damaging for individuals and society.
■ Postmodern perspectives emphasise how individuals now have greater choice in their family and
personal lives.
■ There are different views on how the state and social policy influences families.
Gender equality and experiences of family life
■ There is a debate about the extent of gender inequality in the family, in areas such as housework,
childcare, power and emotion work.
■ There is a debate about whether the experience of family life is positive or negative for family
members. There is a dark side to family life that can include violence and abuse.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Age and family life
■ Childhood can be considered as socially constructed in two ways:
■ historically
■ cross-culturally.
■ The role and social position of children and of grandparents in the family has changed.
■ Family life has been affected by rising life expectancy.
■ The experience of children in the family is affected by:
■ social class
■ gender
■ ethnicity.
■ The concepts of motherhood and fatherhood are changing.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
Choose one set of questions to answer in the time available.
Set 1
1 Describe two ways that the concept of fatherhood has changed.
[4]
2 a Explain two ways in which the family supports patriarchy, according to feminist theories.
[8]
b Explain two limitations of the feminist view of the family.
[6]
3 ‘Marriage has become less important in modern societies.’
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
Answer either Question 4 or Question 5.
4 Evaluate the view that there are more different types of families and households now than in the
past.
[26]
or
5 Evaluate the view that the nuclear family fulfils essential functions both for individuals and
society.
[26]
Set 2
1 Describe two ways in which childhood is socially constructed.
[4]
2 a Explain two ways in which the nuclear family is essential for a stable society, according to
functionalist theory.
[8]
b Explain two limitations of the functionalist view of the family.
[6]
3 ‘Childhood is no longer a period of innocence; children are increasingly exposed to the adult
world. This is making childhood a more negative experience.’
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
Answer either Question 4 or Question 5.
4 Evaluate the view that the nuclear family is the main type of family in society today.
[26]
or
5 Evaluate the view that increased family diversity has created social problems.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
[26]
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Set 3
1 Describe two ways that secularisation has affected family life.
[4]
2 a Explain two ways in which families and relationships have changed, according to
postmodernists.
[8]
b Explain two limitations of postmodernist views of families and relationships.
[6]
3 ‘Families create tensions, disagreements and even violence; for many people, they do not
provide security and stability.’
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
Answer either Question 4 or Question 5.
4 Evaluate the view that the nuclear family is universal.
[26]
or
5 Evaluate the view that the family serves the interests of capitalist society.
[26]
Set 4
1 Describe two types of household that do not involve families.
[4]
2 a Explain two ways in which families contribute to gender inequality.
[8]
b Explain two limitations of the view that families contribute to gender inequality.
[6]
3 ‘The main function of the family is to ensure that children are socialised into the dominant values
of society.’
a Explain this view.
[10]
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
Answer either Question 4 or Question 5.
4 Evaluate the view that the family is always patriarchal.
[26]
or
5 Evaluate the view that rising divorce rates are the result of the declining influence of religious
beliefs.
[26]
Sample answer and activity
Set 1 Question 3b answer
3 ‘Marriage has become less important in modern societies.’
b Using sociological material, give one argument against this view.
[6]
Having explained this view in an answer to 3a, you now have to give an argument against this view. The
answer to 3a may have included, for example, points about the increase in divorce, the increase in
cohabitation and the growth of alternatives to the family and marriage. Here is an example of a good
answer to 3b. Notice that the answer is clear and developed, and uses sociological terms when
appropriate.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
One argument against this view is that although there has been a decline in the
number of marriages, this does not mean marriage is no longer important. There could
not be divorces unless people were getting married first. Those who divorce often marry
again, creating a reconstituted or blended family, suggesting that marriage is
important to them as individuals. This has led to serial monogamy becoming a
common pattern; again, this involves people being married for significant parts of
their lives, though not having one marriage partner for life as used to be the case. This
suggests that marriage is still important. Same-sex couples now have the right to
marry in some countries and have taken advantage of this, showing that marriage
even has appeal to those who were previously excluded from it. Even for those who do not
marry, marriage may be a goal they aspire to, as it is still highly valued and seen by
many as a desirable state. This is evident in the media, where a ‘happy ending’ to a
romantic story may involve marriage.
Point 1: An argument can involve several points; here there are ideas about divorce, remarriage, serial
monogamy and same-sex marriage. There is a line of reasoning that connects these and makes them
together a good answer to the question.
Point 2: The answer wisely avoids discussing how these changes have come about. The question is
about modern societies; sometimes it can be helpful to explore differences between now and the past but
here it is better to concentrate on ‘today’.
ACTIVITY 3.18
Here is the opening of a possible alternative answer, which considers theory. Try to complete it using theories, names and key
words whenever possible:
The view that marriage has become less important would be challenged by functionalist and New Right
sociologists, who argue that although there may be fewer marriages, marriage is still important because it
creates nuclear families which still carry out functions and are essential for the well being of society.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 4
Education
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ Theories about the role of education
■ Education and social mobility
■ Influences on the curriculum
■ Intelligence and educational attainment
■ Social class and educational attainment
■ Ethnicity and educational attainment
■ Gender and educational attainment
Before you start
Earlier in this book, you learnt that socialisation is an essential aspect of the relationship between individuals
and societies. Through socialisation, individuals become able to interact with and co-operate with others around
them. While this happens mainly within the family, it also happens through the education system.
•
How does primary socialisation within the family help prepare individuals for secondary socialisation in the
education system?
•
How do you think secondary socialisation changes from primary school level to secondary school level?
•
What do individuals learn within the education system to help prepare them to fit in with society when they
leave it?
Reflection: How important is going to school? How has school impacted on your own life? Has it changed the way you think
about life?
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the relationship between education, wider social institutions such as the family and
workplace, and the individual. These are examined in terms of ‘outside school’ processes, such as how
education relates to economic change and social mobility, and ‘inside school’ processes, including ideas about
the nature of the formal and hidden curriculum, the effects of school segregation through streaming, setting and
banding, and the development of pro- and anti-student subcultures. These two themes are brought together
through a discussion of different levels of academic achievement that examines ideas about intelligence,
language and the significance of economic, social and cultural capital.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.1 Theories about the role of education
The relationship between formal education systems and the economy is complex with many dimensions.
This is partly because the structure and organisation of education always reflects ideological beliefs about its
meaning, purpose and relationship to other social institutions. This complexity is also due to the way in which
economic systems of production, distribution and exchange have developed historically.
Mass education, where the majority of a population experience formal schooling, is a feature of most modern
industrial societies. The relationship between mass education and economic development is not accidental. In
pre-industrial societies, when most people lived and worked in and around the home, there was no economic
need for education. Children of the ruling elite might have received some education from tutors, but there was
not usually a system of schools as we recognise them today. It was only when industrialisation and factory
production increased the demand for a literate and numerate workforce that the pressure for mass education
arose.
Education systems are closely linked to economic systems in this way, but the precise nature of their
relationship is open to debate. We can explore this debate by looking at sociological approaches to the
relationship between education and work in contemporary industrial societies.
Figure 4.1: Why was there a new need for a literate and numerate workforce with the onset of
industrialisation?
Functionalist views about how education contributes to value consensus and
social solidarity
Functionalists see society as a social system consisting of different institutions (family, work, education and so
on). These institutions are functionally connected in two ways:
1 Each institution performs certain essential (core) functions, such as providing the means of survival (work)
or secondary socialisation (education).
2 To perform these functions, each institution needs certain things from other institutions. In contemporary
societies, where the workplace usually requires a certain level of knowledge and skill, the education
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
system needs to provide individuals with the necessary social and intellectual abilities. Schools perform
this function by approving (accrediting) certain levels of knowledge and skill through qualifications.
The relationship between education and work is one of dependency. The workplace needs the education
system to perform its allotted roles in order for society to function successfully.
The development of mass education is, therefore, explained in terms of functional differentiation: institutions
develop to perform particular functions, such as ‘work’ and ‘education’. If the needs of one institution are not
being adequately met, tensions develop within the system that threaten its stability and ability to function. For
example, industrial forms of work require a literate and numerate workforce; without these skills, the economy
cannot function. Institutions such as the family cannot meet this new requirement, so the stability of the
system is threatened. It can be restored in one of two ways:
1 An existing institution, such as the family or religion, evolves to perform the required function. This involves
differentiation that occurs within individual institutions. Different roles need to be developed if the institution
is to perform its new function.
2 A new institution, such as formal education, arises to fulfil the need.
Although it is possible for an existing institution to evolve, the scale of economic change that occurs as
societies industrialise is often too great. Existing institutions cannot adapt quickly enough or in all the
necessary ways to deal with the new demands. At some point in their development, therefore, all societies will
develop a specialised set of institutions (education) that can restore stability in such situations.
Institutions such as schools also act as agents of secondary socialisation. Individuals take on (internalise) the
norms and values of society. This is sometimes done openly (explicitly), for example through lessons or moral
messages in assemblies, or may be more unspoken (implicit), such as through the ways teachers and
students interact with each other. Often there is a focus on getting individuals to share an identity as citizens
of a nation state or followers of a religion. Feelings of citizenship can be encouraged by, for example, singing
a national anthem or having a national flag or other symbol displayed. The outcome is that individuals share a
level of agreement, so that there is value consensus and a sense of shared identity. This contributes to social
solidarity because it reduces conflict between individuals and groups. Individuals tend to accept their given
(allocated) position in society and so do not have a complaint that may lead to conflict. If they are in a low
work position, they will accept this as fair, because they did not have the ability or make the effort to do better.
Education and role allocation
In the UK, the 1944 Education Act that established free, universal education explicitly addressed the
relationship between education and the workplace through a difference (distinction) between:
•
academic students, destined to move on to university and professional employment
•
vocational (employment-related) students, destined to follow a practical or technical route into the
workforce.
Secondary (ages 11–15) education was organised into a three-type (tripartite) system. Students were
allocated to one of three types of school after taking an intelligence test at age 11. The types of school not
only followed contemporary beliefs about the nature of intelligence, they also reflected current economic
needs in terms of types of labour:
•
Grammar schools provided a wholly academic education and were aimed at the needs of professional
occupations, such as doctors and accountants, based on particular qualifications.
•
Secondary modern schools provided a mix of vocational and academic education aimed at the needs of
the service sector.
•
Secondary technical schools provided a work-related technical/vocational education and were aimed at the
development of skilled manual occupations. In fact, this section was never fully established and its function
was largely taken over by secondary modern schools.
The argument that this type of division is functional and necessary is reflected in secondary education
systems worldwide:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
India has both academic and vocational (school and profession-based) routes through secondary
education.
•
Pakistan has similarly developed academic and technical routes.
•
Mauritius organises secondary education in a slightly different way, but has also developed a distinction
between academic routes into the workplace and a form of basic education intended to be a route into
vocational training, for around 5% of the school population.
The separation of academic and vocational educational routes reflects a belief in two basic forms of work:
1 Professional careers, requiring higher levels of deep, abstract knowledge and lower levels of practical
expertise.
2 Non-professional work, requiring higher levels of practical expertise and lower levels of abstract
knowledge.
These ideas are reflected in Davis and Moore’s (1945) argument that those who are most able and talented
intellectually are allocated work roles that offer the highest rewards in terms of income, power and status. In
other words, the most functionally important economic roles must be filled by the most capable members of
society. There is a clear relationship between education and the economy. The education system ‘sifts and
sorts’ individuals according to their intelligence and ability and allocates them to appropriate schools or
courses. The individuals then obtain (acquire) the skills or qualifications that enable them to take up particular
work roles. This suits both individuals and society at the same time. Individuals get work for which they are
suited and there are the right number of individuals with the right skills and qualifications for all the work that
needs to be done. The education system can be used to address any balance problems that arise, for
example if more engineers are needed, more courses can be created and more appropriate skills taught in
schools.
Criticisms of functionalism
Part of the functionalist view is that work roles have different levels of functional importance depending on
their contribution to society. For example, a functionalist would say that accountants have higher social status
and pay than road sweepers because their role is functionally more important for society.
Tumin (1953), however, questioned the idea that we can objectively measure functional importance. He
argued that this is something we can only establish subjectively and that it represents an ideological
justification for the functionalist analysis of education and its relationship to the economy. Such arguments are
based on a circular or tautological argument (one that contains its own proof). Accountancy has greater
functional importance because it requires high-level academic qualifications – the demand for advanced
academic qualifications are proof that this occupation is functionally important to the economy.
A second line of criticism of functionalism is that there is little evidence that a genuinely ability-based
(meritocratic) system exists in modern industrial societies. These societies are marked by inequality, which
affects who is able to succeed in the education system. For example, wealthy people can send their children
to fee-paying schools, which effectively buys them social status rather than children earning it through their
own talents. The idea of meritocracy has been criticised by both interactionists, who focus on school
processes to show that education is not meritocratic, and Marxists, who argue that the ‘meritocracy myth’
hides underlying processes of class reproduction.
Marxist views about how education contributes to the maintenance of the
capitalist economic system
Bowles and Gintis (2002) argue that the structure and organisation of the workplace is copied in the
organisation of schools. Workplace inequalities are reflected and reproduced through the education system in
ways:
•
The school disciplines students to the demands of work and the ‘crucial ingredient of job adequacy’. This
involves behaviour such as regular attendance and the control of personal time and space – where
students should be and when they should be there.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Social relationships within the school copy the relationships found at work. There is, for example, a
structure within the school similar to that in the workplace, with teachers exercising authority over students.
•
Just as workers have no control over or ownership of the things they produce, so too are students without
control in the education system. They have no control over:
•
•
the educational process as a whole: they must simply do as they are told
the content of education: this is decided by others
•
the teaching and learning process: students are encouraged to compete against each other for grades
and qualifications rather than see knowledge and understanding as goals in their own right.
For Bowles and Gintis, the correspondence principle is maintained at all levels of the education system,
usually through streaming, setting or banding (see below):
•
For those destined for lower levels of work, ‘rule following’ is emphasised; students are given little
responsibility and made to do simple, repetitive tasks.
•
For those destined for middle levels of work, reliability and some ability to work independently is
emphasised.
•
For those destined for higher levels of work, there is an emphasis on working independently and taking
some control over their academic work.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
One of the problems in sociological research is often operationalising concepts. How could the
correspondence principle be operationalised in a research project? Try to work out a plan for
how a sociologist could investigate whether the correspondence principle applies in your society.
Education as an instrument of ideological control and cultural reproduction
The relationship between education and the economy, therefore, is based around cultural reproduction – the
means through which higher social classes reproduce their economic domination from generation to
generation.
For Bourdieu (1986), meritocracy is a myth. The education system works in favour of a ruling elite in various
ways. Some involve the ability to pay for exclusive forms of education such as private schooling and tutoring,
while others relate to educational practices such as streaming, where children of different abilities are taught
separately. Meritocracy is, however, a justifying (legitimating) myth for Bourdieu; the education system has the
appearance of fairness, equality and merit, legitimising the way things are, when in fact it is the opposite,
unfair, unequal, and without merit.
The formal curriculum plays an important part in cultural reproduction because it allows children of different
classes to be separated into different employment streams at an early age. In this way, cultural reproduction is
disguised as a consequence of the choices children make and their differing levels of ability or aptitude. For
Althusser (1971), schools are an ideological state apparatus (ISA) that involves social learning. Teachers
‘transform pupil consciousness’ by encouraging them to accept not just ‘the realities of life’, that the workplace
is unequal, but also their likely future social positions. In this respect, vocational education within schools has
two main advantages for ruling elites:
1 It eliminates working-class children as competitors for higher-level occupations.
2 It gives the appearance of being chosen by the working class, either through choice or because they have
failed to reach a required level of academic achievement.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 4.2: How do teachers ‘transform pupil consciousness’?
Bates and Riseborough (1993), for example, argued that a significant feature of contemporary forms of
vocational education in the UK (sometimes called the new vocationalism) is that most (white) middle-class
students follow the academic route into professional employment, while (white and black) working-class
students are encouraged along the vocational route to lower-paid/lower-status work.
Marxists have generally been critical of both vocational education and work-based training schemes. For
Bates and Riseborough, the new vocationalism is about social control. It takes potentially difficult unemployed
youth ‘off the streets’ and subjects them to workplace discipline, lowers wages for all young people by funding
(subsidising) some employers, and lowers unemployment figures. As Davies (2012) reports, such schemes
have been accused of being ‘modern slave labour’ that involves little or no training.
Several criticisms have been made of Marxist views about how education contributes to the maintenance of
the capitalist economic system. Young (1981), for example, has called this approach ‘left functionalism’: the
idea that education functions to ‘meet the needs of a ruling class’. Marxists have also been criticised for
seeing working-class students as passive and for making the assumption that everything that is taught in
schools is necessarily learnt. Willis’s (1977) study of working-class students in the UK showed that they were
not passive – they strongly resisted attempts by teachers to make them conform to school rules and values.
Heath (1997) argued that Marxist approaches tend to reject all forms of vocational education because they
encourage class-based cultural reproduction. She notes that, by demanding equal opportunities, some forms
of vocational education have helped women in areas of schooling and eventually work that were traditionally
male areas.
New Right views on the relationship between education and the economy
New Right perspectives acknowledge the basic relationship outlined by writers such as Davis and Moore.
However, they also argue that this kind of society and economy no longer exists. The rapid social and
economic changes that have occurred over the past 40 years as a result of globalisation have changed our
understanding of the relationship between education and the economy. There has been a steady rise in
general service industries and, more recently, a rapid rise in computer-based service technologies. In postindustrial society, therefore, services and knowledge are the dominant productive industries, and these are
known for (characterised by) their flexibility and speed of change. This brings into question the distinction
between the academic and the vocational in modern education systems. The New Right argue that this type of
division is too inflexible to meet the needs of a globalised economy. Economic behaviour in the 21st century is
very different from 50 – let alone 150 – years ago. Various globalising processes have caused a long-term
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
decline in manufacturing and a rise in the financial and service sectors. This has changed both the nature of
economic production and, as a consequence, the nature of education systems needs to change too.
In many education systems, these ideas are reflected in recent changes to different types of academic and
vocational qualifications, with various attempts to:
•
break down rigid distinctions between ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ subjects through the development of
new qualifications and routes to ability (competence)
•
move away from a curriculum wholly focused on subject knowledge towards one based on functional
knowledge and skills, such as the ability to work with others and solve problems rather than simply
‘remember names and dates’
•
narrow the distinction between different types of knowledge and skills.
Social democratic views on the relationship between education and the
economy
Social democratic theory looks at the relationship between education and the economy in terms of two related
processes in modern societies:
1 Technological changes in the workplace, involving both a decline in traditional manufacturing and the rise
of service industries in areas such as finance, computing and information technology. In the UK, for
example, the tripartite system produced a small percentage of highly qualified university entrants (around
15% of 18-year-olds) and a large number of poorly qualified school-leavers. This situation failed to meet
the economic need for a better-qualified service-industry workforce.
2 Social changes focused on ideas about equality in gender, sexuality, ethnicity and class. The tripartite
system failed to meet the requirements of social fairness because it was based on ideas about intelligence
that were increasingly divided along class lines.
The solution to these problems in the UK was comprehensive education, which was designed to address
social inequality and technological change. Social democrats believe that comprehensive schools fulfil the
ideal of a meritocracy. These schools contain a broad class mix, in which all children – regardless of earlier
academic achievement – receive the same secondary education. In the UK, the introduction of comprehensive
schools was intended to establish a system of equality of opportunity. This was not only seen as socially
fair, but in addition, competition would produce larger numbers of better-qualified workers to serve the new
technological requirements of a changing economy. From this perspective, therefore, education is the means
through which problems of technological change and social inequality can be addressed and managed. A truly
meritocratic system would result in a fairer distribution of economic and social rewards, increased social
mobility and a decline in social inequality.
More recently, social democratic theory has argued for the need to retrain and refocus the workforce in
contemporary societies to address both economic and social changes. As Chitty (2009) notes, this involves
seeing ‘education and training’ as the means through which industrial societies are ‘transformed from low-skill,
low-wage economies into a high-skill, high-wage and technologically advanced economies’.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 4.3 and 4.4: Which of these people does the most functionally important work?
While social democrats see comprehensive schooling as a way of reducing class inequality by creating more
opportunities for working-class children, Marxists have criticised this on the basis that it fails to understand
institutional relationships in capitalist societies.
Fundamental economic inequalities are not affected by educational changes. The Marxists Bowles and Gintis
(2002) argue that the reverse is true – economic inequality drives educational inequality.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.2 Education and social mobility
This section will look at social mobility, how far schools ensure equal opportunity, and the idea of meritocracy.
Equal opportunity and the idea of meritocracy
Social mobility refers to the chances people from different backgrounds have of attaining different social
positions – moving from one social class or status position to another. Social mobility can be upwards or
downwards. There are two main ways to measure relative social mobility:
1 Inter-generational mobility refers to movement between generations, such as the difference between a
parent and their adult child’s occupational position.
2 Intra-generational measures refer to an individual’s mobility over the course of their life, comparing the
position of someone’s starting occupation with their occupation on retirement, for example.
Underlying all this is the idea that contemporary industrial societies are broadly based on achieved social status
and mobility. The individual’s position in society is not fixed (or ascribed) by characteristics such as age, gender
or ethnicity, it is earned or achieved on the basis of factors such as educational qualifications. Societies where
this is the case are meritocracies – whatever their starting position, individuals achieve the level in society that
their talent and effort deserves.
Functionalist arguments about the relationship between education and social mobility focus on how education
systems represent a bridge between the family and the economy:
•
Social mobility is functionally necessary: people must be allowed to move up – or fall down – the
occupational and social structure. This ensures that important social positions are filled by those who are
most qualified.
•
Upward mobility is earned through demonstrations of individual merit. In modern societies, which contain a
wide variety of occupations, from unskilled workers such as road sweepers at the bottom, to highly skilled
professionals such as doctors and accountants at the top, people must fill these positions on the basis of
their knowledge and skills.
For functionalists, it is inevitable that mass education systems develop in modern industrial societies, because
their primary function is differentiation – allowing individuals to ‘demonstrate their differences’ in objective ways.
For education systems to perform this role effectively, they must be meritocratic. Rewards such as well-paid,
high-status occupations are earned and allocated through individual abilities and efforts in the education
system. Such systems are, by definition, competitive. However, competition must be based on equal
opportunities. If some people are disadvantaged – because of their sex, race or social class, for example – then
society cannot be sure that ‘the best people’ will end up in the most important or impressive adult roles.
Meritocratic systems involve, therefore, inequalities of outcome.
Schools develop inequalities of outcome through testing and examinations. In a meritocratic system, these must
be objective tests that everyone has an equal opportunity to take and pass. This is because role allocation is a
system (mechanism) through which those who are intellectually most able and talented achieve work roles that
offer the highest rewards in terms of income, power and status. Harris (2005b) suggests that for traditional
functionalism, social mobility develops out of the way people are encouraged to perform different roles, some of
which are more important, skilled and difficult to learn than others. The promise of higher levels of status,
income and job satisfaction by working for educational qualifications, therefore, represents necessary
motivations and rewards. These rewards lead to the development of social levels of importance (hierarchies) –
some jobs are more important than others and this creates functionally necessary social inequalities. For Davis
and Moore, the inequalities that flow through social mobility represent ‘an unconsciously evolved device by
which societies ensure the most important positions are conscientiously filled by the most qualified people’.
The extent to which education systems are meritocratic today
As we have seen, inequalities of educational outcome that affect social mobility are justified by meritocratic
competition. However, it can be argued that education systems in modern industrial societies are not
meritocratic. Some groups, such as the working class and some ethnic minorities, experience systematic
disadvantage. Paterson and Iannelli (2005), for example, argue that in Scotland: ‘Many studies have shown
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
education and the acquisition of educational qualifications are important means through which middle-class
families pass on their social and economic advantage to their children. In these circumstances, education,
rather than promoting greater social mobility, may in fact reduce it.’
While meritocratic systems should involve contest mobility, neo-Marxists such as Bowles and Gintis argue that
modern education systems are characterised by ‘sponsored mobility’. By this they mean that upper-and middleclass children enjoy a range of cultural advantages over their working-class peers, such as the ability to buy
high-quality, high-status private education. Their progress from school to high-paid, high-status employment is
effectively sponsored by their parents’ class background.
Figure 4.5: Poor children using textbooks at a monastery school in Burma (Myanmar). Is education
entirely meritocratic?
In addition, although a meritocracy involves open competition for social resources such as educational
qualifications or adult employment, Breen (1997) argued that this only occurs at the lower levels of society. The
higher social levels are marked by social closure – they are closed to the vast majority and no real competition
takes place within these levels. Social closure is related to high levels of social capital – the networks and
connections built through membership of elite private schools, such as Winchester and Eton in the UK or the
Lawrence School, Sanawar, in India and universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in the UK or Harvard and
Yale in the USA.
ACTIVITY 4.1
1 Why do functionalists believe that education systems must be meritocratic?
2 With a small group of other students, write a list of ways that meritocracy can be seen as being good for
both individuals and society.
3 For each way you have identified, work out what can be said against this.
Reflection: Did everybody in your group agree which points to put on each list? If you disagreed, how did you decide what to
put?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
While consensus approaches generally see open, competitive and meritocratic education systems as the most
important source of social mobility in modern industrial societies, conflict approaches take the opposite view.
Education is not a source of social mobility but rather the means through which the higher classes are able to
cement their privileged social position. It does so by ensuring that social inequality is reproduced through a
system that appears to be fair but which is really biased in their favour.
The Marxist Althusser, for example, argues that the reproduction of capitalism involves each new generation
being taught the skills, knowledge and ideas required in the workplace. Schools do not just select, allocate and
differentiate children in the interests of society as a whole. Their role is to help the children of the ruling class to
achieve the levels of education required to follow in their parents’ footsteps. For Marxists, therefore, the role of
education is to educate most people ‘just enough’ to be useful employees and a small number ‘more than
enough’ to take up high-powered elite working roles.
Aldridge (2004) argues that a key feature of modern industrial societies is a lack of occupational mobility for
those lower down the class structure. To understand how and why this is the case, Marxists argue that what
happens in the education system cannot be separated from the demands of the economy. Education is a way of
reproducing the social inequalities found in the capitalist workplace.
Aldridge argues that social closure does not only limit upward intra-generational social mobility, ‘from manual
occupations to higher status professional and technical occupations’, it actually causes it to decline. To tighten
entry requirements across ‘higher-status occupations’ means they are ‘closed from below’. This means that it is
impossible to enter these occupations without having been through a particular educational process, from A
Levels, through undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications to professional entrance exams.
ACTIVITY 4.2
What evidence might be used to show that cultural reproduction exists?
How could you carry out research which would produce this evidence?
Children may gain more and better educational qualifications than their grandparents, but the economic value of
these qualifications declines. Occupations such as nursing that once required a relatively low level of
educational qualification (such as GCSEs) now require much higher levels (such as an undergraduate degree).
Figure 4.6: How are some occupations closed to lower-class students?
For Bowles and Gintis (1976, 2002), cultural reproduction is secured through the correspondence between
workplace and educational inequality. Education systems play a gate-keeping role in society, allowing those with
the ‘right’ attitudes (orientations) through and excluding those with the ‘wrong’ orientation towards work.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Education is not so much a test of ability as a test of conformity. Those who ‘play the game’ progress through its
various levels, while those who do not are systematically removed.
While traditional Marxists such as Althusser see education as a tool used by a ruling class to maintain its
domination and control, neo-Marxists claim that the relationship between education and cultural reproduction is
based on legitimate leadership with the ‘consent’ of the led. This is achieved, for example, through ruling-class
control of the media. If people can be made to believe that education is meritocratic, with achievement based on
individual intelligence and hard work, then the system cannot be blamed. The individual is responsible for their
own failure.
Some working-class students are successful. By overcoming the barriers systematically placed in their way, they
prove that they are willing to accept the values on which the system is based. These students who succeed
‘against the odds’ also help to maintain the ‘myth of meritocracy’.
The role of education as an institution charged with creating well-socialised, willing, future workers is questioned
by Willis’s study of working-class ‘lads’. This research suggests that some students are well aware of the
limitations of education and work. They ‘see through’ the system, for example, and consciously rebel against it.
The main question when evaluating this view is how far the experience of education socialises students into an
acceptance of capitalist ideology. Where traditional Marxism casts teachers in the role of ‘agents of ideological
transmission and control’ – directly responsible for shaping the understanding (perceptions) of students – an
alternative interpretation is that many students realise they are destined for low-status work and see little point
in learning the lessons offered by the education system.
ACTIVITY 4.3
Use the internet to research the educational background of the top politicians, business people and celebrities in your society. Find
out which schools and other institutions they attended.
What does your research tell you about the relationship between education and social mobility?
The importance of education in influencing life chances, and the consequences
of educational underachievement for the individual and for society
New Right thinkers argue that if societies provide the same opportunities to their members through a
meritocratic schooling system, then educational success or failure results from the different choices people
make. Saunders (1996), for example, argued that social mobility is related to education in the sense that it
reflects the life choices made by different individuals and groups. In any competitive system, there must be
‘winners and losers’. Some people will have more of the ‘good things in life’ than others. Who these winners and
losers turn out to be in meritocratic societies is decided (determined) by the choices they make, not by factors
such as class, gender or ethnicity. Saunders argued that middle-class parents invest heavily in their children’s
education and this ‘investment choice’ combined with hard work by the children themselves, is rewarded by
higher educational qualifications. This does not guarantee that such children will be upwardly mobile, but it
usually guards against downward mobility.
Differences in achievement are seen by the New Right as the result of unsuccessful students choosing not to
participate. Where individuals end up in the class structure is also the outcome of their life choices – for
example, the difference between choosing to work consistently in school to gain qualifications or leaving school
as soon as possible.
The New Right approach tends to be in favour of schools being privately owned rather than state controlled.
This, they argue, ensures that consumers (parents and their children) have the widest possible choice. This idea
is related to marketisation and follows from the idea that private companies must respond to consumer
demand by continually innovating and improving their service to attract and keep customers.
This limits the chances of mobility for children from the lower levels of society whose parents cannot afford to
pay for an alternative education to that offered by the state. The very rich, for example, self-select their children
by paying for private education. Those from the middle class self-select by making sure their children attend the
schools with the best academic reputation. The power of parents to strongly influence the educational
experience of their children has been called parentocracy.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Intelligent working-class students who lack the economic, family, social and cultural capital available to other
classes are left to attend schools that fail to recognise their talents. As a result they may end up being
committed to academic failure and a lack of mobility.
The focus on schools as selective agencies has been questioned, in particular the assumption that school
diversity means more choice and greater opportunities for social mobility. A criticism of this is that New Right
approaches confuse social selection, where schools choose parents, with consumer choice, where only those
with substantial economic resources can choose private education.
Evidence and arguments about the links between education and social mobility
In the UK, Shepherd and Rogers (2012) carried out an analysis of Christian faith schools, which are allowed to
select students on the basis of parental faith. The results showed that these schools take a lower proportion of
working-class children than their catchment area suggests they should: ‘England’s faith state schools are on
average failing to mirror their local communities by shunning the poorest pupils in their area.’ In this respect,
consumer choice is only really available to those who have the money and resources to make such choices.
Where schools select their students through interviews and tests, it is largely middle-class parents, those with
the cultural capital to play the selection game successfully, who benefit at the expense of the working class.
The evidence for ‘bright working-class children’ benefiting from objective forms of selection is much debated.
While critics argue that IQ testing brings little or no benefits to working-class children, supporters such as
Saunders (1996) claimed that to see ‘middle-class children outperforming working-class children’ in objective
tests and to ‘deduce from this that the system itself was unfair and needed changing’ misses the point. Middleclass children are, he argued, simply more intelligent.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.3 Influences on the curriculum
The social construction of knowledge
Weber (1922) argued that all societies develop beliefs about what ‘is worthy of being known’. This suggests
that knowledge is not something that is simply ‘out there’, waiting to be discovered, taught and learnt. One
context for understanding this idea is to look at how knowledge is socially constructed in education systems.
What kinds of knowledge should be taught, to whom and for what purpose? This involves examining ideas
relating to power and control through the structure, content and development of the school curriculum. One
way to do this is by locating the development of education systems and the factors that have influenced what
is taught, and how, within them.
Factors influencing the content of the curriculum, including power, status,
culture, economic demands, and gender
Schools as modern institutions originally developed to meet the needs and requirements of modern industrial
societies. From a Marxist perspective, schools are places where particular relations of power and control flow
from the nature of economic relationships in capitalist societies. For Althusser, cultural reproduction involves
the ability of a ruling class to pass on its political and economic domination from one generation to the next.
Education, characterised as an ideological state apparatus (ISA), is an important institutional mechanism for
social learning. Teachers are agents of ideological control, who ‘transform pupil consciousness’ by trying to get
them to accept ‘the realities of life’ and their likely future social positions.
Cultural institutions such as education, the media and religion are seen as instruments of class oppression and
domination through the power they have over what people learn and how they learn it. Our view of the world is
influenced by what we learn in school in a range of ways:
•
Through formal learning: children must learn the skills and knowledge needed in the workplace.
•
Access to knowledge is restricted through control of the curriculum. The higher an individual goes in the
education system, the greater their access to knowledge.
•
Preparing children for the differing levels of knowledge in the workplace means creating different levels of
knowledge in the school. This is supported (reinforced) through rigorous and periodic testing.
•
Academic (theoretical) knowledge has more value than practical (vocational) knowledge because it is more
useful to the professional middle classes – those who control both what is taught and how it is taught.
•
Some forms of knowledge are more valid than others. In the curricula of many countries English,
mathematics and science have a special status.
•
Children must learn to accept ‘authority’ because this is important in the workplace.
•
Commodification is the idea that knowledge must have an economic value so it can be bought and sold.
This is achieved through educational qualifications.
Young (1971) further argued that what counts as educational knowledge always has an ideological dimension.
Knowledge is socially constructed from a particular viewpoint and for a particular purpose. How schools are
organised reflects the idea that knowledge can be:
•
Categorised in terms of ‘subjects’ that have their own unique body of knowledge. This implies that one
subject is not relevant to another. The ability to categorise knowledge in terms of both subjects and subject
content is a powerful ideological tool. It allows control over what is being learnt, how it is learnt and how
students can demonstrate (validate) their learning.
•
Presented in particular ways through a formal curriculum. Knowledge is thought of (conceptualised) as
something to be given, not discovered. It is protected by gatekeepers, such as teachers, exam boards and
politicians, and learning is a process of gradual revelation. Teachers not only choose when to reveal certain
types of knowledge, they also choose which students will receive that knowledge.
•
Validated through examinations. Knowledge must be continually assessed and evaluated to ensure that
students reach approved levels. This leads to ‘credentialism’ – knowledge is only valid if it can be quantified
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
in the form of qualifications. It also leads to the idea that certain types of knowledge have greater validity
than others.
Figure 4.7: Why do schools validate knowledge through written tests?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Is the best way to assess how good someone is at a subject like sociology through
examinations? If so, what should those examinations test, and why? If not, what better ways can
you think of?
Young went on to argue that the formal school curriculum reflects the interests of a ruling class in capitalist
societies in the way that knowledge is:
•
Selected. This involves decisions about which subjects appear on the curriculum and the content of each
subject.
•
Stratified (arranged) within the classroom, school and society. This involves questioning things such as why
theoretical knowledge is considered superior to practical knowledge, the division between vocational and
academic subjects and why subjects are separated rather than combined within the curriculum.
Steiner schools, based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), are an example of an
alternative approach to learning and the curriculum that produces a ‘different kind of message’ about
education. In Steiner schools:
•
The curriculum reflects the needs of the child at each stage of their development.
•
Children enter classes according to their age rather than academic ability.
•
Subject material is presented in an individual way that aims to interest the learner.
•
Children are encouraged to discover and learn for themselves.
•
Learning involves the development of ‘practical, emotional and thinking capacities’.
Other factors influencing the content of the curriculum include the demands of the economy. For functionalists,
the education system has the role of producing the right number of trained and qualified workers that the
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
economy needs – a certain number of doctors, engineers, teachers and so on. As these demands change, so
the curriculum will change. A recent example of this in the United Kingdom is a change from lessons and exam
subjects called Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to Computer Studies, with the latter having
an emphasis on programming rather than using software such as word processing.
Gender can also be an influence on the curriculum. This happens in two ways. First, different subjects are
associated with males (masculinity) and females (femininity), and this influences the choices students make
about which optional subjects to study, and their attitude to the subject. Vocational subjects are particularly
strongly gendered so that for vocational subjects students are often taught in single sex classrooms or ones
dominated by one sex. Second, teachers tend to teach different material within a subject, or to teach it
differently, depending on whether they are teaching boys or girls or both.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Sociology is a subject that in many places is studied more by girls than by boys. What is the
situation in your own school or college? Try to find out whether the pattern is the same for the
whole country. Why do you think sociology is often seen as a more female subject, even when
historically many of the leading sociologists have been men?
Education and cultural reproduction, including the ethnocentric curriculum, the
gendered curriculum and the hidden curriculum
The ethnocentric curriculum
The ethnocentric curriculum is usually based on the values that are dominant in a society, and these are
likely to be those of the majority ethnic group. In a multicultural society, the content of the curriculum may be
based on the cultural norms, values, beliefs and history of a single ethnic group to the exclusion of those of
minority groups. Students from minority groups may experience the curriculum as not relevant. For example,
students from a minority background may find that the content of lessons does not include their own history or
literature, or reduces their worth at the expense of the majority culture. The formal subject content – ideas
about democracy or racial equality for example – may clash with the ‘learned experiences’ of minority
students.
The gendered curriculum
For feminists, the way economies are structured sends messages to students about how different occupations
are gendered. This translates into gendered curriculum choices. In terms of the most popular choices:
•
Girls often choose subjects such as English, psychology, art and design, sociology and media studies.
•
Boys often choose subjects such as physics, business studies, geography and physical education.
This difference in subject choice at school level translates into differences at undergraduate level. Self and
Zealey (2007) note that:
•
more women than men studied subjects linked to medicine, such as nursing
•
more men than women studied business and administrative services, engineering and technology subjects
and computer sciences.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (2007) in the UK argue that educational achievements – girls
consistently outperform boys at all levels of the UK education system – are not necessarily helping women into
well-paid jobs. They suggest that one cause of the variation between achievement and occupation is gender
stereotyping, the idea that boys and girls have different educational and occupational aptitudes. As
Warrington and Younger (2000) note, male and female career aspirations often reflect traditional gender
stereotypes, such as childcare, nursing, hairdressing and secretarial for girls, and computing, accountancy and
plumbing for boys.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 4.8: Is science a male subject?
One area in which gender stereotyping appears most fully built into the school curriculum is in vocational
education and work-based training. In the school curriculum, there is evidence that work experience places
boys and girls into traditionally stereotyped jobs. Mackenzie’s (1997) study found that:
•
45% of girls were allocated to caring placements, but these did not always reflect their choices.
•
Boys who did not get their preferred placement tended to be allocated to occupations that they considered
as either neutral or traditionally male.
•
Girls who were unsuccessful in their preferred placements were allocated to traditionally female
occupations.
In this respect, vocational training is more likely to result in both males and females being directed into
‘traditional’ forms of gendered employment. Kampmeier (2004), however, argues that while there are greater
opportunities for stereotyping and segregation in vocational training, because of a relatively narrow range of
occupational types covered, ‘academic education’ does not necessarily guarantee a lack of stereotyping and
segregation.
Across Europe ‘gender segregation in the labour market has not been considerably reduced during the last
decades, as far as “typical” male and female occupations – such as electricians and nursery nurses – are
concerned’. The argument here, therefore, is that one role of vocational education is to reinforce gender (and
class) stereotypes and divisions in ways that are not quite so clear with academic forms of education, mainly
because they do not necessarily direct males and females into particular forms of work at a relatively early
age.
Although female horizons have widened over the past 25 years, feminists argue that traditional assumptions
about masculinity and femininity continue to influence both family and work relationships in areas such as the
following:
•
Textbooks and gender stereotyping: males appear more frequently and are more likely to be shown in
active (‘doing and demonstrating’), rather than passive, roles. Best (1992), for example, demonstrated how
pre-school texts designed to develop reading skills remain populated by sexist assumptions and
stereotypes.
•
Subject hierarchies: both teachers and students quickly appreciate that some subjects are more important
than others, both within the formal curriculum, such as English, maths and science, and outside the
curriculum, subjects not considered worthy of inclusion and hence knowing. The argument here is that
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
gender hierarchies reflect these subject hierarchies, with males choosing higher-status subjects in far
greater numbers.
Norman et al. (1988) argued that teacher expectations, especially in early-years schooling, emphasise female
roles related to the mother/carer. While females may no longer automatically see their primary role as one of
caring for their family, work roles continue to be based around the idea of different male and female
capabilities, both mental and physical. This can result in gendered subject choices.
Hidden curriculum
The hidden curriculum is a concept that Jackson (1968) defined as the things children learn from the
experience of attending school. Skelton (1997) suggested that informal education involves a ‘set of implicit
messages relating to knowledge, values, norms of behaviour and attitudes that learners experience in and
through educational processes’. The hidden curriculum, therefore, refers to the idea that schools transmit
certain value-laden messages to students. These messages have two dimensions:
•
Intended consequences are the things that teachers do, such as encouraging particular values, (for
example, politeness, the importance of order and obedience to authority), while discouraging others (for
example, questioning the role and authority of the teacher, lack of effort or attendance).
•
Unintended consequences include the messages that students receive through the teaching and learning
process. This includes status messages, such as whether boys appear to be more valued than girls, and
messages relating to beliefs about ability: whether teachers believe it is ‘natural’ or the product of ‘hard
work’, for example.
In general, the messages transmitted within schools as part of a hidden curriculum fall into two broad
categories: socialisation messages and status messages.
Socialisation messages relate to what is required from students if they are to succeed in education. Some
ideas refer explicitly to how students should behave. These include various classroom processes that involve
order and control, such as attendance and being on time (punctuality). Others relate to the things that students
must demonstrate in order to ‘learn how to learn’. In part, this involves learning conformity to formal school
rules. However, it also means understanding the informal rules, beliefs and attitudes maintained through the
socialisation process, such as recognising the teacher’s authority and not questioning what is being taught.
Children also learn ideas about:
•
individualism – learning is a process that should not, ultimately, be shared
•
competition – the goal is to demonstrate you are better than your peers through various types of testing.
Assessment is also an important part of the hidden curriculum because it suggests that knowledge is only
useful if it can be quantified
•
knowledge – to pass exams, the student must conform to what the teacher presents as valid knowledge,
realised and tested through formal written examinations.
Status messages relate to the ideas that students develop about their ‘worth’.
•
The type of school a child attends influences the individual’s self-image and sense of self-worth. In some
societies, for example, a small band of private, fee-paying schools have the highest social status. More
generally, schools are given a status as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on their exam results.
•
Practices such as segregating children in different streams, bands and sets (see below) affect student selfperceptions in terms of membership of high-achieving or low-achieving academic groups.
•
The idea that academic (higher) and vocational (lower) subjects have different statuses in the curriculum
and school. The hidden curriculum gives lower status to particular groups, especially working-class
children, but also such groups as the mentally and physically disabled.
ACTIVITY 4.4
Draw a picture of an iceberg – the top quarter should be above sea level, the rest is submerged. To the top part add the things you
think students are supposed to learn in school (the formal curriculum), to the submerged part add the things you think students
learn from ‘the experience of attending school’ (the hidden curriculum). Which part of the iceberg is most influential on children, in
your opinion, and why? Share and discuss your ideas with the class.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
When you were sharing your ideas with the class, did any of the students challenge what you thought? How did you respond to
this? Did you argue your case or change your mind? Would you react differently if you were in that position again?
The curriculum and the concept of cultural capital
Where traditional Marxists saw ownership of economic capital as the key to understanding both social and
economic inequality, neo-Marxists such as Bourdieu (1973) argue that in late/postmodern societies, the
mechanisms of cultural reproduction are more varied and more subtle. Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital,
for example, provides a significant mechanism for cultural reproduction that is carried out by the education
system.
Cultural capital refers to the different advantages and disadvantages granted (conferred) by people’s cultural
histories. It was initially developed to explain differences in educational achievement in terms of a range of
non-economic factors that help or hinder individual life chances. These include family history and status, and
the extent to which family members invest time and effort in their children’s social and educational
development. From this perspective, cultural reproduction works in the background of the education system. It
is not its main or its only purpose, but it is a significant purpose for those who understand and exploit the
system.
Otsuka (2005) illustrates this idea in terms of ‘cultural differences between values, beliefs and practices’ that
affect educational achievement among Indo- and ethnic Fijians.
Indo-Fijian culture places a high value on education as ‘the only way to success’. In this respect, their cultural
orientation is individualistic, meaning that parents interpret their role as one of helping and encouraging their
children to achieve qualifications.
In contrast, ethnic Fijian culture has a greater communal orientation. Parents think it is more important to
encourage children to ‘become good members of their community … somewhat at the expense of their
children’s education’. Otsuka concludes that one consequence of this different parental orientation is that
‘Indo-Fijian students generally become better educational performers than their ethnic Fijian counterparts’.
Bourdieu is critical of the idea that schools operate along meritocratic lines, because differences in cultural
capital influence both the relative starting points of students as they enter the education system and their
relative progress through that system. The cultural capital that middle- and upper-class children bring to their
education gives them a distinct advantage. Just as Crozier et al. (2004) noted how middle-class parents were
able and willing to invest more time, money and effort in their children’s education than their working-class
peers, Mariaye (2008) found a similar process operating in countries such as Mauritius. There, middle-class
parents exploited their knowledge and understanding of how the higher levels of the education system worked
to ensure that their offspring were better prepared, both financially and culturally, for its demands.
Linked to the concept of cultural capital in Bourdieu’s work is the concept of habitus. Habitus is similar to the
idea of a habitat, the environment in which a group lives and flourishes. Bourdieu (1973) believed that schools
are the ‘natural habitat’ of the middle and upper classes. The working-class child entering a middle-class
institution is immediately disadvantaged because their interests, beliefs, values and norms are not only
different but actively conflict with those of both teachers and the education system to the extent that they
experience a culture clash. This not only leads to their eventual relative failure in academic terms, but the
failure appears to be their own fault, not the fault of an education system that neither represents nor favours
this class. Middle-class children, however, are immediately advantaged because their cultural beliefs, norms
and values are similar to those of the teachers and the general approach of the school.
Just as different classes have different access to financial resources, they also have differential access to
cultural resources in the shape of cultural capital. Light (2013) defines this as ‘fluency in a society’s elite
culture’ or ‘high cultural knowledge that ultimately redounds to the owner’s financial and social advantage’.
Knowledge is instrumental in cultural reproduction, but this refers more to knowledge acquired about schooling
than knowledge acquired in schools. In other words, it is about knowing how to ‘play’ the education system
successfully.
Cultural capital takes numerous forms but is acquired, Light argues, ‘in the family and in formal schooling’. In
this respect, ‘When the school curriculum reinforces the home curriculum, as it routinely does for children of
the affluent, students obtain additional access to their own culture in school. Conversely, when the school
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
curriculum contradicts or subverts the home culture, as it does for poor, immigrant, or ethnic-minority children,
students have to master a foreign culture at school while mastering their own at home’.
Figure 4.9: How does extreme wealth shape a child’s cultural capital, and how does this differ from that
of a poor family?
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Pierre Bourdieu 1930–2002
Bourdieu was a French sociologist who wrote about a wide range of topics, with a particular interest in culture and power. He
developed a number of concepts that have been very influential, including cultural reproduction, cultural capital and habitus. His
best known book is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. He had strong political views, leading strikes and
protests as a public intellectual opposed to neo-liberalism and the effects of globalisation on less powerful groups. Within the
sociology of education, his concepts of cultural capital and habitus have shown some of the ways in which children from higherclass families are given advantages through cultural capital passed to them by their parents. This can even lead the working class
to see the success of the higher classes as legitimate, as the result of natural ability rather than, as Bourdieu saw it, of class-based
inequality.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.4 Intelligence and educational attainment
The difficulties in defining intelligence
It might seem that ‘intelligence’ is relatively easy to describe and demonstrate. In fact, not only is it very difficult
to define, but its meaning is also strongly contested. People have different capacities and abilities to different
degrees. It is no longer thought by many to be the case that someone is either intelligent or they are not.
Gardner (1999) argued there are at least seven distinct types of intelligence, ranging from the conventional
linguistic, mathematical and spatial abilities, through musical intelligence to interpersonal intelligence – the
extent to which an individual can empathise with others. Interpersonal intelligence is sometimes called
emotional intelligence and, as Ogundokun and Adeyemo’s (2010) study of Nigerian secondary school students
found, it is possible to measure and quantify it. They found a strong correlation between levels of emotional
intelligence and academic achievement.
ACTIVITY 4.5
With a group of fellow students, make a list of reasons why is it difficult to define intelligence.
Now write your own short explanation of what intelligence means.
Reflection: In a small group, take it in turns to read out your short explanation. Do you agree with what the other students have
written? What do you think is good or bad about their explanation?
IQ Tests and the extent to which they are influenced by social factors
It is possible to measure some aspects of intelligence, such as mathematical or verbal abilities, but there are
different views about what is being measured and how it can be reliably and validly measured. In an educational
context, however, the most common tests use something called an intelligence quotient (IQ); this is a
measure, not a definition, of individual intelligence, where an IQ of 100 is taken as the average for any
population.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 4.10: Mathematics has been a traditional way of assessing intelligence. Why might this be a
limiting perspective on intelligence?
The purpose of IQ testing in education varies around the world. In the UK, it was extensively used between
1950 and the mid-1970s to separate children into different schools at the age of 11. Those who passed the 11plus exam were eligible to attend grammar schools and follow a broadly academic curriculum. Those who failed
attended secondary modern schools that followed a broadly vocational curriculum. Although most children in the
UK currently attend comprehensive education, for which there is no entry test, grammar schools still exist in
some parts of the country and tests are used to control entry to these schools. In the USA, entrance to higher
education is partly controlled through Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) that cover the skills of critical reading,
essay-writing and mathematics.
Although IQ tests are just one type of a range of tests used in education systems, they are important because
they claim to be objective tests of natural (innate) intelligence: they claim to not only reliably and validly measure
‘intelligence’, but do so independently of cultural influences such as class, gender, age or ethnicity. Those who
support IQ tests believe that they are an important tool for revealing the natural variations in intelligence within
and between different individuals and populations. This is based on the theory that people are born with a
certain level of intelligence, inherited from their parents, which does not vary greatly throughout their lifetime.
These ideas have significant implications for the relationship between intelligence and educational achievement.
If an education system is meritocratic, any differences in achievement can be explained by natural variation in
intelligence.
Internal criticisms of intelligence testing focus on the construction and application of the tests themselves,
mainly about their claim to be ‘culture-free’ or ‘culture-neutral’. The argument here is that IQ tests actually
measure cultural learning. Where IQ tests are timed, for example, students who are familiar with the question
formats are likely to perform better than those who are not. Students who practise answering IQ tests have an
advantage, so children who are coached for tests, either at school or by parents paying a private tutor, are likely
to score more highly than those who are not prepared in this way.
A further criticism is that tests of verbal reasoning and comprehension, especially in societies with a diverse
range of ethnicities, make cultural assumptions that disadvantage children from ethnic minorities. For example,
certain questions might assume that something is common knowledge, whereas it may not be known to those
from minority cultures.
Kaplan (1998) claimed that how well a person does on an IQ test depends on a variety of factors, not only on
intelligence. These include:
•
education
•
reading habits
•
experience with and attitudes towards taking tests
•
cultural upbringing
•
mental and physical health.
Other criticisms of IQ testing relate to wider ideas about the validity of such tests and what, if anything, IQ tests
actually measure. Flynn (1987), argued that what they actually measure are two possible types of intelligence –
those that involve linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities.
What IQ tests measure, therefore, is at best a part (a subset) of ‘intelligence’. This raises important questions
about why they are designed to measure some abilities but not others. One explanation is that they measure
those abilities most valued by powerful social groups. IQ testing is part of a process of cultural reproduction in
which the power to define and objectively measure intelligence is a valuable social resource, for two reasons:
1 Intelligence is defined in ways that reflect the particular class, gender or ethnic interests of powerful groups.
2 If lower-ranking (subordinate) social groups accept, or are unable to challenge, this definition it both cements
their lower position (they are ‘less intelligent’) and justifies any differential treatment they receive. Children of
the upper and middle classes, for example, are seen as achieving more not because of their privileged
position but because they are simply ‘more intelligent’ and so more deserving.
From this perspective, IQ tests and the concepts of intelligence they embody are part of the ideological state
apparatus. Convincing people that natural intelligence differences exist and can be objectively measured, is a
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
powerful form of social control.
ACTIVITY 4.6
Find an example of an IQ test on the internet. Try answering the questions, but also think about whether the questions are accessible
to everyone. For example, do any questions depend on having learnt a subject in school, or practising a skill?
Do you think tests like this are a fair way of measuring intelligence? Think of alternative ways to measure aspects of intelligence.
Intelligence as an influence on educational attainment
Keeping in mind that definitions of both intelligence and achievement may be socially constructed, explanations
for their relationship generally take three forms: agnostic, positive and negative.
The agnostic explanation argues that we do not know if there is a real relationship between intelligence and
achievement for two reasons:
1 There is no generally agreed definition of intelligence so we do not know what is being measured.
2 Even if we select a subset of intelligence that can be quantified, there is no general consensus about how it
can be reliably and validly measured.
Further problems arise if intelligence is conceptualised as a relationship. This means that intelligence is seen as
something fluid and dynamic, created by individuals as they go about their lives and expressed in different ways
and contexts, rather than as a permanent quality. This position suggests that intelligence develops through
cultural practices and ways of learning, rather than being something we are born with. People can be intelligent
without necessarily being able to demonstrate their intelligence by passing exams.
The positive explanation argues that we can assume IQ tests measure significant aspects of intelligence in the
form of cognitive skills. These include the ability to solve mathematical problems or understand logical
arguments. Because these skills are very similar to those valued in both education and the workplace, it makes
sense to test the relationship between intelligence and achievement in this way.
In the UK, Saunders (2002) argues that intelligence, while not determined at birth, differs between social
classes. Social and developmental factors mean that middle-class children are, on average, significantly more
intelligent than their working-class peers. According to Saunders, social selection ensures that those who are
the most academically able rise to the top of the class structure. Intelligent working-class children are
educationally successful and rise into the middle class. Middle-class children who fail to capitalise on their social
advantages fall back into the working class. This process means that middle-class children will, on average,
always be more intelligent than working-class children.
The negative explanation suggests that educational achievement is not related to intelligence but related to a
range of cultural factors inside and outside the education system that allow some students to do well, while
severely limiting the ability of others to do the same. This achievement is simply validated by higher measured
levels of IQ. In other words, cultural factors relating to class, gender and ethnicity explain higher IQ and
achievement levels.
Long-term (longitudinal) studies that hold the measured IQ of a particular child cohort constant at the start of
their educational career and examine their achievement levels at the end of their schooling suggest a significant
‘school effect’:
•
The Robbins Report (1963) argued that social class was a significant factor in achievement: of UK students
with a similar IQ – more than twice as many middle-class students went on to study at degree level than their
working-class peers.
•
Murayama et al.’s (2012) German study of mathematical achievement found that IQ was only important in
the initial development of mathematical competence. In the long term, measured intelligence showed no
relationship to mathematical achievement. One conclusion was that ‘students’ abilities to learn in maths
involves factors, such as motivation and study skills, that can be nurtured by education.
This evidence links into a wider debate about the extent to which schools are ‘middle-class institutions’ and
whether this confers hidden advantages to middle-class children. Bourdieu (1986), for example, argued that
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
education reproduces the power and domination of ruling social classes through a combination of habitus and
cultural capital.
ACTIVITY 4.7
Discuss in a small group: If intelligence, attainment and employment are closely related (the brightest achieve the most and get the
best jobs), why are there so few women in higher-income professional work?
Present your findings in the form of a poster or other visual display.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Many workplaces have some kind of test, often involving IQ-style questions, when they are
recruiting staff. If you were in charge of recruiting workers for a company, how much would the
results of tests like these influence your decisions?
Reflection: Look at another group's poster or display and choose one thing to take from theirs and add to yours. Why have you
chosen that? How does it improve your own poster or display?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
PISA is an international survey carried out every three years which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the
skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. It is run by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, an
intergovernmental body with 35 members. 15-year-old students in OECD member countries and others take tests in science,
mathematics and reading, and also collaborative learning and financial literacy. Because PISA provides comparable data, it
allows the countries involved to assess how their education systems are doing compared to those of other countries and to
develop better policies. Education systems vary enormously in many different ways, so it is difficult to be certain of causal factors,
but PISA data has led to an evidence-based debate about what type of educational systems produce the best results and has
enabled countries to learn from each other’s experiences. In the 2015 tests, Singapore was the highest-ranked country on all
three tests. You can find out more, including seeing the rankings of countries and examples of the kinds of questions asked, on
the PISA website.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.5 Social class and educational attainment
The relationship between material factors and educational attainment
Traditional Marxist approaches favour materialist explanations, with poverty and deprivation as the main
source of differential achievement. Material deprivation, for example, involves a combination of factors that
give working-class students a disadvantage in education:
•
poor diet/nutrition; may be unable to concentrate on school work
•
the lack of private study facilities and resources; the home environment may make it difficult to study
•
the need to work to supplement family income
•
more vulnerable to illness and disease so miss some schooling.
The area students live in may also lead to disadvantage.
•
lack of community facilities such as a public library
•
levels of crime, drug abuse and so on.
While these forms of deprivation are significant in regions such as Europe and North America, Ramachandran
argues that, in India, for example, material deprivation is more serious:
•
50% of schools have a leaking roof or no water supply
•
35% have no blackboard or furniture
•
90% have no functioning toilets.
She further argues: ‘Malnutrition, hunger and poor health remain core problems, which comprehensively affect
attendance and performance in classes. The added burden of home chores and child labour influence a large
number of children, especially girls, to drop out of school’.
Figure 4.11: How does material deprivation affect an individual’s education?
ACTIVITY 4.8
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Suggest two ways in which material deprivation may disadvantage working-class students.
What could be done to reduce the effects of material deprivation?
Douglas (1964) argued that material deprivation is too broad an explanation for all forms of
underachievement, because some materially deprived children manage to succeed. Working-class
attainment also tends to fall throughout a child’s education. This implies that school processes, such as
labelling, stereotyping and low teacher/student expectations, considered later, are potentially significant
explanations. Gazeley and Dunne (2005) suggest that schools can make a difference. Levels of working-class
achievement can be raised, but the behaviour and expectations of teachers can also increase (compound) the
levels of material and cultural disadvantage that many working-class children bring to the school.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Diane Reay
Diane Reay is a sociologist and professor of education at the University of Cambridge in the UK. She grew up in a working-class
community as the daughter of a coal miner, and worked as a primary school teacher for 20 years. Her research looks at inequalities
within schools in Britain, focused often on social class but also covering gender and ethnicity. She argues that the school system in
the UK fails working-class children, who are not given equal opportunities – they have to work much harder than middle-class
children to succeed, because they tend to be in schools which are poorly funded, have less qualified teachers, high teacher
turnover and other problems. She is also critical of her own university’s failure to give places to more students from working-class or
ethnic minority backgrounds. She is known for her book Miseducation: inequality, education and the working classes. Several of her
articles are available from her page on the University of Cambridge’s website.
Cultural explanations, including parental attitudes, values, speech codes, and
cultural capital
Explanations for working-class underachievement focus on cultural deprivation and the idea that workingclass family life lacks the attributes that contribute to middle-class success. Douglas (1964), for example, notes
the impact on educational attainment of variables such as:
•
parental attitudes, expressed in terms of levels of encouragement and interest in a child’s education
•
family size – larger working-class families mean fewer parental resources for each child
•
position within the family – older children tend to achieve more than younger members of large families
•
limited (deficient) care of babies in large families with fewer social and economic resources to devote to
their care and upbringing.
Cultural deprivation has two main applications in terms of achievement:
1 Working-class children meet (encounter) difficulties adjusting to the middle-class norms and values found
in schools. Bernstein (1971) argued that working-class restricted speech codes clashed with the
elaborated speech codes of middle-class teachers. This, in turn, influenced teachers’ assessments:
middle-class students, able to express themselves in ‘the language of education’, were consequently overrepresented in top streams, sets and bands (see below).
2 Wider economic pressures on family life result in working-class children leaving school at the earliest
opportunity. Parental attitudes and economic pressures combine to create a tendency towards immediate
gratification. This has traditionally involved males moving into full-time manual work and females into parttime work and having a family of their own. In contrast, middle-class families are future orientated and their
children tend towards deferred gratification. They see education as a ‘means to an end’ of higher-status
employment. Goodman and Gregg (2010) found that around 80% of the most affluent mothers assumed
that their child would go to university, while around 40% of the least affluent mothers ‘hoped’ their child
would go to university. They also found that children from poorer families believed that they were ‘less
academic’ and were consequently less concerned about doing well academically than their middle-class
peers.
The development of different class cultures built around different norms, values, beliefs and attitudes, flows
from material advantages and disadvantages.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
For the middle class, educational qualifications are an important way of reproducing individual class
positions.
•
For the working class, the work-based route to money and status has always been more important.
Marxists argue that education systems are dominated by middle-class norms, values, beliefs and ideologies.
While some working-class subcultural groups succeed by adapting successfully to this environment, others do
not. Underachievement, therefore, is a by-product of rejecting school values through things such staying away
from school (truancy) and exclusion.
An alternative explanation involves situational constraints. Working-class children find it more difficult to
translate values into social behaviour and, by extension, educational qualifications. As Westergaard and
Resler (1976) argued, while working-class parents ‘have a high and increasing interest in their children’s
education they lack the means to translate that interest into effective influence on their children’s behalf’.
Middle- and upper-class parents invest heavily in their children’s education:
•
Economic investment involves things such as buying private education or tuition.
•
Emotional investment involves middle-class parents being able to influence the focus and direction of a
child’s education decisively. Mothers, in particular, invest time and effort in their children’s education. This
emotional labour includes not just help with homework but also making sure that the school is providing
appropriate levels of support, teaching and testing.
Speech codes
Bernstein was one of the first to investigate how the use of language gave students certain cultural advantages
and disadvantages. He argued that education systems were based on a particular language code that needed
to be either used or learnt if students were to succeed in the terms set by modern educational systems. In this
respect, Bernstein argued that there are two basic language codes – restricted and elaborated – that, while not
class-specific, are used in different situations and for different purposes.
Elaborated codes are:
•
complex in their use of vocabulary and the expression of ideas
•
subtle in terms of the range of meanings they express and convey
•
abstract in terms of their ability to grasp and express meanings
•
individual in the sense of clearly ‘spelling out’ meaning; they are context independent and can be used and
understood in a wide range of different situations
•
inclusive by elaborating meaning in situations where something has to be clearly explained.
Restricted codes are:
•
simple in their use of language to convey direct meanings
•
predictable because an audience already understands the meaning
•
concrete in their expression of relatively simple, straightforward, ideas
•
collective in the sense that ideas do not need to be explained openly; an audience already understands the
general meaning, they are context dependent because meaning is restricted to the specific situation in
which they are used
•
exclusive: meanings do not need to be elaborated because language is directed towards an audience that
already understands most of what is being expressed.
Bernstein argued that restricted codes are used by all social classes. However, elaborated codes are more
likely to be used by the middle classes, and this is significant because education systems are based on the
use of both restricted and elaborated codes. As such, middle-class children have a significant educational
advantage because education involves:
•
the development of new knowledge
•
new, higher, levels of understanding
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
abstract thinking and reasoning
•
moving away from simple shared meanings
•
a requirement to use elaborated codes.
This is significant for two reasons:
1 Working-class students must first learn the elaborated code of the school before they can learn the
knowledge being taught.
2 The restricted codes of working-class speech clash with the elaborated codes of middle-class teachers. A
good example here is Mauritius, where teaching may involve a mix of languages – English, French and
Creole. Middle-class students who are more fluent in English and French (the elaborated codes of the
school) have an advantage because of their familiarity with these languages. Middle-class students, able to
express themselves in ‘the language of education’, are less likely to find themselves placed in the lowest
streams, sets and bands through teacher assessments.
While the kind of ‘class-based speech differences’ that Bernstein described were, at the time, a relatively
important feature of life in the UK, the same is not necessarily true in the 21st century. Working- and middleclass speech patterns have arguably flattened, and middle-class youth in particular now use restricted forms of
speech that were once used mainly by the working class.
Bernstein acknowledged that his research only showed differences between working- and middle-class
language codes. It leaves open the question of how to explain class-based achievement differences. They
could be interpreted as cultural deprivation: a failure by working-class children to mix fully into the education
system. Alternatively, they could be explained by schools failing to develop a truly meritocratic system. This is
not an easy question to answer, but investigating what happens in schools and classrooms can help explain
differential achievement.
Another explanation of the underachievement of working-class students is that parental attitudes do not help
students, who may internalise from their home background the idea that education is not necessary or is not
for people like them. Hanafin and Lynch (2002) suggest that this idea of parental deficiency, in the form of
working-class parents (or minority ethnic parents) not valuing education, is not correct. They argue that many
working-class parents, both black and white, take a keen interest in their children’s education, but feel
excluded from participation in decision-making within schools. In contrast, the middle-class women in Reay’s
(2000) study were better positioned to involve themselves in school decision-making. Mirza (2001) also cites
the development of ‘Saturday Schools’ among Black Caribbean communities as evidence for a commitment to
education not being recognised within the state school system.
Another explanation locates parental attitudes within an underclass which is distinct from the rest of society.
MacDonald and Marsh (2005), however, found no evidence of a distinct, deviant, underclass culture in their
research in Middlesbrough, England. What they found was a complicated picture of a poorly treated
(marginalised) youth struggling to come to terms with their low status and social exclusion. Mac an Ghaill
(1996) also argued that working-class underachievement is not explained by the culture of working-class boys
but by changes in the labour market. For example, the decline in manufacturing jobs have effectively excluded
such boys from their traditional forms of industrial employment and left them as a relatively marginalised group
within the education system.
In-school factors, including labelling, ability grouping and pupil subcultures
These in-school factors apply to social class, ethnicity and gender. They are introduced here, with a focus on
social class, and their application to ethnicity and gender are explored in later sections.
Labelling
This refers to the way in which teachers classify and stereotype students, which affects student selfperceptions. Padfield (1997), for example, explores how ‘informal reputations’, such as being labelled a ‘swot’
(a very hard-working student) or ‘naughty child’, gained within the school influenced official definitions of
students. Labelling theory examines how school processes shape meanings, in terms of ideas such as:
•
the purpose of education
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
roles and relationships within schools
•
students’ self-perceptions developed through processes such as streaming, banding and setting.
Labelling processes have two distinctive features. First, Brimi (2005) suggests that they involve cultural capital.
A student’s home and family background has a significant impact on their experience of education and how
successfully or otherwise they negotiate the various barriers to success, such as exams or negative labelling.
Second, Nash (1972) suggested that ‘success’ or ‘failure’, in exams, is not simply a matter of a person’s
background or how wealthy their parents are. There are more subtle processes at work in the classroom,
relating to how teachers and students manage their impressions of each other. If a student can employ enough
cultural capital to conform to the teacher’s perception of a ‘good pupil’, they may be able to overcome
particular disadvantages in their home background. This explains why some students from disadvantaged
social backgrounds succeed in the education system.
School processes such as streaming, setting and banding (see below) are a significant source of positive and
negative labelling. This is, in itself, an important part of the process of a student’s self-perception based on
reference groups – the people we compare ourselves to in whatever role we are playing.
Teachers are an important part of a student’s reference group. Their opinions are always significant because
they have the power to create and impose labels that relate directly to individual self-perceptions. Teachers are
not alone in this role. Fellow students are also part of the school reference group and may have a significant
impact on how the role of education is defined through pro- and anti-student subcultures. The educational
significance of teacher labelling is partly expressed in terms of self-fulfilling prophecies: a prediction about
something, such as ‘ability’ that, by being made, causes it to occur. Nash studied how teacher’s beliefs about
‘good’ and ‘bad’ students were transmitted to students through teacher attitudes and behaviour. He concluded
that teacher expectations are a determining factor in a student’s educational success or failure. Teachers
made conscious and hidden (subconscious) ‘predictions’ about the ability of their students that affected the
behaviour of those students. Where they associated working-class students with low levels of attainment, they
reinforced this cultural stereotype through their lowered expectations.
Figure 4.12: What assumptions do teachers make about their students?
The idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy also applies to whole classes of students, who may find themselves
negatively labelled through practices such as streaming, setting, banding or through processes such as class,
gender and ethnic stereotyping.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Keddie (1971) found that the academic label attached to a student followed them through their schooling and
was a crucial influence on how they were thought of (perceived) by new teachers. Their behaviour and ability
was interpreted in the light of the label students that brought to the classroom rather than simply assessed as
new.
While labelling is generally directed at individuals and groups, whole schools may also find themselves
positively or negatively labelled. In many countries, the most expensive private schools generally attract
positive labels while comprehensive schools, especially those in poor inner-city areas, often attract negative
labelling. Gewirtz (1998) argued that the type of school attended can create a self-fulfilling prophecy of
success or failure even before a student enters the classroom. Top-performing schools, whether private or
state-maintained, create a climate of expectation that pushes students into higher levels of achievement.
A major methodological problem with labelling explanations is that they are both a cause and a consequence
of differential achievement. This follows because:
•
for teachers to label working-class boys as ‘underachievers’, they must already be aware of differences in
educational achievement
•
if differential achievement causes teacher labelling, such labelling cannot be an initial cause of differential
achievement, although it may afterwards contribute to it.
Concepts such as labelling and self-fulfilling prophecies are also criticised for being too deterministic as
explanations for underachievement. They suggest general processes that, once set in motion, are almost
impossible to reverse. Interactionists see this as too deterministic; students are able to contest labels, refusing
to internalise them. This can even lead to the opposite (a self-negating prophecy); for example, where a
student who is labelled as not good at a subject reacts by working harder and proving that they can do well.
Ability grouping
Many schools allocate students to classes according to their perceived ability (ability grouping). Streaming,
once very common in the UK but increasingly not used in favour of setting and banding (see below), involves
allocating children to different year groups or streams within the school on the basis of ‘academic ability’. The
streams are ranked in a hierarchy and students are normally tested at the end of each academic year and reassigned to the same or different streams. The evidence suggests that streaming not only has significant
consequences for the individual student, but it can also reinforce educational inequalities and differential
achievements.
Hargreaves’ (1967) study of Lumley School noted that boys were streamed on the basis of ‘academic ability’.
After the first year at secondary school, it was almost impossible for a boy allocated to the bottom stream to
later move into the top stream. While Hargreaves found a close correlation between social class and
streaming, with middle-class children in the top and working-class children in the bottom streams, he also
found that the experience of streaming made each child feel they were a ‘success’ or a ‘failure’. The lack of
movement between streams also encouraged the development of student subcultures. This led not only to
conflicts between teachers and students but also to ‘inter-stream’, student-to-student, conflicts.
Two common variations on streaming involve banding, and setting. In banding, students are allocated
different ‘bands’ when they enter secondary school on the basis of reports from teachers in their primary
schools. In setting, students are streamed on a subject-by-subject basis. For example, a student may be in the
top set for physics, a middle set for biology and the bottom set for French.
Setting, in particular, avoids some of the more common social consequences of streaming. For example, it
tends to avoid the development of strong subcultural relationships and groups. Hallam et al. (2001) noted that
it has both benefits, and drawbacks. Benefits include minimising disruptive behaviour. Drawbacks include
stigmatising lower-set students as ‘academic failures’ and the long-term association between lower sets and
unemployment, higher sets and good exam grades. Keddie (1971) also notes how teachers give ‘more
creative work and privileges to higher set students while restricting lower sets to tedious, routine tasks’.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
David Hargreaves (born 1939)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
David Hargreaves is a British sociologist of education who was one of the first to adopt an interactionist approach, carrying out
research in schools and classrooms to try to uncover the processes that shaped the experience of schooling and the achievement
of students. For example, he and his colleagues studied how teachers labelled students starting secondary school. Teachers
considered a range of factors such as their appearance and behaviour to decide what type of student they were. They then tested
this idea and if it seemed to be correct it became a ‘label’. This leads to some students being labelled as deviant so that nothing
they do is likely to be seen in a positive light. Hargreaves also interviewed boys in subcultures and found that being in low streams
and being labelled were among the factors that led to the formation of anti-school subcultures. Much later work on processes within
schools is based on Hargreaves’ work. His best-known book is Deviance in Classrooms, (co-authored with Hester and Mellor)
published in 1975.
While streaming, setting and banding are part of a social process that raises or lowers a child’s expectation of
educational success or failure, this is not the whole story. Associated with such practices are attitudes,
perceptions and beliefs that teachers have about children that are transmitted, consciously and unconsciously,
through classroom interaction. The outcome tends to be the placing of those from higher social classes in the
higher streams, sets and bands, and those from lower social classes in the lower ones. This can result in those
from lower social classes being given less demanding work, being assumed to be not capable of high-quality
work and being entered for lower-level exams.
ACTIVITY 4.9
Which classes or subjects in your school are grouped by ability, and at what age level? You may need to ask teachers and other
students to find this out.
Do you think that a different way of grouping in your school would lead to different outcomes? Why/Why not?
Student subcultures
Another factor within schools that influences attainment by social class, ethnicity and gender is the existence
of student subcultures. Groups of students who are opposed to the values of the school or of education and
society more generally attract the most attention. They clash with school authorities, and the behaviour and
attitudes associated with them are likely, often combined with labelling and ability grouping, to lead to low
attainment. Other subcultures, however, may conform to the values of the school and of education and society.
Woods (1976) argued that there is a range of subcultural responses or adaptations to school culture, with
those who want to please (ingratiators) at one extreme – the most positive adaptation that involves students
who try to earn the favour of teachers, and form a pro-school subculture – and rebels at the other – those
who explicitly reject the culture of the school and may even develop a counter-school culture.
Many subcultures involve class, ethnicity and gender so that it is not possible to easily separate these factors.
For example, the subcultural responses in Mac an Ghaill’s (1996) study of a British school were a more subtle
outcome of a complex interplay of class, race and sexuality. Working-class boys eagerly looked forward to
leaving school at the earliest opportunity and entering paid work, but in reality this type of work had all but
disappeared, creating what Mac an Ghaill called ‘a crisis of masculinity’. They clung to an outdated mode of
masculinity focused on traditional forms of manual waged labour that no longer existed. They frequently
employed racist explanations (‘the blacks have taken our jobs’) to explain and rationalise this situation. In
contrast, there were two groups of pro-school young people: academic achievers with a strong school and
work ethic who looked to academic qualifications as a route to social mobility and new enterprisers, who
rejected the academic route to mobility and focused instead on developing practical skills, particularly in
business and IT, that they hoped would be rewarded in the changing labour market.
ACTIVITY 4.10
Try to identify different student subcultures in your school or college. These might be friendship groups but with a distinctive
appearance (such as a hair style) or preference in music or other leisure activities.
Do you think student subcultures such as the ones you have identified might influence how much students achieve in education?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 4.13: How are attitudes to education shaped by student subcultures?
A number of studies have also found young people who are pro-education but anti-school. For example, Mac
an Ghaill identified what he called ‘Real Englishmen’, a group of middle-class students who aspired to
university and the professional careers enjoyed by their parents. This group played an elaborate game of
making fun of school values while at the same time (simultaneously) working hard, mainly in private outside
school. They believed that this was achieving success on their own terms.
Permanent exclusion from school is a major influence on educational performance. Hughes and Church
(2010), for example, note that there are currently around 8000 permanent exclusions from UK schools each
year. The majority of excluded students are working-class. Around 50 000 students each day take
unauthorised absence from school – the majority are working-class and these students are, according to Babb
et al. (2006), highly likely to leave school with no qualifications at all.
Compensatory education programmes
Contemporary ideas about cultural deprivation have focused on ways of compensating working-class children
for their broken (dysfunctional) family life to give them an equal opportunity to compete with their culturally
advantaged middle-class peers.
In the UK, examples of compensatory education have included:
•
Education Action Zones, involving groups of primary and secondary schools joining forces with parents,
councils and local businesses to improve educational services.
•
Sure Start programmes, introduced in 2000, designed to improve services to the poorest pre-school
children and families to prevent truancy and increase achievement. Additional schemes were aimed at
pregnant teenagers to help them back to education or training.
•
Extended schools that offer services, such as day nurseries (crèches), support for parents and leisure
opportunities for students outside the traditional school timetable, designed to engage parents in their
child’s education. Wilkin et al. (2002), for example, found a positive impact on lower-class ‘attainment,
attendance and behaviour’ when schools offered activities that increased ‘engagement and motivation’.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Find out what kinds of compensatory education exist in your school, community or country. Who
benefits from them? How could you investigate how successful they are?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.6 Ethnicity and educational attainment
Racism in schools
The hidden curriculum affects the experience of education for ethnic-minority groups in a range of ways. Low
post-16 participation rates in the UK suggest that racism plays some part in the black experience of schooling in
two ways:
1 Overt (open) racism: Minority ethnic groups may encounter abuse and harassment from their peers in
schools. In some countries such as the United Kingdom this is related to negative attitudes among parts of
the majority population towards immigrants, who are often blamed for social problems. Many minority ethnic
group students affected by this negative labelling are however not themselves immigrants. Racism can
shape peer-group interaction and minority students’ experiences of education. Mirza sees the development
of Supplementary (Saturday) Schools as evidence of a general lack of satisfaction, among black parents and
children, with ‘white institutions’ and teachers that seem often to fail them.
2 Cultural racism (ethnocentrism) is a more subtle form expressed in areas such as the following:
•
•
An ethnocentric curriculum (discussed earlier) that involves teaching practices and expectations based
on cultural norms, histories and general cultural references unfamiliar to many ethnic-minority students.
Role models: Blair et al. (2003) point to a lack of role models within schools for ethnic-minority students.
Ross (2001) estimated that in the United Kingdom only 5% of teachers are drawn from ethnic minorities,
while around 15% of UK school students have an ethnic-minority background.
The Runnymede Trust (1998) claimed that a range of hidden processes occur within schools that deny equal
opportunities and negatively affect the educational performance of ethnic-minority students. These processes
include high levels of control and criticism from teachers, as well as stereotypes of cultural differences,
communities and speech that reveal negative and patronising attitudes.
A significant feature of the educational experience of Black Caribbean boys in the UK is that although they start
school scoring at least as highly as the majority, achievement seems to fall until, at GCSE, their academic
performance is lower than most other groups (statistics available at GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children
aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4), accessed 15 January 2019). Reasons here may include:
•
Masculinity being defined in terms of rebellion against ‘white’ schooling and teachers. The overrepresentation of Black Caribbean boys in low sets and bands is the result of unacceptable behaviour rather
than any particular lack of academic ability.
•
Discipline: Hinsliff (2002) has argued that teachers do not always challenge disruptive behaviour, leading to
a serious situation which results in Black boys being excluded from school. Black Caribbean boys are more
frequently excluded than any other ethnic group.
•
Family structure: children from single-parent families generally have the worst educational experiences
across all ethnic groups. Black Caribbean families have the highest rates of single parenthood and the
lowest rates of educational achievement. Of the broad ethnic groups, the Black ethnic group has the highest
proportion of lone parent households, at 13%. (Statistics available at Families and households, accessed 15
January 2019.)
The various forms of labelling and stereotyping do seem to influence ethnic experiences of education. Figueroa
(1991) suggested that teachers frequently limit ethnic-minority opportunities through the use of culturally biased
forms of assessment, such as how students are expected to speak and write, and by committing students to
lower bands and sets on the basis of teacher assessment. Teachers also have lower opinions of the abilities of
some ethnic-minority groups, which results in a self-fulfilling prophecy or vicious circle of underachievement.
The low expectations of teachers transmits to students, who come to see themselves as having little talent or
ability. These students stop trying to achieve because they believe there is no point if their teachers have
already given up on them. The resulting failure to achieve simply confirms the initial teacher assessment.
However, Gillborn (2002) argues that schools are institutionally racist, especially terms of curriculum
developments ‘based on approaches known to disadvantage black pupils’:
•
selection by setting – black students are routinely assigned to the lowest sets
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
schemes for ‘gifted and talented’ students where white students are over-represented
•
vocational schemes for ‘non-academic’ students where black students are over-represented.
Gillborn claims that teachers ‘generally underrate the abilities of black youngsters’ based on dated racial
stereotypes about ability, intelligence and effort (young black males characterised as ‘lazy’, for example). This
leads to them being assigned to low-ability groups, a restricted curriculum and entry for lower-level exams.
Cultural explanations for links between ethnicity and educational attainment
Ideas of cultural advantage and disadvantage focused on the family are also used to explain differences in
achievement within minority ethnic groups. The relative failure of Black Caribbean working-class boys in the UK,
for example, has been related to:
•
the high number of female-headed single-parent families meaning a lack of male role models for male
children
•
the development of ‘anti-education’ subcultures and the effects of large-scale unemployment. (Ball et al.
(2012) report that with black unemployment currently running at 50% in the UK, there is little chance of boys
getting paid work as adults so they see little point to educational qualifications.)
Sewell (2010) summarises this general argument when he suggests that black children’s educational
performance is weakened by:
•
poor parenting
•
‘anti-school’ peer-group pressure
•
a lack of ability to take responsibility for their own ‘anti-school’ behaviour.
Students from the UK’s Asian minorities achieve more highly (statistics available at GCSE results (‘Attainment
8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4), accessed 15 January 2019). This is explained in terms of cultural
and family values of educational success and extended family structures that support children throughout their
schooling. Chua (2011) also suggests that the higher achievements of Chinese students can be partly explained
by ‘tiger mothers’, who push their children constantly towards educational success.
New Right arguments suggest that it is the out-of-proportion representation of ethnic minorities in the underclass
that explains educational failure. They believe that some black ethnic minorities disadvantage themselves
through dysfunctional family structures. Saunders (1990) argues that underclass life, both black and white, is
characterised by dependency cultures involving a passive acceptance of low status. This creates a cycle of
deprivation that carries from parents to children in the form of low educational and work expectations.
Another cultural explanation of lower attainment by minority ethnic groups relates to language. As minority
ethnic groups are more likely to be working class, Bernstein’s arguments about language code, and in particular
the need to use the elaborated code for school work, apply. In the USA, the use of a dialect (Black English
Vernacular) by African-American students when the school requires the elaborated code may be a factor.
Labov’s long-term participant observation with African-American children showed that their dialect was different
but equal. They had the same basic vocabulary, possessed the same ability for conceptual learning, and used
the same logic as anyone else who learns to speak and understand English. Yet the value of the way they
spoke was not recognised by the school system, and led to labelling and underachievement.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIALISATION, CULTURE AND IDENTITY
How can cultural explanations of differences in educational attainment be explained through considering socialisation?
Ethnicity and subcultures
Student subcultures can be based on ethnicity as well as on social class and can be pro- or anti-school, or pro
or anti-education. Sewell (2000) examined how black youth in the UK adapted to the experience of schooling in
terms of four main responses:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Passive accepters were those African-Caribbean boys who unconsciously accepted the white cultural values
of the school. They were generally pro-school and accepted the conventional wisdom that it was ‘black kids’
who gave the school a bad name.
•
Active acceptors ‘acted white’ in the school. Sewell found this to be the most common pro-school strategic
response.
•
Passive resistors developed original ways of maintaining a delicate balancing act between satisfying the
demands of their peer-group through minor acts of deviance, while simultaneously avoiding direct and open
confrontation with teachers. This type was particularly characteristic of black girls and was neither pro- nor
anti-school.
•
Active resistors used what they saw as the racist assumptions of the school to rebel against their teachers.
Shain (2003) examined the subcultural responses of Asian girls in UK schools:
•
The Gang were generally anti-school. They adopted an ‘Us and Them’ approach that involved a positive
claim of Asian identity. They generally opposed the dominant culture of the school, which they saw as white
and racist.
•
The Survivors were pro-education and pro-school. They were generally seen as ‘ideal pupils’, who worked
hard to achieve success, avoided confrontation and were positively labelled by teachers as ‘nice girls’ and
‘good workers’. This group played up to the stereotype of Asian girls as shy and timid, while being actively
engaged in a strategy of self-advancement through education.
•
The Rebels were generally pro-school and their rebellion was against their own cultural background. They
adopted Western modes of dress and distanced themselves from other Asian girl groups. Their survival
strategy was one of academic success, and they connected school with positive experiences that they did
not find in their home life.
•
Faith girls developed their identities around religion rather than ethnicity. They were pro-education in the
sense of promoting positive relations with staff and students and pursuing academic success. They were,
however, aware of racism in the school as a major source of oppression and this made some of them antischool.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Heidi Safia Mirza (born 1958)
Mirza describes herself on her Twitter account as ‘passionate black feminist professor of race equality and women’s rights’. She was
one of the first black professors in the UK, and is now a professor at Goldsmiths, University of London. She spent much of her
childhood in Trinidad, then went to school in Brixton in London. Her research has been focused on race, gender and identity in
education, and she has written widely on these and on Black British feminism, multiculturalism, Islamophobia and related issues. One
of her best-known works is Young, Female and Black, based on research involving young people at two working-class
comprehensive schools in south London, using questionnaires, interviews and participant observation. She argued that there was a
myth of black female underachievement. The Afro-Caribbean girls she studied did better than black boys or white students. The girls
did not let racism and labelling from some teachers weaken their self-esteem. Mirza has also studied how African Caribbean mothers
set up supplementary schools to resist the racism their children encountered in mainstream schools.
ACTIVITY 4.11
What similarities can you see between Sewell’s and Shain’s findings?
Reflection: Can you identify any of these responses within your own school?
The relationship between ethnicity, social class and gender
Although, for the sake of illustration, we have looked at explanations for differential achievement in terms of
class, gender and ethnicity as separate categories, in reality all these factors are combined in every individual.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
There is necessarily an interplay between them and each category is affected by the others. There are,
however, important arguments about their relative significance – that is, whether we should see them in
combination or as separate categories.
Combination approaches are particularly associated with Marxist perspectives. They argue that class is the
primary source of educational disadvantage, with gender and ethnicity as secondary sources that appear within
classes.
Evidence for this interpretation is based on comparing differences in gender and ethnic attainment within the
same classes. Taking the UK as an example, among those at the lower end of the class scale, there is no
decisive evidence that girls outperform boys within this group. The picture is broadly similar across all class
groupings, although in the 7–14 age range there are substantial differences between girls and boys in English
(averaging around 10%) the same is not true for maths and science (an average 2% difference).
In terms of ethnicity, Asians and Indians achieve higher-than-average educational qualifications when compared
to most other ethnic groups. However, this group also has higher-than-average levels of educational
underachievement, which again suggests that social class is a more significant decider of achievement.
Overall, Gillborn and Mirza argue that of ‘these three best known dimensions of inequality’, in terms of disparity
in achievement:
•
gender is the narrowest
•
ethnicity is in the middle
•
class is the highest.
They warn, however, against ‘the trap of simply arguing between various inequalities’: how and why inequalities
combine and are compounded is more significant than simple class or gender or ethnic differences.
The separation argument on the other hand is not that gender and ethnicity are necessarily more significant
than class in determining educational achievement. Rather, gender and ethnicity are important dimensions of
inequality that must be considered as factors in their own right. Evidence to support this argument comes from
holding social class constant and measuring achievement differences in terms of gender and ethnicity. From this
perspective, there are small but consistent gender differences in attainment across all social classes.
ACTIVITY 4.12
Select two students, one tall, one short. Their educational future rests on a single target – whoever reaches highest wins.
1 Is this test fair? If not, why not?
2 Should the smaller student be compensated for their ‘lack of height’?
3 Should the taller student be punished for being ‘too tall’?
Reflection: In what ways is this similar to what happens in education? In which ways is it different? Have you ever been
affected by something like this?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
4.7 Gender and educational attainment
The relationship between gender socialisation and educational attainment
Over the past 50 years, there has been a move away from research trying to explain female underachievement
towards focusing more on explaining how girls learn to cope with and overcome a range of school
disadvantages.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics, UN
This UN report covers eight areas of social life, including a chapter on education, bringing together data from around the world. It
was published in 2015, 20 years after the UN Beijing conference on women, to review what progress had been made. There are
inevitably gaps in the statistics. The overall picture is of some progress but not yet equality between males and females in
education. In some parts of the world, such as the UK, girls now do better than boys but in some developing countries girls face
severe disparities. Although primary school enrolment overall has increased considerably, boys are still more likely than girls to
attend primary school. The gender gap is widest at further and higher education level. Although girls participate in tertiary
education more than boys in almost all developed countries and about half of developing countries, there is still a striking lack of
young women in advanced degree programmes, research and in fields such as science and engineering. Although the lack of
ability to read or write (illiteracy) has fallen, two thirds of the 781 million illiterate people in the world are women, reflecting the
recent history of females being excluded from or only having limited participation in education in many countries.
UNSD
In the past, schools contributed to how women saw their primary adult role, as mothers and housewives, by
placing more importance on male education. Female horizons have widened, but traditional assumptions about
masculinity and femininity continue to influence both family and work relationships, especially for working-class
girls.
In terms of how socialisation influences concepts of femininity, Crespi (2003) argues that there is now a range
of gender identities available to teenage (adolescent) girls, whereas previously these roles had been largely
restricted to part-time or domestic work. Girls have more opportunities to express a range of different
‘femininities’, including ones that involve a career. In addition, workplace changes reflect back onto family
socialisation processes. For example, parents change their perception of their children’s future adult roles and,
consequently, the relative importance they place on male and female educational achievement. Educational
choices are further reflected in career choices. In most industrial societies, engineering is male-dominated
while nursing and secretarial work is female-dominated. These patterns point towards the idea of underlying
social and educational processes that push males and females into different career paths.
Explanations for increasing levels of female educational achievement in contemporary societies relate closely
to concerns about male underachievement. Francis and Skelton note how explanations for female achievement
are frequently discussed in terms of male underachievement focused around three main ideas:
1 Natural differences, such as differences in brain functions between boys and girls, explain differences in
achievement.
2 The feminisation of schooling gives girls distinct advantages over boys. Ideas here range from the lack of
male role models to ‘female-friendly’ teaching practices, curricula and assessment criteria (such as
coursework rather than examinations) that reflect a form of positive discrimination in favour of girls.
3 Gender constructions and interpretations produce different behaviours that impact on achievement. This
includes both teacher expectations (assuming that girls will be better behaved) and interpretations – girls
are increasing seen as likely to achieve more than boys.
A further problem for feminists is the idea that where female educational achievement is generally rising this
applies to all girls, regardless of class and ethnicity. Jones and Myhill, for example, argue that ‘educational
underachievement’ is defined by teachers in ways that are increasingly likely to identify boys – particularly
white and black working-class boys – as ‘potential underachievers’. Ideas about what counts as
‘underachievement’ also vary in terms of gender. For example, female underachievement among working-class
and minority ethnic-group girls is often overlooked in the rush to identify and explain male underachievement.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
In addition, teachers tend to rationalise achievement differences in terms of their perceptions of the nature of
male and female abilities:
•
Female achievements are characterised in terms of performance: understanding what an examiner wants
and delivering it.
•
Male achievements are characterised in terms of ability.
These differences embody cultural beliefs about boys being naturally more intelligent than girls, who
compensate for this deficiency through their ability to learn ways of passing exams. In many societies, male
controlled (patriarchal) beliefs about the abilities, aptitudes and roles of males and females favour male
education over female education.
A major criticism is that arguments about female achievement are based on the wrong view that because girls
as a group achieve more than boys, all girls do better than all boys. Warrington and Younger found little
difference between the percentage of boys and girls who leave school with no qualifications, and there are
clear class and ethnic differences in achievement. Gillborn and Mirza (2000) also argue that gender differences
in achievement are small compared to class differences in achievement. Underachievement by working-class
and minority ethnic girls is frequently ignored by feminists and non-feminists alike.
Wider social changes and gendered educational achievement including
changing female expectations and the crisis of masculinity
Marxists generally frame gender differences in achievement in terms of social class. Gorard et al. (2001) note
that:
•
there is little measurable difference in male/female attainment in maths and science
•
there is no significant gender difference at the lowest attainment levels for all other curriculum subjects
•
girls do better than boys among ‘mid-to-high-achievers’, and there is a closer correlation between
achievement and class than there is between achievement and gender.
Neo-Marxists argue that questions of underachievement should be put differently in terms of working-class
boys and changing male identities. Jones and Myhill (2004) argue that male identities that emphasise physical
strength, sexual virility and aggressiveness are not helpful to educational achievement. Such masculinities
create problems for teachers in the classroom and play down the value of educational qualifications. Changes
in both female identities and the workplace mean that some working-class boys consider education to be
irrelevant to their future.
Females have more opportunities to express a range of different ‘femininities’, including those that involve a
career, rather than just part-time work and family responsibilities. Workplace changes reflect back onto family
socialisation processes. Parents, for example, are starting to change their perception of their children’s future
adult roles and, consequently, the relative importance they place on male and female educational experiences.
Francis (2000) argues that changes within the school and wider society have altered the way girls construct
femininity, they no longer see it mainly in terms of the home.
Concepts of masculinity have, however, remained largely unchanged. Walker (1996) similarly identified
changing conceptions of masculinity, in terms of ‘finding a role in a fast-changing world’ as a challenge that
many young men are unable to resolve in the education system. Masculinity (‘laddishness’) emphasises and
values things such as physical strength and sexual virility. Such ideas clash with educational achievement and
can lead boys to get into trouble at school and to underachieve.
Economic change, with a large increase in the proportion of women working both full and part time, has
resulted in a slow but steady change in parental attitudes towards female education. Where in the past, most
girls would expect to spend most of their life outside paid employment, the reverse is increasingly true. Higher
levels of female educational achievement reflect the greater need for qualifications to take into the workplace.
One New Right educational concern is that male underachievement resulting from social and economic
changes that have tipped the educational balance unfairly in girls’ favour. It is assumed that there are natural
differences between boys and girls, so changes in the way the education system works can affect boys and
girls differently. It has been claimed that curriculum changes have involved a move away from testing ‘more
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
difficult’ male subjects and forms of knowledge towards ‘softer’ feminine subjects and that this has
disadvantaged boys.
The feminisation of schooling is also seen as favouring girls. This refers to factors such as the lack of male role
models in primary schools, ‘female-friendly’ teaching practices, and curricula and assessment criteria, such as
coursework rather than final exams.
Feminisation also expresses itself in the classroom by, for example, the punishment of what the New Right
sees as natural exuberant male behaviour. This may result in the development of ‘anti-pupil’ subcultures and
behaviours, such as truancy, that damage boys’ educational chances.
These arguments about gendered differential achievement come together around three main points:
•
Male underachievement results from the ‘feminisation of school and work’.
•
Teaching and testing systems favour female ways of thinking and working.
•
Male underachievement results from the school’s failure to develop ways to engage boys effectively and
actively.
Gender and subcultures
Lees (1993) described three types of attitude towards school and education among girls:
•
Pro-school girls, who valued school as an enjoyable place for socialising with friends, but who were
generally anti-education; qualifications were not particularly important.
•
Pro-education girls, who fell into two main groups: those who valued education as enjoyable and worthwhile
and those who took a more instrumental approach to their studies; qualifications were a necessary means
towards a desired end. They did not value school ‘for its own sake’.
•
Anti-education girls, who were anti-school and anti-education; school was a waste of time, an unpleasant
and uncomfortable period in their life that they had to get through before escaping into the adult world of
work and family.
These attitudes can form the basis of friendship groups and of subcultures.
Blackman (1995) also captured how tensions within the school contribute to subcultural development:
•
Boffin boys were generally conformist and pro-school, with a group identity based on working hard and
aspiring to social mobility.
•
Boffin girls worked hard and were pro-school, although their conformity was occasionally instrumental. If
what they saw as poor teaching, for example, clashed with their academic aspirations, the latter took
priority.
•
New Wave girls shared this instrumental approach, but had a more mixed (ambivalent) attitude to the
school. While Boffin girls ‘specialised in academic superiority’, New Wave girls had wider interests and
tastes. They generally conformed academically but unlike Boffin girls, they were sexually active and more
confident in their ability to challenge ideas and practices, particuarly those they saw as patriarchal and
sexist.
•
Mod boys were similarly ambivalent, walking a fine line between deviance and conformity. These boys were
generally anti-school but pro-education. They wanted academic qualifications but did not particularly value
their schooling.
ACTIVITY 4.13
Use your experience of education to identify pupil subcultures you have encountered or know about. Make a list of the general social
characteristics of each group (such as their gender, class and ethnicity), whether they are associated with different streams, sets or
bands and the types of behaviour they display.
In your opinion, are these groups pro- or anti-school, pro- or anti-education?
Teacher expectations and gendered behaviour in the classroom
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Some aspects of subcultures involved defying school rules and so bring the pupils involved into clashes with
teachers. To some extent, however, teachers have different expectations of boys and girls that may affect how
they respond. There is a stereotypical view that boys tend to be louder and to misbehave in more visible ways
than girls do (for example, boisterous behaviour such as pushing and shoving) and while this attracts teacher
attention, it may be partly excused as being normal masculine behaviour. The same kind of behaviour from girls
may be treated differently, because the stereotype of feminine behaviour is different: boys being disruptive in a
lesson are conforming to a gender stereotype while girls are deviating from it. Carolyn Jackson’s research on
‘ladettes’ explores some of these issues (see the What’s The Evidence box).
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Lads and Ladettes in School: Gender and the Fear of Failure by Carolyn Jackson
Open University Press 2006
This project used both quantitative and qualitative methods to research how pupil subcultures develop in British schools, and
how processes within schools can affect the achievement of boys, who on average do not do as well as girls. It was found that
both boys and girls try to achieve status among their peers by being popular. For boys, this involved being sporty and having a
girlfriend while for all pupils it involved not being seen to work hard. Many students did want to succeed so were trying to
balance doing well in tests and so on with not being seen to work hard. Some middle-class pupils messed around in school but
then, unknown to their friends, worked hard at home. There is a stereotypical view that boys tend to be louder and to misbehave
in more visible ways than girls do (for example, boisterous behaviour such as pushing and shoving) and while this attracts
teacher attention, it may be partly excused as being normal masculine behaviour. Boys tend to be given sanctions more than
girls (for example, more boys are excluded than girls) and so there is an assumption that boys’ behaviour is more of a problem.
However, it is possible that some girls break the rules in less noticeable ways that are less often detected than boys’ behaviour,
for example, avoiding work through ‘switching off’ and talking in class more quietly than boys would. When girls behave in ways
similarly to boys, they may be treated differently, because the stereotype of feminine behaviour is different: boys being disruptive
in a lesson are conforming to a gender stereotype while girls are deviating from it. Carolyn Jackson’s research on ‘ladettes’
explores some of these issues.
KEY CONCEPT - INEQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY
How does the study of education help us understand different forms of inequality, such as social class, gender and ethnicity?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
Theories about the role of education
■ The role of education can be looked at through different sociological perspectives:
■ Functionalists look at how education contributes to value consensus and social solidarity and how
individuals are allocated to roles to meet the needs of the economy.
■ Marxists look at how education contributes to the maintenance of the capitalist economic system by
acting as an agent of ideological control and cultural reproduction.
■ New Right views.
■ Social democratic views.
Education and social mobility
■ Education systems claim to be meritocratic but there are inequalities of opportunity based on factors
such as social class, ethnicity and gender.
■ Education influences life chances including social mobility.
Influences on the curriculum
■ Knowledge is socially constructed.
■ The content of the curriculum is influenced by factors such as power, status, culture, economic
demands and gender.
■ Cultural reproduction can happen through the curriculum:
■ ethnocentric curriculum
■ gendered curriculum
■ hidden curriculum
■ cultural capital.
Intelligence and educational attainment
■ Intelligence is difficult to define and measure.
■ IQ tests are influenced by social and cultural factors.
■ The relationship between intelligence and achievement can be summarised in three ways:
■ positive
■ negative
■ agnostic.
Other influences on educational attainment
■ Social class, ethnicity and gender are factors which together influence educational attainment.
■ The relationship between social class and educational attainment can be seen in terms of:
■ material factors
■ cultural explanations including parental attitudes and values, speech codes and cultural capital
■ in-school factors including labelling, ability grouping and pupil subcultures
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
■ compensatory education programmes.
■ The relationship between ethnicity and educational attainment can be seen in terms of:
■ racism in schools
■ cultural explanations
■ subcultures.
■ The relationship between gender and educational attainment can be seen in terms of:
■ gender socialisation
■ wider social changes including changing female expectations and the crisis of masculinity
■ subcultures
■ teacher expectations and gendered behaviour in the classroom.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
Choose one set of questions to answer in the time available.
Set 1
1 Describe two examples of how the hidden curriculum can affect the educational experience of
minority ethnic groups.
[4]
2 Explain two reasons why the educational performance of girls has improved compared with that
of boys in many countries in recent years.
[8]
3 ‘The main factors influencing educational achievement are within school.’ Using sociological
material, give two arguments against this view.
[12]
4 Evaluate the view that material factors are the main influence on educational achievement.
[26]
Set 2
1 Describe two examples of how ability grouping can affect educational achievement.
[4]
2 Explain two reasons why middle-class pupils tend to do better than working-class pupils in
education.
[8]
3 ‘Educational achievement depends on intelligence.’ Using sociological material, give two
arguments against this view.
[12]
4 Evaluate the view that the main purpose of education is to produce a qualified workforce.
[26]
Set 3
1 Describe two examples of how the curriculum can be gendered.
[4]
2 Explain two reasons why cultural explanations are important in explaining educational
achievement.
[8]
3 ‘The education system is meritocratic.’ Using sociological material, give two arguments against
this view.
[12]
4 Evaluate the view that education systems provide equality of opportunity.
[26]
Set 4
1 Describe two examples of how IQ tests are influenced by social factors.
[4]
2 Explain two reasons why subcultures can influence educational achievement.
[8]
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
3 ‘Decisions made about the curriculum will also decide which students succeed.’ Using
sociological material, give two arguments for this view.
[12]
4 Evaluate the view that the main factor influencing educational achievement is the social
background of the student.
[26]
Sample answer and activity
Set 1 Question 4
4 Evaluate the view that material factors are the main influence on educational achievement.
[26]
Here is one paragraph on the ‘against’ side of the view in the question:
Cultural factors can be a bigger influence on educational achievement than material
factors. For example, Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capitals suggests that this can be
as important as economic capital. Wealthier parents can buy a more privileged
education for their children; in many countries there are private fee-charging schools
with better resources, such as ICT equipment and books, than state-funded public
schools. Parents can draw on their social and cultural capital to ensure that their
children can take full advantage of this, and they can also later use it to get their
children into best universities. This improves the life chances of their children, such as
being able to enter a highly paid profession, and, according to Marxists, ensures that
class privilege is passed on from one generation to the next, and that upward social
mobility is limited. Those children from working-class backgrounds who are able to
get places in private schools, for example through scholarships, may lack the cultural
capital to take advantage of their situation. They may feel out of place, not sharing
the assumptions and knowledge of the teachers and higher class students, and this
may lead to underachievement, perhaps as the result of labelling by teachers and peers
leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy. So even in a school where material resources are
plentiful and there is an apparent meritocracy, cultural factors may lead to different
outcomes for different students. However, there are some working-class students who
are able to succeed despite this.
Point 1: Notice how the opening sentence is used to show how this paragraph fits into the answer – the
answer has already discussed some points that support the view that material factors are the main
influence on educational achievement. The second sentence makes it clear that the focus of this
paragraph will be cultural capital and issues arising from this. At the end, the answer returns to the idea of
material factors, showing how the paragraph fits in to the essay’s argument.
Point 2: Include sociological terms whenever possible to show your knowledge and understanding. You
can also do this by using names, such as Bourdieu, and by referring to theories, such as Marxism. You
may not be able to always include names and theories in every paragraph, but make sure that you have
some in the essay as a whole.
ACTIVITY 4.14
Now write one paragraph on the ‘for’ side of the view in the question.
Try to use theories, names and key words whenever possible.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 5
Globalisation
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ Perspectives on globalisation
■ Globalisation and identity
■ Globalisation, power and politics
■ Globalisation, poverty and inequalities
■ Globalisation and migration
■ Globalisation and crime
Before you start
What connections do you have with people and places around the world? Think about:
•
Do you have friends and family around the world?
•
Where were the clothes you wear and other things you buy or own made?
•
Where are the food dishes that you eat and the ingredients for them from?
•
How much do you know about events around the world and life in other countries?
Ask a person from an older generation what answers they would have given to questions like these when they
were your age. Does what they tell you provide evidence that globalisation has been taking place?
Reflection: Were you surprised by the answers you were given? Did you change any assumptions you had made beforehand?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
5.1 Perspectives on globalisation
Key definitions and issues, including globalisation, glocalisation, global culture
and problems with defining globalisation
Globalisation refers to the speed with which connections can be made between:
•
people: such as the ability to travel quickly anywhere in the world
•
goods and their rapid movement around the globe
•
services, made possible by the speed of computer technology
•
information transferred instantaneously
•
ideas that travel rapidly from society to society.
Globalisation is a process that, through the speed of its occurrence, transforms the nature of other processes
and, in so doing, refers also to many changes that have global consequences. Scholte (2000) claims that these
consequences include:
•
the internationalisation of ‘cross-border relations between countries’
•
the liberalisation of political and economic relationships, such as ‘removing government-imposed restrictions
on movements between countries’
•
the universalisation of cultural forms, such as television, that spread ‘various objects and experiences to
people of all corners of the earth’
•
modernisation, involving the spread of the social structures of modernity, such as capitalism, scientific
rationalism and industrialism, across the world.
To conceptualise globalisation as speed involves a number of social processes. Giddens (1990), for example,
argues that a major feature is the separation of time and space which he calls distanciation. Various forms of
global communication, from telephones through television to the internet, take place instantaneously across the
globe. Globalisation makes concepts of distance and physical space irrelevant. The speed at which things can
be done shortens the time required to do them and effectively makes concepts of distance meaningless. Social
activity can break free from the constraints of time and space. Individuals increasingly interact with others who
are not physically present. The others may be anywhere in the world, but communication is in ‘real time’, rather
than being delayed as would have been the case, for example, with a letter that had to be delivered.
Globalisation also involves deterritorialisation, that is, there is no longer a clear relationship between cultural,
political and economic activities and specific geographical locations.
Distanciation and the compression of time and space create the preconditions for disembedding – the idea that
things are separated from their original surroundings and contexts. These include:
•
objects, such as credit cards, disembedded from their original physical context of coinage
•
processes, such as the electronic transfer of money into and out of a bank account
•
people, in three ways:
• global communication between strangers in different parts of the world is possible and takes place in
areas such as ‘cyberspace’, something that has no physical existence
•
•
physical disembedding, such as how people define themselves in terms of national/global identities
cultural disembedding in relation to the development of hybrid cultures that involve mixing elements of
different cultures to produce something new and different.
Baudrillard’s (1998) concept of simulacra – ‘representations that refer to other representations’ – captures the
concept of disembedding. A credit card is a simulation of money in the form of coins or paper notes, which, in
turn, are simulation of an original object of value such as a piece of gold. We no longer buy things because we
need them, because we no longer have needs, only desires created by advertising. We have also lost our
understanding of where and how the things we buy are created. Where disembedding takes place, the ‘origins
of the original’ are lost or hidden in time and space – if there even was an original. The simulation has the same
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
general status as whatever it is simulating – both are ‘as real’ as each other. For example, a telephone call or an
email are as real as talking to someone face to face.
Figure 5.1: A simulacrum
Some writers, such as Roland Robertson, have noted that globalisation is often accompanied by what seems at
first to be a contradictory movement, towards the local as well as the global.
Glocalisation is a combination of ‘globalisation’ and ‘localisation’, in which Adamu (2003) argues, ‘global
events/processes interact with local events/processes’. In other words, the meaning and impact of global
cultural products, ideas and behaviours are interpreted, adapted and used differently in different local settings.
Globalisation and localisation go together – the two processes are interconnected. There is a wide range of
possible examples such as:
•
A family has strong kin or friendship networks both locally and globally (the latter made easier by globalised
communications).
•
A business is operating globally but with local branches adapted to specific local circumstances, for example
the way the American fast food company McDonalds mainly sells beefburgers but in India, where more than
half the population are vegetarian, it adapted by selling more non-meat products.
•
The idea of acting locally may arise in ways that help global issues. For example, actions taken by
individuals or groups in their local area that contribute to reducing carbon emissions and thus climate
change. One form of this is the mundialisation movement in which more than 1000 cities around the world
have declared themselves to be ‘world citizen cities’, with global rights and responsibilities and are trying to
work together to act on global issues.
•
Nation states become increasingly less powerful and relevant, with decision-making increasingly being made
at local and global rather than national levels.
Malone (2002) suggests that glocal subcultures are a form of hybridity in contemporary societies, in which
global styles are given a unique local interpretation by different cultural groups.
Hip-hop, for example, exists as a global youth culture based on a particular style and identity. However, the
meaning of this style is interpreted differently by youth in different countries, depending on their cultural
background and traditions. This produces glocalised youth subcultures that mix and match local cultural
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
traditions in the context of a global youth style. These ideas suggest that globalisation creates tensions between
two areas:
1 The local or particular, characterised in terms of high levels of cultural diversity.
2 The global or universal, characterised in terms of homogeneity.
While the two can theoretically be separated, there are also places where they meet. Robertson (1992)
expressed this in terms of how the local and the global interact: each influences and is influenced by the other.
Appadurai (1990) rejected the idea that cultural inter-relationships flow ‘from the core to the periphery’, by which
globalised, homogeneous, cultural forms are picked up by individual cultures. Rather, these inter-relationships
should be seen in terms of a variety of ‘scapes’ – imagined worlds that cross territorial borders and are
connected in a variety of ways:
•
Ethnoscapes reflect how people of different cultures physically interact.
•
Technoscapes reflect the interaction of different forms of technology and its cultural adaptations and uses.
•
Finanscapes refer to the interplay of financial relationships and their effect on political and social cultures.
•
Mediascapes involve the flow of information across different societies and cultures.
•
Ideoscapes reflect how people interact in terms of the exchange of images and ideas.
In this way, Appadurai argues, local cultural concepts spread across national boundaries, both influencing and
being influenced by the ideas and relationships they encounter.
One concern expressed by some writers on globalisation is that it will lead to the creation of a single global
culture, in which the great diversity of human cultures around the world will be lost. Cultures have always
influenced each other, through trade, travel and conquest, and it is likely that many differences have been lost
over many centuries. Globalisation, however, increases the possibilities for the spread of a dominant culture and
the wiping out of local variations as, for example, people adopt a global language and lose their local language
or dialect less. Electronic communications, the media and other globalising forces may be spreading a global
culture much faster than happened in the past. As you will see later in this chapter, while many aspects of
culture have been globalised, local cultures survive and, in many instances, seem to be refreshed by
globalisation. The earliest version of this idea is probably that put forward in the 1960s by Marshall McLuhan,
who coined the term ‘global village’ to suggest how electronic media had metaphorically turned the world into a
village, where communication was instant and people around the world could become more informed about the
lives of others and feel more involved and responsible for these lives.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
In the 1960s, the Canadian intellectual Marshall McLuhan was already formulating ideas about globalisation long before the term
became current. He wrote in the areas of communication studies and media studies before these existed as disciplines. His work
fitted in with the mood of the 1960s, and he became an icon of popular culture. His best-known books include, The Medium is The
Message and Understanding Media. McLuhan was interested in how electronic media (at the time he was writing, mainly radio and
television) were making communicating faster and connecting people who were geographically distant from each other. He coined
the term ‘global village’ to describe how electronic media had shrunk the world to a village, with instant communication of ideas. His
ideas have been made even more relevant by the arrival of the internet and social media. Indeed, some of his writing seems to
predict the internet although he died before its use became common. You can find out more about him, including hearing him speak,
on the Marshall McLuhan website.
The significance of different dimensions of globalisation, including cultural,
political and economic
Globalisation is a contested term, used by different people to mean different things. This is partly because the
term has not been in use for very long. Its use did not become common until the 1990s, when, after the end of
the Cold War and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the idea that the world shared a single future
shaped by capitalism became more acceptable. At this time globalisation became a popular ‘buzzword’,
frequently used in the media and by politicians, academics and others, giving the impression that it referred to a
new and important phenomenon but without agreement as to its exact meaning. One particular use of its
meaning, that became common partly through use by politicians such as the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, was
to refer to the spread of neo-liberal economic policies – globalisation involved the ending of restrictions on trade
and the movement of goods between nations. It is in this sense that there has been discussion in recent years
about whether globalisation has stopped or been reversed (for example, in the way that some nations such as
the USA under President Donald Trump turned against free trade and imposed tariffs on some goods coming
into the USA). However, the term ‘globalisation’ is often used for much wider changes, including the global
spread of cultural practices and ideas through. For example, the internet and related electronic media. The use
of the term also varies between different social science disciplines. For example, economists tend to see
globalisation in terms of economic changes, whereas sociologists are also interested in cultural and political
changes.
Although the term ‘globalisation’ is new at least in widespread use, there is also disagreement about how long it
has been happening. One school of thought is that globalisation is a very old process that has recently
accelerated because of technological developments. People have always travelled and traded over long
distances. European historical accounts tend to see the exploration of the world as starting with the sea
voyages of Europeans from the 15th century onwards, but trade between continents was happening before
then. For example, although Europeans exploring central Africa saw themselves as ‘discovering’ it,
archaeological evidence at the Great Zimbabwe site in modern Zimbabwe shows that people there were trading
with China and Iran in the 14th and 15th centuries. Some writers see most of human history as globalisation:
after humans spread out of Africa, groups of people became separated from each other. All subsequent human
history has been a gradual return towards reintegration, with some important steps on the way, such as when
following Columbus’s crossing of the Atlantic the peoples of the ‘Old World’ of Europe and Asia were
reconnected with those of the ‘New World’ of the Americas after 10 000 years of separation. This view of
globalisation is put forward by Nayan Chanda (2002), who argues that the globalisation of today is a
continuation, more visible and faster, of a long historical process. Some issues hold up globalisation (such as
imposing tariffs on imported goods, restrictions on migration, and the reaction against globalisation because it’s
seen as representing Western culture, but seen in the bigger context of a centuries old process, globalisation
seems almost certain to continue.
Cultural dimensions
Cultural globalisation is very closely linked to economic globalisation, and includes:
•
global information and communication systems, including the internet
•
global patterns of consumerism such as in clothing, diet and technology
•
cosmopolitan life styles
•
global sport including events such as the Olympic Games and the football World Cup, which have become
global mega-events
•
global tourism.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The main aspects of culture which are being globalised are often highly visible aspects of Western or specifically
American consumer culture: fast-food chains, baseball caps, jeans, trainers, hip-hop and rap music, Hollywood
films and so on.
Cultural globalisation has two apparently opposed tendencies: diversity (difference) and homogenisation
(similarity). Cultural interactions between societies can have different outcomes:
•
They can produce cultural hybrids based on the mixing of cultures in particular places and practices.
•
They may also produce arguments, by which the spread of ideas and images provoke reactions and
resistance within and between different cultural groups. This is particularly relevant to ideas such as gender
equality which may be contested where established religious ideology may be patriarchal.
Political dimensions
There are several aspects to political globalisation:
•
The political system of liberal democracy (based on political parties, regular elections, freedom to speak and
vote) has been spreading. Broad political ideas such as human rights and gender equality have also spread
globally and have been accepted in principle if not always in practice in most places.
•
Nation states have become less important compared to transnational corporations (TNCs) and global or
supranational political entities such as the European Union (EU).
•
At the same time, nation states have also given up some political power to smaller and more local political
structures.
•
Nation states increasingly face problems which are too big for them to deal with on their own, for example
climate change, pollution, terrorism, the drugs trade, the power of TNCs, the disease AIDS and refugees.
Reflection: How do you personally decide if you agree with something? Do you find it difficult to decide?
ACTIVITY 5.1
Find out about some of the global agreements or treaties that your country belongs to. Produce a diagram or poster showing, if you
can, how these agreements connect your country with others.
Is your country’s involvement in these agreements and treaties something that everyone agrees is a good thing, or are any of them
controversial?
Economic dimensions
One feature of globalisation is the impact it has had on economic inter-relationships in terms of mobility – the
increasingly global nature of stock markets and trading blocs based on:
•
capital mobility, where companies and investments move into and out of different countries as the need for
profit and economic policy dictate
•
labour mobility, as people physically move around from place to place for work
•
information mobility that helps the development of a range of global financial and other services.
One aspect of the globalisation of economic relationships is the growth in the number and size of transnational
corporations (TNCs). These are corporations that, while based in a specific territory, such as the UK or the
USA, operate in a range of countries. Although the first TNCs existed before the current period of globalisation,
globalisation has increased their power, influence and status in world economic terms. Regional
intergovernmental organisations, such as the EU and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN),
represent a further example of the economic links between societies. In these organisations, nation states
develop political agreements and alliances.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The development of the internet has complicated the nature of economic inter-relationships, because economic
activity increasingly takes place in virtual trading communities. One consequence of virtual networks is the
breakdown of differences between the local, national, international and global. Disembedding, for example, is
both encouraged and accelerated in areas such as economic exchange, for example through the development
of credit cards and electronic money transfers. It also occurs in production and distribution – goods and services
created in one country (or, in some instances, many countries) are distributed and sold around the globe.
Production now involves global commodity chains. The raw materials needed for manufacturing, for example,
a television, will come from many different countries – different parts of the television will be assembled in
different countries, and the finished product will be sold in other countries. This network is significant because it
creates economic structures (hierarchies). Highly developed countries are positioned at the top of the global
commodity chain, exploiting the fact that clothes, electrical goods or other products can be manufactured using
relatively cheap labour in developing countries. Unequal economic relationships also create dependency
networks that are difficult to break. Developing countries become a source of relatively cheap production, where
developed countries come to depend on the flow of (cheap) goods to maintain living standards. The nature of
global networks, complexities and dependencies is illustrated by the fact that ‘the Japanese eat poultry fattened
in Thailand with American corn, using chopsticks made with wood from Indonesian or Chilean forests.
Canadians eat strawberries grown in Mexico with American fertiliser. The British and French eat green beans
from Kenya and cocoa from Ghana finds its way into Swiss chocolate’.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
For your own family or society, work out some sentences like those in the last sentences, showing
the nature of the global networks involved.
For some writers, economic globalisation means that the world has entered a new phase of economic
development. Castells (1997) argued that economic behaviour has entered this new phase with the
development of globalised capitalism. Where older forms of capitalism focused on the production of things,
newer forms focus on knowledge, information and systems. Castells believed this has caused a reordering of
economic production, with information now the primary product. This has come about because of computer
networks that travel across the globe. This claim suggests that globalisation is the driver for a new phase of
capitalist economic production, distribution and exchange.
However, while there is a general agreement that something is changing in global economic interrelationships,
there is disagreement about exactly what that is. For some, globalisation is not truly global, but partial or
regional. Thompson (2000), for example, argues that the world is divided into three major regional economic
blocs: North and Central America, Europe and Asia. While economic globalisation may be taking place within
each regional bloc, there is limited competition between them, and other parts of the world are effectively
excluded from globalisation. Apart from a very small number of truly global trading companies, such as Nike,
most TNCs and nations trade mainly within each bloc.
Economic globalisation is associated by many writers with neo-liberal economics – trade without restrictions
such as tariffs and duties and with minimal rules imposed (regulation) by states. Economic globalisation in this
sense seemed to be happening quickly in the 1990s and early 2000s, following the end of the Cold War, but was
slowed by the global financial crisis and economic recession in 2008. This crisis is itself evidence of
globalisation, because problems in one country spread quickly to others. The crisis led to greater intervention by
governments (for example, in the USA and UK, by the bailing out of banks) and a retreat to some extent from
neo-liberal policies, leading some to question whether globalisation had slowed or even stopped. However, the
recession affected the developed economies more than developing ones, the economies of China and India, for
example, continued to grow quickly in the following years.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 5.2: International GDP, 2007. Is the extent of economic globalisation overstated? Source: IMF
Perspectives on who benefits from globalisation, including the Marxist, feminist,
postmodernist, globalist, sceptic and transformationalist perspectives
Marxism
Karl Marx’s writings, from the mid-19th century, contain ideas that can be seen to link to current discussion of
globalisation. Marx concentrated his analysis on Britain, which at the time was exceptional, being one of only
three or four countries that had industrialised and urbanised but he saw the capitalist economic system
operating globally already in his time, for example through the connections between Britain and its global
empire, including India. As capitalism developed it would become a global system, with earlier modes of
production disappearing. Marx moved beyond an analysis based on nation states to studying an economic
system that went beyond national boundaries. Marx expected a growing division between bourgeoisie and
proletariat globally, with the proletariat needing to unite to protect its interests and move towards a socialist
system to replace capitalism. Workers in different countries, he said, had more in common with each other than
did bourgeoisie and workers from the same country. Hence Marx and Engels’s call in The Communist
Manifesto, “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains”. Later Marxist writers have,
like Marx, emphasised how successful capitalism is at creating wealth and so how an integrated capitalist world
system is an essential step towards a more equal socialist system in the future.
A more recent approach building on Marx’s view of global capitalism is world systems theory, developed by
Immanuel Wallerstein. Globalisation (seen as a long-term historical process) has led to the development of a
global capitalist economic system in which every country has a stake. World-system theory states that
development must be seen in the context of global systems and networks, and should focus on how nations are
politically and economically interdependent.
Wallerstein suggested that the world economic system had three types of regions within it:
1 Core regions include the most highly developed economies. They were the first to develop full capitalist
economies and are characterised by:
•
strong central governments
•
•
highly developed industrial bases
well-developed bureaucratic administrations.
2 Periphery (fringe) regions include underdeveloped countries defined by their unequal relationship with core
regions. Peripheral states are characterised by weak governments controlled by native (indigenous) elites.
Peripheral states serve as sources of raw materials, surplus labour and captive markets. The periphery
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
remains underdeveloped because it is locked into a world political and economic structure that reproduces
its subordinate status.
3 Semi-peripheral regions occupy a space somewhere between the core and the periphery. Such regions may
aspire to core membership or they may be former members of the core whose economic development has
stalled or declined. They are exploited by core regions, but themselves exploit those on the periphery of the
world economy.
The world system is dynamic. Countries and regions can move between core, semi-periphery and periphery,
because capitalism will move wherever a profit can be made.
Feminism
Feminist writers on globalisation focus on the challenges that globalisation poses for women and other groups
who face injustice. Feminists recognise intersectionality; systems of oppression interact so that gender
injustices cannot be understood only in terms of gender around the world. Feminism covers a wide range of
positions on gender and other issues. Gender interacts with, for example, social class, race and ethnicity, sexual
orientation and disability to affect women around the world in different ways. Gender injustices take different
forms in different social, cultural, and geographical locations, but women everywhere face systematic
disadvantages, such as the expectation that they will do domestic work.
Some feminists have concentrated on issues that clearly have a gender dimension, such as domestic violence,
child marriage and discrimination at work.
For example, in the case of discrimination at work, it is mainly women who are employed in factories in
developing countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia making clothes for export. The work is often low paid
and working conditions such as health and safety can be poor, as shown in the collapse of the Rana Plaza in
Dakar, Bangladesh in 2013, in which more than a thousand garment factory workers died. Women in these
factories, some of which can be described as ‘sweatshops’, often face problems such as long hours,
compulsory overtime and sexual harassment. Also, much garment production is carried out by women (and
often children) in their own homes, where oversight to enforce standards is less likely. On the other hand, the
employment of women, with the independent income it brings, can be seen as a step forward in patriarchal
societies where opportunities for women have been non-existent.
Other feminists have drawn attention to how there is a gender dimension involved in a wider range of global
issues which may at first seem to be gender neutral, such as war, migration and climate change. For example, a
lot of migration in the globalisation period involves women, often to provide care for people in more developed
countries. Arle Hochschild (2000) has described ‘global care chains’ which involve the exchange of services
around the world. Women in developed countries are able to enter the workforce, often in jobs that are well paid
by global standards and which enable them and their partners to pay others to do domestic work and to care for
their children. This creates a demand for domestic workers, which is filled by migrant women from less
developed countries, working as domestic servants or nannies, who send part of their earnings to their family in
their home country as remittances. In developing countries, neo-liberal policies have reduced public services
and put pressure on living standards so the money sent home is often needed to support the migrant worker’s
family, including children of her own, who may be being cared for by other relatives such as grandparents.
Globalisation has affected women around the world differently. On the whole it has benefited the world’s
wealthiest people most, and this of course includes some women, especially in developed countries.
Globalisation has tended to widen economic inequalities, thus disadvantaging women. On the other hand, some
feminists see positive aspects to globalisation in that supranational organisations such as the United Nations
have drawn attention to gender issues, such as lack of education for girls, sexual violence and sex trafficking,
and are able to put pressure on nation states to bring about change. Globalisation also creates opportunities for
women around the world to work together, creating transnational networks of people with shared political
commitments. Globalisation involves the spread of ideas about gender equality, which can help women around
the world argue for justice.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Arlie Russell Hochschild (born 1940)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Hochschild is an American sociologist who is professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. She began the sociological
study of emotions and is known for developing concepts such as emotional labour and global care chains, and for studying the
connections between private troubles and social issues. In relation to globalisation, her work has explored the emotional labour of
female immigrants, how migrant women from less developed countries work as nannies for families in developed countries, while
other female relatives, such as the oldest daughter, care for siblings or ageing parents. Among Hochschild’s books are The Managed
Heart and Strangers in Their Own Land, which explores how relatively poor people in the USA support causes and politicians who
seem to work against their own interests.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is usually seen as being about changes in developed Western societies. Postmodernism
emphasises choice and consumerism, which until recently have been limited in developing countries.
However, globalisation is often seen as one of the developments associated with postmodernism and
postmodernity, as are related changes such as the development of the internet and social media. Globalisation
may therefore contribute to developing countries today becoming postmodern.
Postmodernists also claim that explanations (metanarratives) no longer apply. Globalisation itself is a
metanarrative, especially when defined as the unstoppable spread of neo-lioberalism, and one that can be seen
as an ideology promoting the interests of the powerful. A postmodern view of globalisation would be to see it not
as a single process but as many changes, some of which are contradictory. Postmodernists see globalisation as
leading to hybridity and diversity rather than homogenisation; globalisation makes possible unique blends of the
local and the global.
Globalist perspective
This is also referred to as the hyper-globalist or optimistic view of globalisation. It sees globalisation as the
spread of neo-liberal economics and as a positive process involving economic growth, increasing prosperity and
democracy. The removal of obstacles to free trade and to capitalism in developing countries through
globalisation will, claim globalists, help them move out of poverty through economic growth, and the world will
become better for all. Nation states have held progress back by not providing business friendly environments.
Globalisation restricts the powers of nation states, gives the state only a restricted role in the economy and so
makes trade easier and helps capitalism to expand. Globalisation also spreads Western values, such as
individualism and business (entrepreneurialism), which encourage people to better themselves by starting their
own businesses. Neo-liberal globalisation has meant freer movements of goods and enterprises and has led to
more jobs, with wealth trickling down to benefit everyone. Where developing nations have been reluctant to
adopt the necessary neo-liberal changes, transnational organisations such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) have steered them in the right direction through structural adjustment
programmes. Transnational corporations (TNCs) are seen as important in bringing about positive changes by
investing in developing countries, creating jobs and encouraging people to aspire to a better standard of living
and a Western lifestyle. For their Western owners and investors, TNCs bring profits and higher living standards.
Globalists also claim that these changes lead to greater freedom, human rights and democracy, which are seen
as necessary for and inevitably accompanying free market economics. Globalisation will also bring about a
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
homogenised global culture. This is seen as positive because old values and traditions that stood in the way of
progress will be replaced by the values that fit with global capitalism.
Globalisation sceptics
Among the critics of the globalist perspective are the sceptics, also referred to as global pessimists. They see
the same processes as the globalists, but interpret them very differently. Globalisation is seen as benefiting
developed countries more than developing ones, so that its effect is to unfairly redistribute resources. The global
spread of neo-liberalism is seen as widening the divide between rich and poor both within and between
countries. Globalisation works in favour of the already wealthy (privileged); it is a tool used by the developed
nations to help them maintain their dominant position in the world economy. Sceptics are not necessarily
opposed to all globalisation, but are opposed to its neo-liberal from. Culturally, sceptics see globalisation as
involving cultural imperialism, the domination of Western culture at the expense of local cultures, which it sees
as valuable in themselves and part of a rich cultural heritage we should try to preserve. Developing nations are
at risk of losing their distinctive cultures as they are flooded with attractive and cheap Western consumer
products. This can apply, for example, to styles of clothing, to food, music and other art forms. For many
sceptics, as for Marxists, globalisation today is the continuation of long-standing historical trends which have
divided the world – globalisation makes the divisions deeper.
Transformationalism
The transformationalist perspective holds that globalisation is a complex process involving many exchanges
between global institutions and local cultures. Because it is so complex, there can be apparently contradictory
trends – for example, we may see evidence both that nation states are still powerful and at the same time that
they are becoming less important. We are living through a period of transformation, the outcomes of which are
not certain. The transformationalist view, unlike the globalists and sceptics who see globalisation as
unstoppable, is that globalisation can be controlled, so that it can be steered in positive directions and does not
necessarily have any unavoidable consequences. For example, whether nation states continue to have largely
undiminished power or whether they will disappear as corporations or other organisations grow is an open
question. When cultures meet, rather than one destroying the other (as with the sceptics’ view of indigenous
cultures being swamped by Western culture), the two can merge to create a new and vibrant hybrid, enriching
rather than weakening human cultural heritage. Transformationalists point to, for example, new forms of music
combining the traditional and the modern, or to how a form of culture can take on new life and develop in
unexpected ways in a new cultural context.
ACTIVITY 5.2
Try to identify examples of hybrid culture in what people eat and drink. For example, in Western countries what is called ‘fusion’
cooking has become popular – it involves ingredients or cooking styles from different cultures. Has anything like this become popular
in your country?
Do you think that these are ‘new and vibrant’ and that they allow cultural heritage to survive rather than be weakened?
Reflection: Ask your family or others what they think about this. How could your own answer be improved based on their ideas?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
5.2 Globalisation and identity
The impact of globalisation on identity, including ethnic revitalisation, cultural
defence and hybrid identity
Although globalisation has led to greater movement of people around the world, only a small minority of people
are first-generation immigrants. For most people, their sense of identity is heavily based on places – on the
local, more than the global. This often involves identifying with a nation state or an ethnic group. Partly because
of globalisation, nearly all of the world’s nation states are to some extent multi-ethnic. Around 40% of states
have more than five significant ethnic groups (Cohen and Kennedy 2013, p 381). Benedict Anderson points out
that national and ethnic communities are what he calls ‘imagined communities’. Meaning they involve people
believing that they share an identity with many people who they will never meet or know, and with many of
whom they have little in common. There is often a shared national narrative, involving stories about the nation’s
origins and history, with associated imagery and symbols. Globalisation has led to some groups feeling that
their identities and communities are under threat and that aspects of their culture that they value, such as their
language, may disappear. This can lead to a strengthening of nationalism, which can be seen in the election of
Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2016 with the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’, and in
the rise of strong nationalist parties, often referred to as ‘populist’, in some European countries such as Poland
and Hungary.
Ethnic revitalisation
As we have seen, ethnicity is socially constructed and usually based on ideas about language, religion,
customs and shared stories and images that give rise to a feeling of belonging to a community. Ethnic
differences have not faded away with globalisation, but rather there has been an exaggeration of ethnic
differences as a reaction to globalisation. This can be referred to as ethnic revitalisation. An ethnic identity
becomes even more important as those who claim it see it as threatened and needing to be defended. This can
lead to suspicion and aggression against other groups that are seen as threats: they are seen as ‘outsiders’. An
example of this can be seen in the increase in Islamophobia in Europe. Where some people see Islam in
general, despite the variety of practices and beliefs of Muslims, as a cultural threat to Western values and
associate Islam with terrorism because of the actions of some extremists who claim to be Muslim.
In parts of Europe, there has also been hostility even against people who belong to the national or ethnic
community but can be ‘othered’, for example, gay and other sexual minorities. Othering makes it possible for a
group to define itself by its opposition to the Other. Ethnic revitalisation often involves the reassertion of a local
identity against its perceived weakening by globalisation.
Cultural defence refers to a situation in which culture acts as the focus for defence of a group’s identity when it
is seen as under threat. An ethnic group may assert an aspect of its culture, such as religion or language. The
use of religion in this way is covered in the Religion chapter. This may be used by a minority ethnic group that
feels threatened by the majority. For example, in some Western countries, Islamophobia has led to some
Muslims making Islam the main aspect of their identity; their religiosity and identification with their religion
increases in response to growing hostility towards it. This has happened particularly among younger people,
who may become more religious than their parents, against the wider trend in these countries of secularisation.
An alternative reaction of minority ethnic groups can be the creation of hybrid identities, in which aspects of
two or more cultures are combined. Young people of South Asian background in the UK, whose parents or
grandparents were immigrants, often blend aspects of British and Asian cultures into what Johal (1998) calls
‘Brasian’ (blended British and Asian). They select some aspects of the religious beliefs of their families, but
combine these with aspects of British culture such as a greater emphasis on individualism and personal choice.
For example, they may not follow traditional religious constraints on dating, diet and drinking alcohol, and may
choose their marriage partner. Different aspects acquire different significance in different contexts, so that these
young British Asians move between fitting in with their white British peers at school or college and when
required highlighting their cultural differences to differentiate themselves from the majority ethnic group. In
combining aspects of two cultures, they are creating a new identity which did not previously exist.
Cultural divergence versus cultural convergence/homogenisation
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
One of the main debates about cultural globalisation is about the extent to which globalisation will lead to a
single global culture. For much of human history, cultures have tended to diverge. Cultural divergence led to
the existence of considerable differences between cultures in different parts of the world. Before the modern
industrial period, while migration and trade linked most parts of the world, this was not on a scale to prevent the
evolution of cultures that differed widely from each other. Thus there were divergences in, for example,
languages, religions, and patterns of kinship and marriage. The clearest examples of this were when a human
population, such as Indigenous Australians (often referred to as Aborigines), had relatively little contact with the
rest of humanity for long periods. Some writers have argued that globalisation will lead to a reversal of this, with
increasing cultural convergence as cultures increasingly come to resemble each other. For Chanda (2002) and
others, globalisation is in fact the process by which human populations, which at one point were all in Eastern
Africa but then migrated and scattered around the world, are reunited.
The process of cultural convergence can be interpreted in different ways. Globalists see it as a positive
process, by which people around the world become able to participate in a global culture. Aspects of this
include language, clothing and sports, but also, for example, values such as human rights and freedoms of
speech and expression. For sceptics, the spread is of Western and primarily American culture, which conveys
potentially harmful values and practices, such as excessive consumption. This cultural imperialism is seen as
devaluing and destroying local and traditional cultures. For transformationalists, the global flow of ideas and
cultural practices is in many directions and creates hybridised cultures rather than homogenised ones.
The role of Western ideology in shaping identity and the concept of
westernisation
Westernisation is the spread globally of Western ideology. This ideology has many aspects, including
emphases on individualism, democracy, science and technology, human rights, support for a ‘free market’
economy. It is associated with Christianity, with Europe and with the USA. Westernisation began with trading
beyond Europe, continued with colonialism and today is driven by globalisation. The spread globally of Western
ideas and values has brought it sometimes into conflict with other ideologies, and has sometimes led to fusions
with them. In Japan, despite pride in Japanese tradition and history, capitalism, democracy and science and
technology are strong. Japan is a partly Westernised society. On the other hand, Western ideas have been
strongly rejected elsewhere, for example in Afghanistan especially under the rule of the Taliban before 2001.
Several related terms are used in discussions of Westernisation:
•
Coca-colonisation involves the idea that the global reach of TNCs such as Coca-Cola creates a global
consumer culture in which standard commodities are promoted by global marketing campaigns to create
similar lifestyles. Coca-colonisation, therefore, refers to a form of cultural dominance (hegemony) – one
culture is effectively colonised by the cultural products and lifestyles of another. In the case of Coca-Cola
itself, the same drink is sold worldwide using the universally recognised red colour and distinctive lettering
(in whatever writing system). Although Coca-Cola is a TNC, its base is in the USA and it is strongly
identified with American culture and lifestyle. Coca-colonisation can also be called Americanisation.
•
McDonaldisation is a related process referring to the idea that contemporary corporate cultural products
are standardised, homogenised and formulaic. When this idea is applied to cultural relationships and
experiences, homogenisation occurs because global cultural products are designed:
•
•
efficiently, using a limited range of themes to appeal to the widest number of consumers
•
predictably, in the sense that global cultural products are designed to be undemanding and
unthreatening.
rationally, where all aspects of the production and consumption process are measured and evaluated to
produce standard products in standard settings
Societies are being remade, according to this view, so that they have these characteristics, making them like
fast-food restaurants. Increasingly, workers do not need skills – work is routine, repetitive, categorised and
requires few skills. Workers are disposable, and can be replaced by machines and robots. At the same time,
consumers are being pushed into doing some of the work themselves, from clearing their own table in a fastfood restaurant to checking out their own purchases in a supermarket.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIALISATION, CULTURE AND IDENTITY
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Will globalisation lead to fewer contrasts in social identity between different individuals and groups?
Cultural globalisation creates choice and so there is always the risk of making the ‘wrong’ choices. The
homogenisation of global products, however, quantifies and reduces risk in two ways:
1 Through standardised experiences – each time a product is consumed, the individual knows exactly what to
expect.
2 Where millions, perhaps billions, of people are making exactly the same consumption choices, consumers
are reassured that they have made the ‘right’ choices.
These two processes may appear contradictory. People increasingly see themselves as diverse individuals
living out their chosen identities while simultaneously making very similar consumption choices from a relatively
narrow range of homogenised products. Bryman (1999), however, suggested that diversity and homogenisation
co-exist in the same cultural space. The contradiction is resolved in late postmodernity by the ability of TNCs to
create consumer identities and brand loyalties that both homogenise cultural behaviours within and between
societies and create the impression of tailored choices within homogenised cultural structures.
Cultural life is increasingly expressed through the kind of manufactured experiences similar to Disney World, a
theme park that is safe and secure, within which different individuals have different consumption experiences.
The disneyisation of cultural life involves things such as:
•
theming – the creation of themed consumption experiences where people buy in to a general, standardised,
lifestyle
•
de-differentiation – where consumers are offered a range of related products that provide a seamless
lifestyle experience. For example, the book that becomes the film and computer game and has related
goods such as pencil cases or lunchboxes
•
merchandising – by consuming cultural products, people take ‘themed lifestyles’ into their homes and social
groups
•
cultural imperialism – a situation where a particular culture is the ideal to which all cultures should aspire,
for example Western lifestyles, values, customs and traditions introduced into non-Western societies that
damage or destroy traditional cultural lifestyles.
While global companies undoubtedly influence cultural development, it is important not to overemphasise this
influence; there are limits to westernisation. McDonald’s may have restaurants all over the world, but that does
not necessarily mean that all cultures are converging. McDonald’s itself has had to adapt to local culture and
tastes. As it has found that the same standardised burger does not have the same appeal everywhere. Local
cultures have reasserted themselves against Western influence. In the West, ‘authentic’ or ‘ethnic’ goods are
highly valued. There has been a reaction against standardised goods and wealthy (affluent) consumers often
want something that has not been produced by a TNC. Even if people consume similar, standardised, cultural
products, they will not inevitably become identical consumers. Cultural development can be filtered and
changed by the social contexts within which products are used by people in different situations.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
5.3 Globalisation, power and politics
The spread of liberal democracy and human rights
Around the world, the number of liberal democracies has grown considerably over the last two decades and
there are far fewer dictatorships. During the Cold War period, both superpowers supported dictators who were
on their side. When the Cold War ended, countries in Eastern Europe and many developing countries were able
to begin to move from an authoritarian system, often with military rule, to a more democratic system. About 60%
of the world’s governments of countries that have populations of at least half a million are now democracies, an
increase from 24% in 1976. At the same time, the number of absolute monarchies and other authoritarian
systems has fallen in an equivalent way. Liberal democracy has globalised from its European origins to become
the world’s most common political system.
Not all political systems and elections are ‘free and fair’, with the opposition allowed to organise freely, but
elections are almost always now observed by international monitors and there are procedures to try to reduce
bribery, vote rigging and so on. Having free and fair elections is now often a condition of receiving aid.
Ideas about human rights and equality have also spread globally. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. The idea of human rights is a relatively recent one, originating in
Enlightenment Europe. Human rights apply to all humans simply because they are people. Many countries have
included protection of human rights in laws. There is also a growing framework of international agreements to
protect human rights and prosecute offenders, for example the International Criminal Court can prosecute
individuals for genocide (mass killing), war crimes and crimes against humanity.
ACTIVITY 5.3
Search on YouTube for a video called UK Law Students on Why the ICC Matters.
What strengths and weaknesses of the ICC are identified? Evaluate their relative importance.
Reflection: What criteria have you used to evaluate? How have you decided on ‘relative’ importance?
These changes are the result of:
•
Globalisation has enabled much more cross-cultural contact, which has exposed people to ideas about
democracy and human rights and encouraged democratic movements.
•
International organisations such as the UN and EU have put pressure on governments to move to
democracy and respect for human rights.
•
The spread of capitalism – democratic states are usually more stable and provide better business
environments, so that greater international trade and the involvement of TNCs become more likely.
There are, however, countries with large populations which have non-democratic systems, such as China,
Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. These have also been subject to globalising forces, suggesting that globalisation
alone does not lead to democracy and human rights.
Global social movements and attempts to oppose globalisation
Social movements now often operate in several countries; national boundaries no longer restrict political activity.
Globalisation has made possible global social movements. Important global political ‘actors’ now include
Greenpeace, the Red Cross, Amnesty International and many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and
movements working on environmental and political issues. Some of these are more traditional pressure groups,
others are new social movements (NSMs). Unlike older social movements, these are loosely organised, usually
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
without leaders, and they often use direct action tactics such as demonstrations and occupations. The
movements usually described as NSMs include:
•
the environmental movement
•
feminism
•
peace and anti-nuclear movement
•
gay and lesbian liberation movement
•
the animal rights movement
•
cancelling debt
•
anti-globalisation movement
•
the Occupy movement
Within each of these broad movements are a range of different organisations and informal groups of interested
people. For example, the environmental movement includes organisations such as Greenpeace and Friends of
the Earth as well as more informal groups such as some local people getting together to protest against a new
road or campaign on a green issue.
Global social movements are in part a response to new global risks. Traditional political institutions, such as
pressure groups and parties, find it hard to respond to these challenges. Global social movements are also a
response to people having a growing sense of being unable to control their lives and wanting to take action. The
growth of the internet and global electronic communication has made it possible for people sharing interests to
joining together in huge regional and global movements. Information can be shared very quickly and actions coordinated. They also have access to media through being able to upload material online, with a chance that this
will then be taken up by mainstream media. This enables global social movements to put pressure on
governments and international bodies.
Global social movements are often used to express anger about the effects of globalisation. There were a series
of highly publicised protests at international summits around the turn of the millennium, for example by a quarter
of a million people in Genoa, Italy, in 2001 at a G8 summit. These protests were against neo-liberal globalisation
rather than globalisation in general, claiming that the global economic system, controlled by TNCs and IGOs,
keeps people in developing countries in poverty. Anti-globalisation protestors would point to, for example, the
failure of structural adjustment programmes to reduce poverty, and to how China, which has largely ignored
neo-liberalism and whose economy is under considerable state control, has had rapid economic growth. On the
other hand, if it is accepted that tariffs and other measures imposed by developed countries stop the economies
of developing countries from growing, then anti-globalisation protestors should logically support the World Trade
Organisation’s drive for free trade. The anti-globalisation movement has also been criticised for lack of effective
organisation, which has at times allowed violent protestors to take over, and for failing to win support from many
people in developing countries. Attempts to oppose globalisation by less developed countries have often been
through government and inter-governmental action rather than popular protest, for example by South American
countries through the Mercosur and Unasur trading blocs.
ACTIVITY 5.4
Find out about one global social movement from the list above. Look particularly for evidence about its global nature (for example,
are there people and organisations in and from different countries involved and co-operating?). To what extent is the social
movement you researched truly global?
Reflection: Think about how you approached this research task. Did you do all of your reading and then remember you needed
to be looking at something particular? Did you make notes as you went but then have to sort through them all after? Or did you do
something else? What worked well about your approach and where do you think you could improve?
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Walden Bello (born 1945)
Walden is a Filipino sociologist and political activist. He is known for exposing how the World Bank and the IMF supported the corrupt
and brutal regime of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. He is a strong opponent of corporate and neo-liberal globalisation, and an
advocate of environmental justice and human rights. He is currently active in opposing the anti-human rights policies of President
Rodrigo Duterte. He has written more than 20 books, including Development Debacle: the World Bank in the Philippines (1982), The
Future in the Balance: Essays on Globalization and Resistance (2001) and Capitalism’s Last Stand? (2013). He argues that the
institutions of corporate globalisation are preventing the people of what he calls the ‘Two thirds World’ from developing sustainably.
He argues for de-globalisation, which he sees as a radical process rolling back neo-liberal economic globalisation and creating a
decentralised, pluralistic world system.
KEY CONCEPT - POWER, CONTROL AND RESISTANCE
How do global social movements show how people can organise to oppose and resist the exercise of power?
Debates about the role of the nation state in tackling global social and
environmental problems
One political aspect of globalisation is that nation states lose power and authority, especially with regard to their
economies. For example, national governments become less able to control major areas of economic policy
such as:
•
Employment – where nations experience rising or falling employment depending on how capital, labour and
jobs move across national borders.
•
Taxation policies relating to businesses, especially transnational corporations. If taxation is too high, ‘capital
flight’ occurs, with TNCs relocating to lower-tax nations. Alternatively, companies such as Amazon are
registered in Luxembourg, a low-tax country, so avoid paying higher taxes in countries such as the UK where
they do substantial business. TNCs can also export profits, making it difficult for national governments to
track what profit is being made and where.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Investment: there is increased competition and pressure on governments to provide environments and
packages to attract corporate investment.
With globalisation, national governments are secondary players on the world stage, if they have a role at all.
Ohmae (1995) argued that political globalisation marks the end of ‘the modern nation-state itself’.
TNCs are increasingly powerful, with some having turnovers larger than the gross national products of some
countries. This is evident particularly for developing countries who may be heavily reliant on one resource that
only TNCs have the expertise and ability to exploit. A good example is the role of Shell in Nigeria’s oil industry.
Even developed nations find it hard to hold on to jobs and investment because TNCs can relocate to other
countries where costs are lower. The size and power of TNCs means that their actions have wide
consequences. For example, it has been argued that although the Paris Climate Accord is signed by
governments, its success in holding back average global temperature increases will depend on the actions of
corporations to reduce emissions and develop new technologies.
Nation states are increasingly working together through intergovernmental organisations, regionally and
globally; unable to achieve the outcomes they want on their own, they have to cooperate with others. The scale
and global nature of some of the problems countries face have led to an increase in the number of transnational
organisations, conferences and treaties. Among the problems are:
•
the global drugs trade
•
the global illegal trade in endangered species and their body parts
•
carbon emissions and climate change
•
pollution
•
acidification of oceans
•
depletion of the ozone layer
•
terrorism
•
weapons of mass destruction.
Examples of agreements between nations to tackle these problems include:
•
the Paris Climate Accord 2016, signed by 195 countries, agreeing to take measures to limit the increase in
average global temperatures, arising from the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)
•
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), 1975,
giving some protection to 35 000 species of animals and plants to ensure that international trade does not
threaten the survival of the species in the wild.
After a period in which there was growing co-operation between states, some political events have suggested a
movement in the opposite direction. For example, under President Donald Trump in June 2017, the USA
announced that it would withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
Some of the global problems could lead to disasters on a scale not seen before. Beck (1992) argued that we
now live in a global risk society, in which we – individuals, groups, governments and corporations – have to
confront problems that earlier generations could not imagine and which are very different from natural disasters
and plagues in the past which were beyond human control. Many of the risks are generated by science and
technology, which have also improved lives enormously. Today’s global risks cannot easily be calculated but
they require a global response because they cannot be solved by individuals or states. Beck argued that we
need to think in terms of the universal or cosmopolitan, rather than nation states. Nation states will act in their
own interests. For example, a country might enforce strict border controls to keep out immigrants, but this will do
nothing to help the global issue of large-scale movements of populations displaced by poverty, war or climate
change.
At the same time as some power has moved from nation states to the supranational level, some has also
moved down to the local level. There have been moves towards more local decision-making in many countries,
through for example devolution (transfer) of powers from central governments to cities or regional assemblies.
Examples include the devolution of some powers from the United Kingdom government in London to the
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, and the campaign for Catalonia to become independent from Spain.
This illustrates the ‘glocal’ aspect of globalisation.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
In your country, has there been any devolution or movements arguing for more local decisionmaking?
The view that nation states are withering away has been contested. For example, John Gray (2002) is sceptical
that globalisation involves ‘the world becoming a true single market, in which nation-states have withered away,
supplanted by homeless multinational corporations’. He claims that neo-liberal theorists simply want this to be
the case. Hirst and Thompson (1996) point out that nations are key to creating the stable political conditions
under which trade and international development can continue. Arguably, when nation states co-operate with
others in intergovernmental organisations, their collective strength enables them to do more than would
otherwise have been the case, for example, in tackling global issues such as climate change and migration.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
5.4 Globalisation, poverty and inequalities
Debates about the impact of globalisation on life chances in developing
countries, in relation to education, income and health
Education
Education – and literacy in particular – is an important demographic factor in terms of overall social
development and individual development within societies. Education makes significant demographic
contributions to gender relationships, health and employment, for example.
Between 2000 and 2015, following the Dakar Education Forum and the setting by the United Nations of
Millennium Development Goals for education, there was significant progress in improving education in
developing countries. Through globalisation, transnational organisations and NGOs were able to help improve
education in these countries. By 2015, according to the UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report,
the number of children not in school had fallen by a half but there were still 58 million children not in school and
around 100 million who do not finish primary education. The situation is still unequal between the sexes, with
girls less likely than boys to go to school, despite an emphasis on education for girls. Education for girls is seen
as effective not only in getting women into the workforce but also in raising general education and health
standards. The gap between rich and poor has increased in education, with children from poorer families being
far less likely to go to school than those from wealthier ones. As a consequence of inadequate education in the
past, there are about 781 million illiterate (unable to read or write) adults. However, this is an improvement from
18% of the world’s adult population in 2000 to 14% now.
Globalisation means that more children in developing countries can have better teaching and facilities through
aid, growing prosperity – especially in middle-income countries – and easier access via the internet to
information. However, in most of the world education is modelled on the Western system, so that around the
world the organisation of schools, subjects and timetables and so on are similar. This can be seen as an aspect
of cultural imperialism, with schools conveying modern Western values of, for example, individualism and
consumerism.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
The fact that you are studying for a Cambridge International qualification can be seen as part of
globalisation. What other aspects of your education also have global connections?
Income
For families and individuals, income is the amount of money and other resources coming in over a period
through wages, salaries, rent, profit on investment or any other sources. Income is linked to the concepts of
poverty and inequality. With regard to poverty, the question is whether globalisation has allowed people to move
out of poverty. For inequality, it is whether globalisation widens the gap between rich and poor.
The World Bank defines poverty as living on less than US$1.90 per day, adjusted to take account of spending
power. By this measure, in 2013 there were 767 million people in poverty, around 10% of the world’s population.
This is down from 1.85 billion in 1990, when the world population was smaller. Thus there has been
considerable progress in reducing poverty. A lot of the progress has been in the industrialising economies of
countries such as Brazil, China and India – here, the economic growth which has accompanied globalisation is
lifting millions out of poverty. However, Paul Collier points out that around a billion people are being left behind.
He refers to them as the ‘bottom billion’, or Africa plus, as they are in Africa and a small number of other
countries such as Haiti and Afghanistan. Globalists argue that the lack of progress is because these countries
have not globalised enough. Africa is not as integrated into the global economy as other parts of the world. The
alternative view from sceptics is that the bottom billion have been made poor by globalisation, both in its
previous colonial period and now, and that becoming globalised now, for example through neo-liberal
economics, will deepen poverty. This also means the growth of inequality. The development gap has moved
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
from being between the developing world and the relatively small rest of the world, to being between the great
majority and the bottom billion who are being left behind.
ACTIVITY 5.5
Look up a video online called ‘To End Extreme Poverty by 2030, We Need to Tackle Inequality
What measures are being taken to end extreme poverty by 2030?
What links does the video make between poverty and inequality?
Health
The globalisation of Western consumer-led lifestyles is changing the health of people around the world. In the
past, the main types of ill health were related to infectious diseases: diarrhoea, bacterial and viral diseases such
as polio, cholera, hepatitis and typhoid; airborne diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, meningitis,
whooping cough, diphtheria and influenza; and parasitical diseases such as malaria. In developed countries,
only about 5% of deaths have these causes with the majority of deaths now being from non-infectious medical
conditions such as cancers and heart disease (Sutcliffe 2001) which are associated with lifestyle factors such as
rich and fatty diets, smoking, inactive (sedentary) lifestyles and stress. Diabetes, obesity and stress are also
increasing. These ‘diseases of affluence’ are also more likely to occur the longer a person lives, and so in the
past, when life expectancy was lower, did not have as much chance of developing. In many developing
countries, although the ‘diseases of affluence’ are present, the main health problems are still communicable
diseases. They tend to particularly affect children, who are often weakened by malnutrition, and women, and
rural populations who have less access to health care, clean water and sanitation.
These diseases were brought under control in today’s developed countries by:
•
improvements in nutrition and diet
•
improvements in hygiene – piped water supplies, sewage disposal
•
changes in reproductive behaviour – the falling birth rate
All of these were aided by improvements in education and literacy, and then by advances in curative medicine
and immunisations.
Despite the progress in reducing deaths from infectious diseases, there remains a threat that they will return.
Changes to lifestyles and the environment can lead to new disease threats, such as HIV, SARS and Ebola, and
the re-emergence of others such as polio and tuberculosis. The developing world also faces the problem of the
growth of the ‘diseases of affluence’. These are often conditions with which the patient can, with medical care,
live for many years.
Sceptics argue that globalisation is creating new health problems in developing countries, for example:
•
The adoption of the lifestyles of the rich world (for example, diets heavy in fats and sugars and refined and
processed ingredients), leading to increases in cancers and heart disease.
•
TNCs increasingly marketing junk foods and other products with health risks such as cigarettes.
•
TNCs causing pollution which can affect health.
•
Pharmaceutical TNCs being reluctant to make their medicines available at prices that people can afford or to
allow developing countries to manufacture their own generic versions.
•
Poor funding of medical research into medicines and treatments for diseases that affect mainly poorer
people. Research is geared more towards the lifestyle and pursuits of wealthy consumers in the developed
world from whom more profits can be made (for example, weight loss and cosmetics).
Globalisation thus brings about not only changes in people’s health and the illnesses they have, but also
changes the demands on health services. With most infectious diseases, the victim either recovers or dies
within a short period. Diseases of affluence often involve care and medicines over a period of years as the
victim lives with the disease.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
KEY CONCEPT - INEQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY
Which groups of people are more likely than others to be affected negatively by inequalities in education, income and health?
The role of transnational organisations in tackling global inequalities and the
extent to which they have been successful
Nation states work together through transnational organisations. This co-operation is in itself an aspect of
globalisation. Transnational organisations include:
•
the United Nations
•
agencies such as the IMF and World Bank
•
regional organisations such as the European Union
•
international non-governmental organisations
•
transnational corporations.
The United Nations, to which 193 sovereign states belong, promotes a global development agenda through
programmes such as the Human Development Index and Sustainable Development Goals. The UN has a
complex membership structure covering a range of institutions. These institutions include:
•
political institutions, such as the General Assembly, a forum for debate; the Security Council, which focuses
on issues relating to international peace and security; and the International Court of Justice
•
economic institutions, focused on development issues, such as international trade, finance and sustainable
development (for example, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank)
•
cultural agencies that relate to social issues associated with development in areas such as gender
discrimination and health issues (for example, the Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Research
and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO).
The UN’s official aims include:
•
ensuring international peace and security
•
encouraging co-operation to resolve economic, political and cultural problems
•
dispute resolution
•
promotion of human rights and freedoms.
In 1990, the United Nations (UN) developed the Human Development Index (HDI). This is an attempt to
combine social and economic indicators to assess and rank countries across three economic and cultural areas:
•
life expectancy
•
knowledge, as measured by adult literacy and educational provision
•
living standards measured by GDP per capita.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Human Development Report 2016
Published by UNDP, 2017
Each year the United Nations Development Programme publishes a report and also data on each country. There are now five
sets of data: the Human Development Index (HDI), the Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), the Gender
Development Index (GDI), the Gender Inequality Index (GII), and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). The overall picture in
the quarter century since the reports began is of progress towards reducing poverty and improving people’s lives. The HDI is a
score out of 1 for health, education and standard of living. Scores in 2016 ranged from Norway at the top on 0.95 to the Central
African Republic on 0.35. In 1990, the range was from 0.86 to 0.2. Each year, most countries make some progress, although their
position in the ranking may change.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
What is your country’s ranking on the HDI? How important to your country is progress on the HDI
indicators?
ACTIVITY 5.6
Find out about HDI by visiting the UNDP website: United Nations Development Programme
What actions can governments take that would improve their countries’ score? Put these in order of priority.
Reflection: Look back at your reflections from Activity 5.4. Were you able to improve on your process for this activity? If not, set
yourself a target for your next research activity for one thing you will do better.
The advantage of the HDI is that it does not rank countries according to a predetermined ‘development scale’,
such as globalised standards of development/underdevelopment. Instead, it compares societies using a set of
objective, quantitative criteria that reflects qualitative criteria. For example, ‘levels of knowledge’ are measured
by literacy rates. HDI measures the ends of social development – what it means in terms of raised living
standards. The index can also measure indicators of overdevelopment: the illnesses and diseases, such as
heart disease and obesity, which affect affluent societies and reduce average life expectancy.
There are drawbacks to the HDI, including questions about its reliability and validity. Less developed countries
often lack the resources to keep accurate statistics. Other problems arise from the fact that it needs to be used
in combination with other indexes, including:
•
human poverty indexes (HPI) that measure social inequality
•
gender development indexes (GDI) that reflect the fact that gender differences exist in most societies in
terms of how economic and cultural development is experienced.
ACTIVITY 5.7
In small groups, choose one of the following and devise a scale to express different levels of social development in your society:
•
shelter
•
health
•
politics
•
economics.
Compare your scale with that of other groups.
Reflection: Think about the way you worked in the group and your level of participation. Think about what good group work
would look like and set yourself one goal for achieving this next time.
Specialised agencies within the UN include the IMF and the World Bank, both established in 1944. These are
economic agencies whose primary development role is to lend money at lower (concessional) rates to lowincome countries. They also lend money at non-concessional rates to middle-income countries that find it
difficult to raise loans in private markets. In ‘exceptional circumstances’ the IMF will lend money to developed
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
nations. The UK, for example, required an emergency £2.3 billion loan in 1976. Often considered alongside
these two organisations is the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which developed from trading agreements to
become a regulatory body for world trade and tries to bring about international agreements on free trade.
The IMF has a global membership of 189 countries, each paying a subscription based on its relative economic
size; the USA is the largest net contributor. In general terms, the IMF plays two main roles in the world
economic system:
•
It lends to members to address and correct socio-economic problems. This includes loans to help states
overcome economic problems and ‘concessional loans to help fight poverty in developing countries’.
•
It establishes crisis-prevention measures that involve providing advice, as well as funding, to encourage
members to adopt ‘sound economic policies’.
The IMF’s main purpose, therefore, is to act as a trans-global agency that keeps track of the economic stability
of member countries and offers advice, criticism, technical expertise and economic aid as and when required to
fulfil its primary role. Officially, its main objective is to promote an orderly system of world trade, within which
member nations can develop their economic capabilities. It therefore tries to promote the balanced development
of global trade and the stability of world exchange rates.
The World Bank unlike the IMF has the primary objectives of reducing poverty and improving living standards
among its member states. To this end, the World Bank provides two main services:
•
educational support, relating to economic concerns, such as debt management, repayment and relief and
cultural concerns, such as health issues
•
economic support, such as ‘low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants’ to developing countries for
education, health, infrastructure and communications development.
Financial organisations such as the IMF and World Bank provide assistance to developing nations as part of an
ideological agenda. Countries receiving assistance from the IMF and World Bank have to meet certain political
and economic conditions before assistance is given. These conditions vary, but Greenhill (2004) points out that
‘the World Bank is still lending money to developing country governments on condition they adopt specific
economic policies such as privatisation’. This means that in order to qualify for a loan, receiving countries must
allow private companies to develop/run industries such as water, gas and electricity generation and supply that
were formerly provided by governments.
This promotes not just capitalism as the solution to developmental problems, but a particular form of neo-liberal
capitalism. This is based on the desire to ensure the widest possible role for the private sector in determining
the political and economic aims of governments. It includes ideas such as:
•
private ownership of all areas of the economy
•
the liberalisation of trade between countries
•
access to internal markets for TNCs.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 5.3: The World Bank HQ in Washington, D.C. Agents of development or Western hegemony?
The sets of conditions that receiving countries must agree to are called Structural Adjustment Programmes
(SAPs). Their impact is usually initially a drop in living standards as, for example, government subsidies on
basic goods are removed, but neo-liberals argue that this is justified by longer-term economic gains. Neo-liberal
restructuring of the economy should allow private businesses to do well, generating profits and creating more
jobs, with a ‘trickle down’ effect that means over time the majority of the population benefit. Against this, it can
be argued that many countries that have restructured their economies as required remain low-income countries,
with much of the population unable to access adequate education and health care and economic growth
benefiting only a minority. For example, TNCs may only employ local people on low wages with few prospects,
with expatriates employed for management positions, and profits will leave the country.
Typical measures included in SAPs include:
•
deregulation of private industry and the ending of restrictions on foreign investment
•
privatisation of state-owned industries and services
•
currency devaluation that increase the costs of domestic production and goods
•
cutting government expenditure on social spending in areas such as health, education and food subsidies
•
lower corporate taxation
•
export-led strategic growth that involved producing goods for foreign markets, to increase national income.
Hong (2000) argues that these measures cause huge economic and social changes in developing nations.
Many countries abandoned crop diversity for domestic consumption in favour of producing cash crops, such as
coffee and cotton, that could be sold in developed markets. While this offered several economic benefits for
developed nations and TNCs, the overall result of the SAP strategy, according to Hong, was that developing
nations suffered in a number of ways:
•
Unemployment and poverty increased, as domestic industries were exposed to fierce competition from
TNCs. State spending on social services was sharply reduced.
•
Government and private corruption increased. Hawley (2000), for example, argues that ‘Western businesses
pay huge amounts of money in bribes to win friends, influence and contracts, conservatively estimated to run
to £50 billion a year or roughly the amount the UN believes is needed to eradicate global poverty’. Hanlon
(2004) claims that corruption flourishes in developing countries as a direct result of the ‘economic
liberalisation policies required of Southern countries by Northern donors’.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Social conditions deteriorate, including the ‘collapse of both preventive and curative care due to the lack of
medical equipment, supplies, poor working conditions and low pay of medical personnel’.
•
Ecosystems alter because of the environmental impact of enforced changes in land use. The introduction of
monoculture has resulted in more intensive farming methods, the increased use of pesticides and herbicides
and the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops. Illegal logging in areas such as the Amazon Basin
has also resulted in deforestation, land deterioration and increased carbon dioxide emissions from burning
woodland.
•
Social dislocation and unrest result: Hanlon (2005) argues that ‘the World Bank stresses the free market,
small government, and fiscal austerity’ that, in countries like Sierra Leone, have contributed to social
dislocation and unrest. He argues that cuts to education budgets meant many young people received no
schooling, leading to both social problems and social exclusion, two factors that contributed to civil war
during the 1990s.
Although initiatives such as the SAP have raised questions about the strategic role of international agencies,
Dalmiya and Schultink (2003) argue that some international agencies, including the World Bank and WHO, have
‘played a significant role in’ raising nutritional standards and combating disease in developing countries.
Figure 5.4: How do organisations such as the IMF promote global development?
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a further example of a major international political institution. It was
established in 1995 with the primary aim of regulating world trade through:
•
government-level negotiation of economic treaties
•
international agreements
•
international trading rules
•
dispute resolution between trading partners.
Individual states also work together through multilateral aid programmes. In 1970, 23 of the major developed
nations agreed to a target of contributing 0.7% of GNI to official development assistance, although few have
consistently met this. Some aid goes directly from the donor country to the receiving country, but much goes
through multilateral agencies. For example, the EU has its own aid budget, to which its member countries
contribute.
The OECD (1995) defines aid as assistance given to promote ‘economic development and social welfare’
across the globe. This can take a number of forms:
•
non-repayable grants
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
repayable loans that must have:
•
•
a lower interest rate than current market rates
a grant element: the norm is around 25% of the loan
•
non-monetary assistance such as technological and military help, advice and training
•
development finance: this involves aid in the form of credit, guaranteed by a developed nation, through
which developing nations can establish trading links.
Official development assistance can be bilateral aid given by one government to another, or multilateral where
aid is channelled through an organisation such as the EU or World Bank. Its main purpose, according to the
American Congressional Budget Office (1997), is ‘to encourage equitable and sustainable economic growth in
developing countries’. The concept of sustainable growth reflects the idea that economic aid should be directed
towards the specific development needs of the receiving country. The long-term goal of this is to establish selfsustaining economic growth. Other forms of ODA may, however, have different goals.
Military assistance can be:
•
economic, such as the provision of loans, grants and credit agreements to enable a developing country to
purchase military hardware from the country providing the assistance
•
political, ranging from things such as providing military advisors and trainers to a military presence in the
developing country.
Humanitarian assistance includes the following:
•
Donations made by a government to ease suffering in situations of war or natural disaster, usually, but not
necessarily, in a developing country. In 2011, for example, the USA provided $500 million of ‘emergency
assistance’ to the eastern Horn of Africa, including $50 million assistance for famine relief in Somalia.
•
Co-operation between countries. Anshan (2010), for example, notes that China has provided both
emergency medical assistance and long-term co-operation to 44 African countries since 1963.
•
Physical aid such as food and clothing provided either directly or indirectly through non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), such as charities.
Non-governmental organisations
International NGOs are also transnational organisations which try to tackle global inequalities. The table below
gives some examples of NGOs providing different types of assistance.
Type of assistance
Example NGO
Poverty reduction
Oxfam
Medical
Médecins sans Frontières
Humanitarian
Danish Refugee Council
Educational
Barefoot College
Business creation
One Acre Fund
Microfinance
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
Table 5.1 Examples of NGOs providing different types of assistance
NGOs are distinct from governments and businesses. The term ‘NGO’ covers a wide range of organisations.
Some, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are based on the philanthropic activities of wealthy
individuals; some are linked to churches and other religious organisations; and some, such as Oxfam, have
grown from the coming together of concerned individuals wanting to help others. Non-government organisations
are sometimes characterised as civil society organisations (CSOs) to indicate that they function independently
of the state. They differ from agencies such as the IMF, UN or WTO because, as Malena (1995) noted, they are
private organisations. NGOs pursue activities such as:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
relieving suffering
•
promoting the interests of the poor
•
protecting the environment
•
providing basic social services
•
undertaking community development.
Shah (2005) argues that this general perception of NGOs covers a wide range of groups with different forms of
funding, organisation and aims. These include:
•
corporate-funded think tanks
•
community groups
•
development and research organisations
•
charities
•
relief agencies.
Although a defining characteristic of NGOs is their economic and political independence from government, their
diversity makes them difficult to classify. For example, some NGOs work openly with national governments, but
others do not. Others may work secretly with or against national governments to promote certain economic and
political aims (such as, Schuh (2005) suggests, the overthrow of the Iranian government).
Over the past 50 years, NGOs have increased rapidly in type and number. The World Bank estimates that there
are more than 30 000 NGOs operating in developed countries. The United Nations puts this number at up to 50
000 NGOs operating in areas such as development, human rights, security and peace politics. Robbins (2005)
suggested a number of reasons for this increase:
•
New forms of communication, such as the internet, have made it easier to create international communities
of like-minded individuals and organisations.
•
Public awareness of development issues is greater now than in the past, with humanitarian and
environmental issues receiving greater media attention.
•
Ideological changes to how states view economic, political and cultural development have resulted in
national governments channelling initiatives and assistance through NGOs, partly because of their ability to
respond rapidly to development problems. Many NGOs have established networks within developing
countries that allow them to direct assistance to where it is most urgently needed.
A further reason for the rise in private, non-profit making NGOs is the ideological shift that has taken place at
both government and individual levels in developed nations. There has been a move towards neo-liberal ideas
about the relationship between aid and trade as development strategies. This has resulted in a move away from
bilateral assistance, which is now seen as ineffective, economically destabilising and open to corruption,
towards greater NGO involvement.
The amount of aid that NGOs can provide is small compared to aid from governments and multilateral aid
provided by IGOs. NGOs have for many years had a vital role in emergencies, raising funds from the public for
disaster relief. Because of criticism of ODA and because neo-liberals disapprove of states being involved in aid,
NGOs are growing in importance; more aid is being channelled through NGOs. Many have also built up a high
degree of expertise and knowledge that makes them effective. For example, the health NGO Médecins sans
Frontières played a central role in dealing with the outbreak of the Ebola virus in parts of West Africa in 2014,
responding more quickly than the World Health Organisation or governments of aid-giving countries.
NGOs can be more effective than governments in tackling inequalities. For example, they are able to undertake
small-scale projects working as partners with local people. This is referred to as grass roots or bottom-up
development, and is more sustainable than other types of project. A good example is the sand dams built under
the guidance of the NGO Excellent in East Africa. These use local resources and technology to trap water so
that local people have an accessible source of clean water throughout the year and do not need to travel a long
distance to get it. This can mean, for example, that children can attend school because they are not needed to
fetch water. Whole communities are involved in building the sand dams so that they feel a sense of ownership
and will look after them as needed, while the design means that local materials can be used and expensive
imported spare parts are not needed.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
NGOs also, by their size and nature, can often avoid some of the problems of bureaucracy and risk of corruption
that can affect government aid projects.
On the other hand, larger NGOs have been critcised for, for example, spending too much on administration, with
donors complaining that not all the money they give reaches the people it’s intended for, for working too closely
with governments relying on government funds and for having links with TNCs. Sometimes funds have been
spent inappropriately, for example, flying in experts rather than using the knowledge and experience of local
people. Some faith-based NGOs have been accused of prioritising converting people to their religion rather than
helping to tackle inequalities. NGOs can also be too concerned with good publicity and building a successful
brand.
NGOs are also open to criticism of behaving in patronising or exploitative ways; they possess money and
resources that people in developing countries need. In 2018, an investigation by The Times newspaper brought
to light the use of prostituted women and other claimed (alleged) misbehaviour by senior workers for the NGO
Oxfam in Haiti in following the 2010 earthquake. Oxfam had allowed three men to resign and had sacked four
others for gross misconduct after an internal inquiry concerning sexual exploitation, the downloading of
pornography, bullying and intimidation. So aid workers (mainly male, white, European) had taken advantage of
the unequal power relationship with some of those they were there to help – victims of the earthquake. This
drew attention to the possibilities for abuse of power in these situations.
Overall, INGO aid is worthy and often highly successful at a local level, but there is not enough of it to transform
the global situation.
ACTIVITY 5.8
Find out which international NGOs are in your country, either running aid projects or fundraising for projects in other countries.
To what extent do you think these NGOs improve life in your country or in other countries?
Whether aid is given by IGOs or NGOs, its effectiveness is disputed. It can be seen as an important way for
societies to stimulate the industrialisation process, allowing them to make the transition from agricultural to
industrial society. Aid can also be one of the ways in which peripheral and semi-peripheral societies develop
their industrial base in order to contribute to global economic markets.
More generally, if the overall goal is to encourage developing countries to industrialise and reduce their
dependence on developed countries, aid can help deal with rapid industrialisation and bring developing
countries into the world political infrastructure. Aid gives donor countries political advantage which might, for
example be used to ensure that environmental targets are met. Further arguments in favour of aid include the
following:
•
Reconstruction projects can promote development following conflicts. US aid, for example, has played a role
in the reconstruction of Iraq following the Second Gulf War.
•
Aid has helped to reduce diseases such as polio and to eradicate smallpox.
•
Humanitarian aid in areas such as Africa and South East Asia has lessened the effects of natural disasters.
NGOs have also worked towards reducing the impact of drought and famine by helping developing
populations improve their farming methods and sanitation, as well as to increase their levels of education.
•
Aid helps to develop economic infrastructures, such as sanitation and waste disposal, when private
companies are unwilling to intervene because there is no profit to be made.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
How would studying sociology help someone intending to work for an international NGO?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Despite the benefits, not everyone sees aid as either wholly beneficial to the recipient or kind on the part of the
donor. There are three main criticisms of aid programmes:
1 Official development assistance contributes to the client status of receiving states. Developing nations are
locked into a cycle of economic development that mainly benefits companies from the donor country.
According to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) (2005): ‘The principal beneficiary of
America’s foreign assistance programs has always been the United States; 80% of Agency contracts and
grants go directly to American firms.’ USAID also claims that ‘US foreign assistance has always had a
twofold purpose’: furthering America’s foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets, and
improving the lives of the citizens of the developing world.
2 For neo-liberal approaches, this involves the argument that ‘trade rather than aid’ represents the most
efficient and cost-effective solution to the problems of development, dependency and industrialisation.
Although some forms of humanitarian aid may be seen as useful, the only long-term development solution is
to incorporate these countries into the global market economy. This involves allowing TNCs to operate freely
in developing countries in order to:
•
develop natural resources, such as coal, oil and gas
•
generate employment
•
develop indigenous economic infrastructures.
3 Effectiveness relates to whether aid is the best way to promote political and economic development. Will it
achieve the desired goals? Will it create more problems than it solves in the receiving society? Collier and
Dollar (2002), for example, argue that whether or not aid stimulates economic growth depends on the
political situation. Developing nations with stable political and government structures benefit from aid; those
where the political situation is unstable do not. This raises questions about whether aid could and should be
used to assist the development of stable political and economic structures in the first place. Easterly et al.
(2003) found no significant factual (empirical) relationship ‘between the amount of aid and economic growth
of the recipient countries’.
There is also an argument that aid is sometimes used in ways that bring no long-term economic or cultural
benefits to the receiving country. For example, building roads to develop communication systems has no benefit
if a country does not have the financial or material resources to maintain the roads.
Bauer (1971) argued that, historically, when aid has been given directly to governments, ruling elites use it to
strengthen (consolidate) their power base through things such as patronage and corruption. As a result, many
people now believe that money and assistance is not the more efficient or cost-effective way to encourage
development, except in the case of humanitarian disasters. The meaning of ‘aid’ has changed from the idea of
‘donation’ to the idea of promoting trade as the route to (self-) development.
Industrialisation is seen as the key to development, so helping countries to industrialise by helping them trade in
global markets is an important step towards solving the problem of underdevelopment. Development must be
sustainable, so ‘aid through trade’ promotes long-term, self-sustaining, economic stability and progression.
Governments and NGOs generally agree that sustainable development is the route to take, but they disagree
about what role trade should take in this process.
A further type of transnational organisation which affects global inequalities is corporations. Transnational
corporations (TNCs) exist to make a profit for their shareholders but their actions can have an effect on
inequalities.
TNCs play an important role in world trade. Raghavan (1996) estimates that they account for around one-third
of total world economic output and control around ‘two-thirds of the world economy’. Anderson and Cavanagh
(2000) give an idea of the immense size and economic scope of TNCs when they note:
•
In terms of revenue, of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are TNCs.
•
The top 200 TNCs account for around 25% of the world’s daily economic activity.
•
Around 30% of world trade involves ‘economic transactions among various units of the same corporation’.
A further feature of contemporary TNCs is the extent of their global connections. Vitali et al. (2011), for example,
mapped the ‘architecture of the international ownership network’ through ownership and control patterns among
the world’s largest TNCs. They found a relatively small number of financial institutions, mainly banks but also
insurance and private hedge funds, at the centre of a global network of ownership and control.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The strategic role of TNCs in the global marketplace has also attracted criticism. The NGO ActionAid (2005), for
example, argues that the failure to regulate the behaviour of global food corporations has caused problems for
developing nations that also affect developed consumers in the following ways:
•
Abuse of market power – they may force down the prices paid to producers in developing countries.
•
Profiteering – despite forcing down prices for producers of coffee, rice and tea, Western consumers do not
pay lower retail prices.
•
Marginalisation – producers who fail to comply with the economic terms laid down by corporations are
‘forced out of the supply chain’; their produce remains unsold.
•
Human rights and the environment – TNCs ‘operate in a regulatory void’ in developing nations that allows
them to ‘weaken labour, environmental and public health laws’. They do, however, ‘behave more responsibly
in countries with tighter regulation’.
•
Corporate social responsibility – these are ‘voluntary efforts by companies to improve their social and
environmental performance’, but such self-regulating efforts ‘are ineffective, unworkable and rarely observed
in developing countries’.
•
Social harm – the poorest sections of the global economy find it difficult to seek justice for harms caused by
the activities of TNCs. Weak national laws and the difficulties of applying international laws conspire to allow
TNCs to largely escape sanction. An extreme example is the 1984 explosion at the then Union Carbideowned pesticide factory in Bhopal India. This exposed around 500,000 people to toxic chemicals and led
directly to around 2000 deaths. Twenty-five years later, eight ex-employees were given two-year prison
sentences for their role in the disaster.
Madeley (2003) concludes that TNCs have ‘used their money, size and power’ to influence governments,
particularly in the developing world. In 2009, for example, Royal Dutch Shell paid $15 million, without admitting
liability, to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company collaborated with the Nigerian government to pay soldiers
to silence critics of the company’s operations. In the developing world, the newer global breed of internet-based
companies, from Amazon to Google, have been accused of developing complex ways to minimise their tax
liabilities. Griffiths and Bowers (2013), for example, found that Amazon paid little or no corporation tax on its
profits from UK sales worth £4 billion.
Despite the examples outlined above, TNCs do not always occupy a destructive position in the global economy.
Aisbett (2003) argued that, although in the public consciousness ‘benefit to transnational corporations implies
loss to everyone else, particularly the most poor and marginalized groups’, empirical data suggests that this is
not the case. It is, for example, possible to note a range of benefits to developing countries coming from TNC
activities.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 5.5: Bhopal, India, was the site of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters in 1984.
Trade and investment can generally be related to both economic growth and poverty reduction and, more
specifically, as Contreras (1987) argues, to benefits such as:
•
employment and income increases
•
educational development resulting from TNCs needing local workers with particular knowledge and skills
•
capital income that develops from ‘rents, dividends and other capital income for shareholders’
•
capital incomes also increase indirectly through the development of supplier and service industries linked to
the primary economic activities of TNCs
•
increased government income for infrastructure development, welfare, health and educational services,
results from taxation on the economic activity stimulated by TNCs.
A range of technological developments flow from the presence of TNCs and their specific benefits, for
Contreras, include:
•
regional development, whereby economically isolated and underdeveloped regions can realise their
productive capabilities
•
industrial growth, as technological developments provide a ‘short cut’ to economic development
•
technology transfer that gives increased access to the knowledge and skills possessed by TNCs.
Through TNCs, developing countries gain access to markets in developed nations for their domestic produce,
and the technological benefits of TNC activity enable developing nations to compete successfully in such
markets. This, in turn, brings both foreign exchange and investment. In terms of the overall development
process, the presence of TNCs provides the ‘industrial and technological spark’ that modernisation and freemarket theorists see as essential to escape from subsistence agriculture and poverty.
Aisbett points out that the economic benefits of international trade are not always shared equitably between
TNCs and the countries in which they operate. However, she argues that this is more a matter for national
governments, international law and consumer behaviour in developed countries than an inevitable consequence
of capitalist corporate behaviour. In general, therefore, Contreras argues, ‘TNCs have had a decisive influence
in the development of Africa, Latin America and Asia, particularly in those countries where rapid economic
growth and industrialization have high priority and where sophisticated technology and massive capital
investments are needed’.
ACTIVITY 5.9
Use the internet and any other resources to research and create a spider diagram/mind map to summarise the benefits and
drawbacks of TNC behaviour across the world.
Now assess the role of TNCs – on the whole, do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks or the other way around?
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Naomi Klein (born 1970)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Klein is a Canadian social activist who has written and filmed analyses of globalisation and capitalism. Her first book, No Logo, in
1999 was highly critical of brand-oriented consumer culture and of transnational corporations, some of which, such as Nike, she
accused of exploiting workers in developing countries. Later she developed the theory that neo-liberal globalisation has expanded
through taking advantage of wars and disasters. The ‘shock’ of a disaster, whether natural or not, creates a situation in which drastic
action is accepted as necessary and dishonest states and transnational corporations take advantage of this. Democracy is
suspended and radical free market policies are pushed through. In 2009, she published This Changes Everything, bringing
environmentalism into her analysis and arguing that the climate crisis provides opportunities for global action from below to bring
about a transformation.
Sociological explanations for global inequalities, including capitalism,
colonialism, postcolonialism and patriarchy
Early sociological explanations for global inequalities are based on the idea that societies evolve from being
traditional to being modern. Wealthier societies today are those which evolved first, moving through a series of
stages to reach their high living standards, while poorer societies are those which are evolved less quickly for a
variety of reasons. These are modernisation theories, based on the idea that development follows a broadly
straight (linear) path. Societies pass through different stages, from undeveloped to fully developed, through a
cumulative effect; the achievements of one stage become the platform from which to launch the next.
Sociologically, the work of Comte, Marx and Weber generally reflects this type of modernisation theory.
Comte (1853) saw development in terms of ideological changes in how the world was explained. He claimed
that all societies passed through three developmental stages, from superstition to science:
1 Theological: religion was the main form of explanation.
2 Metaphysical: this was a transition stage between religion and science.
3 Scientific (‘positive’): scientific knowledge is the dominant form of explanation.
Marx (1867) saw development in economic terms. Societies moved from one epoch to another as the means of
economic production changed. Unique modes of production characterised three major developmental phases:
1 feudalism
2 capitalism
3 communism.
Weber (1905) saw development in terms of a change from a traditional, or pre-modern, society to a modern
industrial society that, once started, followed an inevitable process whose features included:
•
industrialisation
•
urbanisation
•
rationalisation: behaviour and social organisation based on scientific principles.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Although these theorists viewed modernisation in different ways, they shared a number of ideas about
development. For example, they all believed that it was:
•
phased – or characterised – by different, separate stages
•
cumulative – each stage built on the preceding one
•
linear – societies move from underdeveloped through developing to developed
•
progressive – each stage was superior to the previous one
•
inevitable – modernisation, once started, could not be stopped or reversed.
A more recent approach is that of Rostow (1960), who argued that all societies pass through five stages:
1 Traditional society is characterised by:
• religion and magic as the dominant ideological forms
•
•
agricultural production, with no industrial development
rigid political hierarchies with little or no social mobility; social relationships are largely fixed at birth
(ascribed) and based on family and kinship.
2 Preconditions for take-off: this stage is caused by the development of relationships with other societies in
areas such as:
•
trade, where goods and services are exchanged in the marketplace
•
aid: developed societies provide underdeveloped societies with grants and loans.
The precondition stage has three basic characteristics:
•
In terms of ideology, scientific ideas and practices develop. These lead to technological developments,
such as inventions or the application of technologies introduced by more developed societies.
Industrial production begins to develop; agriculture is still significant, but it begins to decline in
importance.
•
•
Politically, societies develop as recognisable nation states, often ruled by elites such as a monarch or
military/civilian dictatorship. A key development is the emergence of a bourgeois (capitalist) class, with
the knowledge, skills and motivation to exploit economic opportunities. They must be able and willing to
invest capital and reinvest profits. This lays the foundations for stage 3.
3 Take-off: at this stage, economic growth becomes self-sustaining. Levels of capital investment and
productivity reach a stage where economic expansion can be sustained.
•
•
The rapid expansion of manufacturing and a sharp decline in the social and economic significance of
agricultural production.
Political and cultural institutions develop more mature forms: a democratic transition to representative
government in the former, and education systems providing skilled, literate (able to read and write) and
numerate (able to work with numbers) workers and managers in the latter.
4 The drive to maturity: this is a consolidation phase:
•
•
Economic behaviour becomes more diversified, producing a wider range of goods and services for both
internal consumption and export. Service industries develop as a significant economic sector.
Political reforms are consolidated with the extension of democratic processes. A range of social reforms,
such as government-sponsored welfare systems, are introduced.
5 Maturity: the final phase involves what Rostow called the ‘age of high mass consumption’. This situation is
characterised by:
•
advanced levels of economic activity and development, relating not just to manufacturing and service
industries but also to the development of knowledge industries, such as computing and communications
•
an increasing range of choices about development, such as the type of society in which people want to
live, and the society they want for their children; these choices are exercised two levels:
• the individual level, in terms of consumption patterns
• the institutional level, in terms of the social infrastructure: how things like education and welfare
systems are developed, structured and financed.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 5.6: Can modernisation theory be likened to the development of air travel?
Modernisation theory, as both a description of and explanation for the development process has been criticised
in a number of ways.
Modernisation theorists see development as a linear process that, once started, proceeds along a set path
towards a specific end. All societies are moving towards the same end point. Although this may reflect the
experiences of the first societies in Europe to modernise, they did so under different conditions to those faced by
contemporary societies in Asia and Africa. Most significantly, developed societies now exist and have an interest
in the economic and social exploitation of less developed societies.
A further problem arising from this characterisation is that it argues that there is only one way – the Western way
– to achieve development. This can be used to justify a range of economic, political and cultural interventions by
developed countries in the internal affairs of underdeveloped countries on the basis that these are necessary for
‘modernisation’. The theory also enhances the hegemony of developed societies by prescribing what
underdeveloped societies must do to modernise. As Coury (1997) argued, development ‘is defined in terms of
very specific Western societies’ with a number of nonnegotiable features:
•
individualism
•
democracy
•
capitalism
•
science
•
secularism
•
stability.
An alternative explanation of global inequalities is put forward by dependency or underdevelopment theorists.
Dependency/underdevelopment theory broadens the focus to examine the relationship between developed
and underdeveloped societies, advancing the view that underdevelopment arises as a consequence of the
relationships that form between underdeveloped and developed societies. Chaliand (1977), for example, argued
that underdeveloped societies are those with ‘distorted and highly dependent economies’ dependent on
developed nations in terms of:
•
producing primary products for consumption in the developed world
•
providing markets for their finished goods
•
gearing economic development to the needs of industrialised societies
•
product prices being determined by large businesses from economically dominant Western countries.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The more developed countries dominate world trade. Their relationship with underdeveloped nations is
exploitative. For example, transnational corporations (TNCs) from developed nations may operate within an
underdeveloped nation to extract natural resources, such as oil, or exploit cheap labour.
Periphery economies are dependent on developed nations in three main ways:
•
Ideologically: ideas about economic and social development are imposed by developing countries.
•
Culturally: Capitán and Lambie argue that developing countries adopt ‘behavioural and consumption’
features from developed nations, from how to dress, through films and magazines to fizzy drinks.
•
Technologically: underdeveloped nations import technology rather than developing ‘indigenous
technologies’.
Dominant societies have a long-term interest in ‘creating and maintaining underdevelopment’. They do so by
establishing TNCs within the dependent society, and giving aid to develop economic and political infrastructures
that help the TNCs to function. In addition to this, the lending practices of world banking organisations limit the
ability of underdeveloped countries to develop modern, industrialised economies. Instead, the weaker countries
are simply locked into dependent political and economic relationships with developed societies.
Dependency theorists see this current situation in which underdeveloped countries are deliberately kept in this
position as the most recent stage in a long history of exploitation. From the 15th century onwards, European
states began to trade aggressively with other parts of the world on a larger scale; this can be seen as a stepping
up of early globalisation. This period included the expansion of the Atlantic slave trade. Later, European states
conquered and established direct rule over what became their colonies and empires. In this period of
colonialism, the economies of the colonies were distorted to meet the interests of the colonial power, for
example by growing cash crops such as coffee and sugar.
The majority of today’s less developed countries were colonies in the past. Most achieved political
independence after in the second half of the 20th century, often through wars of liberation and independence;
there was a process of decolonisation. Dependency theorists, however, argue that there is now a situation of
neo-colonialism in which developed capitalist economies use their dominant economic position to exploit the
natural and human resources of underdeveloped countries to keep them in a state of underdevelopment.
Postcolonialist approaches highlight the lasting legacy of colonialism.
Direct political rule has ended but the underdeveloped countries remain tied to the former colonial powers
through:
•
indirect political rule through the support of (corrupt) local elites who make political and economic decisions
that favour the interests of dominant nations
•
trade agreements that give exclusive access to raw materials, such as oil, to TNCs
•
aid only being provided on the condition that the underdeveloped society allows access to its internal
markets.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 5.7: Until 1947, India was a British colony (here we have a scene from modern Mumbai).
Dependency theories not only locate development within a global context, they also focus on the idea that
international investment and trade are not necessarily mutually beneficial. In some situations, they can be
exploitative. From a Marxist perspective, inequalities between developed and underdeveloped societies are part
of global capitalism. Put simply, the developed dominate at the expense of the underdeveloped.
ACTIVITY 5.10
In a small group, write lists of the benefits and costs of the colonial relationship for each society.
Which of the points on the list are still relevant today, after colonialism?
Dependency theories emphasise the exploitative relationship between colonisers and colonised, it is not only or
always the colonisers that benefit. Colonies may benefit from the development of their political and economic
infrastructure. Also, in the postcolonial era, developing countries may benefit from their relationship with former
colonisers, with the latter providing privileged access to technology, markets, expertise and capital investment.
Dependency theory claims that local elites are co-opted into the exploitation process as agents of international
capitalism. However, critics of dependency theory have pointed out that while elite corruption may contribute to
underdevelopment, this is not always or necessarily the case. Indigenous political movements have succeeded
in developing the political and economic structures of formerly dependent countries while simultaneously
developing a more equitable relationship with developed countries.
Finally, some actions by developed nations to aid underdeveloped nations are not always prompted by
economic self-interest. The promotion of political stability, the reduction of human suffering and the advance of
environmentalist policies are all aspects of a less exploitative relationship.
ACTIVITY 5.11
Identify two differences between modernisation and dependency theories.
How would each theory account for the fact that some less developed countries have made progress and others have not?
A further criticism of both approaches is that globalisation has made the process of development seem more
complex. Modernisation does not seem to be a simple one-way movement, nor does dependency simply involve
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
peripheral countries being exploited by the core. For example, rapid industrialisation in semi-peripheral regions,
such as China, has both favourable and unfavourable consequences:
•
Economically, core regions such as the USA benefit because their major industries can take advantage of
very low labour market costs to produce cheap consumer goods.
•
Politically, core regions have to deal with the environmental costs of China’s rapid industrialisation. There
may also be unfavourable consequences for core regions in terms of things such as unemployment.
Environmentally, rapid industrialisation involves heavy costs in terms of pollution and carbon emissions. Both
modernisation and dependency theories see economic growth as essential to reducing inequalities, but this may
not be sustainable.
ACTIVITY 5.12
Choose one of the following models of development:
•
modernisation
•
dependency.
On a postcard, summarise the main claims of the approach and identify one strength and one limitation.
Reflection: Exchange your postcards with other students to build up a revision list of key ideas, strengths and limitations. Which
postcard summarised the key ideas best? What made it the best? Could you try this approach?
A further explanation of global inequality comes from feminists and uses the concept of patriarchy. Women were
overlooked in both modernisation and dependency approaches partly because the work women tend to do
globally, within the household and subsistence agriculture, including essential survival tasks such as grinding
grain and preparing food, is not included in measures such as GNI and official statistics. Feminists argue that
such measures needed to be extended to include women, especially by bringing them into paid work, so that
they also can contribute to and benefit from modernisation. Globalisation has spread ideas about gender
equality and greater rights for women so that, for example, education of girls is now seen as normal and
expected, and a growing number of less developed countries have women in some positions of power. On the
other hand, globalisation has led to an increase in industries and jobs in which women are exploited and to new
forms of exploitation, which feminists argue shows how the global spread of capitalism requires the exploitation
of women and the persistence of patriarchy. For example, many women who are employed in clothing
sweatshop factories in South-east Asia and elsewhere by TNCs and by local companies who often pay little and
treat female workers poorly, and where health and safety and other forms of worker protection are weak. This
work can sometimes help women achieve financial independence where this was not possible before, but most
management positions are held by men and women face the same discrimination at work issues as in
developed countries.
Globalisation has also affected employment in providing services traditionally offered by women. Ehrenreich and
Hochschild (2002) describe how millions of women leave developing countries each year to work as nannies,
maids and sex workers in the rich world. They suggest that the move into work for many women in developed
countries has created a situation in which they are unable to spend the time that previous generations of women
did on family and home. The use of cheap labour from developing countries eases this situation but, at the
same time, creates a global care deficit in developing countries because the women are working abroad and
unable to look after their own children or ageing relatives in their home country as they had previously done.
Globalisation has also produced a negative backlash in which supposedly traditional values and practices,
which are strongly patriarchal, are reasserted. Women’s rights can be seen as associated with Western values.
So, for example, the education of girls has been seen as threatening by Islamic fundamentalists and this has led
to events such as the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai, who advocated the education of girls in
Pakistan, and the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram. There has also been an increase in
violence against women and against sexual minorities in some countries as part of a backlash against equality.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
5.5 Globalisation and migration
The causes of global migration, including immigration, emigration, net
migration, push and pull factors, global labour patterns and tourism
Migration refers to the movement of people from one area to another. This occurs in two main ways:
•
Internal migration involves movement within a specified border, usually a nation but in some cases, such as
the European Community, a region or continent.
•
External migration (immigration/emigration) involves movement across political borders, from one country or
region to another.
Immigration is when someone enters a country; emigration is when someone leaves a country. People move
between countries all the time, some permanently, some just for a short period, for example as a tourist or to
study. Net migration refers to the difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants in
a given period. In the UK, immigration has been higher than emigration in recent decades so there has been
net immigration. Governments of developed countries are often keen to try to reduce net immigration.
Migration is a key dimension of demographic change, both in its own right and in terms of its wider
consequences for things such as employment, education and health. However, there are other aspects to
migration that make it difficult to break down into ‘types’. Despite this, a broad typology (Table 5.2) can be
constructed around a range of economic, political and cultural types and sub-types:
•
Permanent: migrants settle in their new location.
•
Semi-permanent: migrants settle for short periods in their new location and then return to their country of
origin.
•
Temporary: migrants move to a new location for short periods, before returning to their country of origin.
This typology, although limited, helps us to understand and explain some of the key drivers of migration:
industrialisation, urbanisation and globalisation.
Type
Sub-type
Example
Economic
Permanent
Workers relocating to new country
Semi-permanent
Migrant workers moving to a different
country for a relatively short period in
search of work (seasonal migration)
Temporary
A series of short, but regular, migrations
between an individual’s point of origin and
their ultimate destination (step migration)
Permanent
Refugees – people forced out of their
home country by war, persecution or
natural disasters
Semi-permanent
Internally displaced people (IDPs) may be
forced away from their home through war
but then return at the earliest opportunity
Temporary
Natural disasters, such as Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans, USA in 2005,
force people to move temporarily until it is
safe to return
Political
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Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Type
Sub-type
Example
Cultural
Permanent
Retirement to another country; many
elderly British people, for example, retire to
countries such as Spain or France, where
the climate is warmer and the cost of living
lower
Semi-permanent
In 2010, around 400 000 students arrived
in the UK to study at university (around
15% of them from India) for between three
and five years
Temporary
Tourism – both internal and external
Table 5.2 Typology of migration
Industrialisation is a significant driver of migration in the sense that greater populations can be supported by the
same amount of land. Britain, for example, had a population of around 4 million in 1601. By 1901, the
population had risen to around 30 million and has since doubled to around 60 million. Also, new forms of
factory-based production processes require large amounts of productive labour that migrates from the
countryside to towns and cities. Initially, therefore, industrialisation creates large internal population migrations
from rural to urban areas. As migrants are often young adults, cities then grow both because of birth rates and
migration, so that a higher proportion of the population live in urban areas. This process is called urbanisation.
Migration from rural to urban areas is the result of two types of structural pressure. These can be applied to
both the transition between pre-industrial and industrial society and more general migrations today:
1 Push factors are pressures that force people away from rural living and into towns, or force them to make
cross-border migrations. Examples of push pressure include:
•
•
lack of employment opportunities
war
•
•
natural disasters
population pressures
•
lack of physical resources such as land.
2 Pull factors are the things that attract people to towns, cities and countries. These include the following:
•
•
•
economic factors such as the availability of work and the promise of higher incomes and an improved
standard of living – the World Bank (2005), for example, suggests that people move ‘from rural areas in
search of jobs and opportunities to improve their lives and create a better future for their children’
cultural factors such as freedom from ethnic/religious persecution and the availability of modern or
Western culture
opportunities for education – universities and colleges are usually in urban areas.
Urbanisation is an important driver of migration:
•
In 1800, 2% of the world’s population lived in towns and cities.
•
In 1950, 30% lived in urban areas.
•
By 2050, 70% of the world’s population are projected to be urban-dwellers.
While around 80% of the populations of the UK and Argentina live in urban areas, around 40% of Argentina’s
population live in a single city (Buenos Aires). Fragmentary urbanisation is also expressed in terms of
‘megacities’ with over 5 million inhabitants in developing nations. According to the US Population Reference
Bureau (2005): ‘By 2015, 59 megacities will exist, 48 in less developed countries’ and, of these, ‘23 cities are
projected to hold over 10 million people; all but four will be in less developed countries’. Migration and
development are, in this respect, part of a continuous cycle.
Fragmented industrialisation, where development is concentrated in a few areas, attracts migrants from rural
areas, which leads to further industrial concentration. One consequence of this migration to the (mega)city is
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
unemployment and low-wage work. Huge urban populations chase a limited number and range of jobs in the
manufacturing and service industries. As Khosla et al. (2002) note, in developing nations ‘there is little evidence
of growing investments in industrial infrastructure that could absorb the influx of urban population. Unlike at the
time of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom when the enormous rise in factory production and
investment offered jobs to the urban migrants, today’s developing world migrants often have few employment
opportunities’. One consequence, according to the US Population Reference Bureau (2005), is that migrants
‘often end up not finding the opportunities they are looking for, but become part of the urban poor’.
Contemporary migration trends are increasingly driven by globalising processes. The free movement of capital
around the globe, for example, the relocation of many manufacturing industries to developing countries,
increasingly requires fewer restrictions on the movement of labour. The UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (2012), for example, notes a range of these contemporary migration trends. The majority are
driven by economic rather than political factors – refugees, for example, make up around 7% of global
migration:
•
South–South migration is almost as common as South–North migration; each has around 75 million
migrants per year.
•
North–South migration, although increasing, is much less common; around 13 million people move from
developed to developing nations.
•
South–North migration has been the main driver of global migration, with this type of movement now
outnumbering South–South migration.
•
Contemporary patterns are marked by the interchange of global migrations; while 20 million migrated from
Asia to Europe in 2010, 8 million made the reverse journey.
Further evidence for the economic basis of global migration comes in the form of ‘bilateral migration’, or
movement between nearby countries. For example, Germany currently hosts the ‘largest bilateral migrant stock
from the South residing in Europe’. Developed countries give priority to potential immigrants who are able to
support themselves or who have skills and qualifications which are in demand.
While most migration is of workers, there has been a considerable growth in the number of refugees. Refugees
are typically people who have had to leave their homes because of wars or disasters, or because they are
victims of persecution or denial of human rights. Many refugees stay close to their homes, within the same
country or an adjoining one, in the hope of being able to return. Others migrate further. Most member countries
of the UN have signed treaties agreeing to the protection of refugees but the interpretation of particular
circumstances means that this does not always happen. For example, a country where a refugee has
requested asylum may not accept the refugee’s claim that they will be in danger if they return to their country of
origin.
States increasingly police their borders and try to regulate entry. Government officials and politicians have
tended to narrow the grounds for admission and recognition of status. In the United Kingdom, a recent example
of this is the deliberate creation of a hostile environment to immigrants, which led to the victimisation of people
who had migrated legally from the Caribbean in the mid-20th century – the “Windrush generation” – but did not
have documents to prove their status. While much migration is legal in that migrants have the documents, such
as visas, required by the countries they are moving to, some migration is of undocumented workers, who either
enter illegally or who overstay or otherwise violate the terms of their entry (for example, by taking paid work
when their student entry visa does not allow this). There is also organised illegal activity in, for example,
arranging and selling passages, forging documents and bribing officials. Human trafficking and people
smuggling are considered later in this chapter.
Mass tourism is a different, but increasingly significant, form of temporary cultural migration. Where overseas
travel and the concept of ‘a holiday’ were once only available to the wealthy, the rise of cheap air travel,
growing affluence and a greater knowledge of the world has opened up tourism all over the world.
In terms of development, tourism is significant because it is a consumption process in both non-material terms
(the consumption of leisure) and material terms (the things people buy). In addition, tourism reinforces and
changes the identity of the places people visit. For example, the development of the ‘seaside holiday’
dramatically changed the nature of UK coastal resorts. In Spain, cheap package holidays to places such as
Majorca led to their reinvention as ‘British spaces’ – places where the tourist could speak English, consume
familiar food and drink, and mix with people of their own nationality and class. More recently, as Diken and
Laustsen (2004) note, places such as Ibiza have been ‘transformed from a ‘paradise island’ of alternative
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
holidays in the 1960s, first into a place of package tourism and then into a destination for young people looking
for nightlife.
Figure 5.8: In what ways does tourism have a transformative effect on popular destinations?
Sheller and Urry (2004) analyse the relationship between tourism, consumption and change in terms of the recreation and reinvention of places as:
•
paradises that rapidly lose this characteristic through mass tourism
•
global heritage sites, where places are re-designated as ‘respectful playgrounds’
•
remade playful places, by which global cities such as London, Hong Kong and Barcelona have ‘refashioned
their built environments to perform as ‘attractions’ on a highly competitive global stage of ‘world-class’
destinations’
•
new playful places involving the exploration of ‘unexpected sites’, such as the slums and tenements of
inner-city urban landscapes across the world. These are ‘places of danger and enthralment, monotony, and
awesomeness. The new places of play for a kind of ‘postmodern middle class’ both fascinated and repelled
by their indescribable, indistinct, yet atmospheric post-apocalyptic urbanism’.
One of the ironies of tourism today is suggested by Urry (2001). He argues that Western tourism increasingly
involves the search for authentic experiences involving the discovery of ‘new’ and ‘unspoilt’ places. Through
their ‘discovery’ and exploitation, they become no longer authentic destinations – changed by mass tourism
and then discarded as tourists move on to the next ‘authentic location’.
The consequences of global migration, positive and negative, including cultural
diversity, economic benefits, concerns over scarce resources and negative
perceptions of migration and debates about who benefits from migration
For many migrants, moving to a new country brings employment and new opportunities, and is a positive move
for individuals. Where individuals have migrated and send remittances to family in the country of origin, this can
improve standards of living and also help the economy. Some governments of less developed countries
encourage their emigrant citizens to maintain links by sending remittances. There can also be a growth of
exports to spread out (diasporic) communities. However, undocumented workers are often exploited in their
host countries, working for very low pay and sometimes kept in conditions of semi-slavery. They do not have
rights (recourse) to the protections available to other workers with regard to minimum pay, health and safety
and so on. They are often also resented by other workers as they are seen to keep wages down by taking up
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
employment in exploitative conditions. Even qualified workers may contribute to a situation in which there are
plenty of workers with particular skills, which keeps wages low and reduces opportunities for all.
Emigrants from less developed countries are on the whole better educated than those who do not migrate and
tend also to be young adults of working age. Their emigration leaves their countries of origin with fewer trained
personnel – a ‘brain drain’. This loss of human capital may hold up development and increase poverty and
inequality.
In Europe in particular, an atmosphere of hostility towards immigrants has developed in the last few decades,
encouraged by some politicians and by popular media which have distorted the realities of asylum seeking and
economic migration. Some migrants have been labelled as ‘illegal’ or ‘bogus’. This has led to an increase in
border controls, with policies changed to try to reduce the number of immigrants. For example, the term
‘Fortress Europe’ has been used to describe the ways in which Europe now polices the borders of the EU.
Increasingly, as Canning (2015) points out, this has involved the criminal justice system – more migrants are
treated as if they are criminals, for example by being kept in detention centres. At the same time, others
involved in migration are also increasingly caught up by criminalisation. For example, airlines and shipping
companies in the UK can be fined if they transport individuals who do not have valid passports or visas. This
has the effect of making people fleeing persecution or poverty take more desperate measures. With no option
of entering Europe legally, many turn to dangerous ways to try to reach Europe. Each year, several thousand
people lose their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The criminalisation of people
smuggling has led to boats being overcrowded, less likely to be seaworthy, and to boats stopping some
distance from shore, to avoid prosecution, with passengers forced to try to swim to safety.
Despite the hostility of many countries towards immigrants, there is strong evidence that immigration helps a
country’s economy. Migration is usually of adults of working age who are likely to contribute more to the
economy in tax than they receive through services and benefits. As developed countries start to have ageing
populations, they are likely to need to recruit migrant workers. The British National Health Service, for example,
has always relied heavily on migrant labour, including doctors and nurses. According to Hann et al, 42% of
doctors joining the service between 1992 and 2005 had obtained their main medical qualification outside the
UK (in Raghuram and Erel 2013). As noted above, this can leave countries of origin short of qualified workers
themselves.
Migration can have other positive effects for the host country. It leads to greater cultural diversity, with people
from different cultures living alongside each other. While this can create tensions, it also leads to greater
understanding of others and widens people’s horizons.
KEY CONCEPT - STRUCTURE AND HUMAN AGENCY
Do different accounts of migration put different emphases on structure and agency?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
5.6 Globalisation and crime
Reasons for the emergence of global crime, including human trafficking,
corporate crime and crimes against the environment
Globalisation means that an increasing number of social, political and economic activities are no longer
attached to specific countries but are transnational and stretched across the globe. The local and the global are
increasingly interconnected. Aspects of globalisation that are linked to crime include:
•
neo-liberal economic policies – which includes fewer government controls over business and finance
•
growing global inequalities – the gap between richest and poorest widens
•
new communications technology increasing opportunities for crime
•
spread of consumerism.
Globalisation has led to the growth of global crimes:
•
Illegal trade in weapons and nuclear materials.
•
Illegal drugs trade – estimated in 2007 as worth $322 billion a year. In the UK about half of all acquisitive
crime (such as theft and burglary) is drug-related – people steal to buy drugs.
•
Human-trafficking – movement and smuggling of people for a variety of reasons including removal of organs
for transplants, forced labour and prostitution. There is a related global criminal network smuggling people
into countries that they cannot enter legally.
•
Money-laundering – global criminal networks ‘launder’ their income through complex financial transactions in
deregulated global money markets.
•
Cybercrime (mainly involving the internet) – includes:
• internet-based fraud and financial scams
•
•
child and other extreme pornography
terrorist websites including recruitment and planning of attacks
•
virus attacks and hacking to steal data or cause disruption
•
identity theft.
In addition, some older types of crime, such as corporate crimes and crimes against the environment take on
new forms and move on to a global scale.
Crimes at a local level now often have global links – they are ‘glocal’ (for example, a drug deal in a British city
can involve cocaine originating in Colombia and shipped via West Africa. A British person might view child
pornography filmed in South-east Asia and provided via servers in Eastern Europe). Much global crime is now
controlled by two types of criminal network:
1 Established mafias – often organised around family and ethnicity – adapting to take advantage of
opportunities offered by globalisation – the American-Italian mafia, Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads and so
on.
2 Newer groups – emerging in Eastern Europe and elsewhere after the end of the Cold War.
Groups now collaborate and local criminal groups become ‘deterritorialized’ (less tied to specific countries).
Misha Glenny (2009) describes them as ‘McMafia’ because they behave in similar ways to legal TNCs such as
McDonalds – instead of fast food, they provide drugs, sex, guns, body organs and so on.
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal movement of people from one country to another usually for the sex trade and
prostitution or for other migrant work. Human traffickers smuggle people from one country to another by various
means, and often keep them in conditions of semi-slavery. Women and children are the most common victims of
human trafficking. Human trafficking can be for a range of purposes. Some involves smuggling people at high
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
cost into countries they are unable to get into legally. People are also trafficked for the illegal removal of organs
for transplants, for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation and for forced labour in conditions similar
to slavery.
It is helpful to point out the difference between human trafficking, which is for profit, and people smuggling.
People smugglers help migrants cross borders illegally, but may do this for humanitarian reasons (helping
refugees) rather than for profit.
Corporate crime
Corporate crimes are offences committed by large companies (or individuals acting on behalf of companies)
that directly benefit the company rather than individuals, and involve increased profits or the survival of the
organisation. Corporate crime is a well-established concept within the sociology of crime, developed and used
by Marxist sociologists, but has taken on a new significance in the age of globalisation. The activities of
corporations have been globalised with the growth of transnational corporations, and some TNCs or individuals
within them commit crimes with transnational consequences.
TNCs are able to commit corporate crimes because of their power relative to some developing countries. They
are often also protected by the existence of subsidiary companies. When there is a court case, the subsidiary is
prosecuted and the parent TNC is protected, both financially and in terms of publicity and image. For example,
chains of clothes shops such as Nike and The Gap have claimed to be unaware of use of child labour or other
unacceptable practices in the factories in which their clothes are produced because they do not directly own the
factories. It is also difficult to enforce laws against TNCs. They may break a law in their country of origin but
there might not be a law in the developing country. TNCs are sometimes powerful enough to ensure that a law
under which they might be prosecuted doesn’t become law in the first place. Marxists point out that corporate
crimes are treated very differently from other crimes, even when they have significant consequences and even
loss of life. Individuals are rarely prosecuted and where TNCs or their subsidiaries are prosecuted for breaking
regulations and laws, fines are small as proportions of profits, and in any case the cost can often be passed on
to consumers. If blame is taken by an individual, it is likely not to be someone at the top of the organisation.
ACTIVITY 5.13
Research one or more of these regarding allegations against TNCs in developing countries:
•
Shell’s exploitation of oil in the Ogoni area in Nigeria
•
Nestle’s selling of powdered baby food in developing countries
•
the use of sweatshop labour for branded clothes, such as those sold by Primark, Nike and Gap
•
the Bhopal disaster of 1984, involving a factory owned by Union Carbide.
Prepare a brief summary of the case detailing what is alleged to have happened, with what consequences and
legal action if any resulted.
In what ways does your example illustrate some of the points made in this book about corporate crimes?
Crimes against the environment
Environmental crimes, also known as green crimes, often have a wide, even global, impact, for example they
may contribute to climate change. Environmental disasters are now usually caused by human actions.
Examples of environmental crimes include:
•
pollution of air, land and water (for example, deliberate release of toxic emissions)
•
illegal dumping or disposal of hazardous waste
•
destruction of natural habitats leading to decline of species
•
trafficking in endangered animals and their body parts
•
illegal fishing and whaling
•
deforestation (for example, by logging companies)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Environmental crimes can be committed by:
•
individuals (for example, fly-tipping, collecting eggs of protected birds)
•
business organisation – these are corporate crimes and include the dumping of waste and breaking health
and safety laws
•
states and governments (often working with private businesses), for example a lot of environmental damage
has been caused by warfare, such as unexploded mines left in the ground after a war has ended
•
organised crime – mafia-type global criminal organisations.
The victims of green crime include the natural world itself and people. Potter (2010) points out that
environmental harms tend to reinforce existing social divisions. This means that the least powerful in any society
(such as the working class, poor and minority groups and indigenous peoples) are the most likely to be the
victims of crimes and this applies to environmental crime too. For example, a lot of waste from developed
countries ends up in developing countries, often illegally, where it can cause pollution of land, water and air and
damage health. Examples include:
1 The dumping of computers and other e-waste in Ghana: Search on the UK website of The Guardian for
‘Africa will not be Europe’s digital dumping ground, say leaders’.
2 The dismantling of old ships in Bangladesh: Search the Economist’s website for ‘Hard to break up’.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
Does social change and development necessarily have a negative effect on the environment?
ACTIVITY 5.14
Follow the links to research the two case studies listed in ‘Crimes against the environment’.
What laws, if any, are being broken in these cases?
Environmental crimes tend to be cumulative and to have long-lasting effects. Some of the victims will only
become victims in the future – they can include people alive today at a later point in their lives, or people who
are not yet born. The interests of future generations are not taken into account when decisions about
criminalising environmental harms are made, nor usually are the interests of non-human animals. Giddens
(2011) has suggested that people, and governments, are better at taking action to deal with immediate problems
than those which will threaten them in the future; he calls this ‘future discounting’. People around the world have
lifestyles based around fossil fuels, advanced technology and high consumption, and are reluctant to move
away from these despite the scientific consensus on climate change and the evidence of pollution, deforestation
and other environmental issues which mean potentially catastrophic consequences in the future. This has
meant that it has taken a long time for environmental harms to be seen as crimes and made illegal, and this
process is still continuing.
Like other white collar and corporate crimes, green crimes often do not carry the same stigma as conventional
crimes such as street crimes. So laws and regulations may not be fully enforced, are likely to be dealt with by
government departments (such as the UK’s Environment Agency) rather than the police, and if the law is
applied are likely to result in fines rather than criminal prosecutions and prison sentences. Less developed
countries often do not have the resources to combat green crimes.
One of the key reasons for environmental crimes, according to White (2008), is an anthropocentric (human
centred) world view. That is, that people are seen as more important than the environment, and that people
have the right to use the environment as they choose. This applies particularly to the actions of corporations and
governments but can also be seen in the behaviour of individuals. The main concern of a corporation is making
a profit, and it is seen as acceptable to exploit natural resources to do this. The environment is a secondary
consideration. Most corporations will keep to the law, but often laws protecting the environment are absent or
only weakly enforced. For Marxists, the capitalist economic system is criminogenic and so some crimes
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
generated will be environmental crimes. This is inevitable in a system based on maximising profits and
minimising costs.
Laws relating to the environment and their enforcement vary between countries so it is difficult to obtain
accurate statistics. The evidence can often be hidden and individuals may not be aware that they are victims.
There are also different definitions of what is an environmental crime. There are many case studies, for
example, of the 1984 Bhopal poisoning, but it is difficult to move from these to a wider picture. Because of these
problems, some sociologists, such as Lynch and Sretsky (2003), have suggested moving from thinking of
environmental crime as the breaking of laws protecting the environment to a wider approach that sees any
human acts that damage the environment as crimes regardless of whether a law is being broken or not. This
raises difficulties in that whether an act damages the environment or not is in most cases open to interpretation,
so that environmental crime can become whatever the sociologist decides it is.
Explanations of who benefits from global crime including Marxist and feminist
perspectives
For Marxists, global crime, like all crime, is seen as benefitting the ruling class and maintaining the unequal
capitalist system. Both laws themselves, and the ways that they are enforced, reinforce inequalities. Most of
those found guilty in the criminal justice system are working class and relatively powerless. Marxists see this as
the system being used to remind the working class of their position and how their rulers have the power to
punish them.
In some countries, laws exist which prevent some workers from joining trade unions or from striking, or prevent
people from protesting. These are clear examples of the criminalisation of actions people can take that might
threaten the interests of the powerful. Some laws exist which protect workers (for example, health and safety
laws) but these are not always enforced and their existence can be seen as a way of trying to persuade workers
that the system is fair. A transnational capitalist class is able to live a globalised lifestyle, while those from
poorer countries may find, for example, that they have no legal way to enter a developed country.
For feminists, global crime, like all crime, is seen as serving the interests of men and reinforcing a patriarchal
system. For example, violence against women is a global issue, with the greatest risks occurring within
relationships with husbands or other male relatives.
However, governments are often reluctant to interfere in domestic and family life, and to challenge the
patriarchal culture which accepts (condones) or excuses violence and abuse. This means that violence and
abuse may not be reported because victims do not think offenders will be dealt with and may fear personal
consequences. In some cases, such as ‘honour killings’ in South Asia, by not acting against offenders, the state
in effect condones the crime, seeing the offence against family honour as meaning that the woman’s
punishment is deserved.
Policing and prosecuting global crime, including the benefits and challenges
resulting from globalisation and new technology
The rise in global crime has been accompanied by more co-operation between states to act against crime. For
example, 192 states belong to the international police organisation Interpol, through which police forces work
together on a wide range of types of crime.
ACTIVITY 5.15
Visit the Interpol website.
Choose three types of crime from the ‘Crime Areas’ menu and find out about Interpol’s work on these crimes.
How important is co-operation between police forces of different countries in tackling these types of crime?
Reflection How did you decide ‘how important’ cooperation between police forces is? Were you able to come to a judgement
and explain this clearly?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Co-operation between police forces includes the sharing of technology and of intelligence gathering. New
technology can aid the police in tackling crime, but has also led to new types of crime, some requiring a coordinated transnational response.
Crimes involving new technology are referred to as cybercrime. They can be carried out by individuals but also
by groups or organisations. There are two broad types of cybercrime:
1 Advanced cybercrime involves sophisticated attacks against computer hardware and software.
2 Cyber-enabled crime – these are more traditional types of crime, such as fraud or sale of fake goods, which
have changed and taken on new forms.
Cybercrimes include:
•
spreading viruses and malware
•
fraud and identity theft
•
theft of intellectual property rights
•
trade in illegal drugs and other illegal goods conducted via the internet
•
cyberterrorism (for example, an attack on a government’s websites)
•
scams and phishing
•
obscene or offensive content.
Cybercrimes raise difficulties for policing because the crimes cross national boundaries: victims and offenders
may live in different parts of the world. Countries have different laws and may not agree on what is a crime (for
example, definitions of obscenity may differ, while some countries may not tolerate opinions that can be
expressed elsewhere). The internet developed without co-ordination or control and remains to a large extent
beyond the control of individual governments. At the same time, cybercrimes are constantly evolving, so that
police and other enforcement agencies have to struggle to keep up. For example, they have to monitor the
‘Darknet’, the parts of the internet not reached by search engines and where criminals try to act undetected,
using specialised software to remain hidden. Activities include the selling of drugs and weapons and distribution
of counterfeit identities and of child abuse material.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
In what ways might studying sociology be useful to someone hoping to work for a police force that
has to tackle global crimes?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
Perspectives on globalisation
■ Important terms and issues include ‘globalisation’, ‘glocalisation’ and ‘global culture’.
■ There are problems with defining globalisation.
■ Globalisation has cultural, political and economic dimensions.
■ Perspectives on who benefits from globalisation include the Marxist, feminist, postmodernist, globalist,
sceptic and transformationalist perspectives.
Globalisation and identity
■ Globalisation has affected identity in several ways including ethnic revitalisation, cultural defence and
hybrid identities.
■ There is a debate between the view that globalisation leads to cultural divergence and the view that it
leads to cultural convergence/homogenisation.
■ Western ideology and the concept of Westernisation have played a role in shaping identity.
Globalisation, power and politics
■ Liberal democracy and human rights have spread globally.
■ Global social movements attempt to oppose globalisation.
■ There is a debate about the role of the nation state in tackling global social and environmental
problems.
Globalisation, poverty and inequalities
■ There are debates about the impact of globalisation on life chances in developing countries, in relation
to education, income and health.
■ Transnational organisations (including the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, transnational
corporations and international non-governmental organisations(NGOs)) play a role in tackling global
inequalities. There are debates about how effective they have been.
■ Sociological explanations for global inequalities include capitalism, colonialism, postcolonialism and
patriarchy.
Globalisation and migration
■ Causes of global migration include immigration, emigration, net migration, push and pull factors, global
labour patterns and tourism.
■ Consequences of global migration include cultural diversity, economic benefits, concerns over scarce
resources and negative perceptions of migration.
■ There are debates about who benefits from migration.
Globalisation and crime
■ Global crimes include human trafficking, corporate crime and crimes against the environment.
■ Marxist and feminist perspectives give different views on who benefits from global crime.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
■ Global crime is policed and prosecuted. There are benefits and challenges resulting from globalisation
and new technology.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
All questions on globalisation are 35-mark essay questions.
1 ‘Globalisation is leading to a single homogenous global culture.’ Evaluate this view.
2 ‘The new types of crime created by globalisation are difficult to police and prosecute.’ Evaluate
this view.
3 ‘Globalisation involves the universal spread of democracy and human rights.’ Evaluate this view.
Sample answer and activity
Question 1 answer
1 ‘Globalisation is leading to a single homogenous global culture.’ Evaluate this view.
Here is a paragraph from an answer to this question:
The view that the globalisation is leading to a single homogenous global culture is held
by globalisation sceptics. They argue that globalisation involves the spread of Western
ideas, values and cultural practices and that this reduces the cultural diversity that
there has been throughout history. One way this can happen is through Cocacolonisation, where the global reach of transnational corporations such as Coca-Cola
leads to a consumer society in which the same commodities are promoted in global
marketing campaigns, leading to a similar lifestyle around the world. This creates a
single homogenous global culture. Because the origins of the commodities and
practices are in the developed world, this is also called Westernisation. Local cultures
are diminished and may even disappear. For example people may use a local language
less and speak English more, or adopt a Western style diet based on imported processed
and packaged foods, leading to increased health problems. This is cultural
imperialism, with Western lifestyle set up as the ideal to which all should aspire.
However, traditional cultures often manage to survive and may even become stronger
as people defend them against cultural imperialism.
Point 1: Sometimes essays start by defining key terms in the question. This can be helpful, but make sure
it does not take up many words. Often, though, essays will show understanding of the key terms in the
main body of the essay. Here, for example, globalisation is explained in the second sentence (alternative
views of globalisation can be brought in later).
Point 2: Notice that the final sentence is a link to the next paragraph, which will go on to discuss ways in
which traditional cultures may survive or grow stronger. Use sentences like this to signpost where your
argument is going.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
ACTIVITY 5.16
Now write one paragraph making a point against the view in the question. Start with the idea in the ‘however’ sentence at the
end of the paragraph above. Which theories or writers argue that globalisation doesn’t necessarily lead to a single global
culture? What arguments do they make and what evidence or examples can be used?
Try to use theories, names and key words whenever possible.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 6
Media
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ The traditional and the new media
■ Theories of the media and influences on media content
■ The impact of the new media
■ Media representations of class, gender, ethnicity and age groups
■ Different models of media effects
■ The impact of the media on behaviour
Before you start
Make a list of the media that you use (internet, television, magazines and so on) and for each one note how
long you spend using each of these in a typical day or week, and what you would use them for.
Reflection: Now ask a member of your parents’ generation to do the same. Are there any differences? Are they what you
expected them to be?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
6.1 The traditional and the new media
Trends affecting the organisation of the media, including cross media
ownership, digitalisation, media conglomerates and social media
Before we examine trends in the organisation and control of the media, it is useful to explain and define the
difference between ‘old’ and ‘new’ forms of media.
A medium is a ‘channel of communication’ – a way of sending and receiving information. When people read a
newspaper, watch television or view a website, something is communicated in some way. Each of these is a
medium; collectively, these are media.
The term ‘media’ usually refers to communication with large numbers of people. This is conventionally seen as
‘one-to-many’ communication: one person, such as the author of a newspaper article, communicates to many
people (the audience). Dutton et al. (1998) suggested that the media have a number of characteristics that set it
apart from other types of communication, such as interpersonal communication that occurs on a one-to-one
basis (for example, a telephone call). In the media, communication is:
•
Impersonal: the sender of the message does not know the receivers.
•
Lacking in immediacy: the audience has no involvement with the production of a media message.
•
One-way: from the producer/creator to the consumer/audience.
•
Physically and technologically distant: everyone receives the same intended message.
•
Organised: it requires a vehicle, such as a television receiver, printed page or internet connection, which
allows messages to be sent and received.
•
Large-scale and simultaneous: the global audience for something like the football World Cup numbers
hundreds of millions, watching at the same time.
•
Commodified: it comes at a price. You can watch the latest films if you can afford a television and a
subscription to a satellite or cable company. The audience may also be the commodity that is bought and
sold. For example, ‘free-to-air’ television programmes deliver a mass audience to advertisers.
These characteristics apply to ‘old media’, such as newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio and film.
However, the situation is now complicated and in some ways changed, by newer, computer-based technologies
that do not fit easily into these categories. New media such as mobile phones and personal computers have the
capacity for communication that is:
•
one-to-one: such as e-mail
•
one-to-many: such as Facebook, Twitter or a blog
•
many-to-many: this includes things like peer-to-peer (P2P) networks that use software to link individual
computers in a network to exchange information. This has diverse uses, from sharing work documents to
downloading (illegal) copies of films, music and software.
This variety of ways of communicating is one of the defining characteristics of new media. However, one
similarity between old and new media is the nature of ownership and control.
Two processes are common to all forms of media behaviour in modern industrial societies: concentration and
conglomeration. Concentration of ownership refers to how the media are increasingly owned by a relatively
small number of large corporations and powerful individuals. Over the past 50 years, for example, the trend has
been towards fewer media owners controlling larger corporations.
This concentration of ownership is part of a long-term global trend. The global media market is dominated by a
small number of giant media corporations, such as Comcast, Alphabet, Time Warner and Walt Disney. The
concentration of ownership is significant in terms of product diversity – consumers are offered a limited range of
similar media products, all saying much the same thing.
McChesney (2000) argues that there is an appearance of choice but, for example, although satellite and cable
television offers hundreds of different channels, the content is largely the same (homogeneous), cheaply made
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
and repetitive. Media corporations develop, can gain or lose market share and can be taken over or themselves
take over other media companies. The global media companies that were dominant in the 1980s were not
necessarily dominant in the 2000s. For example, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Facebook have grown from
small beginnings to become significant media corporations today.
The second, related, trend is conglomeration, which involves the same company developing interests across
different media through a process of diversification and becoming a conglomerate. One example of this type of
cross-media ownership is Fininvest, the media company owned by the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi. It has a diverse range of interests that include television, book, newspaper and magazine
publishing. In terms of new media, Amazon, the world’s largest bookseller, has diversified its interests over the
last few years into areas such as publishing and distributing moving image media.
ACTIVITY 6.1
In groups, choose a particular aspect of the media (such as newspapers, magazines and television) and use the internet to research
media ownership in your society.
All groups then need to compare their findings across different media (for example, newspapers and television) to see ‘who owns
what’.
What does your research tell you about media concentration and conglomeration in your society?
Reflection: Do you think you worked together effectively as a group? Was everyone able to input their ideas have these
valued?
Digitalisation
Digitalisation is the changing of media from analog to digital form. All older forms of mass media have to some
extent been digitalised, for example:
•
magazines and newspapers – now have online editions or websites; a few publications are now available
online only
•
music – can now be downloaded or listened to online, rather than being bought as vinyl, cassette or CD
•
television – many countries have now discontinued analog broadcasting. It is possible to broadcast many
more channels simultaneously when transmitting digitally, so that many viewers have experienced a huge
increase in the number of channels available.
Digitalisation and associated changes have greatly changed how media are consumed. For example,
television programmes are no longer only watched at the time of transmission, they can be watched ‘on
demand’ on web-based catch-up services or streamed when the viewer chooses to watch. The use of
technology has also changed. For example, televisions themselves have changed – many can now be used to
access the internet and radio stations, while television programmes can be watched not only on television sets
but on personal computers (PCs), laptops, tablet computers and mobile phones.
Social media
Digitalisation, the expansion of the internet and widespread use of computer technologies have made
interactive media possible, in which people can communicate with each other both sharing and consuming
information. Examples are websites and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat,
WeChat in China and Line in Japan. These are different from both traditional one-to-one communication (a letter
or telephone call between two people) and mass media, which are from one point of production to a large
number of consumers. Social media, while owned by media corporations, allow users to create their own
content and their own networks; they are ‘many-to-many’ media. Social media take many different forms,
including social networks, social gaming, video sharing, blogs and virtual worlds. Social media are new, in
terms of their widespread use and impact, and are developing quickly so sociological research is both new and
at risk of becoming out of date.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
February 2018 Web Server Survey – Netcraft
Netcraft
Netcraft is an internet services company based in the United Kingdom that attempts, amongst other things, to determine how
many websites there are – in effect, how big the internet is. In August 1995, when it first did this, there were just fewer than 20
000 host names, which at the time was considered a fairly accurate reflection of the number of websites. By February 2018, the
most recent survey when this book was being written, there were 180 998 238 active websites with 214 036 874 unique domain
names and 1 838 596 056 host names. This was 12.8 million websites more than a year earlier. The very high figure of host
names shows how many websites are automated or disused. Netcraft also provide information on phishing attacks and other
cybercrime. Netcraft says that over 42.6 million unique phishing sites have been detected and blocked by Netcraft’s community.
Overall, Netcraft’s research provides an overview of the remarkable growth of the internet.
Debates about who controls the media
There is a debate about the extent to which the media are controlled by their owners or by others. There are two
types of media owner:
•
Private ownership refers to companies that are run for profit by individuals, families or shareholders. Rupert
Murdoch, for example, owns a controlling interest in News Corporation, a global media company that
publishes newspapers, books, films and magazines, and broadcasts satellite TV programmes.
•
State ownership involves government controls that differ between societies. In China, for example, the
government directly oversees the content of state-run television and tightly controls (regulates) access to the
internet. In other societies, public broadcasters have greater independence and freedom of action
(autonomy).
In the UK, newspapers and magazines were privately owned from their beginnings, but radio and television
(broadcast media) were initially provided only by the indirectly state-run British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),
with competition from privately owned broadcasters allowed later. Many countries have a similar pattern.
The significance of ownership is that owners have the potential to decide what sort of information an audience
receives. This involves censorship that can be direct or indirect. For example, private owners may decide not
to publish information critical of their company, whereas state-owned companies may be subject to political
control over what they can broadcast or publish.
An alternative interpretation is that in the day-to-day operation the media owners have less control over content
than senior workers, referred to as controllers. Pluralist approaches argue that control of the media is
increasingly in the hands of what Galbraith (1967) called a ‘technocratic managerial elite’, who, however well
paid, remain employees rather than employers. Many media organisations are owned by shareholders rather
than individuals. Where no single shareholder has overall control of a company, directors and managers make
all the important day-to-day business decisions. In a competitive world, consumers exercise a huge (collective)
influence over organisational behaviour. If consumers do not like what they are being offered, then an
organisation must respond to consumers’ demands or risk being driven out of business by other companies who
are more willing to adapt. Where media companies are forced to compete for customers, power really lies in the
hands of consumers.
ACTIVITY 6.2
For your own country, research which media organisations are the most important (for example, which corporations own the biggest
television channels, radio stations and newspapers). Is there any evidence in your country of cross-media ownership, of domination
by a small number of organisations or of domination by global corporations?
Reflection: How did you undertake your research? What problems did you face? Are there things you could do next time to
prevent these?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Differences between the traditional media and the new media
Globalisation has encouraged diversity and competition through what Davis and McAdam (2000) call a ‘new
economic shift’. Media corporations have become networks operating across national boundaries, with flexible
organisational structures that allow them to respond to new technological developments. These organisations
normally have shareholders, such as banks and pension funds, but they rarely have individual owners. Even an
organisation such as Facebook, originally developed and owned by a very small group of employees, including
the creator, Mark Zuckerberg, is now owned by a wide group of institutional and individual shareholders.
Figure 6.1: How are new media different from old media?
Modern media conglomerates can, therefore, be seen as diverse organisations that operate in a wide range of
different markets and cater for an equally wide range of consumer needs and demands. This economic situation
results in many different types of publication, from print through broadcasting to digital media. A further boost to
media diversity involves the rapid growth of cheap, widely available computer technology built on a web-based
distribution system (the internet) that has:
•
reduced the costs of media production
•
made entry into the media marketplace open to all
•
given all producers access to a global audience.
The new media make possible much more interactivity than was possible with traditional media. In a traditional
newspaper, a reader might send in a letter for publication. New media allow people to create their own media. It
becomes much easier to contribute both to traditional media (for example, more people can take photographs of
a news story with a phone and send these to a newspaper) and to new media by, for example, posting on a
website or commenting on Twitter.
The debate about whether the traditional media have been undermined by the
growth of the new media
New technologies have made it possible for different types of media to be consumed on the same device and at
the same time. While this changes the way that people use the media, the media are able in most cases to
adapt, finding new ways to reach audiences. For example, audio (which once meant only radio and listening to
recorded music) has survived. Despite being one of the oldest forms of media, audio remains popular all over
the world. There are more radio stations because digital allows room for more to broadcast; they can also reach
new global audiences. New technology means that radio and podcasts can be listened to on PCs and mobile
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
devices. Increasingly, people listen to music online using streaming services such as Spotify (with both free and
premium services).
Radio also plays an important role in developing countries where access to television is not as widespread.
Newspapers have also adapted to new technology and media, though some have struggled as more people
now expect news available freely online or change their media habits. In many countries, there has been a
significant long-term decline in the percentage of the adult population reading a daily newspaper. More
specifically, there has been a decline across all sections of the newspaper market. However, some traditional
newspapers have moved successfully to publishing online as well as in print, and reached more readers
worldwide as a result. Newspapers across the globe are migrating from print to digital formats, through
smartphone and tablet-based apps. This has resulted in a wider readership and people spending more time
reading. The British Daily Mail, for example, has falling numbers of readers of the print edition in the UK but is
the most visited newspaper site in the world, with around 50 million visitors each month.
Figure 6.2: Are patterns of listening, viewing and reading converging with new media?
Television was and remains a hugely popular leisure activity in modern industrialised countries, with around
85% of adults watching in their free time. The development of digital television has expanded the range and
scope of services to include many more channels, many broadcast by satellite to reach audiences who
previously had limited services. Television viewing has changed with high-definition channels, on-demand and
catch up services, digital video recording and the ability to watch on PCs, tablets and phones. Globally, this has
resulted in both a changing television audience, drawing a greater proportion of younger viewers, and different
levels of access to digital television. Members of dispersed (diaspora) communities can often watch television
programmes from their countries of origin and in their own language.
One significant change in television use in countries such as the UK and the USA, where the technology is well
established, is the fragmentation of audiences. Apart from a small number of ‘communal events’, such as the
football World Cup, families are less likely to watch television together. Many households now have more than
one television set, and individual family members can also watch on PCs, phones and so on. There is also a
result of greater programming diversity introduced by digital technologies and more channels catering to niche
(specialised) audiences. Television has adapted to new technology and new media, but television has lost its
role as unifying force for nations.
The ways that traditional media have adapted has limited the ability that national governments and private
owners used to have to control information. In the digital age, most populations are no longer restricted to
information which they receive passively from the media. Not only can people ‘search the globe’ for information
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
but, as Weinberger (2012) argues, ‘For every fact on the internet, there is an equal and opposite fact’. These
ideas question the effectiveness of the media’s ideological role.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
How do changes in the media help us understand how society is changing?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Keep a diary for a few days of your own use of new media – what did you use, for how long, and
why? How might a diary kept by someone five years ago be different?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
6.2 Theories of the media and influences on media content
Pluralist theories of the media
Pluralism covers a range of perspectives on the role of the media that can be loosely characterised by their
rejection of Marxist interpretations. Pluralist perspectives share a number of general beliefs about the role of the
media, although they are expressed in different ways and with different levels of emphasis.
One characteristic of these approaches is the significance they place on information diversity. Even where
ownership of old media is highly concentrated, pluralists believe that there is still a range of views available.
This diversity is enhanced through the development of new media, where relatively low start-up, production and
distribution costs have created a growth of media outlets. Diversity is related to choice – not just in the range of
different media and views, but also in terms of consumers.
Diversity and choice mean that media consumers, not producers, are central to the relationship between the
media and ideology. If a producer does not offer the things people want to read, watch or listen to, that company
will go out of business. This discipline of the marketplace – finding ways to give people what they want – is
driven by the fact that owners compete to win market share and create profits. This, in turn, creates innovation
and diversity. Owners and controllers are continually looking for ways to improve their product to gain a larger
share of the market. This drive for innovation gives audiences an important position in relation to the media.
Media audiences are not passive, simply buying whatever owners provide, but active. They buy what they like
and ignore the things that do not fit their lifestyles or beliefs. In this respect, new media simply increases the
choice available to consumers on a global scale. There are, for example, websites that reflect most political and
ideological opinions.
Pluralist perspectives reverse the traditional Marxist argument that audiences consume whatever owners decide
to give them. Instead, media owners demand that their media provide whatever consumers want. This places
media controllers in a unique and potentially powerful position. Part of their job is to seek out and respond to
consumer demand and if they do this successfully, all sections of society are satisfied. Owners and consumers
each get what they want: profits for the former, entertainment and information for the latter.
The role of the media is to provide consumers with the information and services they demand. A diverse range
of media exists and people can choose from different sources of information. This applies to both old and new
media. Internet access, for example, means that people can get information from both national and global
sources. A variety of media reflecting a range of views also means that some sections will represent the
interests of ‘ordinary people’ and the activities of the powerful can be studied, exposed and criticised.
Although pluralist arguments about the changing nature of media markets and organisations have some validity,
especially in the context of new media and the rise of cheap, accessible, global distribution systems such as the
internet, they have been criticised for several reasons.
Firstly, pluralism overstates the separation of ownership and control in modern media conglomerates. At the
senior levels of global corporations, ‘managers’ are ‘employees’ in name only. Murdock and Golding (1977), for
example, argued that the separation of interests between owners and controllers is more apparent than real,
because managers often own the companies they control. They think and act in much the same way as the
individual media owners of the past.
Secondly, major shareholders, such as Rupert Murdoch’s family with News Corp, still exert control over a
business. Thirdly, although the internet makes it more difficult for owners to control what their audience sees,
reads and hears, old media may actually have far larger audiences than most new media. Most blogs, for
example, are seen by few people. Old media may also be trusted more as sources of information.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 6.3: Are owners like Rupert Murdoch the most powerful actors in media organisations?
Finally, pluralists argue that media diversity guarantees consumer choice, but competition does not
automatically mean media diversity. Economies of scale, for example, mean that the majority of consumer
demands can be satisfied by a few giant corporations holding great economic, political and ideological power on
a global scale. The diversity of web-based media may also be overstated. Giant corporations such as Apple,
through its iTunes store, and Amazon increasingly exert tight controls over what is published. Apple directly
controls what may or may not be sold through its online store. If a song is deemed unacceptable, it is excluded
from sale. Individual song titles and lyrics are also strictly censored. iTunes has such a large share of the global
download market that the ability to exclude products from sale gives Apple significant control.
Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of the media
According to traditional Marxism, the media are the most important and influential ideological institutions.
Whoever owns the media exercises a great deal of power. This is a determinist approach: the media are seen
as powerful agencies that can shape and, in some instances, fully decide people’s general thoughts and
behaviours. It is sometimes referred to as the manipulative or instrumental Marxist approach.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The media are part of the political and ideological superstructure in capitalist society and their role is to spread
(propagate) values that support the capitalist system, shaping how people see the world through a range of
legitimating ideas. These may include:
•
support for capitalism
•
rationalising and justifying social inequalities
•
defending the concept of private property
•
the private ownership of profits
•
negatively labelling alternatives to capitalism.
The media is a tool or instrument used by the ruling class to spread an ideology that favours the interests of
bourgeoisie. Althusser (1971), for example, saw the media as an ideological state apparatus (ISA). The state
attempts to directly assert the interests of a ruling class through an interlocking relationship between the political
and economic members of this class. Owners and controllers use the media to manipulate how subject classes
see the world to create the belief that societies work in the interests of all rather than the interests of a few. In
this way, the media create a ‘false consciousness’: the working class co-operates with the ruling class in their
own exploitation and against their own interests. In the UK, for example, following the global financial crisis in
2008, many in the media have put forward the view that recovery can only be through ‘austerity’ and the need
for ‘everyone to work together’ to make sacrifices to pay off the national debt. Alternative views are either not
reported or reported in such a way as to make it clear that these views are wrong or irresponsible. The
‘austerity’ discourse, from a Marxist point of view, serves the interests of the ruling class by creating a false
consciousness about the UK economy. The ability to control the type and quality of information people receive
means that the ruling class controls and broadly decides (determines) how people think.
This traditional Marxist approach has been criticised because there are occasions where sections of the media
do not simply reproduce ruling-class propaganda. The media can be critical of many forms of capitalist
behaviour, from ‘greedy bankers’ to environmental crimes. There are media which are critical of capitalism but
these only reach a minority. Marxists argue that radical media are unfairly treated (marginalised) and made
difficult to find, but they are available and pluralists would say that the reason their audiences are small is
because people are not interested in their messages.
The idea that a ruling class is a whole body with members who all share the same interests has also been
questioned, in particular by neo-Marxist approaches. If financial capitalists, such as bankers, and industrial
capitalists, such as manufacturers, do not have much in common, they are unlikely to use the media to present
a unified view of the world to the rest of society.
The usefulness of concepts like dominant ideology and false consciousness have also been questioned. People
in contemporary democratic societies have a wide range of media choices that offer access to different
economic, political and ideological viewpoints. The development of new media makes it increasingly difficult to
see how the flow of information can be tightly controlled by a ruling class. The traditional Marxist approach also
tends to portray media consumers as passive recipients of whatever owners want to publish.
These criticisms of Marxism have led to the development of neo-Marxist approaches which question the idea
that the working class is directly manipulated through the media. For this to happen, a ruling class would need a
level of unity (cohesion) that it simply does not have. The media are not without influence, say neo-Marxists, but
such influence is hegemonic not manipulative.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 6.4: Do media owners and their employees share similar values?
According to this hegemonic view, owners and controllers have a common economic interest, expressed in
terms of core values. For example, they both have a fundamental belief in capitalist economic systems.
Although they necessarily share a common cause in promoting and preserving their core values through the
media, they do not always agree on the best way to promote and preserve such values. Managers enjoy relative
autonomy – the freedom to make certain decisions – because media corporations are too large and too complex
to be easily controlled by an owner on a daily basis. Therefore, owners employ managers who can be trusted to
reflect their views. Editors who insist on ignoring their employer’s interests are likely to find themselves sacked.
As long as the output is legal, the key principle is profitability. Owners may not care too much about the
behaviour and activities of their media managers as long as they make a good profit.
Hegemonic control suggests that beliefs are not simply imposed ‘from above’ by a ruling class but are accepted
by the working class. This consent may be actively manufactured through what Althusser (1971) called
ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) including the media.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Related to the Marxist and neo-Marxist views of the media is the propaganda model developed by Noam
Chomsky and Edward S Herman. This sees the main role of the media in democracies as ensuring that people
support the state and the capitalist system. This is achieved through the reporting only of a narrow range of
opinion, with radical alternatives marginalised or ridiculed. ‘Serious’ newspapers and broadcasting appear to
cover a range of opinion and allow dissent but this happens only within narrow confines. The news is
determined by a five filters:
1 Ownership: mainstream media are controlled by large conglomerates so what is reported is in their interests.
News items that endanger corporate interests will be censored.
2 Advertising: the media have to attract wealthy (affluent) audiences, so that they can deliver those audiences
to advertisers. News content therefore has to fit with the interests of advertisers, most of which are large
corporations.
3 Sourcing: the media have to rely on sources such as politicians, corporations and trade organisations so the
media are reluctant to offend these sources.
4 Flak: this refers to negative responses to news stories – business organisations work together to create flak
which allows them to manage public information. An example is the way that oil corporations and others
have been able to use the media to question climate change.
5 Ideology of fear: fear and hatred of groups that pose a real or imagined threat. When Chomsky and Herman
first wrote about this, it was fear of communism, but after the end of the Cold War the media the threat has
been, variously, Saddam Hussein, terrorist groups and Russia.
Criticisms of this model include questioning whether the media all act together in the ways implied, and pointing
out that the media do expose cases of wrongdoing by corporations.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Noam Chomsky (born 1928)
Chomsky is considered as the founder of modern linguistics, but is also a social critic has also written widely about the USA, its
economic and political power and especially the role of the media in modern societies. He is a strong critic of capitalism, imperialism
and American foreign policy. With Edward S. Herman, he developed the propaganda model which shows how the news is structured
so that it becomes propaganda for the state and capitalism. The media manipulate their audiences so that consent for state policies
can be created. The media, across the political spectrum, legitimises state policies, marginalises other opinions and ignores news
that does not fit their ideology. Herman and Chomsky argue that this kind of censorship is more subtle and difficult to undermine than
the more obvious use of propaganda in the Soviet Union. Herman and Chomsky’s best known book is Manufacturing Consent: The
Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Factors that influence the selection and presentation of news
Economic, political and ideological factors can be used to explain the selection and presentation of news.
ACTIVITY 6.3
Write a caption for this picture that portrays the behaviour in:
a a positive light
b a negative light.
Which caption would be most likely to be used in a mainstream newspaper? Why?
Economic factors such as production and distribution costs, especially for old media, influence factors such as
news gathering. A national media company, for example, has more resources at its disposal than a local one.
However, both types of company will use agencies such as the Press Association or Reuters, which collect and
sell stories collected from a variety of sources to lower the cost of reporting. In the UK, the BBC routinely
spends more on its news content than small satellite TV stations.
Programming costs also vary between different forms of media and this can affect how content is selected and
presented. Rewriting corporate press releases, for example, is much cheaper than investigative reporting. When
news media simply use stories already written by a company or news agency, this is called churnalism.
Churnalism has been increasing in recent years; there are fewer original stories written by journalists than used
to be the case.
Figure 6.5
ACTIVITY 6.4
Find a copy of a national or local newspaper. Study its contents and see whether you can see which stories have been written by the
newspaper’s own journalists, and which are heavily based on information provided in a press release by an organisation.
Did this activity provide any evidence of churnalism?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Flat Earth News: An Award-winning Author Exposes Falsehood, Distortion and propaganda in the Global Media by Nick
Davies, 2008, Chatto & Windus.
Davies’s book brings together evidence from academic research and his own experiences as a journalist. Davies reports the
finding of Justin Lewis and his team at Cardiff University that 80% of the news stories he studied in British newspapers were
‘churnalism’. That is, they were made up wholly or mainly of material provided by others, such as government spin-doctors, press
agencies and public relations departments of corporations and other organisations. Many of these were published as provided,
without any attempt to put them in context, to check facts or to make readers aware of what was going on. Only 12% were
original stories written by the newspapers’ own reporters. The newspapers involved were the ‘quality’ newspapers, usually seen
as better sources of information than the more popular tabloids. This is the result partly of cost cutting by media owners, so that
there are fewer journalists, and the pressure of 24/7 continuous rolling news. Journalists are not allowed the time to investigate
stories themselves or to check facts. Davies argues that this situation means that people can be persuaded by the media to
accept as fact stories that are claimed to be true but are false – as false as the idea that the world is flat. An example of this is the
claim that Iraq under Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, a false claim that led to the 2003 Iraq War in which US
led forces invaded Iraq.
The delivery of some physical media, such as newspapers, magazines and books, also places limits on content.
Print media, for example, has space restrictions, with additional costs related to the production of extra pages
that do not apply to new media such as websites. Technological costs are another factor that affects both
production and distribution. A global media company can select programming from a wide range of sources.
Individuals producing small websites or blogging about events in their local community do not have such a wide
range of sources.
Most forms of privately owned media rely on advertising income in order to make a profit. As such, they are
unlikely to behave in ways that upset their principal advertisers. Chomsky (1989), for example, documented how
pressure from US advertisers resulted in articles and programmes being withdrawn or ‘amended’.
In terms of political factors, many governments lay down basic rules governing acceptable and unacceptable
content in news reporting. China, for example, operates strict censorship rules – news outlets are banned from
mentioning events such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests, and web content unacceptable to
the state is also blocked. Democratic governments rarely use direct media censorship, except in national
emergencies. However, various forms of covert censorship often occur. Many governments, including the UK
and the USA, do not allow state secrets to be published. In the UK, this is covered by laws such as the Official
Secrets Act. There are also legal restrictions such as the libel law, which means that media which report false
statements about someone can have legal proceedings brought against them (be sued).
News is therefore selected and presented within economic and political and legal constraints. However, news is
not simply something that waits to be discovered. Journalists do not simply gather and report news. What
counts as news is socially constructed and determined – an event only becomes news when someone with the
power to apply this label decides it is newsworthy. This, in turn, is determined by ideological rules that classify
events in particular ways – as ‘news’ or ‘not news’, for example. These rules are guided by a set of news values.
Editors, journalists and reporters learn news values through their socialisation into the profession. They absorb
from others ideas about what makes a good story, what angle will make the audience interested and so on.
These values are based on ideas about audiences and also the values of the media organisation they are
working for. As news stories arrive in the organisation’s news room, they will be assessed using the news
values to decide whether they will be reported, and if so how big (prominent) the story will be and the angle
from which it will be approached. Senior news media workers act as gate-keepers; some stories are accepted
and become news while others are rejected.
News values
Meaning
Galtung and Ruge (1973)
Frequency
Visual media feature fast-moving stories with lots of action.
Size
Scale and importance; larger = more newsworthy.
Unambiguous
The easier an event is to simplify, the more likely it will be defined as news. Complex
events reduced to simple, clear, issues (‘good’ and ‘bad’).
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
News values
Meaning
Meaningfulness
The closer the fit between an event and an audience’s cultural background, the more
newsworthy it will be.
Consonance
The ability to predict or want something to happen makes it news. If the predicted
events do not happen, that is also news.
Continuity
Stories need a context, such as a past and a future.
Chibnall (1977)
Immediacy
‘News’ is what is happening now.
Adventure
The more dramatic an event, the more likely it is to be news.
Personalisation
‘Important people’ (such as celebrities or politicians) are given more attention and
prominence in different media. Stories also have more value if they have a ‘human
interest’.
Titillation
Sex sells some newspapers, magazines and TV programmes.
Convention
Events can be explained in ways that are familiar to an audience.
Structured access
Reporters and experts have more opportunity to define the meaning of an event.
Hierarchies of credibility mean greater importance is given to some definers or news
than others.
Novelty
Unusual or rare events are more newsworthy.
Lanson and Stephens (2003)
Weight
An event’s significance in relation to other, current, stories.
Controversy
Arguments and debates increase newsworthiness.
Usefulness
Does the story help people understand the meaning of something?
Educational value
Extent to which people are taught something.
Table 6.1 Selection of different news values
For pluralists, news values are evidence of consumer choice and diversity because they reflect the demands of
the audience, with different news media providing the news that their audiences want. For example, a
newspaper aimed at a mass readership may concentrate on news about celebrities and sport, avoiding serious
news stories that its readers may find difficult to follow. For Marxists, news values are evidence of how
audiences are shaped and manipulated – audiences learn to want whatever the media decide is newsworthy.
From this perspective, news values are shaped by the ideological demands of owners. News values, therefore,
are linked to the political and economic beliefs of owners, and they broadly determine the overall political
attitude (stance) of a newspaper, magazine, TV channel or website. This, in turn, is linked to how media
producers influence audience demands.
ACTIVITY 6.5
Read the five main news stories on one day in one news media source, such as a newspaper. Which news values have led to their
being reported? Do the news values influence the way the stories are reported?
Which news values seem to be the most important for your news source? Are there any other news values you would now want to
add?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
In a media organisation, the editor is responsible for ensuring that the news agenda set by owners is followed.
The editor is also responsible for making sure that journalists understand and conform to organisational news
values. Agenda setting concerns decisions about what and what not to report. This means that news media
are able, by reporting something frequently and prominently, to influence what is considered important. They set
the agenda for what audiences know about and consider important. The audiences include, for example,
politicians and public agencies such as the police who may be in effect forced to act because of the high
importance the media have given to an event. Some news media have greater agenda-setting power than
others. For example, in the UK, the BBC’s selection of news for some of its respected radio and television
current affair programmes sets an agenda that other news media will follow.
The news media also interpret the meaning of an event for their audience. Hall (1980) argued that journalists
offer a preferred reading, that is, the audience are given not only information but also told how to interpret it.
News stories are framed; the position that the reporting takes on a story influences the audience’s interpretation
of the story. For example, the reporting of a civil war in another country may be framed in terms of rebels
attempting to overthrow a legitimate government. The audience is being guided to seeing the rebels as in the
wrong and the government as being right.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
From what you have learned about the news media, what do you think are some of the important
qualities and skills needed to work as a news editor?
A related term used by postmodernists is discourse, which refers to a way of representing the world from a
particular viewpoint. A discourse reflects the ideas, beliefs and values of specific, powerful groups and creates a
framework for audience interpretation. This can make certain values appear legitimate. For example, it can
structure how an audience receives information and shape how such information is understood. Part of the
purpose of a news discourse is to define the concept of news. Once this occurs, further refinements take place,
including defining the meaning of certain things such as ‘good or evil’. The definition of meaning indicates to an
audience how they are supposed to interpret something and, in some instances, determines their response to
whatever is being presented as news.
An example here is Cohen’s (1972) concept of folk devils, people who are believed to threaten the established
moral order. While different societies have different folk devils, common examples include:
•
the poor, constructed in ways that blame poverty on the individual
•
welfare claimants who are seen as receiving payments they do not deserve
•
immigrants who are seen as failing to integrate into a dominant culture.
Folk devils are a way of creating a sense of social solidarity in a population by identifying people ‘not like us’;
they are ‘outsiders’ or ‘the Other’. The selection and presentation of relatively powerless groups as folk devils in
a news discourse is generally done in the context of a moral panic (see pages 225–226).
ACTIVITY 6.6
Using a selection of newspapers or news websites, try to find stereotyped pictures and language to represent different classes,
ages, genders or ethnicities.
Which group or groups are represented most stereotypically? Why might this be?
The concepts of mass manipulation and hegemony as different ways of
understanding the production of media content
Traditional Marxism sees the media as a significant ideological institution in capitalist society. An important
dimension of the media’s role is to shape how people think by manipulating the nature, extent and type of
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
information on which they make judgements. Owners and controllers use the media as a tool to influence public
opinion: mass manipulation. They promote a particular ideological world view that clearly (explicitly) favours
the interests of the ruling class.
A second dimension to this role is the promotion and policing of the values of capitalist society. Those whose
views reflect the interests of owners are given access to the media. Those with alternative or contradictory
views are generally denied such access. Ideas helpful to a ruling class are continually highlighted and
promoted, while opposing views are ignored, misrepresented or marginalised. Oppositional ideas are
represented in ways that suggest they are not to be taken seriously. Marginalised social groups, such as
immigrants, minorities and the unemployed, are represented as the cause of social problems. This blaming
(‘scapegoating’) is designed to create divisions within and between groups and to deflect the blame for social
problems away from the behaviour of the ruling class. The role of the media, therefore, is to encourage people
to accept social and economic inequality as ‘normal and right’.
Figure 6.6: Do new media encourage or discourage social isolation?
An alternative, neo-Marxist way of viewing the production of media content uses the concept of hegemony.
From this perspective, the role of the media reflects the complexity of class relationships and interests in
contemporary societies. The media’s ideological role is considered in terms of how it creates and sustains a
broad political agreement (consensus) around a set of core values, rather than how it manipulates people’s
behaviour directly. In this way, the media can reflect a variety of different opinions while simultaneously
absorbing critical views that may threaten the stability of the social system. This creates an illusion of a wide
range of views and tolerance of dissent, but this really only happens within a very narrow range of opinion.
According to the hegemonic view, the media’s role is to help maintain the status quo by policing and protecting
core social values.
A key idea here is that the media play a crucial role in creating a consensus that allows people to be socialised
into core values. People must be made to accept the values of their society or, if they try to reject them, be
powerless to change them. The media set the agenda for debate; some things are simply not up for discussion.
For example, no major media corporation discusses economic organisation in anything other than capitalist
terms. While ensuring that certain core values are not questioned, or are seen as inevitable, the media also
steer public opinion in particular ways. Just as advertisers try to convince people to buy one product rather than
another, so do the media through preferred readings and use of particular discourse. One way this is achieved
is through the use of headlines and subheadings, which effectively tell the reader how they should interpret an
article. Another way is to use captions to tell an audience what a picture means.
The postmodernist contribution to understanding the media
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The postmodernist view of the media is closer to the pluralist view than to Marxist views. Postmodernists
emphasise how social changes are bringing about greater choice and diversity, strengthening the pluralist view.
It becomes more difficult in the postmodern period of new media and social media for a ruling class to control
access to information in the way that Marxists suggest they do.
One feature of the media today is that they have become more common (pervasive). They are present in our
lives much more than in the past, when consuming media meant opening a newspaper or switching on a
television set. It has now become difficult to escape media. Postmodernists argue that the media increasingly
dominate the way we live and the way we construct our identities; we live in a media-saturated society.
Audiences now find it difficult to distinguish between reality and media. For example, the events on reality
television programmes become news stories themselves, taking the place of ‘real’ events. Baudrillard uses the
term hyper-reality to express how different narrative accounts interweave and conflict in a constantly changing
pattern of representations built on representations. Eventually they form a ‘reality’ in themselves – something
that is ‘more real’ than the reality they claims to describe. For example, if we change how a concept such as age
is represented, we change its reality.
Each reality is constructed from the way in which individuals pick and choose different ideas to suit their own
prejudices or beliefs. Baudrillard calls these realities simulacra (‘representations that refer to other
representations’) – simulations that are the reality they depict. To talk about media representations as distortions
of a hidden or obscured ‘reality’, according to Baudrillard, misses the point. The media do not simply ‘mediate
the message’ through representations; as Mcluhan and Powers (1992) argue, ‘they are the message’.
Postmodernists are interested in new media, because of the changed relationships between those involved.
New media create networks, within which content is produced and consumed by the same people. Information,
therefore, flows between different points (people) within a network in ways that make it impossible to distinguish
between producer and consumer. They are, increasingly, one and the same. This clearly makes state regulation
and censorship difficult, if not impossible, on both a national and global scale.
Censorship as a factor in influencing media content
In the 20th century, the mass media were often clearly and deliberately used for propaganda by states.
Examples include anti-Jewish propaganda in Nazi Germany and communist propaganda in the Soviet Union. In
modern capitalist societies the state exercises less direct control of the media, because freedom of expression
is valued and because the media can usually be trusted to ‘do the right things’. Instead, the state establishes
legal rules and regulations that both preserve relative media autonomy – making it appear to be independent of
state control – and set the boundaries for media behaviour in case some sections decide to exercise that
autonomy. Most states have some kind of censorship of pornography and of material that might offend morals in
that particular country. There is also likely to be some censorship of material the state considers should be
secret. The media, therefore, work within a framework of rules and guidelines which impose some limits. They
may also self-censor – decide not to publish or broadcast, or to do so in a particular way, to avoid offending
audiences or the state.
The internet and new media are somewhat different in that they cross national boundaries so that residents of a
country where something is censored may be able to find it on a website hosted outside that country. State
censors find it more difficult to censor new media than traditional media because of this. A small number of
countries, including North Korea, exercise almost total control of their residents’ access to foreign websites, but
the nature of the internet means that users who understand the technology can find ways to access materials;
states struggle to close down all access. Social media have been used in protests in some countries, such as
during the Arab Spring in 2011, when Twitter, for example, was used to co-ordinate demonstrations, and also to
inform the rest of the world of what was happening, so bypassing state censorship or manipulation of outgoing
news. Social media sites can censor their own content, for example preventing or removing images of nudity.
Social media have also led to an increase in false news stories (deliberate misinformation or hoaxes) which
reach many users of social media sites. This has led to pressure on sites such as Facebook and Google to
police their content more. Facebook now uses independent fact checkers to identify false news stories.
ACTIVITY 6.7
Find out how media content is censored in your country. For example, what are the rules about violent behaviour (both fiction and
news), sexual behaviour, drug-taking and bad language in the media?
Do you think that these rules are a fair reflection of the views of most people in your country?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
World Trends in Freedom Expression of and Media Development
Global Report 2017/8
UNESCO
Available on the UNESCO website.
Full citation: UNESCO. 2018. World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: 2017/2018
Global Report, Paris
This global report highlights several important recent trends:
•
Freedom of expression through the media has been limited in some countries because of national
security concerns, states of emergency and fears of terrorism. There were 56 shutdowns of entire social
media websites, mobile networks or national internet access in 2016 and also increases in blocking and
filtering of websites by governments. Around the world UNESCO found evidence from opinion polls that
people valued media freedoms but thought that they were declining.
•
Nearly half of the world’s population now has access to the internet. Newspaper circulation has fallen
nearly everywhere.
•
Algorithm-based search results and social media have led to the creation of ‘echo chambers’ and ‘filter
bubbles’, where people reinforce their beliefs and do not come into contact with the opinions of others.
•
530 journalists were killed between 2012 and 2016.
Problems arising from the internet and social media include cyberattacks, surveillance, hacking, intimidation and a rise in online
harassment, especially of female journalists.
Question: Based on what you have learnt about the media, what would you expect to be some important trends in the next ten
years?
How the media may influence the political process, including agenda setting,
opinion polls and news reporting
Agenda setting: Because the news media can choose what to report and what not to report, they can influence
the main topics and issues that people are interested in and talk about. The public may not discuss some issues
because they may not be aware of them if they have not been reported. This power of the media is referred to
as agenda setting. It means that even if the media do not tell people what to think, they can decide what people
think about, and how they think about things. The decisions made about what to report may depend on news
values (see section 6.2) but also on the economic and organisational pressures to make a profit and to
compete. Marxists further suggest that the news agenda is constructed to ensure that audiences remain
unaware of some facts and issues, or are told how to think about them, so as to reduce protest.
Opinion polls: Opinion polls are published by the media. They are based on surveys or interviews with
members of the public and can be used to show how people feel about particular issues. A newspaper, for
example, may publish an opinion poll that suggests that many people want the government to take action on a
particular issue. Opinion polls are often published as elections approach, showing how people say they intend to
vote. This leads to media stories about, for example, a particular candidate or party being ‘in the lead’. Such
reporting can influence the outcome of the election, for example some people might not bother to vote if the
opinion polls suggest one outcome is inevitable. For this reason, some countries do not allow opinion polls to be
published in the final period before voting starts.
ACTIVITY 6.8
Imagine that you work for a polling company and have been asked to design a poll asking people whether they think there should be
restrictions on how much children use social media, online games and so on. What questions would you ask? (You need only a small
number of questions, otherwise people may not want to take part.)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Reflection: What factors might influence how valid and reliable your answers are? Thinking about these, look again at your
questions and see if you would change any.
News reporting: The angle taken in a news story, and the language used, can help shape how audiences
respond. The media may also report on a news story in a way that creates pressure for politicians to act. Media
reporting may suggest widespread public concern (and may create this through a self-fulfilling prophecy) and
lead to demands for action, for example, on a particular type of crime. Investigative reporting can also uncover
and make public stories that might otherwise have remained hidden, for example the media have uncovered
abuses of human rights.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
What difficulties might members of ethnic minority groups face when trying to find employment in
the media?
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Ben Bagdikian (1920–2016)
Bagdikian was an American newspaper investigative journalist who played a significant role in the publication by the Washington
Post of the Pentagon Papers, which showed how the American government had deceived its people about the war in Vietnam.
Bagdikian was from Armenia and as a child survived the Armenian mass killing (genocide). After his career in newspapers, he moved
into academia and was dean of the School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. His 1983 book The Media
Monopoly warned about the growing concentration of ownership of news media in the USA, seeing this as a threat to freedom of
speech and to democracy, a theme he continued in later publications. He claimed that the five largest media corporations and their
owners had ‘more communications power than was exercised by any despot or dictatorship in history’. He influenced Chomsky’s
views on the media (see Section 6.2). In the 2018 film The Post, which dramatises the Pentagon Papers controversy, he is played by
Bob Odenkirk.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
6.3 The impact of the new media
One of the main issues arising from the growth of new media for consumers is personal privacy. Social media
make money through advertising, which can now be targeted to individuals through the sale of users’ personal
data to third parties. Users, therefore, exchange ‘free’ services for some loss of privacy which has been taken
advantage of by some corporations such as Facebook which are able to accurately gather a wide range of
personal information from an analysis of an individual’s ‘likes’ and their other online content. This includes
information such as ethnicity, IQ, sexuality, substance use and political views.
In this respect, Socha and Eber-Schmid (2012) argue that new media are ‘characterized by an astonishing and
uncharted level of personal experience/exposure. Online companies and sites can track the content of personal
emails and site visits in order to target advertisements on users’. There are also websites whose sole purpose is
to compile and share personal data with web users. A further privacy issue is the rapid spread and persistence
of online data. Once data is released into the wild of the web, whether in the shape of sites, blogs, tweets or
tagged photos, it is difficult, often impossible, to erase or withdraw it.
While these ideas represent one form of surveillance, more explicit forms are made easier by new media
technology. The state, for example, may monitor its citizens to identify which websites they visit, who they email
or who they talk to using voice over internet protocols (VoIP) such as Skype. Digital transmissions are relatively
easy to intercept and read, especially if they are unencrypted. Surveillance targets, from environmental activists
to political parties, may not realise that they are being monitored. Monitoring ‘from above’ (surveillance) is an
issue, therefore. A greater willingness and ability to share information online also leaves people open to forms of
surveillance such as digital stalking and bullying. Neelamalar and Chitra’s (2009) study of Indian college
students and their use of social networks does, however, suggest an ‘awareness of the danger and risk involved
in using these sites’. They interpret this as ‘a positive indicator Indian youth are not only techno-savvy and
socially active through social networking sites but they also possess social consciousness’.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
What new kinds of jobs or ways of earning a living have been created by the growth of new
media?
How the new media are contributing to globalisation
New media can be truly global in scope and reach. Older technologies such as TV and film do of course have
global features – the US and Indian film industries, Hollywood and Bollywood, for example, span the globe – but
they are fundamentally local technologies. They are designed to be consumed by local audiences that just
happen to be in different countries. In contrast, new media, such as websites and social networks, are often
global in intent. They enable global connections through the development of information networks based on the
creation and exchange of information. A significant aspect of these global features is the ability to create and
share text, images, videos and other content without being slowed by physical borders.
New media connect all kinds of information – text, images, sound and video – in many different ways across a
global network. A key feature, therefore, is interconnectedness, not just of information but also of people. A
good example of this is the development of Wikipedia, a free non-linear online encyclopaedia created by its
users and which anyone can edit.
The new media as a challenge to existing power structures
The various features of new media raise a new set of issues for both producers and consumers. For example,
the development of global computer networks has presented problems for media industries whose products are
relatively easy to copy and distribute digitally. The development of peer-to-peer networks has led to the rise of
global forms of intellectual property theft (‘piracy’). Media conglomerates have responded to this in a range of
ways:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
•
There have been legal prosecutions of individual offenders and attempts to shut down sites, such as Napster
and Megaupload, from which consumers could download illegal copies of music, film and TV programmes.
New economic models have been developed. ‘Freemium’ models, for example, provide a free service, such
as software or a game, but users then pay a premium for ‘added extras’. Popular Facebook games, such as
Farmville, have successfully taken this approach.
A further issue is the unauthorised access to computers and networks (‘hacking’). This involves:
•
Governments: cyberwarfare, for example, is when governments engage in the politically motivated hacking
of rival government computer networks for reasons that range from spying (espionage) to sabotage.
•
Organisations: in 2010, the US government claimed that the cybertheft of copyrights and patents by China
remained at ‘unacceptable levels’.
•
Individuals: viruses and malware designed to damage computers, obtain (extort) money or steal information.
The debate about digital optimism versus digital pessimism
The development of new media has led to a debate about the impact that changing technologies have on
economic, political and cultural life. This debate revolves around two opposing views: digital optimism and
pessimism. From the viewpoint of digital optimism, the defining characteristic of new media is a form of digital
liberation that Negroponte (1995) claimed is based on four processes:
1 Decentralisation
2 Globalisation
3 Harmonisation
4 Empowerment.
These processes impact on society in a range of ways.
Economic terms
In economic terms, we see the development of new models of production, distribution and exchange,
particularly ‘free’ or ‘gifting’ models, where the consumer pays nothing to use a medium. One significant new
model is the development of open economic systems where software, for example, is developed collaboratively
to take advantage of wide creative pools of talent. Tapscott and Williams (2008) call this ‘Wikinomics’, in
acknowledgement of the pioneering collaborative efforts of Wikipedia.
Producers
Producers – especially large corporations – have to be more responsive to consumer demands because the
ability to act as a global crowd, passing information swiftly from individual to individual, means that corporate
behaviour is continually being monitored, evaluated and held to account. Digital technology assists crowdsourcing. This process is based on ‘the wisdom of crowds’: if you ask enough people their opinion, a basic
‘crowd truth’ will emerge.
Politically
Politically, the global flow of information weakens the state’s hold over individuals and ideas. Repressive state
actions are much harder to disguise or keep secret when populations have access to instant forms of mass
communication, such as Twitter. The internet also makes it harder for the state to censor or restrict the flow of
information and enables people to have a greater understanding of the meaning of issues and events.
Culturally
Culturally, behaviour can be both participatory and personalised. The global village combines collectivity with
individuality. Co-operation flourishes while people simultaneously maintain what Negroponte calls the ‘Daily Me’
– the personalisation of things like news and information focused on the specific interests of each individual.
Personalisation contributes to participation by encouraging a diverse individuality that leads to the development
of new ways of thinking and behaving. The fact that people can be anonymous on the web encourages both
freedom of speech and whistle-blowing.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The alternative digital pessimist interpretation argues that the globalising processes on which new media
depend are neither wholly beneficial nor unambiguous. While globalisation involves decentralising processes,
for example, it also produces greater centralisation across economic, political and cultural behaviours.
In economic terms, ‘free’ business models are only free in the sense that their costs are hidden from the
consumer. These costs include the following:
•
Exploiting free labour: the news and opinion site The Huffington Post, for example, was built around the free
labour provided by its blogging contributors; the site was sold by its owners for $300 million in 2011.
•
Driving down quality: companies that cannot rely on cheap or free labour must either cut their costs,
potentially undermining quality, or go out of business.
•
Privacy: new media that depend on free labour, such as social networking sites where consumers create
content, make money by selling user data to advertisers.
•
Copyright: some corporate social media sites lay claim to the copyright of user-generated content, such as
photographs and videos that can then be sold to advertisers.
In its early years, the internet was often compared to the American West of the 19th century, with pioneers
hoping to achieve success in a lawless environment. Increasingly, however, large parts of the internet have
come under the control of giant powerful corporations. The situation may really be similar to that of old media,
where large corporations exert considerable control over the choices made by consumers and sometimes act in
unethical or illegal ways to maximise their profits. An example is Facebook’s gathering of vast amounts of
information on its users. A further similarity between the behaviour of old and new media corporations involves
two related processes:
1 Locking out competitors from markets.
2 Locking in consumers to products.
An example of both is Amazon’s development of an eBook reader (the Kindle) that gave the company control
over who could publish eBooks for this product and how consumers could use the product (to buy eBooks from
Amazon). Apple locks consumers into its products and services by, for example, rolling out of new operating
systems which prevent owners of its mobile phones from having repairs carried out by a third party.
Conglomeration is a related process that mirrors the behaviour of old-media corporations. The highly
concentrated ownership of new media allows global corporations to buy up competitors or emerging
technologies. For example, Alphabet (Google) has taken over more than 200 companies, such as the video
sharing site YouTube and the mobile phone manufacturer Motorola. Schecter (2000) claims that this leads to a
decrease in digital diversity in areas such as news production. As he argues: ‘The internet is not very diverse,
even though it appears to be. The concentration in ownership that is restructuring old media has led to
conglomeration in news transmission and a narrowing of sourcing in new media. It is cheaper for Web sites to
buy someone else’s news than generate their own.’ It is also ‘cheaper’ for global corporations to take and
republish content generated by individual users with little or no prospect of recompense.
Politically, mass communication tools can be used by repressive regimes to restrict individual freedoms and
enhance various forms of state surveillance. For example, GPS technology can be used to track both the online
and offline behaviour of users.
ACTIVITY 6.9
In a group, make a list of issues raised by new media that do not apply to old media. Make a poster for display to show what you
have decided.
Reflection: Which do you think is the most important of these and why? How have you defined your criteria? If there was
disagreement in your group, how did you decide what to do?
The impact of the new media on social identities and interpersonal relationships
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Identities are about the way people see themselves and are seen by others. In the past, many aspects of
people’s identities were fixed and difficult to change: their social class, gender, ethnic group, religion and so on.
Postmodernists suggest that identities have become more open to change; people have greater choice and
freedom. One aspect of this greater choice is through new media. Digital optimists argue that the new media
open up a greater range of identities and an ability to change them. People can construct new identities for
themselves online, and are able to communicate with a more diverse range of types of people, including those
who are far away geographically, than was the case before. New media allow for more social networking and
sharing. It becomes easier to keep in touch with people, re-establish lost contacts and build new online
communities. Digitial optimists suggest that this is bound to widen people’s views – they will become more
tolerant and open-minded.
Digital pessimists see this in a different light. They question the strength of online relationships, for example how
many of people’s Facebook ‘friends’ are really friends in the usual meaning of that word? They also question the
extent to which people will come into contact with new ideas and become more tolerant. It is more likely, they
say, that online networks and communities will be of like-minded people who may reinforce each other’s
intolerance. This can be seen in the way, for example, that people with extreme political views are able to meet
online and form communities. A lot of behaviour online is negative: trolling, cyber-bullying, abuse, death threats.
Even with following the news, say digital pessimists, rather than being exposed to a range of views that will
encourage them to think and to understand others’ point of view, online people can now just follow the sites that
give them the angle on the news that they want, confirming their prejudices. There is also concern about the
power of the corporations that dominate social media, such as Facebook, which is able to collect huge amounts
of information about its users. One view of social networking is that it is less about connecting people than about
advertisers being able to target customers more effectively. Finally, spending time online may take away from
real-life interaction, with people losing the ability to communicate in the real world and spending less quality time
with family and friends.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
6.4 Media representations of class, gender, ethnicity and age
groups
How different groups are represented in the media
Groups of people can be represented in one of two ways:
1 Accurately, by describing it as ‘it really is’, such as in a photograph.
2 Inaccurately, through deliberate or accidental misrepresentation.
This section will assess the extent to which groups categorised by class, gender, ethnicity and age are
accurately or inaccurately represented.
Class
Media representations of social class take a range of forms, with different classes stereotypically represented
in different ways. The working class, for example, is routinely represented through a relatively narrow and
limited range of identities:
•
historical, such as popular costume dramas that focus on servitude, poverty and criminality
•
contemporary, where a similar range of themes recur, with working-class life represented through socially
problematic behaviours such as crime, welfare dependency, unemployment, violence and casual sex.
Recurrent themes, from news reports, through documentaries to entertainment shows, represent the working
classes as:
•
dangerous – people to be feared because of their unpredictability
•
problematic in terms of their involvement in illegal/immoral behaviours
•
dependent on both the state and the tolerance and generosity of the middle and upper classes.
Representations rarely portray the ordinariness of working-class life, preferring instead to focus on a narrow
range of situations that are occasionally positive, such as professional sport, but more usually negative.
Middle-class representation is generally broader, ranging across professional employment and cultural
associations such as music, fashion and art.
The Glasgow Media Group’s study of television reporting of industrial disputes, for example, argued that the
working classes had less direct access to the media and less control over how they were portrayed. If they
were represented at all, it was usually in a negative way. Dramas and documentaries largely ignore or erase
working-class life and contributions to historical movements. Instead, these programmes tend to focus on the
actions of upper-class historical figures. For example, British history is largely represented in film, television,
newspapers and books through the thoughts and actions of royalty and the aristocracy.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Greg Philo (born 1947)
Philo is Professor of Communications and Social Change and Research Director of the Glasgow University Media Unit. After being a
theatre actor and director, Philo became a member of the Glasgow Media group which developed new ways of analysing media
content, especially television, and how audiences establish meanings. The group has published many books analysing news,
starting with Bad News in 1976, followed by Seeing is Believing, Message Received and others. Their content analysis research
shows how television news reporting is biased in favour of powerful groups and how the views of the less powerful, such as strikers
and refugees are ignored or marginalised, so that the media present audiences with a narrow agenda. This is not state propaganda,
but to maximise audiences and profits. It comes also from the shared background of those who work at high levels in the media,
who are male, white, middle class and often attended the same private schools and universities.
Contemporary forms of invisibility exclude working-class life through a focus on the interests, actions and
activities of business leaders, middle- and upper-class politicians and philanthropists. Where the working
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
classes feature in accounts of social and economic development, they are more likely to be cast as those who
benefit from middle-class help and advice or as subjects for discussion by middle-class ‘experts’ about workingclass vices. Members of the working class are portrayed as dysfunctional, dependent and socially problematic,
while the middle class is seen as purposeful, independent and socially supportive.
Stereotypes, or one-sided representations, of working-class individuals and families are applied to the class as
a whole. Ehrenreich, for example, argues that, for the media, to be ‘working class’ means being:
•
inarticulate
•
old-fashioned
•
uneducated
•
lazy
•
incapable.
She suggests that these representations silence working-class voices, making them both literally and
metaphorically unable to speak.
For higher classes, problematic behaviour – greed, selfishness or criminality – is instead represented as
indicative of individual human weaknesses rather than symbolic of a whole class. The 2008 global financial
crisis, for example, is generally represented in terms of the actions of a few ‘rogue bankers’ rather than
indicating fundamental and wide-reaching social problems caused by middle- and upper-class behaviour.
Gender
Gender stereotypes relating to masculinity and femininity generally focus on two areas: physical and emotional.
While traditional representations tend to reinforce clear gender differences, contemporary representations
occasionally display a greater coming together of gender.
Physical representations of bodies were traditionally focused on women, but they are increasingly relevant to
men. These representations are important in two ways:
1 How they have changed – the greater frequency with which male bodies are represented, especially by
advertisers, as sexually desirable for women and culturally desirable for men.
2 The way in which they have not changed: female bodies are still used to sell everything from cars to
camping equipment, and men are still allowed a greater range of acceptable body shapes.
Body representation forms part of a wider set of ideas about beauty, attractiveness and how women in
particular should look and behave. This is particularly relevant in unstated assumptions that female beauty is
both heterosexual and largely for the benefit of what Mulvey (1975) called the male gaze. This reflects the idea
that female lives are viewed, sometimes literally, through a masculine lens and controlled by male needs and
desires. The male gaze defines feminine identities in ways that are attractive to men. It objectifies females,
seeing them only as objects of desire. Where the media shape social perceptions of femininity, it follows that
there are important consequences if women are unable or unwilling to match these perceptions, because of
their ethnicity, class, size, ability or other characteristic. For example, young women are portrayed as objects of
desire, but elderly women are not. Mulvey also suggested that the male gaze is so widespread that it is often
accepted by females, who see other women through the gaze and objectify each other. The male gaze exists
because most media have been controlled by men. In the case of film, it has been the norm for a male director
give directions to a male cameraman so that the viewer sees the action through the eyes of a male lead
character.
Grant et al. (2006) suggest that women face ‘a double jeopardy of age and gender discrimination’ that has a
different impact on women of different ages. Younger women, for example, face a range of pressures – how to
look, dress and behave, to conform to media ideas (notions) of femininity. Older women must confront the
problem that if women are defined purely by their sexuality, attractiveness and desirability, they suffer from a
reduced identity once they lose these characteristics.
Media representations often reflect broader assumptions about male and female behaviour, for example, that
women should be co-operative and submissive, and dominant females are often represented as figures of fun
or (deviant) sexuality. Macdonald (2003) notes a particular category of female (‘ladettes’) that challenges these
stereotypes and breaks down gender barriers. It does so through representations emphasising women’s ability
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
to behave in the same way as men. This suggests that gender representations are ‘not static and women are
permitted to take on certain masculine behaviours in certain situations’. For example, some leading characters
in Hollywood films have been females succeeding in the ways that men traditionally have, of defeating evil or
solving crimes. ‘Abnormal representations’ may, however, simply prove the general rule. Female sexuality, for
example, is routinely used to sell consumer goods, employing an exaggerated form of (hetero)sexuality that
combines the physical, such as thinness, and the emotional, such as patriarchal notions of ‘availability’. Even
the female superheroine may be dressed in clothing that emphasises the female body.
Figure 6.7: In the Western world, advertisements for food and household goods have often reflected
perceptions of gender in society
At the same time as traditional stereotypical representations of women are to some extent being replaced, male
representations have changed. In the past, hegemonic masculinity with its ideals of absolute toughness,
stubborn self-reliance and emotional silence was a main positive form of representation of men. Villains in early
Hollywood films were often in some way not ‘real men’. Recently there has been a move towards a wider range
of masculinities, with male characters shown as more emotional, in need of help and support, willing to treat
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
females as equals and so on. Men are also sometimes represented in terms of a female gaze that objectifies
the body, for example, in cosmetics advertisements which use male models with bare torsos.
Ethnicity
Representations of minority ethnic groups reflect the fact that they are likely to be in a disadvantaged position
and to have little influence on media content. One feature of ethnic representation in the Western media is the
gradual disappearance of crude stereotypes and demeaning representations of ‘black people’. While overt
racism is no longer tolerated, Hall (1995) argued that it has been replaced by inferential racism – black
ethnicities are represented in ways that stress their cultural, rather than biological, difference. Part of this
representation involves their ‘problematic nature’: minority ethnicities are represented as the source, rather
than as victims, of social problems. This, in turn, reflects two forms of representation:
1 Over-representation. In areas such as news and fiction minorities are represented as both guilty
(perpetrators) and victims. UK news reporting of Africa, for example, represents black ethnicities as:
• victims of ‘natural disasters’ such as floods and famines
•
perpetrators of man-made disasters involving wars and corruption.
In this context, ethnic minorities are mainly viewed through a white, middle-class and male gaze. In news
reporting, this frequently represents white people as saviours, through things like government and public
aid/charity. This is an example of a binary opposition, in which a pair of representations are opposites of each
other (here the black victim and the white saviour).
2 Under-representation in areas such as advertising and drama. For example, in the UK members of minority
ethnic groups appear in advertisements less often than would be expected given the proportion of the
population they make up.
African and Caribbean people are often represented through the white gaze, an equivalent term to the male
gaze. Carrington (2002) claims that the white gaze extends to apparently positive black images constructed
around cultural spaces such as sport, fashion and music. He calls these representations of hyper-blackness
which promote stereotypes of black bodies solely in terms of ‘athleticism and animalism’ (the idea that these
features of black excellence are ‘natural’). A further aspect of the white gaze is the representation of ethnic
minorities in terms of their ‘Otherness’ – how ‘They’ are different from ‘Us’. This is usually in terms of cultural
difference as the cause of social problems. Where scientifically discredited notions of race focused on
biological differences such as skin colour, new racism is based on differences in language, religion and family
life. ‘Otherness’ is also represented by threat:
•
cultural threats; for example, in Europe, a dominant, white, way of life can be represented as threatened
through practices such as arranged and forced marriages or the notion of Shari’ah law, a legal system
based on Islamic religious principles
•
physical threats such as terrorism and criminality. Hall et al. (1978), for example, note moral panics about
‘black muggers’ in the 1970s and, more recently, the claim by the Metropolitan Police (2002) that mugging
in London is ‘predominantly a black crime’. Western media representations have linked terrorism with Islam
even though some major terrorist attacks have been by other groups.
Age
Ownership and control of national and global media is often characterised as middle-aged, middle-class, and
male. This idea of power and control suggests that representations of young people are largely constructed
through an ‘adult gaze’. How this power is used, however, varies across time and space. Contemporary
societies, in particular, demonstrate high levels of mixed feelings about childhood and youth:
•
On one level, children are represented in terms of their innocent and uncorrupted nature.
•
On another, they are represented as unruly, lacking self-control and requiring adult discipline and guidance.
Both forms often feature in relation to youth and new technologies, including cinema, television and computers.
In relation to the internet, for example, children’s perceived innocence combined with (adult) technological fears
results in children being seen as victims of their own lack of control and discipline, through exposure to a
variety of ideas and experiences that they are not equipped to deal with. This can lead to moral panics. As
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Pearson (1983) demonstrates, moral panics about the behaviour of young people and technology have been a
persistent feature of media representations over the past century, involving traits such as:
•
rebellion
•
disrespect
•
selfishness
•
obsessions with self and sex.
Male youth are frequently represented as delinquent and politically indifferent. Representations are also mixed,
which reflects both changing social morals and youth as a fragmented category, with clear divisions across
categories such as class and gender.
A particularly dominant form of representation over the past 40 years has been the distinction between normal
and abnormal youth. Normal youth are defined in opposition to various youth subcultures such as mods and
rockers, skinheads, hippies and punks, all of which enjoyed a short time in the media spotlight. Contemporary
representations also focus on celebrations of youth. These might take the form of rebellion from adult rules and
responsibilities, vibrant social change, or adults’ perception of youth as a highly desirable physical state.
As with youth, older people have traditionally been represented in a narrow range of roles, with a particular
emphasis on social problems. Their problematic status has recently been constructed around how the burden
of an ageing population affects the rest of society through the increasing costs of pensions, hospital treatment
and social care. Individually and collectively, their representation is also largely unsympathetic, based on
images of:
•
senility (confusion, weakness)
•
illness, both mental and physical
•
unattractiveness.
Fictional portrayals in television dramas frequently show them as grumpy, interfering, lonely, stubborn, not
interested in sex, and miserable.
A reverse form of gendered stereotyping also occurs when elderly men are used to add a sense of
seriousness/moral gravity, particularly in news coverage.
Figure 6.8: How is youth represented positively and negatively in the media?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Although these images can still be seen in some parts of the media, in others, the changing nature of
representation is reflected in more sympathetic portrayals that reflect the changing nature of media audiences.
Older people watch more television than other social groups and make up a growing proportion of the
population in many countries, so they increasingly demand programming that reflects their interests. Their lack
of representation in areas such as popular drama and film has also changed in response to wider social
changes.
Changing representations of older women are particularly apparent. This group, traditionally portrayed as
objects of pity, charity, social work and the medical profession, are increasingly represented as fashionable,
active and sexual beings. While numbers alone do not guarantee positive representations, two further reasons
make this more common:
1 Older people are an increasingly affluent population segment; the Institute for Fiscal Studies (2006)
estimated that around 80% of wealth in the UK is held by those aged 50+ and the ‘global grey pound’ (the
spending power of older people) is attractive to the advertisers who fund large areas of the media.
2 Television as an important mass medium is a relatively new phenomenon and, as the people who own,
control and work in it grow older, their interests are reflected in new and different representations of the
elderly.
KEY CONCEPT - INEQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY
How do media representations reflect inequalities in society?
ACTIVITY 6.10
What do you think is meant by the ‘adult gaze’ and how does it relate to representations of youth?
How useful is the idea of the gaze to the representation of other groups?
Ways that the media contribute to gender socialisation
The media are among the main agencies of secondary socialisation, and so they play a major role in
socialisation into gender roles. Many folk tales and children’s stories have stereotyped roles or limited roles for
women, and these have played a part in the socialisation of both boys and girls for many years.
Representations of gender in the media, and the ways they are changing, have been explained earlier. This
may be especially important in early childhood, when children’s understanding of gender is being formed.
Exposure to stereotypical images that, for example, emphasise for girls the importance of looking attractive and
for boys the importance of being brave, may lead children into accepting assumptions about what is normal or
expected. Children may directly imitate what they see in media representations, or their attitudes and behaviour
may be shaped by exposure to types of ideas or images over a long period.
Some studies have considered the way that representations might shape how boys and girls construct their
gender identities. For example, Marjorie Ferguson (1983) studied the influence of women’s magazines on
perceptions of femininity. She suggested that women’s magazines socialise women into a ‘cult of femininity’ by
focusing on such topics as beautification, child-rearing, housework and cooking. They seemed to tell their
readers what they should be interested in, and this was a fairly narrow range that excluded, for example, paid
work or an interest in current affairs. Angela McRobbie (1981) carried out a similar study of magazines aimed
at teenage girls. She found that these magazines rely on a formula of written stories, photo-stories and problem
pages. The central message is that girls should focus on capturing and thinking about boys. The male is
portrayed as dominant while the female is passive, adapting to the interests and needs of the male. Such
magazines had little if anything about, for example, careers or school subjects, or sports and outdoor activities.
Both writers saw the magazines they studied as negative because they were helping girls and women adapt to
their lesser role in society, and also because they excluded the feminist alternatives.
The media have changed as social attitudes have changed, and a wider range of representations are now
available of both males and females. For example, older cartoon feature films such as those of Walt Disney
often featured female characters who were passive, needing to be rescued by a hero prince. More recent films
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
of this type often have stronger females who take the initiative, are brave and resourceful, and may even
rescue a helpless male. Girls, therefore, have more positive role models available to them than used to be the
case. However, this is balanced by the continuation of the more traditional gender roles. In the Harry Potter
series of books and films, for example, the main female character, Hermione Grainger, is intelligent and
confident, but the main character, the only one able to defeat evil, is a boy, Harry Potter himself.
In assessing the effects of the media on gender socialisation, it needs to be remembered that the media are
only one type of source of information and ideas. Other agencies of socialisation include family, peers and
school. There are also, as you will see, different views of media effects. While one view is that children can be
easily influenced by the media, an alternative view is that audiences, including children, actively evaluate media
messages; they can be critical of, and do not simply absorb, media messages.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIALISATION, CULTURE AND IDENTITY
How do the media contribute to socialisation and, in so doing, help create social identities?
ACTIVITY 6.11
Think of children’s stories or films that you know of. How would you describe the roles of the main female characters compared to
those of the main male characters?
Consider when these stories or films were written or made. Is there any evidence that the representations are changing over time?
Moral panics around class, gender, ethnicity and age groups
The concept of moral panics has been explained earlier.
In a moral panic, a particular group is often represented by the media as being to blame for the perceived
problem which is leading to the panic. These groups are ‘folk devils’: they are often represented as standing for
everything that is, in the view of the media, going wrong in society. Some moral panics in the UK have been:
•
Class: There are periodic moral panics about welfare claimants who are described as ‘scroungers’. The
media claim that they are living comfortable lives at the expense of taxpayers without needing to work. In
fact, most people receiving welfare in the UK are in paid work.
•
Gender: Moral panics about youth groups are often about boys without this being made explicit. There has,
however, been some concern that girls are copying some of behaviour of some boys, with stories about ‘girl
gangs’.
•
Ethnicity: In London, and to some extent other cities, there have been panics about gangs and especially
knife crime. These are implicitly about Afro-Caribbean youths. There is also considerable negative reporting
of Muslims, often with the suggestion that Muslims are sympathetic to terrorists.
•
Age: Youth subcultures are particularly liable to be made folk devils in a moral panic. This happened to
many groups in the late 20th century, such as mods and rockers, skinheads and punks. Their behaviour
was exaggerated and sensationalised to suggest that they posed a threat to society’s values. Most, of
course, later became ‘normal’ members of society.
KEY CONCEPT - POWER, CONTROL AND RESISTANCE
How do moral panics help us understand how order and control are achieved in society, and how people can resist this?
The relationship between the media and popular culture
The growth of mass media in the 20th century has been said to have given rise to popular culture. The roots
of this perspective are found in the Frankfurt School, which developed ideas about the role of the media in
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
totalitarian societies (those ruled by a political dictatorship, such as Germany in the 1930s) based on the
concept of a mass society. This is a type of society in which ‘the masses’ are characterised by:
•
geographic isolation – a lack of daily face-to-face contact
•
social isolation – a lack of participation in larger groups or organisations and the failure to develop strong
community ties
•
limited social interaction – people increasingly see themselves as ‘anonymous individuals’ who are not part
of a functioning social group, community or society.
In a mass society, a mass culture develops. This is sometimes called ‘popular’ or ‘low’ culture to distinguish it
from the high culture of the social elite. Mass culture joins together mass society because it provides the ‘things
in common’, such as values and beliefs, that socially isolated individuals share. However, because mass
culture is created through the media it can be manipulated to reflect the interests of a ruling class. This view
assumes a difference between high culture, the cultural products and practices that are considered superior –
the art, music and literature preferred by the well-educated elite and popular culture. Middle- and upper-class
cultural life is represented as a high cultural reflection and opposition of low culture, being:
•
difficult
•
demanding
•
deep
•
long-lasting
•
culturally valuable.
Such representations help to link class associations with culture. Popular culture is represented as:
•
manufactured
•
artificial
•
superficial
•
disposable
•
undemanding and culturally valueless.
So for example, ballet and opera are often considered to be part of high culture while pop music and television
soap operas are considered part of popular culture. For Marxists, popular culture is the outcome of attempts by
the ruling elite to find ways to entertain the masses and distract them from the realities of their situation in
society – being exploited. Popular newspapers, for example, entertain readers with stories about celebrities
and scandals rather than reporting serious news stories. For pluralists, on the other hand, popular culture is
simply providing what the mass of the population need and want. Postmodernists take a different view, pointing
out that it is increasingly difficult to make a distinction between high and popular culture. Music from operas is
used in television commercials. Universities offer courses in popular culture or even to study pop celebrities
such as Beyonce and the Kardashians.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
6.5 Different models of media effects
In previous sections we have looked at how media content is selected and presented, and considered the role
of the media in the representation of social groups. In addition to these factors, it is important to understand the
ways in which audiences are affected by the media. If the media have no effect on people’s ideas and
behaviour, then how content is selected and presented is of little significance. In this section, therefore, we
examine a range of media effects theories, based on categories of direct and indirect effects.
Direct effects models of media influence, including the hypodermic syringe
model
Models that argue that the media have a direct effect (usually a negative one) on behaviour are sometimes
called media-centric. They are sometimes described as ‘strong media, weak audience’ models because they
suggest that the media can be used to control audiences. Older forms of this model suggest a relatively simple,
direct and effective relationship between media and the audience. A good example of this is the hypodermic
syringe model, which argues that media messages are like a drug injected into the audience’s mind. Messages
are transmitted and received by an audience in ways that change or reinforce their ideas and behaviour. Media
messages, therefore, determine how audiences see and understand the world in a directly measurable causal
fashion.
The media (cause) transmit information and the audience reacts (effect) in a broadly predictable way that can be
directly attributed to the message received. Audiences, therefore, are seen as passive receivers rather than
active interpreters of media messages. This is based on the concept of mass society. Where people are socially
isolated, they have few strong links to social networks, such as family, friends, work colleagues or wider
communities that can provide alternative sources of information and interpretation. Audiences are receptive to
whatever the media transmit because their social isolation means that they depend on it for information.
A variation of this basic idea suggests that media effects are cumulative, rather than immediate. For example,
prolonged exposure to violent films or games can result in both changed behaviour and desensitisation. The
more someone is exposed to media violence, for example, the less likely they are to be moved, shocked or
appalled by real violence.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 6.9: How are media messages directly injected into an audience?
The transmission of media messages can have two stages:
1 The information source (such as a government announcement).
2 The transmission source (such as a newspaper or television report of the announcement).
Media messages can have different sources: direct reporting might involve a newspaper printing a speech made
by a government minister, while indirect reporting involves the speech being selectively quoted to support a
particular story. The source of the message, in other words, will significantly affect how it is received.
Gauntlett (1998), however, suggested that such models have a basic flaw: they see audiences as uncritical
individuals, easily influenced by whatever they read, see or hear. Gauntlett also suggested that the empirical
evidence for direct media effects is weak, partly because most research takes place under artificial conditions,
such as a laboratory. These do not adequately represent the real situations and contexts in which people use
the media:
•
Bandura et al.’s (1961) ‘Bobo doll’ experiment is frequently cited as evidence that watching televised
violence produces violence in children. One of the many weaknesses of the study was that the children were
‘rated for violence’ by adult assessors, which raises questions about the objectivity of the research.
•
Belson (1978) also claimed that prolonged exposure to media violence produces violent behaviour in young
males. Hagell and Newburn (1994), however, found a general lack of interest in television among young
offenders.
The focus of direct effects models has also changed in recent times. It has moved away from general audiences
and towards the idea of vulnerable audiences, children in particular. The argument here is that their lack of
social experience and tendency to copy behaviour makes children more open (susceptible) to direct media
effects (and copy-cat violence in particular) than adults. Evidence for direct effects tends to be anecdotal – the
media claims, rather than proves, a relationship between, for example, violent behaviour and violent play.
Gauntlett (1995) demonstrated how even very young children may be media literate – they have an
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
understanding about the media and how it works. For example, most children can distinguish between fictional
and factual representations of violence.
Indirect effects models of media influence, including the uses and gratification
model, the two-step flow model, the normative model and the cultural effects
model
The indirect effects models suggest that the media have few, if any, direct effects, but rather messages are
spread indirectly. Although messages originate with media producers, they are received by an audience in two
ways:
•
directly, such as personally viewing a news broadcast
•
indirectly, through interaction with those who directly received the message, other media sources reporting
the original message and so on.
In other words, an original message is continually relayed through an audience and, at each stage of the
retelling, the message may be subtly changed or reinterpreted.
Katz and Lazarfield (1955) suggested a two-step flow model, in which messages flow in two distinct steps:
1 From the media to opinion formers – people who directly receive a message, such as a news report, are
interested enough to want to relay it to others and influential enough for them to take note of the message.
2 From opinion formers to people in their social network, those who receive the original message in a
mediated form – edited, condensed, embellished – from people such as family and friends (primary groups).
Any behavioural changes result from how messages are interpreted, discussed and reinterpreted within primary
groups, rather than from any direct media influence. This happens in a range of ways:
•
Perception: people notice some messages but not others.
•
Exposure: people choose media messages consistent with their beliefs.
•
Expression: people listen to the opinions of people important to them.
•
Retention: people remember things that fit with their beliefs and forget those that do not.
•
Selection: some messages are never relayed.
The two-step flow model is an example of a normative model. Reinforcement theory is a model which also
focuses on the social context of media use. How the media affects people depends on the social groups to
which they belong. Klapper, for example, argues that people’s beliefs are related to their social groups (primary
groups being the most significant). One important role of a secondary group such as the media was to reinforce,
either positively or negatively, the beliefs already formed. This suggests a very limited type of media effect,
which can be seen, for example, in people choosing to read newspapers whose political stance they agree with,
so that their views match.
The uses and gratification model is a normative model that takes the separation between media and
audience a step further by arguing that consumers pick and choose both media and messages and use the
media for a range of gratifications. This means that it is audiences who control the media, rather than media
influencing people’s behaviour; audiences are active rather than passive. This is therefore a ‘weak media,
strong audience’ approach. McQuail et al. (1972) suggested four primary uses and gratifications:
•
Entertainment: as a diversion from everyday life, such as for relaxing after a day working.
•
Social solidarity: talking about a shared experience, such as seeing the same film or television programme
or playing the same online game, serves an integrating function by making people feel they have things in
common.
•
Identity: to create or maintain a sense of ‘who we are’. It is a resource, from reading lifestyle magazines to
maintaining a Facebook presence, used to construct and maintain and project a sense of self.
•
Surveillance: providing news and information about an increasingly complex world.
Another suggested use is companionship, because some research has found that the people who use media
most are those who are lonely or socially isolated. The media – having a radio or television on, for example –
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
compensates to some extent for their lack of social contact.
Overall, therefore, the uses and gratification model suggests that the media are:
•
powerless, in terms of their ability to directly influence or change behaviour
•
neutral, in the sense of not having any direct effect on attitudes
Although the idea of active audiences is important in understanding media effects, particularly as they relate to
old media, its significance may be overstated. Governments continue to use the media for propaganda, and
companies spend huge amounts of money on advertising, so there is a widespread belief that the media can
influence opinion and behaviour.
ACTIVITY 6.12
Divide into groups. Each group should produce a diagram to summarise the main features of one model/explanation of how the
media affect audiences.
Reflection: Groups then comment on the effectiveness of each other’s diagrams and suggest improvements. Also discuss how
your group worked together to create their diagram and see what you can learn from your classmates about their approach.
Cultural effects models suggest that while effects are strong in the long term, they are slow, cumulative and
operate through the media’s ability to become part of an audience’s cultural background. The more the media
plays a valued role in everyday interaction, the greater the consumption of media, and the stronger the longterm influence.
Cultural effects models see the media as a cultural (or ideological) institution whose primary role is to promote
and police cultural values. Cultural effects models are related to the neo-Marxist hegemonic theory of the media.
The media are seen as agents of social control. The ideas that they propagate decisively influence people’s
behaviour but over a long period rather than immediately. They exercise social control through their actions as a
socialising agency, advising and guiding audiences and, by so doing, exercising a hegemonic role. For example,
if the media constantly suggest that women are inferior to men, through representations based on the male
gaze and objectification, both males and females will come to accept this idea as natural and are less likely to
challenge it. People who watch a lot of television gradually take on board the beliefs and attitudes to which they
are exposed. If crime is constantly portrayed on television, people become fearful of crime in ways that are out
of proportion to their risk of becoming a victim to it. For Chandler (1995), the media ‘induces a general mindset’
around particular areas of social life, such as crime, taking on a hegemonic role where some beliefs are
encouraged and others discouraged. Attitudes and behaviour do not change overnight, however. Media effects
are gradual, long term and built up through a range of techniques:
•
the consistent promotion of particular ideas
•
the marginalisation of dissenting views
•
the repetition of ideas until they are taken for granted (to the point that, for example, ‘everyone knows’ crime
is increasing).
According to this perspective, the media lead people towards particular ideas and ways of thinking. As Gerbner
et al. (1986) suggested: ‘The continual repetition of patterns (myths, ideologies, “facts”, relationships, etc.) serve
to define the world and legitimize the social order’. Audience reception theory is an example of this type of
model. It is based on the idea that media messages always have a range of possible meanings and
interpretations. Some of these are intended by the sender (for example, a newspaper owner or an author) and
others are read into the message by the audience. Hall (1980) argued that media texts, such as advertisements,
involve:
•
encoding – the ideas the author wants an audience to grasp
•
decoding – how an audience interprets or decodes the message, depending on factors such as their social
background or the context in which the message is received.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
It is not certain that the audience will decode the message that the media producers encoded. A receiving
audience always has some choice about whether to accept, reject or modify a message. Their receptiveness
depends on a range of personal and social factors. Hall suggests three main ways a media message is read by
an audience: hegemonic codes, negotiated codes and oppositional codes.
•
Hegemonic codes: the audience shares the assumptions and interpretations of the author and reads the
message in the way it is intended.
•
Negotiated codes: although an audience broadly shares the author’s views, they modify their interpretation in
the light of their own particular knowledge, beliefs or attitudes.
•
Oppositional codes: an audience is antagonistic towards the media source or message and therefore rejects
or attempts to challenge the message.
This basic set of responses is, however, complicated by three further media processes:
1 Agenda setting (see section 6.2): the media identify and select the ideas that people are encouraged to think
about. They have the power to put certain issues ‘up for discussion’ while attempting to close down issues
they do not want discussed.
2 Framing (see section 6.2) involves presenting ideas to audiences in ways that suggest how they should be
interpreted.
3 Myth making: Gerbner (1994) argued that the media has grown so powerful and pervasive in global societies
that it creates mythical realities for audiences who immerse themselves in media content. The heavier an
individual’s media consumption, from watching television, reading newspapers, surfing the web or social
networking, the more likely they are to be drawn into a ‘fantasy world’ of the media’s creation, such as
believing that crime and violence are more widespread than they actually are. This now includes people who
are taken in by fake news or conspiracy theories.
Debates about the strengths and limitations of the different models of media
effects
As you have seen, the different models make different assumptions about both media and audiences. The direct
effects models assume strong media and weak audiences, and can be compared to approaches such as use
and gratifications which assume weak media and strong audiences. Also, the direct effects model assumes
immediate, measureable effects whereas cultural effects approaches assume that effects accumulate over a
long period.
In order to research something, there must be a broad agreement about how it can be defined. Without such
agreement, it is impossible, for example, to compare different explanations of media effects because they may
be measuring different things. Part of the problem is the term ‘the media’, because contemporary forms of media
are characterised more by their diversity than their similarity. Although we could define the media simply in
terms of ‘mass communication’, this hides a range of differences in how and why the media communicates with
an audience. These differences are important in assessing how we can measure the effects of the media. In this
respect, media diversity relates to two main areas:
1 Different types of media, from newspapers, books and magazines, through television and film to video
games and social networks. Research conducted in one medium may have little or no application to other
forms of media.
2 Old and new forms of media. The point to consider here is whether consumption of old media, such as a
newspaper, is similar to consumption of new media, such as a social network. A significant research
problem, therefore, is the changing nature of the media. Both a film and a video game can draw the viewer
into a world that only exists on screen, but a video game is interactive – the audience’s actions and choices
change how the drama unfolds. This involves both a significant difference in the nature of the media and
makes researching effects more difficult, because the distinction between producer and consumer – on
which most effects theory rests – is decisively blurred.
So, old and new media do not necessarily affect audiences in similar ways. To put this in context, when
researching crime, it is unlikely we would consider the motives for murder as similar to those for car theft. The
same is true when studying media effects. The only thing watching a two-hour television drama and spending
the same amount of time playing the online video game World of Warcraft may share is that they are both
classified as ‘mass media’.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Another area to note is the meaning of ‘an effect’. Just as there is no general agreement about whether effects
are direct or indirect, strong or weak, long term or short term, there is no agreement about what is or is not a
‘media effect’. Is an effect something that produces a clear and immediate behavioural change in an audience,
or one that produces a slow, cumulative change? The problem here is that finding a ‘media effect’ may owe
more to how such effects are studied than to any real change in audience behaviour.
There are also problems and debates about the type of research method that is appropriate for researching
media effects. The direct effects approaches have some support from experiments, but these create artificial
situations (and so may not tell us much about how people behave in real life) and also look for short term and
immediate effects. Measuring long-term effects is difficult because the effects of other influences cannot be
excluded.
Each model has strengths and weaknesses depending on, for example, types of media, types of audience and
the types of effects being looked for and how. A further methodological problem relates to the different meanings
and interpretations of media content. For example, a researcher may interpret something in a different way to
the audience. This can be a particular problem with new media, if the researcher is less familiar with it than the
subjects of their study.
Rose (2007) argues that a researcher requires a thorough understanding of their subject matter if they are to
identify and understand the symbols, codes and conventions involved. An analysis of the Indian film industry, for
example, would be difficult for a researcher with little or no knowledge of this culture and genre.
Alternatively, Livingstone and Hargrave (2006) argue that in relation to rap music lyrics, ‘different people do not
interpret content in the same way’. For example, there is a difference between the interpretation of ‘fans of a
genre vs. those who only occasionally view’ and this, they argue, makes it ‘risky to draw conclusions about
media effects’.
The context in which media are used is also important. Livingstone and Hargrave also suggest that the
consumption context affects how it is experienced and therefore its possible effect. This relates to:
•
Physical consumption – whether this is shared or consumed alone.
•
Mental consumption – how different audiences understand the context of the behaviour portrayed in
something like a television programme, for example the extent to which they identify and empathise with
those portrayed. In addition, it is difficult to know how research carried out in one society, such as India or
the USA, can be applied to different societies that have different:
•
cultures – where there may, for example, be different levels of tolerance to violent and sexually explicit
content
•
media regulations governing what can be shown in media such as television
•
media content.
Postmodernists take a different theoretical approach by suggesting that conventional effects theories look for
the wrong things in the wrong places in the wrong ways. In this respect, they question three major assumptions
on which conventional ‘media effects’ theories are based:
•
Undifferentiated mass audiences are now rare – audiences are increasingly fragmented by age, gender and
ethnicity, as well as by more individualised categories such as cultural and technological competence. This
makes it impossible to think about how ‘the media’ impact on behaviour.
•
Media literacy: conventional effects research generally fails to credit audiences with any understanding of the
media they consume, particularly the conventions employed by media producers. For postmodernists,
contemporary media users have far higher levels of understanding and cultural competence than consumers
in the past and this ‘active audience’ dimension makes conventional forms of effects research problematic.
•
Producers and consumers: conventional effects research takes for granted the distinction between those
who produce media and those who consume it. This means that research is designed to measure how one
affects the other. This presents two main problems:
•
With various forms of new media in particular, from websites through blogs to social networks such as
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, consumers are producers. This makes it increasingly difficult to maintain
the distinction on which much conventional media effects research rests.
•
Similarly, there is a tendency to assume a separation between ‘the media’ and ‘the audience’, such that the
effect of the former on the latter can be measured (quantified). Staiger (2000), however, argues that
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
audiences are increasingly perverse spectators – they use media in their own way and for their own means
through activated meanings created by how they interact with media. This creates, in effect, an uncertainty
principle: the meaning of a TV programme, for example, is created by how it is consumed, such that the
meaning of a drama or news broadcast changes each time it is viewed by different individuals. It is,
therefore, impossible to quantify a media effect in any meaningful or clear way because, Staiger argues, any
‘impact is changed each time it is identified’.
ACTIVITY 6.13
How easy is it to produce, as well as consume, media? Carry out a survey with some fellow students asking whether they have
contributed to media that reaches people other than friends and family, for example, have they written blogs or posted on an online
forum?
Do you think people are able to contribute more to new media than old media? (Contributions to old media could be writing a letter to
a newspaper, phoning in to a radio programme.)
ACTIVITY 6.14
Think about how you would design a research activity into the effects of the media on social behaviour. How would this activity differ if
it was conducted:
■ in one individual’s home
■ in a single town of 30 000 people
■ in an entire country?
Reflection: How would the context affect what types of evidence you focused upon?
Arguments and evidence about the extent to which human behaviour is
influenced by the media
KEY CONCEPT - STRUCTURE AND HUMAN AGENCY
How do the debates about how media affect human behaviour help us understand how behaviour is both shaped by social forces
and itself helps to shape the social world?
Conventional analysis of the media’s impact on behaviour tends to focus on its negative impact. This ranges
from encouraging violence to creating a passive, manipulated audience. However, it is also important to
understand the positive effects that the media can have.
There are three key ways to view negative media impacts:
1 Across society as a whole, which involves noting some general economic, political and cultural negatives.
2 Across social groups – as an example we can look at how the media contribute to moral panics.
3 At the individual level, where we can look at the media as a causal or contributing factor to violent behaviour.
In economic terms, large media corporations divide up global markets and operate as controlling groups
(oligarchies) that:
•
prevent entrance to media markets
•
restrict competition
•
limit consumer choice.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Lechner (2001) argues that this creates media homogenisation by developing a ‘consumerist culture, in which
standard commodities are promoted by global marketing campaigns to create similar lifestyles’.
Politically, one impact of new media in particular has been the extension of surveillance and a loss of personal
privacy. Governments and private companies have exploited the capacity for information gathering provided by
new media to extend population surveillance. Mobile phone and satellite technology, for example, can be used
both to track individuals and to monitor their contacts, while social networking sites collect, store and sell
extensive personal information about users to advertisers.
Culturally, global media encourage a cultural hegemony that colonises local cultures with the products and
lifestyles of dominant cultures. One example of this is the global domination of the US film industry or the
influence of brands such as Coca-Cola and Nike. On a more individual level, Kraeplin (2007) notes how ‘popular
teen magazines link appearance and consumerism’. Here, globalised media contribute to the development of a
consumption culture in which the buying of goods and services, from mobile phones to social networks funded
by advertising, is an end in itself.
These negative impacts are explained by traditional Marxists in terms of manipulation theories. These suggest
that the media directly influence audience perceptions and beliefs. In a mass society characterised by social
isolation and alienation, the media become a source of mass culture through the agency of what Adorno and
Horkheimer (1944) termed a ‘culture industry’. Audiences are uniquely receptive to whatever the media transmit
because there are few links to alternative sources of information.
The media reflect other forms of industrial production in capitalist society by creating various elements of a
popular culture, such as film, magazines, comics and newspapers. These are all consumed uncritically and
passively by the masses. Through control of the culture industry, a ruling elite is able to keep its power.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
6.6 The impact of the media on behaviour
Arguments and evidence about the extent to which violent media leads to
violent behaviour
The idea that exposure to violent media, from television and internet depictions of real-life violence to violent
films and video games, contributes to or causes violent behaviour, especially among vulnerable groups, is a
pervasive one across many cultures. However, evidence for this is not as definite as some sections of the media
suggest.
One of the most common explanations of how the media may lead to violent behaviour is imitation. This
explanation stems from social learning studies such as Bandura et al.’s (1961) ‘Bobo doll’ experiment. Different
groups of children witnessed adults behaving violently. The play of each group was then observed and it was
discovered that those children who had been shown violent behaviour subsequently played violently. This leads
to the idea that immature and vulnerable audiences simply imitate the behaviour they see in the media. This
explanation repeats throughout various media from time to time. Two criminal cases that involved allegations of
imitation of media violence were:
•
In the USA two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot dead 12 of their fellow students at Columbine
school in 1999. Their actions were subsequently explained in some parts of the media as a consequence of
playing ‘violent video games’, Doom, in particular.
•
In the UK, the murder of two-year-old James Bulger in 1993 by two 10-year-old boys was attributed by some
media reporting to a violent horror film called Child’s Play 3 rented by the father of one of the boys and which
it was assumed they had watched. There was no evidence they had actually seen it.
Research into the influence of the media on violent behaviour is full of methodological problems. Sociological
research in this area has usually been conducted through field studies, using questionnaires, interviews and
observation. Belson’s (1978) study was based upon in-depth interviews with 1565 teenage boys in London.
Boys with high television exposure were compared to those with low exposure. Belson drew the conclusion that
those boys who had seen a lot of television had committed 49% more acts of violence than those with low
exposure. However, Belson’s work has been criticised for failing to distinguish adequately between high
exposure to television in general and high exposure to violent television programmes in particular. Howitt (1992)
also pointed out that Belson’s results actually show that there are three types of viewer: those with light,
moderate and high exposure to television. Of these, it was actually those with a moderate level of exposure to
violent television programmes who were more likely to commit violent acts. It appears, therefore, that Belson’s
work can be interpreted in several different ways. This is a good example of both the methodological difficulties
in studying the influence of the media and the difficulty of making direct links between TV violence and social
behaviour.
The cultural effects model suggests that if the media show violence as normal or acceptable as a way of settling
disputes, audiences may over time absorb this view of the world. According to this model, heavy consumers of
violent films and television, or those who spend a lot of time playing violent, immersive, video games, may
develop a ‘violent mindset’. These individuals see the world as a more violent place than it actually is, and this
can lead to violent real-world behaviour. Gerbner (1994) argues that powerful and pervasive media in global
societies creates mythical realities for audiences, and heavy media consumers find it difficult to distinguish
media myth from reality. They are drawn into a world where reality is distorted and violence is constantly
presented as a glamorous solution to individual and social problems. They become desensitised to violence.
The more a person is exposed to media violence, both real and fantasy forms, the more likely they are to accept
real-world violence. This occurs on an individual level, where the desensitised believe that violence is an
appropriate response to certain situations. It also occurs on a more general cultural level – these people are
more likely to accept violence as ‘a way of life’.
Other approaches reject the idea that there is a relatively simple one-way relationship between the media and
violence (i.e. that media violence makes people more susceptible to real violence). Huesmann and Miller
(1994), for example, argued that there is a more complex, two-way relationship between the media and the
audience. People whose early socialisation has led to some acceptance of violence as a way of dealing with
problems are more likely to exhibit violent behaviour in certain situations, such as when they are placed under
great stress or fear.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
If this is true, it can be difficult to separate cause and effect in the relationship between the media and the
audience. Discussions by politicians and in the media often suggest that ‘violent people’ consume violent media
and then commit acts of violence because of the ‘thrill’ they get from it. An alternative interpretation is that for
certain audiences, violent behaviour is something they are socially programmed to enjoy, whether it is real or
imaginary. However, while the two are connected there is no way to tell which causes the other: do people play
violent video games because they like violence or do these games make them violent in real life? It has also
been suggested that violence in the media may be a relief (cathartic); if someone feels angry and aggressive,
then playing a computer game provides a harmless and non-violent way of releasing those feelings. People may
also be sensitised to violence by the media; representations of violence may lead people to avoid and reject
violence. This applies particularly to news reporting where seeing the effects of violence may lead people to be
more aware and try to reduce violence. For example, the Parkland, Florida, school shooting on 14 February
2018, which most people only knew of from media coverage, led to demands for greater gun control in the USA.
All attempts to prove a link between media and violent behaviour are limited by the fact that people have
behaved violently throughout history, and before there were mass media. The question then can only be to what
extent the media might have led to a higher level of violence than would otherwise have been the case. In fact,
and despite recent wars such as that in Syria and terrorist attacks, the long-term trend according to Pinker
(2012) is to a decline in violence. Regardless of individual acts such as the Columbine School shooting, the age
of the mass media has coincided with less, rather than more, violence.
The impact of the media on crime, including deviance amplification and moral
panics
Wilkins (1964) developed the concept of deviance amplification to show how the development of crime and
deviance involves a positive feedback loop:
•
initial or primary deviance is identified and condemned by the media, which leads to …
•
the deviant group becoming socially isolated and resentful. This behaviour leads, through a general media
labelling process, to …
•
an increased social reaction (including the development of a moral panic) by the media, politicians and
formal control agencies. There is less toleration of the original deviant behaviour. This develops into …
•
secondary deviation, involving an increased level of deviance. As a consequence …
•
the reaction from the media, politicians and police increases, leading to new laws (the criminalisation of
deviants) or increased police resources to deal with ‘the problem’.
In this way, each group, deviant and control, feeds off the actions of the other to create a ‘spiral of deviance’.
Moral panics created by the media are a crucial component of this.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 6.10: Deviancy amplification spiral
The idea of a moral panic was developed by Stanley Cohen (1972). In a moral panic, media coverage creates a
society-wide feeling of panic about a particular issue or group. This happens through sensationalised and
exaggerated reporting (conforming to news values), prediction of further trouble and symbolisation, in which
particular styles of, for example, appearance or behaviour, are linked to the issue or group. In Cohen’s case
study, the moral panic was focused on two teenage groups who became ‘folk devils’, standing for everything
that was supposedly going wrong in the UK in the 1960s. Later teenage subcultures, and other groups such as
immigrants and welfare claimants, have also been the folk devils in moral panics. The panic leads to demands
on police, politicians and others to act strongly against the folk devils.
Although the media are central to the development of moral panics, their precise role is explained differently by
different sociological approaches.
Interpretivist approaches see moral panics as arising from public concerns. By representing groups that
threaten social cohesion as ‘deviant’, the media focus public concern and lead to control agencies such as the
police and courts taking action. According to this perspective, moral panics develop spontaneously out of a
general public concern towards behaviour that threatens the moral order. Cohen suggests that moral panics
reinforce established moral values in two ways:
1 By setting moral boundaries for acceptable behaviour.
2 By creating a sense of social and moral solidarity at a time of change and uncertainty.
This approach sees the media as a channel that amplifies, rather than creates, public concern. Media audiences
are seen as active and critical consumers rather than passive recipients of media representations. If an
audience chooses to ignore media concerns, a deviancy amplification spiral does not occur.
Neo-Marxist approaches, on the other hand, are interested in how and why moral panics are created by the
powerful and how they contribute to the maintenance of hegemony. Neo-Marxists see moral panics as political
phenomena – the defence of a certain type of moral order defined by a ruling class. Moral panics are an
important way for a ruling class to exercise control, by focusing condemnation on a particular supposed threat.
While moral panics are in some ways manufactured as media sensationalism, this does not mean that they are
necessarily deliberately created. At various times, capitalist societies offer up opportunities for moral panics and
elites take advantage of these to criticise those who threaten both moral order and, by extension, ruling-class
hegemony.
For Hall et al., opportunities for moral panics occur at times of economic, political and ideological crises in
capitalist society. Their function is to distract public attention from the real causes of such crises by generating
panics around groups and behaviours that create easily identifiable scapegoats or folk devils. These groups are
relatively powerless and can be represented as a threat, distracting people from a capitalist crisis. The state
then deals firmly with the folk devils, showing that it is powerful and that dissent will not be tolerated. The real
purpose of moral panics is control of the whole population, not just the folk devils.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Stuart Hall (1932–2014)
Hall was born in Jamaica, and moved to the UK as a young adult. He worked at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the
University of Birmingham, and was later Professor of Sociology at the Open University. He was a pioneer in the field of cultural
studies and was particularly interested in race and gender. With a team of colleagues, in Policing the Crisis, he analysed the moral
panic about ‘mugging’ in the 1970s, which as a Marxist he saw in terms of the capitalist state in crisis creating a diversion by making
young Afro-Caribbean men scapegoats for social problems. He developed the ideas of encoding and decoding media messages,
showing how messages were not simply consumed as given but interpreted. He also wrote about globalisation and how black people
in diasporas constantly reinvented themselves and their identities by mixing influences from around the world into their everyday
lives.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 6.11: Why is the behaviour of young males frequently the object of media moral panics?
Each panic results in greater levels of control, such as the police being given stronger powers, until a situation is
reached where surveillance and control is an integral part of everyday life in a way that is accepted in order to
ensure ‘public safety’ – which, for neo-Marxists, means maintenance of hegemony.
Ways in which the media might have a positive impact on human behaviour
Most interest has focused on the negative impacts of media. However, there is also a range of positive impacts
that should not be ignored. Some of these are related to the uses and gratifications model.
1 Diversions – involves the idea the media are used positively for a range of everyday purposes, such as
relaxation or entertainment.
2 Education – media can be used for educational purposes, both consciously, for something such as
information gathering, and subconsciously, where learning, in its widest sense, is embedded in entertainment
such as video gaming.
3 Community – where different forms of media are embedded in everyday life, experience and discourse they
are a significant basis for social interaction, such as talking about the latest events in a soap opera,
discussing the news or arguing about who should be evicted from reality TV programmes. This shared
knowledge helps to create a community of interest in the sense that people feel part of a social group on the
basis of their common interests. Even in the virtual world of social networks or message boards, where
people may not physically know each other, like-minded people can discuss the things they find important.
4 Identity consolidation – for some, the media are used for identity checking on two levels:
• Individual: where people create or maintain a sense of personal identity through the media they
consume. This can involve things such as lifestyle magazines or creating and maintaining a sense of self
through the consumption of cultural products such as literature and film.
•
Social: the media can define particular forms of social identity, from class, through age and gender to
ethnicity, by explaining the meaning of these categories and, in doing so, shaping ideas about individual,
communal and national forms of identity.
5 Empowerment – feminists have argued that new media can be empowering for particular gender and age
groups because it allows greater freedom of personal expression and identity creation. Butler (1990), for
example, argued that, where gender scripts were once limited and restrictive, forcing men and women into a
limited range of identities, they are now many and varied. Thanks to the media, people have much greater
awareness of the different ways they can ‘perform gender’. This is also true for perceptions of age-related
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
behaviour. Haraway (1991) took these ideas a step further with her concept of ‘the cyborg’. As people
increasingly interact in cyberspace, traditional notions of gender and biology become redundant. How people
are connected in cyberspace is more significant than how they are connected in ‘the real world’ because
interaction across computer networks can be without gender (agendered). Gender, as with class, age and
ethnicity, can be hidden or disguised.
6 Awareness – in a complex world, the media provide news and information that can be used to keep in touch
with what is happening. A significant positive impact, therefore, is the creation of a greater global awareness
of:
•
economic trends, such as the development of countries such as China and India as important production
centres
•
political developments – events surrounding the 2011 Arab Spring, for example, were extensively
reported through Twitter in the absence of more traditional media
•
cultural exchanges involving a greater exposure to and understanding of cultural similarities and
differences.
The media may also promote political changes by exposing people to new ideas that make them question
traditional ways of thinking and behaving. Increased media choice and diversity brings with it a willingness to
question ‘authority’.
Lyotard argues that a defining feature of postmodernity is its disbelief (incredulity) towards metanarratives such
as religion, science or political philosophies that claim to explain ‘everything about something’. Such incredulity,
he suggests, means that the media are less likely to influence people’s behaviour negatively.
The ability to make quick, easy and direct contact with like-minded individuals through new media networks also
contributes to the general political process through greater participation and activism.
New media also change the nature of political representation: the public can not only interact directly with
elected politicians, through email and social networks, they can use new media to pressurise politicians and
parties to act in particular ways. New media open up greater opportunities for discussion and self-expression,
giving groups a voice where they may not have had one in the past.
This, in turn, has a significant impact on how we understand the deviance of political leaders or large-scale
transnational corporations. For example, both are under increasing surveillance ‘from below’.
ACTIVITY 6.15
Negative effects of the media on behaviour tend to attract more attention than positive effects. In a group, think of as many possible
positive effects as you can.
Reflection: How would you be able to carry out research that would provide evidence for these positive effects?
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Based on what you have learnt about the impact of the media on behaviour, what rules do you
think there should be, if any, about what can be shown in the media, bearing in mind different
groups of people, such as children, who may access the content?
Ways in which people may be affected by media sensationalism and
stereotyping
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Sensationalism means the reporting of news stories in ways that make the audience worried or excited, rather
than reporting accurately. Sensationalised stories often involve bias, distortion and exaggeration. The stories are
often not about issues that affect many of the audience directly, but rather are designed to provoke feelings such
as outrage. For example, tabloid newspapers often have misleading headlines with lurid images. Media use
sensationalism to attract audiences as part of the pursuit of profit. Sensationalism is one of the factors in the
reporting that makes some news stories into moral panics.
Stereotyping may affect both those stereotyped and audiences receiving the stereotype. Media effects models
suggest that audiences will be influenced by stereotypes and may assume that they are accurate. For media
producers, stereotypes are useful shortcuts because they provide information to audiences very quickly. For
example, giving a character in a film a particular style of dress or way of talking may quickly establish their
nationality. But in simplifying in this way, stereotypes can also exaggerate and distort. They can imply that the
groups being stereotyped are in some way inferior or bad – a negative or dehumanising representation.
Increasingly, however, some media products set out to challenge or reverse stereotypes, for example by
showing female characters as strong and resourceful. The ways that audiences are affected by stereotypes may
depend on their knowledge of the stereotyped group (which may contradict the stereotype). This applies even
more so to the stereotyped group, who will be aware that the representation is a distortion and are likely to
reject it.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Do people working in the media have a responsibility to challenge stereotypes? For example, how
important is it for makers of Hollywood films to cast actors from ethnic minority groups in leading
roles?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
Traditional and new media
■ Trends affecting the organisation of the media include:
■ cross media ownership
■ digitalisation
■ media conglomerates
■ social media.
■ There are debates about who controls the media.
■ There are differences between the traditional media and new media.
■ One view is that the traditional media have been undermined by the growth of new media.
Theories of the media and influences on media content
■ Theories of the media and of influences on media content include:
■ pluralism
■ Marxism and neo-Marxism
■ postmodernism.
■ The selection and presentation of news is influenced by a range of factors.
■ The product of media content can be understood through the concepts of mass manipulation and
hegemony.
■ Media content is also influenced by censorship.
■ Ways in which the media influence the political process include:
■ agenda setting
■ opinion polls
■ news reporting.
Impact of the new media
■ The new media contribute to globalisation.
■ The new media challenge existing power structures.
■ There is a debate between digital optimism and digital pessimism.
■ The new media have an impact on social identities and interpersonal relationships.
Media representations of class, gender, ethnicity and age groups
■ Class, gender, ethnicity and age groups are represented in the media.
■ The media contribute to gender socialisation.
■ There have been moral panics around class, gender, ethnicity and age groups.
■ There is a relationship between media and popular culture.
Different models of media effects
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
■ Direct effects models of media influence include the hypodermic syringe model.
■ Indirect effects models of media influence include:
■ the uses and gratifications model
■ the two-step flow model
■ the normative model
■ the cultural effects model.
■ There are debates about the strengths and limitations of these models.
The impact of media on behaviour
■ There are different arguments and evidence about the extent to which human behaviour is influenced
by the media.
■ There are different arguments and evidence about the extent to which violent media lead to violent
behaviour.
■ The media have an impact on crime through deviance amplification and moral panics.
■ There are ways in which the media may have a positive impact on human behaviour.
■ There are ways in which people may be affected by media sensationalism and stereotyping.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
All questions on media are 35-mark essay questions.
1 ‘The media are used to manipulate opinions and behaviour.’ Evaluate this view.
2 ‘The new media are changing social identities and interpersonal relationships.’ Evaluate this
view.
3 ‘Violent media lead to violent behaviour.’ Evaluate this view.
Sample answer and activity
Question 1 answer
1 ‘The media are used to manipulate opinions and behaviour.’ Evaluate this view.
Here is one paragraph from an answer to this question, taking the ‘against’ side of the view in the
question.
The view that the media are used to manipulate opinions and behaviour is rejected by
pluralists. The pluralist view is that in modern societies the range of media companies
and products ensures that there is competition and that this creates choice for
audiences. This means that the audience is in a more powerful position than the
companies. The companies have to please the audience in order to sell their products,
make a profit and remain in business. In contrast to ‘strong media, weak audience’
approaches, the pluralist view means that the media cannot manipulate opinions and
behaviour. For example, news stories in the media cannot be propaganda, decided by
owners or controllers with the aim of manipulating audiences. Audiences have access
to other news sources offering different accounts, so would be able to see that they were
being manipulated. The news stories are chosen using news values, which reflect what
audiences want. As evidence for this, pluralists could use the small circulation of left
wing newspapers, such as the
in the UK. Whereas Marxists would argue
that its circulation is deliberately restricted by capitalist companies, and that more
people would buy it if only they could find it in shops, pluralists say that it has no
appeal; its circulation is small because people do not want it.
Morning Star
Point 1: Examples can be useful to help explain points. Here, the example of the Morning Star newspaper
is used well. You can show your sociological understanding by using relevant and up to date examples,
for example from recent news and from your own society. These may show your understanding even
better than examples you have been taught and have learned, for example from a text book.
Point 2: In essay questions, there will always be a wide range of material that can be relevant or can be
made relevant. You need to be selective – pick out what you can use to answer the question most
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
effectively. Here, the mention of news values could have led into a section listing and describing some
news values – but the essay is more effective by continuing to explain its point about the pluralist view.
ACTIVITY 6.16
Now write one paragraph making a point for the view in the question. Which theories or writers argue that the media
manipulate audiences? What arguments do they make and what evidence or examples can be used?
Try to use theories, names and key terms whenever possible.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 7
Religion
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter you will understand:
■ Religion and society
■ Religion and social order
■ Religion as a source of social change
■ The secularisation debate
■ Gender, feminism and religion
■ Religion and postmodernity
Before you start
•
What different religions or beliefs do you know of?
•
Do people’s religious beliefs influence their social behaviour? If so, in what ways?
•
How do people acquire their religion? Think about socialisation and agencies of socialisation.
Reflection: Discuss the questions above with a partner. Did they have any ideas that surprised you? Did their ideas change
your previous perceptions?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
7.1 Religion and society
Ways of defining religion
Religion can be defined in terms of three broad ideas:
1 A set of beliefs that includes an idea (notion) of ‘god’, or some kind of supernatural force or being that exists
beyond our direct experience. There are many versions of these beliefs. Some forms are:
•
monotheistic – a belief in a single god, such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam
•
polytheistic – a belief in many gods, such as Hinduism and Paganism
•
non-theistic – no worship of gods, such as some traditions of thought within Buddhism.
2 A set of practices involving such things as collective worship and prayer, which can be expanded to include
ceremonies such as weddings or funerals and religious festivals. As with beliefs, religious practices vary.
Some religions involve:
• personal communication with God through prayer (Christianity)
•
communal worship, such as Christianity and Islam
•
exorcism, in which ‘evil spiritual entities’ are evicted from a person or place they ‘possess’, such as
Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Churches
baptism for the dead, as practised by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (‘Mormons’) – those
who have died can be baptised by proxy; they are considered Mormons after their death, even though
they may not have been Mormons in life.
•
3 Some form of organisation that allows practices and beliefs to be expressed as a group (collectively). This
includes sacred places reserved for the expression of beliefs, such as a church, mosque or meeting hall, and
people, such as vicars, priests and imams, employed by a religious organisation to take services or generally
look after believers’ well-being.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.1: Muslim worshippers surround the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. How do religious practices
‘bring people together’?
A notable characteristic of religion then is its diversity. Rather than being a single (homogeneous) entity, religion
is expressed in many ways across three dimensions:
1 Historical – in the same society over time.
2 Contemporaneous – in the same society at the same time.
3 Cross-cultural – between different societies.
McGuire (2002) suggests that problems of definition arise because religion has a ‘dual character’ – it is both
individual and social. On an individual level, different religions encompass different beliefs and practices and
teach a variety of ways to ‘be religious’. Some of these involve communal practices, such as attending religious
ceremonies, others do not. It is possible, for example, to be a ‘Christian’ without ever setting foot inside a
church. On a social level, religions perform certain functions for society:
•
Socialisation into a range of moral beliefs and values.
•
Social solidarity – giving people a sense that they have things in common.
•
Social control, both direct, such as Islamic codes defining what people may wear or eat, and indirect: moral
values that provide a template for how the individual is expected to lead their life ‘in accordance with God’.
Any definition of religion must avoid focusing too closely on one particular aspect of religious behaviour, such as
beliefs, practices or organisational forms, set apart from other aspects. As a large and complex phenomenon,
religion needs to be defined and understood in terms of how its various parts relate to and influence one
another. This has given rise to two different approaches: inclusive and exclusive.
The inclusive approach sees religion in the broadest possible terms. Rather than trying to define religion by
what it is – a precise set of beliefs and practices – this functional approach focuses on what religion does for the
individual, for example providing answers to questions such as what happens after death, and for society.
Durkheim (1912) claimed that religion carried out (fulfilled) two necessary functions:
1 Social solidarity: This relates to how religion creates a feeling of belonging to a particular group by providing
individuals with shared beliefs and values. It also acts as a source of personal and social identity, by giving a
moral code to follow, such as the Ten Commandments.
2 Social integration: This relates to the specific ways in which social solidarity is created, through processes
(mechanisms) such as shared practices and experiences. This might include things such as religious
services and ceremonies.
The focus on function means that the content of religious beliefs is not important – it does not matter who, what
or how people worship. There is, for example, no difference between worshipping in a Christian church, a
Muslim mosque in front of a totem, or at a personal shrine. Nor does it matter if people pray to one god, many
gods or no gods at all. What is important is the fact that people act in specific, often collective ways, and that
they hold certain types of belief that influence their behaviour.
For inclusive approaches, therefore, the key to understanding religion is to see it as a belief system, or ideology,
based on faith: the uncritical and complete acceptance of a particular set of ideas.
This inclusive approach has been criticised for seeing religion ‘everywhere and nowhere’. For example, we can
see ‘religious-type’ behaviour in everything from football to shopping to church attendance, yet we cannot
identify precisely which aspects of that behaviour are uniquely religious. As a result, there is no way of knowing
whether societies are becoming less religious (secularisation) or more religious (resacralisation).
The exclusive approach considers religion in a narrower way, in terms of things conventionally seen as religious:
•
belief in a god or the supernatural
•
behaviour such as prayer, collective worship and ceremonies.
This excludes ‘quasi-religious’ behaviour that might serve a similar function to religion but which is not actually
religious in the strict sense of the term. Although it is necessarily based on faith, religion is not defined by that
idea alone; religious beliefs are qualitatively different from other forms of belief. Exclusive approaches involve a
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
definition of religion focused on its content or substance (substantive): the beliefs, practices and organisations
that are religious and that mark religious behaviour as substantively different from other, similar, behaviours.
Religions as seen from this approach have essential characteristics:
•
The sacred, something Maguire (2001) defines as ‘that which is utterly and mysteriously precious in our
experience’ and which is frequently represented through objects.
•
Moral codes with a sacred origin, such as the Ten Commandments, believed to have been given to Moses
by God in Judaism and Christianity, or Shari’ah in Islam.
•
Communication with the supernatural, through mechanisms such as prayer.
Exclusive approaches, therefore, define religion as behaviour that is both special and different. In addition,
substantive definitions make it possible to measure levels of religious behaviour in a society – to test, for
example, whether society is becoming secularised or resacrilised.
Critics of this approach question whether religion really does have unique and exclusive features. These critics
claim that exclusive approaches simply adopt a definition that fits neatly with conventional, mainstream world
religions such as Christianity or Islam. From this view (perspective), religion is defined as whatever these
institutions say it is. This creates two problems:
•
Such organisations have a vested interest in ensuring that the product they are promoting (religious
experience) is both unique and has limited competition.
Figure 7.2: Many religions, such as Christianity, have strong symbolic systems to make their faith
‘visible’.
•
To identify the unique characteristics of religion, the definition is drawn so narrowly that it excludes
behaviours not conventionally seen as religious, as well as behaviour that has some characteristics of
mainstream religion but not others. Scientology, for example, makes no distinction between ‘the sacred’ and
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
the ‘profane’ and has no concept of ‘god’ as understood by conventional religions. It does, however, focus
on ideas about spirituality that are religious in nature.
Difficulties in measuring religious belief
More specific questions about religiosity relate to the indicators used to measure the concept. McGuire (2002),
for example, suggests that religion has a ‘dual character’ that involves measurement across two dimensions:
1 Individual indicators, such as whether someone holds religious beliefs and whether these are orthodox
(such as believing in a single all-powerful deity) or unorthodox (such as believing in witchcraft or more
vaguely ‘spirituality’).
2 Social indicators that measure things like religious participation, such as attendance at religious services and
membership.
In this respect, Cornwall et al. (1986) identified three broad dimensions of religiosity. Taken as a whole, these
represent an overall level of religious commitment:
•
knowing or the ‘belief dimension’
•
doing: an indicator of religious participation/membership
•
feeling: a specific measure of commitment to both an individual’s beliefs and any religious organisation with
which they identify.
These issues have given rise to pro- and anti-secularisation arguments. We can consider these issues in terms
of problems that influence the debate.
When measuring religiosity, we have to take into account the fact that it is possible to:
•
Believe without belonging: people can hold religious beliefs while showing little or no commitment to
religious organisations or practices. They can believe in ‘God’ without collectively practising their belief or
linking that belief to any particular religious organisation.
•
Belong without believing: this involves those who attend religious services without having any strongly
developed sense of religious belief. Religious practice may have secular functions, with people attending
services for reasons such as friendship, social status, custom or tradition.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Think about your neighbourhood and local community. What signs of religion are there? For
example, are there religious buildings or organisations? Are there any visible symbols (such as a
cross symbolising Christianity)? Do you know how religious people are in your area?
Uncovering religious beliefs also presents reliability problems. For example, do ‘religious beliefs’ mean the same
thing to everyone? One way around this problem is, as Hughes and Church (2010) note, to use a proxy
indicator of belief, such as whether people believe in a ‘higher being’. If they do, this indicates that they hold
some form of religious belief. If they do not, this suggests that they are unlikely to hold further beliefs that could
be classed as religious.
While this type of indicator is useful for those who hold conventional religious beliefs, it is less helpful as a broad
measure of unconventional beliefs. Many new religious movements (NRMs) and new age movements (NAMs),
for example, define religiosity in terms of ‘spirituality’ – another concept that is difficult to define and measure
reliably – and do not necessarily believe in a conventional god or higher being.
The extent to which people participate in religious activities can be viewed in two basic ways:
1 Attendance at religious services/meetings, with participation data frequently supplied by religious
organisations. Although such data is useful, it cannot simply be taken at face value because it hides
methodological problems relating to its creation and meaning. More specifically, religious organisations
frequently use different ways of defining and counting attendance.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The lack of a standard way to count attendance means that it is difficult to track changes over time, even
for the same organisation, and this makes estimates of changing religious attendance unreliable. An
alternative way to estimate attendance is through social surveys. Asking people about their attendance is
more reliable because questions can be standardised. It also has construct validity, because attendance
figures measure what they claim to measure.
However, the validity of the survey can be questioned:
•
•
Hadaway and Marler (1998) note that US opinion-poll data about religious attendance showed significant
differences between the numbers claiming to attend services and those who actually attended.
The National Secular Society (2010) noted that in the UK ‘people tend to “over-claim” when asked about
good moral (virtuous) behaviour’; Hewitt (2010), for example, reports that around 1.3 million Catholics
claimed to attend church services at least once a month, compared with a figure of around 850 000
calculated by Christian research.
2 Membership figures should be a more reliable and valid measure of participation because they count those
who actually join a religious organisation. However, these figures are complicated by different interpretations
of ‘membership’. For some, membership of a religion is assumed or linked to ethnic identity. We need,
therefore, to understand the difference (distinguish) between active members and those counted as
‘members’ on the basis of being born in a country where a particular church is the official religion.
Understanding membership figures is further complicated for the following reasons:
•
•
•
Smaller religious organisations are more reluctant to reveal their membership numbers to ‘outside
researchers’.
Where organisations supply their own data, membership may be increased to create the impression that
the organisation is larger than it actually is.
Some religious organisations do not hold services or enlist members. They may have clients – people
who buy a particular course of teaching – and customers who purchase a particular product or service
from time to time.
Abrams et al. (1985) suggested that a more valid way to understand religiosity is to measure commitment – the
extent to which people feel they belong to a particular religion using a scale that measures and combines four
main commitments:
1 Disposition: the philosophical dimension to religiosity through questions about spiritual ideas and
experiences, such as whether people ‘draw comfort from prayer’.
2 Orthodox belief: the extent to which people believe in ideas like god or the soul.
3 Moral values: how these are influenced by religious values and teachings.
4 Institutional attachment: the frequency with which people attend religious services, meetings and
ceremonies.
ACTIVITY 7.1
Design a series of questions for a social survey about how religious people worship in your local area. You will need to try to make
sure that the questions apply to everyone, cover a range of possibilities and do not cause offence.
Reflection: How difficult was it to do this? Why? Are there any ways to overcome the difficulties?
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE?
The Changing Global Religious Landscape
Pew Research Center 2017
Search for The Changing Global Religious Landscape report on the Pew Research Center’s website.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
This report is published by an American ‘think-tank’ and applies demographic data to try to see how religions are likely to develop
globally in the near future. Most of Europe (and especially the UK) and a few other countries such as Japan are very secularised,
and have had declines in religious membership, attendance and levels of religiosity. These are also countries with ageing
populations – a rising average age and rising proportions of older people, and the number of deaths exceeding the number of
births. Although there are many Christians in other parts of the world, such as Africa, with higher birth rates, the outcome is that
Christians have had a relatively large share of the world’s deaths (37%). The Pew Research projection is that Muslims will be the
world’s fastest-growing major religious group in the decades ahead; signs of this rapid growth are already visible. In the period
between 2010 and 2015, births to Muslims made up an estimated 31% of all babies born around the world – far exceeding the
Muslim share of people of all ages in 2015 (24%). So there is a ‘baby boom’ among Muslims. However, people who do not
identify with any religion are experiencing a very different trend. While religiously unaffiliated people currently make up 16% of the
global population, only an estimated 10% of the world’s newborns between 2010 and 2015 were born to religiously unaffiliated
mothers. The Pew projection is that the proportion of the world’s population with no religion will fall. Buddhism is also expected to
decline because of low fertility rates and ageing populations in the countries where it has most followers. Projections like these
always need to be treated with caution, for example it will not be the case that all children born to Christian parents will be
Christian. The Pew Research Center takes this into account by assuming that there will be some switching between religions.
Question: Why is it possible in the world today that more people will switch between religions?
Social groups and religiosity, including class, gender, ethnicity and age
Social class
Any understanding of the relationship between class and beliefs is complicated by two ideas:
1 Definitions and measurements of class vary both historically and cross-culturally, which makes both longterm (longitudinal) and comparative studies difficult.
2 Measuring people’s belief is similarly complicated, not least because, as Navone (2002) argues ‘just
because people say they are religious, does not make it so, no more than if they say they are intelligent or
moral’.
Country
% of adults for whom religion is important
Senegal
97
Nigeria
92
India
92
Pakistan
91
South Africa
87
Kenya
85
Brazil
77
USA
59
Great Britain
33
Canada
30
Italy
27
Germany
21
Russia
14
Japan
12
France
11
Table 7.1 The personal importance of religion Source: Pew Research Center (2002)
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Keeping these limitations in mind, much of the data about the relationship between class and belief suggests
that there are few differences in belief about the existence of ‘god’ or some form of supreme being, and in
general religious concepts, such as heaven or life after death. This is not surprising when we consider that
traditional religions address major philosophical questions, such as what happens after death, that go beyond
(transcend) narrow class interests.
Similarly, religious practice shows a closer correlation between class and areas such as attendance at services.
Regular attendees (weekly or monthly) are more likely to be middle or upper class, while those who never
attend church, except for weddings and funerals, are more likely to be working class.
The relationship between class and religiosity varies across different societies with different levels of economic
development and claimed beliefs. In developed nations, religion was historically a source of status for both the
upper and middle classes. Members of the upper class used their positions within powerful religious institutions
such as the church to exert power over their society. Members of the middle class used church attendance as a
measure of social respectability and acceptance. These religious functions may no longer apply in industrial
societies, but they still do so in some developing nations.
In postmodern societies, religious affiliation relates more to individual, personal identities rather than the
collective, social identities of the past. The weakening of traditional class associations, along with increased
consumer choice, explains why social class no longer correlates very closely with affiliation.
There is a closer relationship between class and religious groups with fewer followers. Stark and Bainbridge
argue that cults draw their members from the higher social classes, whereas Kelly (1992) has suggested that
new religious movements (NRMs, discussed in section 7.1) are founded and populated by the educated middle
classes. Adler’s (1979) research has drawn attention to the fact that, in the USA, members of witch covens
mainly come from the professional middle classes. Bader (2003) also notes that two thirds of those who claim to
have been abducted by aliens previously held middle-class occupations.
Figure 7.3: How is religion related to material and cultural deprivation?
New age movements (NAMs) add a further dimension to the relationship between class and religion in terms of
the argument that they involve ‘meaning without motivation’. Middle-class, disappointed and middle-aged people
turn to NAMS that promise to help them live more harmoniously or successfully in a world that seems to largely
pass them by.
Bruce (1995) argued that the general attraction of NAMs to the middle classes is based on the idea that
‘spiritual growth appeals mainly to those whose more pressing material needs have been satisfied. Unmarried
mothers raising children on welfare tend to be too concerned with finding food, heat and light to be overly
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
troubled by their inner lights and when they do look for release from their troubles they prefer the bright outer
lights of bars and discotheques’.
For sections of the working class, who are the victims of inequality and are treated as not important
(marginalised), religion can offer an explanation of their situation and can promise that suffering now will be
rewarded with a better future after death. Weber suggested that sects offer members a theodicy of
disprivilege, a world view that helps them cope with their lives. This explains why members of the working
classes may join sects or other religious organisations. In effect, the promise of salvation in the afterlife makes
up (compensates) for poverty in this life.
ACTIVITY 7.2
Make a list of reasons why working-class people might join a religious organisation, and a list of reasons why middle-class people
might.
Which of the lists seems to you to be more convincing? Does this fit with what you know about social class and membership of
religious organisations?
Gender
Men tend to have lower levels of religiosity than women, but they occupy the highest positions in religious
hierarchies; it is mainly men who are priests and imams. The relationship between gender and religion is
examined in section 12.2.
ACTIVITY 7.3
Compile a list of possible reasons why women are more likely to be religious than men. Compare your list with those of other
students. Which of these reasons do you think is the strongest? Why?
Reflection: Look at how you have explained ‘why’? Do you feel confident that you can explain ‘why’ clearly?
Ethnicity
On a global level, there are marked differences in religiosity across different nations. Emergent nations in Africa,
Asia and South America have higher levels of religious belief and practice than developed nations such as the
UK and Germany.
The UK is an example of a developed nation with a low general level of religiosity. Cook (2003) warned that
‘collecting data on ethnicity is difficult because there is no consensus on what constitutes an ethnic group’.
However, British society reflects a range of ethnicities and religious affiliations, considered not just in terms of
different ethnic groups associating themselves with different religions, but also in terms of the diversity of
affiliation within some ethnic groups. Indian ethnicities, for example, involve a mix of Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and
Christian religious affiliations.
It is important to note that there are significant variations in affiliation and strength of belief based on gender and
age across all ethnicities. Age, in particular, is significant when comparing the experiences of different
generations within recent immigrant ethnicities.
There are generational differences among minority groups in how young and old classify themselves:
•
Older, first-generation, immigrants are more likely to identify with their country of origin.
•
Younger, third-generation, individuals are more likely to classify themselves in terms of their country of birth.
We can explore a range of explanations for the relationship between ethnicity and religiosity, starting with
deprivation. In the UK, the highest levels of religious affiliation are found among Pakistani (92%) and
Bangladeshi (92%) minorities. Berthoud (1998) has shown that these ethnic groups are among the very poorest
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
in British society. This suggests a correlation between poverty/class and religiosity among some ethnic groups.
While this correlation is interesting, deprivation itself is not enough explanation for higher levels of religiosity,
measured in terms of both affiliation and practice.
ACTIVITY 7.4
What reasons can you think of to explain why members of minority ethnic groups are often religious?
Try to apply your ideas to a minority group in your own society that you know about. Do your reasons explain how religious they are?
Although Christians generally profess high levels of affiliation, this does not translate significantly into religious
practice. As Crockett and Voas put it: ‘All major ethnic minority populations are more religious than British-born
whites’. Since high levels of deprivation exist among the white working class, the question here is why do some
ethnic groups display higher levels of religiosity under similar economic circumstances?
The answer is linked to ideas and issues related not just to ethnicity but also to the experience of being an
ethnic minority. The key to understanding levels of ethnic group religiosity, both majority and minority, is found in
two areas:
1 Inter-group relationships – how, for example, different minority groups relate to both other minorities and to
the ethnic majority.
2 Intra-group relationships – differences, for example, within ethnic minority groups, such as class, gender and
age, that relate to how these groups interact with the ethnic majority.
These different experiences, therefore, relate to questions of identity, considered in terms of both the selfperception of different ethnic groups and the various social factors that go into the ‘constructive mix’ of such
identities. We can illustrate this idea by contrasting the experiences of the white British majority ethnic group in
the UK, following a mainly Christian faith, with those of the Pakistani minority following a mainly Muslim faith.
The measured differences in religiosity between these two groups are conventionally explained in terms of a
distinction between two types of ‘believer’:
1 Nominal: where people are ‘born into a religion’, such as the Church of England and generally associate
themselves with this religion without having much firm faith or commitment to it. They may, in this respect, be
considered largely agnostic – neither believing nor disbelieving.
2 Authentic: people who demonstrate their firmly held beliefs through various forms of practice and
commitment. Pakistani Muslims in the UK generally fall into this category.
However, this raises the question of why nominal belief should be considered ‘less authentic’ than overtly
practised beliefs:
•
Private beliefs may be sincerely held without the need to have them continually and publicly reaffirmed.
•
Public practice may be a sign of social processes, such as status considerations or cultural/peer pressures,
rather than strict religious belief.
These behaviours require affirmation and re-affirmation through communal gatherings that promote both social
solidarity and a sense of ethnic identity.
For ethnic minority groups in particular, religiosity performs significant services and functions in terms of social
identities. One function of religious organisations for many ethnic minority groups is that of providing a sense of
homogeneity, shared purpose, and cultural continuity and permanence.
Age
Older people tend to be more religious than young people. Older people are more likely to say that they are
religious or that they believe in a god, and more likely to belong to a religious organisation. This is particularly
true in Europe and developed nations in general. In the UK, the average age of church goers is high and
increasing. The next age group in terms of religiosity, however, is the young – those under 35. Part of the debate
around age and religion is whether age differences reflect age or cohort, for example it may be that people who
were born in a particular decade or period were socialised differently, affecting their commitment to religion later
in their life. Thus the period of the 1960s and 1970s, with a widespread rejection by young people of established
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
beliefs and practices, may have led to those who were young at the time being less religious not only than their
parents’ generation but also than their children’s generation.
The relationship between ageing and religiosity is usually explained by the greater concern that people have
with thoughts about death as they approach the end of their lives and, often, suffer declining health. Religion
can offer comfort and support. In addition, belonging to a church or other religious organisation can offer older
people a network of support and opportunities to socialise and feel a sense of purpose. This may be particularly
important for those who have lost partners and whose adult children have moved away, or those who relied on
their colleagues at work for socialising. Older people today may also have been socialised into a religion as
children, and may return to religion as they age after not being actively religious during the busy periods of their
adult lives, working and raising children.
The fact that religion tends to be associated with older people may be a main reason why fewer young people
are religious. Established, mainstream religious organisations can seem very old-fashioned and not attractive to
young people. Churches have also struggled to amend their positions over issues such as birth control
(contraception), abortion, gay rights and marriage and female priests, where they seem outdated and out of step
with the values and beliefs of most young people today. They have also been linked to child abuse, with claims
that senior figures have covered up the extent of abuse. More generally, churches have been affected by the
widespread rejection of authority and tradition, which has also affected, for example, political parties. At the
same time, both work and leisure take up a lot of young people’s time and may reduce the time available for
religion. For young adults, starting in a career may require a lot of energy and time, including long working
hours, to become established, while leisure has expanded through the range of activities available and longer
hours for shopping and socialising.
Postmodernists link the declining religiosity of young people to a wider decline in religious thinking and growing
disenchantment. Older religious explanations of the world no longer hold. This is part of the wider decline of the
power of metanarratives (explanations) to influence how people think about the world. Associated with this is the
much wider range of religions from which young people can now choose. There is a religious and spiritual
marketplace, which young people are increasingly aware of through the internet and other media. In Britain, for
example, as well as older religions from other parts of the world such as Buddhism and Islam, there are new
religious movements, New Age spiritual ideas and subcultural groups offering a sense of belonging. Even when
young people have been socialised into a religion, there are many opportunities to move away, or to reject
religion entirely. Also, religious socialisation is weaker – Sunday schools, through which Christian churches in
the United Kingdom have traditionally passed on their messages, have declined dramatically, and many schools
have very limited religious content in assemblies.
Lynch (2008) has suggested that the feelings that might once have led young people to religion are being
diverted into areas that have always been seen as non-religious. For some people, the non-religious becomes
‘sacred’, in Durkheim’s terms their energies are diverted to football, music, social activities such as clubbing or
to commitment to a cause such as feminism or environmentalism. From this view, religiosity has not
disappeared but has been channelled into new, almost unrecognisable, forms.
Some young people are very religious. In the UK, this applies to some young Muslims, who are often more
religious than their parents’ generation. This may be a reaction against the perceived decline of their religion
and a rejection of aspects of Western culture. Some young people in the UK are strongly Christian but not in
enough numbers to challenge the overall impression of declining religiosity. It may be though, that young people
may be ‘believing without belonging’, so that their religiosity may not be being picked up in statistics such as
those on church attendance, or that they will turn to religion later in life.
ACTIVITY 7.5
‘Young people are more religious than older people.’
Find a partner. One of you should then list the points you would make in favour of this statement, the other a list of points against.
Reflection: Decide which of you has the stronger argument and why. How does thinking about the other side of the debate
inform your own argument?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE
‘Believing in Belonging: Religion Returns to Sociology Mainstream’ by Abby Day in Network Summer 2007, published
by the British Sociological Association
Day’s research provides an insight into the difficulties of defining and measuring religious beliefs. In the 2001 Census, a question
was asked for the first time about religious belief. It was expected that, because of secularisation, most people would say they
had no religious belief. Yet 71.6% of people completing the Census described themselves as Christian, an unexpectedly high
figure. This seemed to lend support to the idea that religion was becoming privatised, that people were ‘believing without
belonging’. However, Day carried out qualitative research using semi-structured interviews, asking respondents in the north of
England what they believed in, in an attempt to find out what was really happening. What she found was that although people
often described themselves as Christian, they didn’t often talk about God, Christianity or church when talking about their beliefs.
Day concluded that when people said they were Christian, this was for many of them a way of claiming an ethnic, national or
family identity rather than a religious one. Saying that they were Christian was a way of saying they were White English, and a
way of marking themselves as different from others such as minority ethnic groups. An apparent identification with religion turned
out to not be mainly about religion at all. Day’s findings contradict the ‘believing without belonging’ and privatised religion ideas,
and support the arguments of Bruce and others that secularisation is occurring.
Question: Do you think the idea of ‘belonging without believing’ applies in your country?
KEY CONCEPT - INEQUALITY AND OPPORTUNITY
How is religion relevant to different social groups?
Religion and other belief systems
The development of modern industrial societies has led to religion being challenged by different belief systems,
particularly those centred around science such as the emergence of scientific explanations about the origin and
nature of the world, that weaken the power of religious explanations. There have also been political
developments that question the traditional basis of secular power and authority, such as the ‘divine right of
monarchs’ to rule in feudal societies because their authority comes directly from God.
Sets of ideas and values shared by a social group are ideologies. Ideologies provide a way of interpreting the
world, and they explain and justify the interests of a social group. For example, patriarchal ideologies justify
(legitimise) the interests of men. Religions can be seen as ideologies, although not all meet the principle of
being based on the interests of a social group. Political ideologies focus on how society should work and how
power should be exercised. Some political ideologies can be combined with religious beliefs.
Both ideology and religions are closed belief systems. That is, they cannot be disproved because they rely on
faith and beliefs, and their followers will find ways to reject or explain away evidence that challenges their
beliefs. Over the last few hundred years, scientific and rational ways of understanding the world have grown in
influence and have challenged religious understandings. Unlike religion, science is an open belief system; this
makes it different from all ideologies. Scientific knowledge is based on continuous research and testing.
Theories are tested and will be rejected if they are found to be wrong. So, unlike religious beliefs, scientific
knowledge is constantly being revised and moving closer to an accurate account of reality.
This does not mean that science is always right, or that it can explain everything. There are many questions that
religions claim to offer definite answers to where science cannot provide answers, because evidence is not
available. Science can, however, show some religious beliefs to be false, for example the bible’s account of
creation taking place in seven days has been replaced by the theory of evolution.
Early sociologists expected that science would replace religion. They saw religion as belonging to the premodern world. Auguste Comte, often described as the founder of sociology, suggested that there were three
stages in human understanding of the world. In the first stage, the theological stage, phenomena are explained
as being caused by gods, spirits or other supernatural beings. In the metaphysical stage, the supernatural
aspect of this is reduced and people start to investigate and explain phenomena by referring to natural or
abstract forces such as the power of Nature. Finally, in the scientific stage, rational scientific explanations based
on observation, evidence and logic take over. Comte saw the development of sociology as part of this, with
human society investigated in a scientific way that would uncover the laws of human nature. Later, Max Weber
argued that the world was becoming disenchanted. That is, as society becomes more modern, political
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
(bureaucratic) and secular there is no longer room for the magical or mystical, for superstition, intuition and faith.
The world ceases to be what Weber called an ‘enchanted garden’.
While most of Europe has become secular with only a minority believing in a god or saying that they are
religious, globally religion remains strong, so the replacement of religion by science expected by early
sociologists has not happened. Scientific ideas are widely accepted and guide much human activity, but even in
secular societies many people still believe in spirits, ghosts, astrology (horoscopes) and so on. Millions of
people continue to follow the large world religions, and there has been a growth of religious fundamentalism
(discussed later), interpreted by some as a reaction against globalisation.
Science has itself been challenged by postmodernism. Postmodernists argue that science, or at least the
application of science, has created problems as much as solved them. Science has lost some of its authority
because of a reaction against its role in some of the problems of modern societies, such as pollution, climate
change, weapons of mass destruction and new forms of disease. Scientists are supposed to be objective, yet
some have clearly put their knowledge in the service of corporations or governments who have used them for
suspicious purposes. Postmodernists see science as another metanarrative, in a period when all metanarratives
have been discredited.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
7.2 Religion and social order
Functionalist accounts of how religion contributes to social order and social
solidarity
Traditional functionalism takes an inclusive approach. It focuses on understanding how religion functions to
create, promote and maintain the cultural values that provide the moral basis for social order. Cultural
institutions (including education and the media) create and maintain order and continuity by promoting and
supporting a collective conscience – a set of shared beliefs, values and meanings that unify a population
through an individual sense of ‘collective personality’.
Durkheim (1912) described this in the following way: ‘There can be no society which does not feel the need of
upholding and reaffirming at regular intervals the collective sentiments and the collective ideas which make its
unity and personality. Now this moral remaking cannot be achieved except by the means of reunions,
assemblies and meetings where the individuals, being closely united to one another, reaffirm in common their
common sentiments.’ Social integration is, therefore, an important function of religion, particularly in premodern, tribal societies. There, the development of social solidarity or ‘moral togetherness’ is based on practical
religious mechanisms, such as collective ceremonies and services. In modern societies, religious practice may
be important, but it progressively gives way to other forms of ‘religious-type’ practices (from sport to shopping)
that serve a similar unifying function.
For Durkheim, therefore, the key to understanding religion is not its content but its effect: ‘The power of society
over the individual so transcends individual existence that people collectively give it sacred significance. By
worshiping God people are worshiping the power of the collective over all, they are worshiping society.’
Religion can be seen as having several major functions:
•
Providing common values: a sense of shared beliefs and values is created by following a set of religious
moral rules and codes.
•
Creating social solidarity: religious ceremonies bring people together in situations where they put into
practice their shared norms, values and experiences, thereby reinforcing social solidarity. Different religious
rituals and rites involve shared symbols and meanings:
•
Rituals such as marriages and funerals play a significant role in ‘marking important life transitions’. In some
forms of Judaism, for example, the bar mitzvah, for boys aged 13 and bat mitzvah for girls aged 12
symbolise a religious rite of passage: a ceremony marking the passing between life stages, such as
childhood and adulthood.
•
Intensification rites function to mark group occasions and involve the expression and affirmation of common
values. Religious ceremonies and festivals have an integration function – that of binding people through
shared beliefs and practices.
Durkheim claimed that religious symbols reflect a significant distinction between ‘the sacred’ or special and
‘the profane’ or everyday, although their actual form was not important. They could be objects, such as a
book or an animal, ceremonies, such as a wedding, or places, such as the home of a prophet. Their function
was simply to develop shared values – the fundamental things on which people could agree, thus drawing
them together in a society.
•
Providing a source of identity: people understand who they are through membership of religious groups.
•
Ensuring the survival of values over time: a common culture is transmitted from one generation to the next,
thereby providing social continuities through religious traditions and customs.
•
Enabling individuals and groups to cope with crises. There are times of pain and crisis in life that require
individual or collective efforts to re-establish harmony. For example, religion provides explanations for death
and the religious rituals surrounding death help manage this difficult situation by providing a structure (the
funeral) that permits certain forms of social action, such as public grieving. Religion provides important
psychological support in times of personal crisis.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
How can something that is profane become sacred? Try to think of examples of apparently
ordinary objects becoming seen as sacred. An example to get started would be a piece of cloth
that is claimed to have belonged to a religious figure such as a Christian saint.
Figure 7.4: A Catholic nun holds a candle during a prayer service. What are the functions of ritual for
any religion?
More recent functionalist views take account of the decline of religion in modern societies. If religion gradually
loses its power to provide a collective conscience, other institutions develop to provide it. Bellah (1967) argued
that such societies develop civil religions – a set of fundamental beliefs shared by the majority of people in a
society.
Civil religions can take many shapes and forms. They may involve traditional aspects of religion, such as a
general belief in God, but equally they may be wholly secular. They may be overtly religious, overtly secular or a
combination of the two.
ACTIVITY 7.6
Some people have said that football is like a religion. In what ways could this be true? For example, how and where do football fans
‘worship and what are their sacred signs and rituals?
Now think about ways in which football is not a religion.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Robert Bellah (1927–2013)
Bellah was the leading sociologist of religion of his time. He first studied social anthropology, then gained a PhD at Harvard under the
mentorship of Talcott Parsons. He was Professor of Sociology at the University of Berkeley, California, for many years. He had a
strong interest in Islamic studies but is probably best known for developing the idea of civil religion, showing how religious ideas can
be prevalent throughout a society, in ways that combine religion and patriotism. For example, the USA has no official religion, yet
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
political leaders often invoke religious imagery or quote from the bible. The country’s motto, printed on coins and notes, is ‘In God We
Trust’ and there is a reference to god in the pledge of allegiance.
There has also been a greater emphasis on the idea of dysfunctions – religion is not automatically and
inevitably functional. In culturally diverse societies it can create conflict – some American Christian
fundamentalist groups, for example, are violently opposed to abortion. As Bruce (1995) observed: ‘Social
scientists have long been aware of the role of religion as social cement; shared rituals and shared beliefs that
bind people together. What is not so often noted is the idea religion often divides one group from another’.
The greater emphasis on small-scale functionality, therefore, is sometimes expressed in terms of religion as a
mechanism for social change. Membership of a religious organisation may provide oppressed groups with the
solidarity and sense of purpose they need to challenge unjust laws. The civil rights movement in the USA in the
1960s, for example, was organised and voiced through Christian church membership to challenge the unequal
treatment of African-Americans.
Marxist accounts of the relationship between religion, oppression and
capitalism
Marxists see the role of religion in capitalist societies as that of promoting a consensus that ultimately benefits a
ruling class. Traditional Marxists take an exclusive approach to religion, focusing on the particular features that
make it qualitatively different from other forms of belief and practice. More specifically, Marxists explore the role
of religion in promoting consensus through its status as an ideology capable of explaining everything about
everything. From this perspective, religion shapes how people see the world, and its role is to represent that
world in ways that reflect and support the existing social order.
Marx (1844) believed that religion was an oppressive social force that operated in hugely unequal capitalist
societies, such as the UK, France and Germany in the 19th century. The role of religion was to make the vast
majority of the population, who lived in poverty and misery, accept their situation. They were told that they
should neither question nor challenge their relationship with a ruling class who kept the best things in life for
themselves. For Marx, religion was a source of social control. Its ideological message was for everyone, rich
and poor alike, to accept the world as it was. At the same time, its purpose was to silence conflict: to stop
people questioning why so much poverty existed in a very rich society.
Religion was an efficient form of social control because if people believed in God, this helped to:
•
Uphold the existing situation (status quo) – the social world could be portrayed as ‘god-given’ and beyond
the power of people to change.
•
Legitimise economic exploitation – if God made the world, it was not the place of people to question why
some were rich and most were poor.
•
Justify poverty – poverty was portrayed as a virtue, something to be suffered without complaint.
Marx called religion ‘the opiate of the masses’ because it ‘dulled the pain of oppression’ with its promise of
eternal life (Christianity) or reincarnation into a higher social caste (Hinduism) for those who did their religious
duty. He also suggested that it was a form of false consciousness – by embracing false religious ideas people,
fail to understand the real causes of their misery and oppression – capitalism and its system of economic
exploitation.
For Balibar and Althusser (1970), religion provided the ideological justification for things such as social
inequality that flow from a particular set of capitalist economic relationships. Religion is, therefore, a
conservative force that exists to support the economic status quo in two main ways:
1 Oppressively, by imposing a set of ‘god-given’ values and beliefs. This role is generally played out in
societies where religious leaders exercise wide-ranging political and economic power. In countries such as
Iran, for example, the religious authorities’ interpretation of Shari’ah (Islamic law) places restrictions on
various aspects of individual freedoms relating to things such as food and dress.
2 Supportively, in the sense that there are times when capitalist societies undergo economic crises that
threaten their stability. In such moments, religion channels social dissent and helps to preserve the status
quo by either promoting limited but crucial forms of social change or by managing social transformations.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Debates about the strengths and limitations of functionalist and Marxist
perspectives on religion
Criticisms of functionalism as a general approach have focused on a range of problems. Methodologically, an
important question is how to operationalise the concept of function. For example, how do we know whether
something such as religion is actually functional and, if it is, whether these functions outweigh any dysfunctions?
Figure 7.5: Westminster Abbey, London, c.1900. Christianity directly underpinned the values of
capitalism during 19th-century Britain.
Functionalism also developed to explain social life in the 20th century. Today in many modern societies, notably
Europe and parts of North America, the majority of the population are not particularly ‘religious’ and do not
participate in collective religious ceremonies and services other than events such as weddings and funerals.
This does not necessarily invalidate traditional functionalist arguments about the function of religion (other forms
of collective ceremony, such as sporting events or music festivals, may serve similar collective functions), it
suggests a need to re-evaluate the specific functions of religion. There has been a shift away from explaining
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
religion as functional to whole societies and towards defining its functions for some individuals and groups. This
change of emphasis is based on the idea that societies today are characterised by cultural diversity. As a
consequence, the social significance of organised religion, Christianity in particular, has declined and the
functions of religion are now more closely related to questions of personal identity. Membership of a religious
organisation can, for example, give benefits to individuals by defining who they are, promoting clear moral
guidelines and satisfying psychological, social and spiritual needs, which can be particularly important in times
of rapid social change.
Functionalism focuses on what religion does for individuals and societies, so any form of collective behaviour
can be considered a religion if it performs the required functions. This idea is theoretically convenient because it
explains apparent contradictions. If religious observance is widespread in a society, functionalists take this as
evidence that religion is fulfilling its functions. It must be creating consensus because people are practicing their
religion together. If religion declines in a society, however, functionalists can explain this, arguing that other
institutions have taken over the functions. It thus becomes impossible to disprove the functionalist view.
There are a number of problems with the Marxist view of religion:
Turner (1983) argued that if we measure religious conviction in terms of things such as church attendance and
membership of religious groups, the working classes have never been particularly religious.
Contemporary societies are less religious, so false consciousness should be weaker, yet there has not been a
great increase in questioning of the capitalist economic system.
If religion functions to support the status quo and prevent social change, it can be difficult to explain its important
role in some secular conflicts, such as the Iranian Revolution of 1979 or the US civil rights movement, or
religious movements advocating revolutionary change, such as liberation theology.
In response to criticisms and to changing circumstances, neo-Marxists have adapted traditional Marxist views to
try to explain religion in contemporary societies, using the concept of dominance (hegemony). For Gramsci
(1934), hegemony involves the idea that beliefs about the world that benefit a ruling class are not simply
imposed by religious organisations. Rather, ruling groups maintain their dominant position through the consent
of those lower down the social scale. This social scale itself is manufactured by cultural institutions such as
religion, education and the media – the ideological state apparatuses. All, in their different ways, transmit
messages supporting the status quo. One common message, for example, is that there are allowed (legitimate)
ways to express dissent, such as voting for a change of government. These forms of expression never directly
challenge the economic status quo and the hegemony of the ruling class.
Hegemony makes it possible for religious ideas to be seen as influential in contemporary societies without
necessarily having to show that the majority of people either believe or support them. In fact, they may accept
those ideas because they are powerless to challenge or change them. Neo-Marxists see religion as much as a
source of unity for a ruling class as a way of oppressing the working-class. Shared religious beliefs and
practices represent one way in which the various elements of a ruling class come to see themselves as a ‘class
apart’ with common political, ideological and economic interests. Religion provides a set of moral guidelines for
ruling-class behaviour, in relation to things such as marriage and the inheritance of property, that enable it to
reproduce both itself and its domination of society.
ACTIVITY 7.7
Referring to any religion you are familiar with, make a list of ways in which its teachings and practices might make people likely to
accept their position in life, rather than feeling they are treated unfairly or trying to change society.
Reflection: Compare your list with that of other students. Do the lists differ very much when looking at different religions? Did
you agree with other students? Did you change anything on your list? Why/Why not?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
7.3 Religion as a source of social change
Weber’s theory of the role of religion in the rise of capitalism
Weberian approaches focus less on what religion does (its functions or ideological purpose) and more on
what it means for:
•
Individuals: this involves studying, for example, the motivations, behaviours and beliefs of those who
classify themselves as religious.
•
Society: this aspect looks at ‘collective religious beliefs’ existing in a particular society and how these
influence the development of cultural identities, legal systems or, in Weber’s (1905) case, a complete
economic system (capitalism).
Weber wanted to understand why capitalism developed in some societies, such as England, but not others,
even though they had reached similar levels of economic and technological development. He argued that it
was a particular form of Protestant religion called Calvinism that provided the ‘final push’, allowing England to
change, in the 16th century, from a relatively poor, agriculture-based, pre-modern society into a wealthy,
modern, industrial society. It was Calvinism that provided the ‘spirit of capitalism’ – a powerful set of ideas,
beliefs and practices that promoted a strong and lasting social transformation. The basis of this ‘spirit’ was
predestination.
Calvinists believed that God would know, before individuals were born, if they were destined to achieve
salvation. Nothing a person did in the course of their life could change this situation. However, because God
would not allow sinners into heaven, the way to prove that you were destined for heaven would be, as Bental
(2004) notes, to ‘associate morality and Godliness with hard work, thriftiness, and the reinvestment of money’.
In basic terms, those destined for salvation had to be:
•
successful (throughout life)
•
hard-working
•
moral
•
thrifty (careful about how you spent your money)
•
modest.
Weber argued that these were just the kinds of attributes required to develop capitalism, an economic system
built on the creation and reinvestment of profits to make sure of long-term business success.
Weber’s analysis of social transformations points more directly to evidence that religion can start social
change. In contrast with Marx, Weber argues that religion is not necessarily a conservative force. On the
contrary, religiously inspired movements have often produced dramatic social transformations, such as the
transformation from feudal to capitalist society and, in particular, the example of Britain as the first society to
undergo this transformation.
The aim was to understand how and why capitalism developed in some societies but not others, even though
they had similar levels of economic and technological development. For example, China and the Roman
Empire once had advanced technologies for their time, yet both of them remained feudal societies. Weber
suggested that religion, in the form of Calvinism, provided the ‘final push’ that allowed a society with a
particular level of technological development to break through the barrier dividing pre-modern, agriculturebased, feudal societies from modern, industrial, capitalist societies. Calvinism, Weber argued, provided the
necessary ‘spirit of capitalism’ – a set of ideas and practices that promoted a strong and lasting social
transformation. Religion was a source of social change because, in this instance, two things came together at
the right moment:
•
Technological changes that provided opportunities to create wealth in a new and dynamic way.
•
A social group (Calvinists) with an ideology that allowed these opportunities to be exploited.
As Bental puts it: ‘Calvinists associated morality and Godliness with hard work, thriftiness and reinvestment of
money. Given Western Europe and America served as home for these people, should we be surprised
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
capitalism took off in the West?’
Alternative views about the relationship between religion and the origins of
capitalism
Weber’s analysis of the relationship between religion and social change is an example of how meaning
influences social action – a belief in predestination led to the development of specific behavioural norms.
However, the argument that Calvinism and the Protestant ethic of hard work and constant reinvestment was
a ‘cause of capitalism’ has been questioned:
•
Tawney (1926) argued that capitalism came into being through technological developments that
revolutionised how goods could be produced and distributed.
•
Fanfani (2003) argues that capitalism developed in some areas of Europe where Calvinism was not a
religious force.
•
Viner (1978) claimed that where Calvinism was the dominant religion it acted as a conservative force that
prevented economic development and change. Calvinist Scotland, for example, developed capitalism
much later than Protestant England.
These ideas point towards a general principle: while structural theory suggests that religion is a conservative
social force, action theories generally argue that religion can be a force for change. In this respect,
contemporary Weberian analyses look at how religion can be a focus for dissent, a channel through which
discontent can be expressed:
•
Liberation theology: Bruneau and Hewitt (1992), for example, argued that in Brazil the Catholic Church
became a ‘vehicle for working with the poor’ as a way of promoting social and economic changes.
•
The Arab Spring: in 2011, many Arab countries experienced pro-democracy protests on a huge scale. In
Egypt, for example, religious organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood played an important role in
organising and channelling dissent before eventually being elected into government.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
Look at a recent newspaper or news website and find reports of recent protests, demonstrations
and demands for change. Is religion mentioned in any of these reports? Can you see any ways
in which religion might play a part?
Liberation theology as an example of religion acting as a vehicle for social
change
Liberation theology developed in South American countries such as Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. It brought
together Christian theology and Marxism to emphasise social concern for the poor and the need for
revolutionary social change. Some Catholic priests formed political alliances with revolutionary groups to
oppose government policies, against the wishes of the Catholic Church hierarchy. Some governments of the
time, such as the military dictatorship in Brazil, were not only forcing down living conditions but were also
repressive and violent, torturing and killing political opponents. Liberation theology priests who became
involved with trade unions, politics and sometimes revolutionary movements were taking great risks. Among
those killed for their beliefs was Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador, murdered while saying mass in a
cancer hospice in 1980. One common way that priests and nuns acted on their beliefs was to move into poor
neighbourhoods such as the growing slums in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and work with local people to
improve conditions through, for example, reading (literacy) programmes and raising political awareness.
Liberation theology was applied in different ways in different places, including in defence of native
communities.
Supporters of liberation theology saw it as a return to the roots of the original church, arguing that Jesus had
sided with the poor and the oppressed. As Bruneau and Hewitt argue: ‘For its proponents, the theology of
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
liberation becomes the only way to understand the church and its mission; the church must be involved, it
must opt for the poor, and it must use its resources to assist the poor in their liberation. Churches, for their
part, become the privileged vehicle to work with the poor and promote their awareness, mobilization, and
organization’. In some countries, including Brazil, liberation theology did lead to progressive social changes,
and played a part in the gradual move of many Latin American countries from dictatorship to democracy. In
the health programme in Nova Iguaçu, near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Catholic priests organised the local
community against lack of food (malnutrition), open sewers and other health hazards. Liberation theology has
been controversial, with the Roman Catholic hierarchy criticising some aspects such as the Marxist emphasis
on class struggle. Pope John Paul II condemned liberation theology as a distortion of Christianity. Although it
is difficult to evaluate the success or otherwise of liberation theology in bringing about social change, its
existence does suggest that religions may play a role in any multi-causal explanation of change. This
challenges Marx’s view that religion is always a conservative force. Otto Maduro, a Marxist Catholic
sociologist, believed that religion could and should be a force for the liberation of the poor and of minorities.
Figure 7.6: A political protestor in Egypt holds up both a Koran and a Christian cross. Can religion be
a vehicle for social change?
The influence of religious movements on political debates and struggles,
examined through case studies such as the Evangelical movement in US
politics or the influence of the Ayatollahs in the Iranian revolution
According to traditional Marxism, while religion plays an important role in managing social change, it does not
start the change. Social change is caused by economic conflicts between and within social classes. Religious
ideas play a significant role only in relation to the abilities of powerful economic classes to use such ideas as a
basis for change.
Evangelical movements in the USA
Evangelicalism has been important throughout the history of the USA. It derives from Protestantism, and has
a strong emphasis on the need to be ‘born again’ and on the literal truth of the bible. Although it has in the
past been associated at times with progressive causes such as the ending of slavery, after the Second World
War evangelicalism became linked to the far right in politics. There is a ‘religious right’ – the New Christian
Right (NCR) – that includes loose-knit groups such as the Moral Majority and, more recently, the politically
conservative Tea Party political movement. The Tea Party combines specific and selective forms of ‘religious
correctness’ with attempts to legitimise a particular political ideology that is authoritarian, anti-democratic and
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
does not tolerate difference. It involves the teaching of creationism (a literal belief in the creation myth of the
Christian bible) in schools, bans on sex education and putting scientific ideas, such as evolution or global
warming, second to religious teachings. The NCR played a significant role in the election of Ronald Reagan in
1980 as US President and of Trump in 2016. Its role in politics was analysed by Steve Bruce, using statistical
data and interviews with NCR activists. He concluded that it had achieved only limited success because it had
needed to compromise with other religious groups, such as conservative Roman Catholics and Jews, leading
to tensions that hampered it. Bruce says that this shows that fundamentalist movements cannot in a modern
plural society succeed in bringing about social change because they do not connect with widely held beliefs
about democracy, equality and religious freedom.
The Ayatollahs in the Iranian Revolution
Azad (1995) applied a similar analysis to social transformations such as the Iranian Revolution (1979). The
overthrow of the ‘old order’ – a tyrannical, secular dictatorship, supported by countries such as the UK and the
USA – occurred through an alliance of ‘progressive elements’ among the working classes, such as
intellectuals and students, and Islamic religious organisations. Only after the Shah was deposed, Azad
argues, did a power struggle for control emerge in which religious leaders such as the Ayatollah Khoemeini
proved stronger than secular leaders. In this example, the struggle for power was primarily political and
ideological, because no major economic transformation took place in Iran: ‘In 1979 the Iranian economy was a
capitalist economy. Sixteen years later, despite many religious edicts, that is still its essence.’
Figure 7.7: The Catholic Church’s support for the Polish Solidarity Movement in the 1980s is an
example of religion’s role in cultural change
ACTIVITY 7.8
In small groups, use the internet to research one of the following:
•
Nicaragua: before and after the Sandinista revolution
•
the USA: the civil rights movement
•
Poland: the Solidarity movement
•
South Africa: Apartheid
•
Egypt: Arab Spring.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Discover as much as possible about the role of religious organisations and their involvement in the social change that occurred in
each society.
Report your findings to the class and compare your findings with those of other groups.
Can any conclusions be drawn about the relationship between social change and religion?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
7.4 The secularisation debate
The secularisation thesis
Secularisation refers to the ways in which religious influence has declined in contemporary societies. While this
may seem a relatively straightforward idea to test – by comparing past levels of belief, behaviour and
commitment (religiosity) with present ones – it is complicated by two problems. The first is how ‘religion’ is
defined; inclusive definitions are less likely to find evidence of decline because they include behaviours, such as
involvement in NAMs, that are not categorised as ‘religious’ by exclusive definitions.
Second, the point at which comparisons are made is also significant. The further back in time we go, the more
likely it is that we will find high levels of religious behaviour. Within this general debate, there is no real
agreement about at what point ‘in the past’ can be chosen for comparative purposes.
Evidence for a decline in religious belief
Evidence for religious decline is divided into three areas:
1 Institutional decline involves ideas such as:
• Privatised beliefs: religion is relegated to personal beliefs about ‘god’ or the supernatural that have little
or no meaning outside personal crises, such as illness and ill health; people look to religious beliefs as a
last resort when all else fails.
•
Loss of practical functions: there are examples of this in many modern industrial societies, with
governments taking on many of the functions previously undertaken, partly or wholly, by religious
organisations. For example, education and welfare are now more likely to be organised by public
authorities rather than by the church.
Bruce (2001) suggests that further evidence includes the fact that over the past 100 years in the UK the
number of full-time, professional clergy has declined by 25%, despite a rising population. Even relatively
minor expressions of religious practice, such as baptisms, confirmations and weddings, are in decline: ‘In the
19th century almost all weddings were religious ceremonies’. Now, it is believed to be about one in three.
2 Practical decline involves a fall in religious engagement: There has been a long-term decline in church
attendance in the UK since the 19th century, with a particularly sharp decline since the 1950s. Only around
10% of the UK population are members of the main Christian church, with a much smaller percentage
regularly attending other churches. NRMs are often cited as evidence of both religious transformation, as
people express their religiosity in non-traditional ways, and a religious revival (revitalisation). Bruce (2001),
however, argues that if NRMs were ‘religious compensators’ we should have seen ‘some signs of vigorous
growth’. This, he argues, has not happened.
3 Ideological: although ‘believing without belonging’ is often seen as evidence against secularisation, Bruce
(2001) argues that there is strong evidence for a general decline in religious beliefs; it simply ‘lags behind’
the decline in religious practice.
Wilson (1982) argued that an important individual dimension of secularisation is the extent to which people’s
understanding of the natural and social world has changed. As a society, for example, we have moved away
from a magical (spells and charms) or religious (prayer) understanding to one based on secular, scientific,
explanations. The things that we once explained by reference to religion are now explained by science.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.8: Religious commitment and participation tend to go hand in hand.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Steve Bruce, born 1951
Steve Bruce has been Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom, since 1991. He has written
widely on religion in the world today, with books and articles covering topics such as secularisation, globalisation and
fundamentalism. His best-known book is probably God is Dead: Secularisation in the West in which he defends the secularisation
thesis against sociologists and others who claim that religious sentiment remains strong. He argues that the West is becoming more
secular, despite some signs of religious revival and despite Islamic fundamentalism, and that cultural diversity and values about
individualism and equality undermine religion.
Marshall (1994), however, argued that to understand secularisation we must take account of possible changes
to the nature of religious belief. The focus should, therefore, be on the ‘privatisation of belief’ rather than the
influence of organisations or public religious practice. This means measuring people’s ‘core beliefs’ as
expressed through:
•
the importance of religion in any society
•
how seriously people take it
•
the number of people who take it seriously.
While beliefs are likely to be the most valid indicator of secularisation, the problem is not just objectively
measuring these ideas but also the fact that there is little or no objective data from the past against which to
compare them.
ACTIVITY 7.9
In order for religion to survive, it has to be passed on from one generation to the next; that is, children have to be socialised into it.
How are children socialised into religion in your community or society?
Is this religious socialisation changing over times in your community or society? How could you measure this?
Discussions about whether rationalisation is leading to a decline in religious
belief
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
As we have seen, early sociologists such as Comte (1830) expected religion to disappear as societies
developed. Pro-secularisation arguments are based on the claim that religion has declined in significance, at
least in many parts of the developed world. There has been a progressive disengagement, from a past when
religion dominated all aspects of political, economic and cultural life, to the present, where its influence is
marginal. In this case, secularisation is seen as due to modernisation and social change. Crockett and Voas
(2004) argue that as societies modernise, ‘the social significance of religion, and religious participation, declines’
because:
•
Ideas and organisations that once had a strong hold over people’s lives are weakened in large-scale,
complex, modern societies.
•
People have access to knowledge, such as scientific explanations or different cultural beliefs, that challenge
religious ideas and weaken their power.
•
As people develop a more individualistic outlook in modernity, their choices of behaviour and belief are
reflected in religious pluralism – different forms of religious, quasi-religious and non-religious belief.
In this respect, religious diversity undermines the ‘plausibility of any single religion’, leading to a general
decline in religious influence. Diversity means that religious organisations can no longer present a ‘united
ideological front’ to the world. Their ability to impose religious discipline and sanctions, influence social and
economic policies or challenge scientific ideas is seriously weakened. Hadden (2001) argues that we can best
understand secularisation by thinking in terms of its impact on three main dimensions of behaviour:
1 Cognitive (thinking) dimensions focus on how information and beliefs are organised. People in postmodernity
think very differently about the nature of God or the social and natural worlds from people in the past, with a
decline in the plausibility of religious explanations.
2 Institutional dimensions involve the idea that many of the functions once performed by religion have been
taken over by secular institutions.
3 Behavioural dimensions suggest that religious behaviour retreats from the public to the private sphere; it
becomes a matter of ‘personal faith’.
ACTIVITY 7.10
How religiously diverse is your country? Find out the numbers of people who belong to different religions or to different
denominations (branches of the religion) or other divisions within the religion.
To what extent has your country become more religiously diverse?
Anti-secularisation theorists have offered their own interpretations of the evidence discussed above. Martin
(1978) claimed that it is impossible to distinguish between the religious and the secular in a way that is
accessible to academic study, because the belief systems combined under the name religion are so varied and
diverse. Martin suggested that the concept of secularisation has become an intellectual tool that is used to
attack religion. Stark (1999) argued that the influence of religious organisations and beliefs in the past has been
overstated and the contribution made by religion to contemporary societies understated. He stated that religious
influence in modern societies is still strong. For example, it provides the moral codes that form the basis for
political life. Religion also takes the lead in arguing for ethical practices to inform economic life. Stark also
claimed that there is a strong undercurrent of individual religious belief, even in secular societies.
From this perspective, religion has evolved and changed, rather than declined. People are less likely to follow
religious practices because these served purposes that are either no longer needed or are performed by other
institutions. Religious ceremonies and festivals, for example, served a recreational function in the past when
there were few other sources of leisure. A festival was a day spent not working. Today, people are surrounded
by leisure services, so religion no longer serves this function. This is evidence of evolution rather than
secularisation.
Berger (1999) argued that Western Europe may have seen declining congregations, but that this is not the case
in the USA where church attendance is rising, nor in emerging nations. The idea that secularisation (if indeed it
is occurring) does not have worldwide causes is important because it questions the claim that secularisation is a
certain feature of modernisation and social change. Kelley (1972) suggested that secularisation, where it has
occurred, is related to particular forms of religious organisation – those that try to accommodate to the secular
world – rather than religion itself. Religious practice declined only in organisations that were:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
image conscious – appealing to the widest range of people
•
democratic in their internal affairs
•
changed to accommodate particular audiences
•
relativistic in terms of their teaching and morality.
In contrast, religious growth occurred in fundamentalist organisations that offered a set of basic ideas and
principles that were:
•
traditional
•
autocratic (controlling)
•
patriarchal
•
morally absolute (certain of right and wrong).
This means that if a religious organisation evolves to become a consumer religion, it may actually lose
members. It neither attracts those looking for something different in their spiritual life, nor does it keep those who
are looking for the ‘traditional’ features of a religion.
Another view is that religion should not be seen as a cultural institution, evaluated in terms of its success at
promoting particular values in culturally homogeneous societies where established religions have little or no
competition. Rather, religions should be seen as economic organisations. In culturally diverse societies where
spiritual competition is strong, religion should be studied as a business.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.9: Rastafarianism is a religious movement that began in the twentieth century. Are new forms
of religious belief and practice evidence for or against secularisation?
In the past, major world religions established ‘monopolies of belief’ that not only discouraged competition but
actively destroyed it. While this made established religions powerful, it also made them lazy; they took their
customers for granted. Although this is not a problem when the secular order supports religious monopolies, if
societies change and the established order is challenged, religious pluralism develops. Organisations must
compete for ‘customers’ in the religious marketplace if they are to survive. This competition encourages:
•
innovation – religious organisations find new ways to attract customers
•
invigoration – organisations must listen and respond to what customers want, otherwise they will shop
elsewhere
•
reinvigoration – organisations continually reinvent both themselves and their services to ‘keep ahead of the
competition’.
Established religions are slow to change in the face of increased competition. As their congregations decline,
they focus on retaining their monopoly position rather than finding ways to attract new followers. On one level,
therefore, anti-secularisation theorists accept that a form of secularisation occurs among established religions
as they lose members, attendance at services declines and their influence over secular matters declines.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
In what ways do religions try to attract people in similar ways to how businesses and shops attract
customers?
However, just because established religions secularise, this does not mean the decline of religion itself. Rather,
religion evolves in new, dynamic, forms, such as NRMs and NAMs that compete for believers with established
religions. Their success is measured in terms of their ability to offer alternative forms of religious beliefs and
ways to express those beliefs.
The anti-secularisation argument, therefore, is that the nature and shape of religious organisations has
changed. Rather than evidence of overall decline, they see this as merely evidence of different forms of belief
and practice that are harder to measure but which still count as religious forms.
Debates about whether religion has lost its social significance
Wilson (1966) argued that an important feature of modernity is how religion is increasingly marginalised as a
social force. While religion does not disappear entirely, he suggests that it retreats from the public to the private
sphere and that this results in a decline in religion’s power and influence over people’s perceptions of the world.
This results from two main processes:
1 Modern religions have come under increasing ideological attack from scientific rationalism, which provides
ways of explaining the natural and social worlds that are more plausible than religious explanations, such as:
•
•
theories of evolution
the ‘big bang’ theory of the creation of the universe.
The result of such challenges is a gradual retreat into mysticism and magic on the part of religious
organisations that further loosens their influence on secular affairs.
2 The promise of modernity to create a more rational, understandable and equal set of social relationships has
not come to pass and this has left large numbers of people feeling confused and betrayed. A variety of sects,
cults and NRMs have filled this ideological space in increasingly cynical and exploitative ways. Wilson (1966)
argued that they involve the manipulation of psychologically fragile personalities who are promised the
respect, status and material rewards denied to them in modern societies through ‘divine intervention’ and
commitment to the teachings of influential leaders.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.10: Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged religious explanations of human origins and
intensified the clash between science and faith.
This fragmentation of religious beliefs, practices and organisations is evidence of religious decline rather than
renewal. Wilson argued that newer religions appeal to ‘the naive, the gullible, the oppressed’ in ways that ‘do
not serve society. They are indeed almost irrelevant to it, since their sources of inspiration are exotic, esoteric,
subjective and subterranean.’ This means that religion has become increasingly marginalised and irrelevant in
modern societies.
In this situation, religious organisations decline, evidenced by:
•
fewer people overtly engaging in religious practices
•
more people defining themselves as atheists or agnostics
•
a general loss of secular political influence.
Religions also adapt to the changing position and re-interpret their role and function to carve out a new place in
society. This can include conservative reactions that result in various forms of religious fundamentalism as
people struggle to come to terms with the demands of change. This process involves a reinvention of religion as
a political and ideological force in both single societies, such as the ‘Religious Right’ in the USA, and across the
globe with the rise of Islamic fundamentalist movements.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
For many people, religion continues to provide what Berger calls a ‘universe of meaning’. Although Berger is
usually seen as an interpretivist, this view is similar to the functionalist view, because it sees religion as helping
people make sense of the world and give their lives a sense of purpose, and so contributes to social stability.
Berger describes religion as a ‘sacred canopy’, a sort of protective shield over people, offering explanations for
extraordinary events, tragedies and deaths, and providing answers to questions about the meaning of life.
Religion shelters people them from the uncertainties of life and the dangers of death and meaninglessness, and
can make it seem as if existence has a purpose. However, science and logic now provide answers for many
people, and have begun to replace religion and superstitions. There is growing secularisation, religious
pluralism and fragmentation of beliefs in a globalised and postmodern world. Religion today, according to
Berger, is losing its ability to provide a sacred canopy.
Two theories, religious market theory and existential security theory, have tried to explain why religious
participation is declining in some countries but remains strong or is even growing in others.
Religious market theory is based on rational choice. That is, it sees religious organisations as being like
businesses trying to market a product, with people choosing whether or not to ‘buy’ the product. Stark and
Bainbridge (1996) suggested that when people make these choices they weigh up costs and benefits. Costs
could be how much commitment, money and time may be involved in joining a religious organisation. Benefits
could be reduced stress, the promise of an afterlife and a supportive network of co-religionists. At any one time
there will be a range of religious organisations available with different costs and benefits to different consumers,
and these organisations will adapt their products to try to appeal to more people. Where there is religious
pluralism (a wide range of beliefs available to consumers), Stark and Bainbridge argued, religious participation
will be high, because most people will be able to find a religion that suits them. This is the case in the USA, with
no state religion and a wide range of Christian and other organisations, all trying to attract people from across
social classes, ethnic groups and regions. In the UK, on the other hand, there is a state church, the Church of
England, and a more limited choice, so that there are lower levels of religious participation. This approach has
been criticised for being Christocentric – that is, it focuses on Christianity, making little reference to nonChristian religions or to non-Western societies. Even here, the evidence is not convincing – there are Christian
societies, such as Poland, with one dominant church (the Roman Catholic Church) and a limited range of
alternatives, yet with high religious participation.
Existential security theory suggests that religious participation is instead related to the extent to which people
feel safe and confident about their survival. This is based on the functionalist idea that religion can provide a
sense of security and predictability. Norris and Ingelhart (2011) suggested that this explained the low levels of
religious participation in most advanced industrial societies. Such societies provide high levels of existential
security because the majority of the population are reasonably wealthy (prosperous) and have a sense of wellbeing. These societies help and support people through illness, disability, old age and poverty. The countries
that are best at doing this, such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark, are the most secular. In these societies, it is
the poorest and most at risk who are most likely to be religious. On the other hand, there are high levels of
religious participation in countries where people face threats such as wars and natural disasters, and where
health care, education and social security are low. Here, religions can claim to provide reassurance. High levels
of existential insecurity lead to high levels of religious participation.
A problem with this theory is that while it seems to fit many countries, the USA seems to be an exception. The
USA is one of the world’s most prosperous nations, yet has high levels of religious participation. Advocates of
the theory suggest that the USA is exceptional also in the extent of inequalities, high levels of poverty and weak
welfare and health care systems, and that this creates high levels of existential insecurity for some groups, in
turn leading to higher religious participation.
THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST
How would you describe the levels of existential security in your country? How might this affect
religiosity?
A further argument about religion losing its social significance is that religion has been transformed by becoming
trivialised and made weaker; this is sometimes referred to as Disneyisation (or, sometimes, Disneyfication).
The term has been applied to society as a whole and to other areas of society as well as religion. It refers to
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
society becoming more and more like a Walt Disney Corporation theme park, in which something real loses its
original character and is replaced by a simpler, sanitised form which leaves out anything negative or difficult to
grasp. In the case of religion, religion’s institutional forms lose their significance, and religion becomes closely
linked to merchandising and consumerism. Religion becomes ‘dumbed down’. In his book Jesus in Disneyland,
the postmodernist Lyon gives as an example of the Disneyisation of religion the Harvest Day Crusade held at
Disneyland in California, in which Christians took over Disneyland, with Christian acts and performers replacing
the rides and characters. This trivialising of religion blends it with consumerism and popular culture, removes
potentially disturbing elements and helps religion to adapt to a postmodern world.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Peter Berger (1929–2017)
Berger was born in Austria and moved to the USA as a teenager. He wrote about the sociology of knowledge and (with Thomas
Luckmann) the social construction of reality as well as about religion. He was influenced strongly by the work of Max Weber. He
wrote a popular introduction to sociology, Invitation to Sociology: a Humanistic Perspective. He argued against the secularisation
thesis, suggesting that Europe, where religion has declined, is exceptional. In the United States, despite its Western culture, religion
has remained strong. Several phrases he coined have become well known in the sociology of religion: the sacred canopy, the
homeless mind and the idea of desecularisation.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE
Faith Survey: Christianity in the UK
Research by the Brierley Consultancy
Faith Survey - Exploring Faith with Surveys
This longitudinal research provides evidence of the extent of secularisation in the UK. The Faith Survey website brings together
data from a range of research projects such as the Census, the British Social Attitudes Survey and opinion polling to give a more
accurate picture of Christianity in the UK. Here are some findings:
•
UK Church membership has declined from 10.6 million in 1930 to 5.5 million in 2010, or as a percentage
of the population; from about 30% to 11.2%.
•
By 2013, this had declined further to 5.4 million (10.3%). If current trends continue, membership will fall
to 8.4% of the population by 2025.
•
In England, membership is forecast to decline to 2.53 million (4.3% of the population) by 2025.
•
Church attendance has declined from 6 484 300 to 3 081 500 (equivalent to a decline from 11.8% to
5.0% of the population).
•
A 2014 survey of approximately 64 000 people in 65 countries revealed the UK to be one of the world’s
most irreligious countries, with only 30% of those surveyed identifying as ‘religious’. In contrast, 13%
said they were convinced atheists and 53% of those surveyed said they were not religious.
Question: What similarities and differences in religion are there between your country and the UK?
ACTIVITY 7.11
Divide into two groups (four if the class is large). Each group should develop ideas and evidence about one of the following:
1 evidence for/indicators of a decline in significance of religion
2 evidence for/indicators of the continued significance of religion.
Take it in turns to state and discuss the evidence you have identified to the rest of the class.
Once the discussion is complete, group the different ideas into three categories, those dealing with:
•
institutions
•
practices
•
beliefs.
What conclusions can be drawn from the evidence about secularisation?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Reflection: How did your group gather its evidence? Did other groups have evidence you didn’t expect or sources you didn’t
use? Think about how you could improve how your team approached this task and what you could do differently next time. Think
also about your role in the group and where you might be able to improve.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
7.5 Gender, feminism and religion
Feminist perspectives on religion and explanations for patriarchy and gender
inequality in religion
Walter and Davie’s (1998) observation that ‘in western societies influenced by Christianity, women are more
religious than men on virtually every measure’ is a useful starting point for any examination of the relationship
between gender and religiosity. O’Beirne (2004), for example, found that across the major UK religions:
ACTIVITY 7.12
Thinking of any religion that you know, assess the involvement of females compared to males, for example, in stories and images
in sacred texts, as leaders and priests, as worshippers.
What can you conclude about gender differences in your chosen case?
•
More women (83%) than men (74%) claimed some form of affiliation to a religious organisation such as a
church or denomination.
•
This pattern was maintained across non-traditional religions such as spiritualism and Wicca (both nearly
70% female).
In the USA, the Pew Research Center (2009) found a similar distribution:
•
86% of women claimed a religious affiliation.
•
79% of men claimed a religious affiliation.
This pattern was maintained across a range of religious organisations, from established churches and
denominations to NRMs and NAMs.
As with social class, the reliability and validity of data about religious beliefs is often questionable. However,
the data that exists suggests that women believe more strongly in things such as the existence of a god.
Women are also more likely to pray by themselves and believe more in concepts such as life after death and
heaven.
In terms of participation, women generally have greater involvement in religious activities, such as attendance
at services and clubs. This difference is even clearer among men and women aged between 21 and 40.
Although the reverse was true for Muslims, this may reflect gender norms (Muslim women are not allowed to
participate independently of men in religious activities), rather than any significant difference in religiosity.
This pattern of attendance and participation is not restricted to the UK and Western Europe. Among
Americans, the Pew Research Center (2009) found women were more likely to attend a church service, pray
daily, say that religion is important in their lives and have a certain belief in a personal god.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.11: Are women more religious than men?
Traditional feminist explanations for greater levels of female religiosity focus on the concept of gender
socialisation. This examines how the behaviour of cultural groups is conditioned by the values and norms of
different group members. In this respect, the idea that men and women develop different cultural identities has
been used to explain gender differences in participation in ways related to patriarchy.
It has been claimed that Christianity promotes concepts of love and care that are more attractive to
nonworking women whose role is mainly one of childcare. They translate their general family role into religious
behaviour.
Daly (1968) argued that patriarchal forms of religion have an attraction in terms of offering:
•
order, where religious beliefs and institutions provide certainties in an increasingly ‘senseless and
confusing world’
•
rules that clearly identify the limits of acceptable behaviour.
As long as both men and women ‘understand, know and accept’ their place in this moral order, religions also
provide women with:
•
shelter – a ‘home and haven’ in a male-dominated world
•
safety in a threatening world
•
belonging, in the sense of finding personal identity through group membership.
Daly (1973) argued that these benefits come at a price for women in terms of submission to patriarchal
control. Religions are male-dominated, hierarchical institutions founded on patriarchal assumptions that are
difficult to challenge. This applies to traditional religions, such as Islam and Christianity, where women are
rarely found in positions of power and influence. It also applies to NRMs, where men hold most of the powerful
positions.
Moves towards gender equality in religious organisations and evidence that
religious practices may benefit women
Some forms of feminism suggest that we can see female participation in religious organisations as challenging
the institution from within. Involvement should not be considered in terms of simple oppositions such as
participation/non-participation or patriarchal/non-patriarchal. Rather, we should look at how both men and
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
women are involved in changing the nature of religious faith and practice. This is the idea that various forms of
feminist theology, such as analysis of patriarchal practices and images, are promoting changes within
traditional religions in two ways:
1 Spaces within religions, in the sense that women carve out areas of religious belief and activity that relate
specifically to female interests and concerns.
2 Ideologies supporting female authority within religious movements. Some forms of ecofeminism, for
example, link themes such as environmentalist politics, spirituality and animal rights to a belief or argument
that women are more connected to and protective of the natural world than men. Some NRMs are based
on worship of female deities and explore how these female-affirming beliefs, symbols, and rituals may be
empowering to women.
While female-headed (matriarchal) or matrifocal religious movements are very small in number, of more
immediate significance is a process Swatos (1998) called the ‘feminisation of religions’. This is the idea that
religions in Western Europe and the USA are undergoing a change in which feminised ideas about the deity
and about religion come to be more important. God is seen as loving and consoling rather than as
authoritarian and judgemental. Similarly, members of the clergy are seen as caring and supporting their
congregations rather than as reminding them of duties and threatening them with punishment for sins. In
some forms of Christianity, this has been accompanied by the opening up of some levels in the religious
hierarchies to women, so that there are now for example some women priests. In 1994, 32 women became
the first to be ordained as priests in the Church of England, and there are now also several female bishops.
However, women in religious organisations find their paths to higher positions blocked by what has been
called the stained glass ceiling. This is similar to the glass ceiling that women encounter in other areas of
work. Women find it very difficult or impossible to move beyond certain levels in religious hierarchies, even
when in theory these are open to them. Gender separation, and discrimination by the men in the higher
positions, prevents women from rising higher.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
7.6 Religion and postmodernity
There is no single, definite, modernist view of religion, and the same is true of postmodernism, which covers a
range of viewpoints that are frequently difficult to group into a clear and unified perspective. Taylor (1987), for
example, observes that postmodernist approaches to religion include arguments that:
•
‘God is dead’ and religion is disappearing
•
we are witnessing a ‘return of traditional faith’ (resacralisation)
•
religion evolves and takes new forms.
It is difficult to reconcile these views under the banner of a postmodern perspective, but we can identify a range
of general concepts that can be applied to religion in postmodernity.
Postmodernists argue that in the modern period knowledge about the world was organised around a series of
competing metanarratives: all-encompassing stories that explain ‘everything about something’ or ‘everything
about everything’. Religious metanarratives represent a general framework around which individual beliefs,
practices and experiences are ordered. They also involve a claim to exclusive truth – the narratives they
promote are not claimed to be simply true, they are claimed to be the only form of truth.
In postmodernity, however, people no longer tend to believe in metanarratives, in the idea that a single set of
beliefs has or can sustain the claim to a monopoly of truth. This applies to religious metanarratives, but also, for
example, to political ones. This increasing doubt about religious metanarratives suggests two things:
1 A decline in the ability of religion to exert significant power and control over people’s lives in the way it did in
the past.
2 A gradual retreat into ‘local narratives’ – small stories about people’s personal situations and circumstances
– while religion loses power and influence in secular society, it continues to influence individual identities.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.12: Do religions in postmodernity have greater personal than social significance?
Postmodernity involves greater choice and more opportunities, meanings and behaviours. Religious symbols
lose much of their original meaning and power as they are adopted into the everyday (profane) world of fashion
and display. Baudrillard (1998) explains that these symbols become simulacra: things that simulate the meaning
of something that may once have had a real meaning. Televised religious services, for example, give the
appearance of participation in a real religious service. The two experiences are equally real but qualitatively
different. For Baudrillard, religious simulacra give the appearance of religiosity, but they actually reduce the
meaning and substance of religion. Religion, in this respect, no longer holds a central place in people’s
everyday life or identity. Instead, religious symbols and beliefs are merely ornaments to someone’s identity.
New forms of religious belief develop not as metanarrative but as part of individual narratives. Religion in
postmodernity, therefore, is reduced to a personal identity statement which can be discarded at any time.
Postmodernism reflects and encourages a contradictory set of beliefs about the significance of religious ideas,
practices and organisations in both the past and the present. At one and the same time there is religious:
•
decline, as organised religions lose their ability to control and influence events in the secular world.
•
development, as religious beliefs and practices shift and change. (This may reflect basic beliefs in
‘supernatural phenomena’, but these beliefs are not expressed in the form of organised religious services. In
this respect, religions are constantly reinvented to reflect how people choose and discard different forms of
personal identity.)
Religion becomes less important in terms of practice (for example, fewer people attend services) and yet more
important as a source of personal and social identity.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Discussions about whether there has been a growth in privatised religion
In the West, religion used to play an important role in the public sphere. Religion was part of social and political
life; people worshipped publicly and were seen and known to be religious. As religion has retreated from this
public role, with the rise, for example, of secular politics, the demands of economic globalisation and cultural
and ethnic diversity, it has been suggested that religion becomes confined to the private sphere of home and
family. In Western Europe, Christianity has slowly retreated from the public sphere of religious practice into the
private sphere of religious belief. While some people still attend church services, the religious institutions
understand that, for the majority, the role and function of organised religion has changed. This group no longer
needs religion to perform functions like:
•
communality – bringing people physically together
•
social solidarity – the idea that people have things in common binding them together
•
identity – the idea that we become ‘centred’ or secure in the knowledge of ‘who we are’ through communal
religious practices.
Although people still require these things, they are increasingly satisfied by other institutions and activities, from
the media, through shopping, to sport. Thus, as the Christian church loses its public functions, attendance and
practice also decline, but religion does not necessarily disappear from people’s lives but becomes confined to
the private sphere. This is referred to as the privatisation of religion Davie (2001), however, argues that
religious practice often remains important even in situations where religiosity has become confined to the private
sphere. People still feel the need to make public affirmations, such as weddings and funerals, because these
are important life events that require both private and public acknowledgement.
Putnam (2000) argues that modern societies have seen a gradual withdrawal of public participation in all areas
of society, from trade unions and political parties to more local community-based groups and clubs. This
suggests that the secularisation of participation is part of a general cultural transition, not one restricted to
religious organisations. A decline in religious participation is, therefore, part of a general ‘process of withdrawal
from the public sphere’ in postmodern societies.
Bruce suggests that the situation is different for minority ethnicities. In the UK, these groups have moved from a
situation in which their religion was dominant and widespread to an environment in which they form a small
minority whose religiosity marks them as different from the ethnic majority and the wider society they live in.
Recent immigrant groups especially find themselves in a society that is at best indifferent and at worst hostile. In
such a situation, it is not surprising that Pakistani minorities, for example, look to familiar traditions, customs,
values and norms, and that their religion has not been privatised and has even become more visible, through,
for example, the construction of new mosques. Religion becomes a form of cultural defence.
KEY SOCIOLOGIST
Grace Davie, born 1946
Grace Davie recently retired, having been Professor of Sociology at the University of Exeter in the UK. She researched Protestantism
in France for her PhD and then took a break from academic work while her children were young. Her best-known work is probably
Religion in Britain, published in 1994 with the sub-title Believing Without Belonging, which referred to how many people in the UK
said they were religious or believed in God, but did not belong to or attend places of worship. Twenty years later, Davie published
another book with the same title but a different subtitle, A Persistent Paradox. This refers to how Britain had become even more
secular since the first book, yet religion had become more talked about in public life. She argues that sociology struggles to explain
the significance of religion because it uses theories and concepts developed in Europe, which has secularised to a far greater extent
than most of the rest of the world.
The concept of spiritual shopping and its contribution to understanding
religiosity today
A feature of beliefs in postmodernity is that people increasingly ‘shop around’, looking for ideas and practices
that suit them as individuals, and often combining parts of different sets of beliefs so that they have, in effect,
their own individual beliefs. This is often described using the metaphor of a supermarket; people choose from
what is available. This is spiritual shopping which involves the idea that rather than being members or
believers, people are consumers who ‘shop for spirituality’. Cowan argues that this search for personal salvation
is expressed through various individual preoccupations and concerns:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
peace of mind
•
positive self-image
•
physical health
•
personal empowerment
•
enlightenment/insight.
This type of religious consumerism is, for Fraser (2005), one that ‘offers a language for the divine that
dispenses with all the off-putting paraphernalia of priests and church; it’s about not believing in anything too
specific, other than some nebulous sense of otherness or presence. It offers God without dogma’. NAMs
(discussed below) in particular can have the appearance of ‘consumerist movements’, loose collections of
individuals engaging in spiritual shopping, whose most cohesive feature is the desire to buy into a particular
belief system but who do not meet and worship together as was the case for religions in the past.
Debates about whether resacralisation is a feature of postmodernity
Some postmodernists argue that recent religious changes are evidence not of desacralisation but of a
resacralisation of society – people are becoming more religious and spiritual:
•
In the past, people had no choice but to ‘be religious’. While this meant there were a lot of apparently
religious people, we do not know very much about their actual religious commitment. Did they attend church
services because they were forced into attending?
•
People now choose their religion and by so doing they are actually showing greater commitment. Fewer,
more committed, believers, it is argued, demonstrates resacralisation.
Those who support the idea of resacralisation argue that it explains things such as the growth of Christian and
Islamic fundamentalist religious movements, as well as the fact that in many countries around the world
religious beliefs and practices are, at worst, not declining and, at best, flourishing. In the developed world, there
have also been signs of a revival of a range of ideas collectively referred to as New Age religion. Against this,
however, for the UK and Europe, evidence of any revival of religion is about minority ethnic groups and not the
majority.
Yip (2002) summarises the contradictory nature of a secularisation debate as one that sees religion ‘in a
constant state of transformation (and persistence)’. In other words, evidence for or against secularisation
depends more on how religion and religiosity is defined than on any real sense of either decline or
resacralisation:
•
Pro-secularisation theory takes a ‘top-down’ approach, with modern societies being prone to secularisation.
Institutions become secularised, then organisational practices and, eventually, individual beliefs – although
this last one often appears optional.
•
Anti-secularisation theory reverses this process, with individuals being prone to religion. Religion is a cultural
universal that serves a human need. While organisational and practical features may change, people remain
essentially religious.
Phillips (2004) argues that secularisation should be reconceptualised around differentiation. Institutions once
influenced or controlled by religious organisations and ideas become secularised, and a separation occurs
between religious and non-religious institutions. The extent of secularising tendencies is, however, limited to
institutions and practices.
The significance of new religious movements (NRMs) and New Age ideas for
understanding the meaning and significance of religion today
New Religious Movements (NRMs)
The term ‘new religious movements’ (NRMs) describes movements that developed in the mid-20th century.
Earlier studies distinguished between sects and cults; recent examples of both of these can be seen as different
types of new religious movements. Chryssides (2000) suggests that NRMs involve:
•
answering fundamental questions about life and death
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
rites of passage that mark ‘key life events’
•
life-coping strategies addressing ‘problems of existence’ rather than simply personal life issues, such as how
to be more successful in business
•
ethical codes that set out how life should be lived.
In other words, for a movement to be classified as an NRM it must be substantively rather than functionally
religious.
NRMs have a range of characteristics. Many recruits are first-generation converts, and these ‘early adopters’
tend to be highly committed and enthusiastic. Many of them will actively try to convert other people.
Recent (post-1970) NRMs attract more young, middle-class recruits than other religious organisations, partly
because the young are more likely to be targeted for recruitment and partly because they are more open to new
experiences. Young converts are attracted by the religious and personal certainties offered by NRMs. These
groups promote a particular form of ‘truth’ that is less open to questioning by converts than the ‘truths’ promoted
by churches and denominations.
This combination gives many NRMs the characteristics of a total institution – a place where people are cut off
from the wider society, and lead an enclosed, formally administered life so that they have little freedom, for
example about what to do and when. A good example is prison. This idea has led some to argue that many
NRMs use brainwashing techniques to recruit and keep members. Singer et al. (1996), for example, claimed
that NRMs ‘have used tactics of coercive mind control to negatively impact an estimated 20 million victims [in
America]. Worldwide figures are even greater’.
Others, however, note that most people join NRMs voluntarily. Converts consciously choose to become part of a
total institution because, Zimbardo suggests, such institutions offer qualities that many people feel are lacking in
modern societies: ‘Imagine being part of a group in which you will find instant friendship, a caring family, respect
for your contributions, an identity, safety, security, simplicity, and an organized daily agenda. You will learn new
skills, have a respected position, gain personal insight, improve your personality and intelligence. There is no
crime or violence and your healthy lifestyle means there is no illness. Who would fall for such appeals? Most of
us, if they were made by someone we trusted, in a setting that was familiar, and especially if we had unfulfilled
needs’.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Figure 7.13: An army barracks: armies are non-religious total institutions. Why are some people
attracted to total institutions?
The nature of total institutions does, however, encourage converts to make a sharp distinction between the
movement’s members and non-members/unbelievers. This separation frequently leads to suspicion and conflict
between NRMs, secular society and other religious organisations. Hostility towards non-members can, however,
be an important way for an NRM to establish a clear identity and then to maintain it by demonising the
competition.
Wallis (1984) explained the emergence of NRMs in terms of what Weber described as the process of
rationalisation in modern industrial societies. Through rationalisation, life has become organised in terms of
instrumental considerations: the concern for technical efficiency; maximisation of calculability and predictability;
and reduction of nature to human purposes. Wallis suggested that the disenchantment that results from living in
such a routine and predictable world leads many, particularly the young, to search for meaning to an otherwise
pointless existence.
Categorising NRMs can be difficult, but Wallis suggested that they can be classified into three broad types,
based on their attitude towards and relationship with the ‘outside world’ (see Table 7.2).
ACTIVITY 7.13
Design a set of posters that identify different types of NRM.
Add to the poster named examples of religious organisations you know of. Are any difficult to classify?
Reflection: Look at other students' posters and decide if you agree or disagree with their classifications. Think about why you
agree or disagree – is some of it linked to your personality traits?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
New Age Movements (NAMs) represent new ways of ‘doing religion’ and ‘being religious’, with the focus on
finding solutions to individual and social problems through personal transformations; the individual changes their
life in some way. NAMs cover a variety of beliefs and practices that are rarely, if ever, organised into a stable
‘community of believers’. They include astrology, Feng Shui, meditation, reincarnation, crystal healing, extraterrestrials and alien abductions, witchcraft and many more. Other than a general belief in personal
transformation, NAMs have very few features in common. Their organisational diversity makes it difficult to
identify or sustain a consistent world view. The choice on offer to these spiritual shoppers encourages a ‘pickand-mix’ approach to problem-solving. People choose the elements that appeal to them from different NAMs or
other religions (for example, meditation, channelling or ear-candling) and mix them to create something new and
personal. This consumer experience is one notable feature of New Age religion. A person simply finds what they
think is right for them, without questioning the rationality of the experience. Such consumers also discard
various ideas when they no longer suit them.
ACTIVITY 7.14
There are many types of New Age beliefs and they vary between societies. Draw up a list of the ones you consider to be most
common in your society. Visit the websites of any groups in your country that have these beliefs.
To what extent are these religious? For example, do they involve belief in a deity?
Type
Characteristics
World rejecting
This type is hostile to wider society and often exercises high levels of control over
members, such as not allowing contact with non-members and enforcing changes in
appearance and lifestyle. They often involve uncritical obedience to a charismatic
leader. Some are controversial and have been accused of ‘brain-washing’ their
members. Examples: Heaven’s Gate, the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON)
World
accommodating
These are usually offshoots of mainstream religions that have reacted against perceived
secularisation from within by trying to revive a spirituality they believe has been lost.
Members conform to mainstream society. Examples: Neo-Pentecostalism; the NeoCharismatic movement
World affirming
Not conventionally religious, not usually having buildings, services or rituals. They claim
to be able to unlock human potential, enabling members to achieve greater success
within mainstream society. Examples: Church of Scientology, Transcendental Meditation
Table 7.2 Types of NRM – Source: Wallis (1984)
The researchers in the Kendal Project referred to these movements and beliefs as the holistic milieu,
differentiating this from the congregational domain of conventional religions.
WHAT’S THE EVIDENCE
The Kendal Project
The findings of this project are in a number of books and articles. The leaders of the project were Paul Heelas and Linda
Woodhead. They studied the town of Kendal in the UK looking at both conventional and unconventional forms of religious
behaviour:
•
recording church attendance
•
interviewing congregations
•
observing and interviewing New Age spiritual practitioners of things such as t’ai chi, reflexology and TM.
The goal was to build as full a picture as possible of ‘religious activity’, its continuities and changes, across
a number of spiritual domains. This included:
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
counting everyone who attended one of Kendal’s 23 churches on a single Sunday
•
counting everyone who participated in alternative forms of spiritual behaviour – a task made more
difficult because this behaviour does not conform to regular weekly or monthly cycles.
While the Kendal Project shows that it is possible to accurately measure various dimensions of religiosity
across different kinds of spiritual behaviour, it also demonstrates some of the difficulties and limitations:
•
A study of one small (28 000 people) town in one small area of one country took two years to complete.
•
The study only looked at Christian churches (no other major religions were practised in the town).
•
Defining ‘alternative spiritualities’ involves grouping a variety of practices, from Wicca through TM to
yoga, that may have very different spiritual significance for their practitioners. For example, yoga or t’ai
chi could be seen as a lifestyle, rather than a spiritual practice.
Figure 7.14: Question: Kendal Parish Church. What does the Kendal Project tell you about
secularisation?
ACTIVITY 7.15
Research the claim that some forms of religious belief and practice that are bound up with consumption have meaning in terms of
fashion and lifestyle. In particular, look for examples of:
•
‘religious lifestyle shopping’
•
religious symbols used as fashion items to enhance/adorn a particular lifestyle.
How does the combination of religious beliefs and individual lifestyle choices reflect postmodern ideas about the role of religion in
contemporary societies?
Reflection: Look back over your research. Did you look at a variety of sources? Are there any gaps that you have filled with
assumptions rather than evidence? How have these affected your answers? Try to replace any assumptions you've made with
evidence and see if your answer is affected.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Different explanations for the growth in fundamentalist religions referring to
concepts such as cultural defence, cultural transition, disengagement,
marginality and religious revival
Fundamentalist religions
Postmodernity is a time of constant change and uncertainty – economic, political and cultural reflected in
notions of personal and social identity – and as such it embodies a range of contradictory processes. One
reaction to experiencing identity confusion is to turn inwards in search for private forms of religious experience.
Another response is to reverse this process, to reach outward, to de-privatised forms that seek to impose a
sense of certainty on both believers and non-believers alike:
•
NAMs represent a move towards privatised forms of religious belief – religion as something practised in the
private rather than the public sphere.
•
Fundamentalism represents an opposing process; religion is practised in the public sphere in ways that
seek the ‘remoralisation’ of both self and society.
For Bauman (1997), fundamentalism referred to forms of belief and organisation that advocate a strict
observance of the ‘fundamental beliefs’ of a religion, whether of the Christian variety in the USA or the Islamic
variety in Iran. Fundamentalist religions draw their strength from the ability to provide certainties in an uncertain
world. This may be a belief in the Christian principles laid down in the Old Testament, such as an ‘eye for an
eye’, or it may be the clear specification of how men and women should dress and behave in Islam.
Religious fundamentalism develops to remove risk in an uncertain world by removing the choices that create
uncertainty. Fundamentalism is based on the idea that giving individuals clear moral guidelines, drawn from
religious texts, removes both the fear and the consequences of taking risks. In this respect, Sahgal and YuvalDavis (1992) suggested three common features of all fundamentalist religions:
1 They claim their version of religion ‘to be the only true one’; all other forms are, therefore, heretical and must
be opposed.
2 The movement feels threatened by alternative secular and religious views of the world. Christian
fundamentalism, for example, sees both a lack of belief in God (atheism) and Islam as enemies.
3 They exercise control over both the individual and society across three main areas:
• ideological: what members believe
•
internal: how members behave
•
external: how everyone in society should behave.
Sahgal and Yuval-Davis saw fundamentalist movements as ‘basically political movements which have a
religious imperative and seek in various ways to harness modern state and media powers to the service of their
gospel’. In other words, we should see religious fundamentalism as a set of political ideas and practices that use
religion as a vehicle to:
•
halt ‘undesirable’ political and ideological changes
•
change society in ways that suit the particular ideological beliefs of the movement.
Fundamentalist religions are, therefore, ‘modern political movements that use religion as a basis for their
attempt to win or consolidate power and extend social control’.
The contemporary development of fundamentalist religious movements – Christian, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist
– can be explained in terms of globalisation. Global economic and cultural processes expose people to different
views and belief systems. This leads to notions of moral relativism – nothing is intrinsically good and nothing
wholly bad. Without moral certainties, many people see the world as a more frightening and dangerous place,
and they feel threatened and alone. In this situation, fundamentalism provides moral certainties and rules of
behaviour, imposing a sense of order and stability on a world that, to some, has become lacking in order,
unstable and confusing. They also provide a collective identity based on a set of fundamental and unchanging
moral certainties shared by believers and imposed on non-believers. There is a particular appeal to groups that
are marginalised, that is, which are on the fringes of society, with fewer resources and rights than other groups.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The growth of fundamentalism within different world religions can be seen as a religious revival, a development
that seems to go against secularisation. Some forms of fundamentalism have attracted a great deal of attention
with perceived links to violence and terrorism. When fundamentalism is defined in these terms the numbers
involved are probably very small, but larger numbers of people have some fundamentalist beliefs, such as, for
some Christians, accepting the biblical account of creation in six days as literally true.
Religious practices are also a source of protection – a cultural defence, both physical and psychological, in a
challenging world. Where a group feels that their culture, language and traditions are under threat – for
example, by the spread of Western or American culture and values – greater religiosity can be a defence. For
example, the Iranian Revolution of 1979 which led to Islamic rule was a reaction against the Shah’s attempts to
bring in Western culture, and against Western exploitation of Iran. The existing religion played the role of cultural
defence because the great majority of Iranians shared a religion.
For Bruce (1988), the rise of the New Christian Right in the southern states of the USA is another example of
cultural defence, although he links it more with regionalism than with any notion of ethnicity. Bruce explains the
appeal of the New Christian Right as a reaction of the southern states to the tolerant era of the 1960s and
1970s, which seemed to threaten the more conservative values of the white majority in the deep south.
Cultural transition
Religion can also be a source of identity, self-esteem and support during periods of cultural transition, for
example when migrant groups are adapting to a new environment. For example, immigrant groups in the USA
found that their churches offered a supportive group, with people who spoke their language and shared ties to a
homeland. This helped with the transition to life in a new society, but over time became less necessary and is
likely to become less important in people’s lives.
KEY CONCEPT - SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
What role has religion played in the transition from traditional to modern societies, and from modernity to postmodernity?
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Summary
You should know:
Religion and society
■ There are a number of ways of defining religion.
■ Religion is difficult to measure.
■ Religiosity varies by social group:
■ between different social classes
■ between males and females
■ between different ethnic groups
■ between different age groups.
■ Religious views of the world are challenged by other belief systems, including science and rationality.
Religion and social order
■ Functionalists see religion in terms of its contribution to social order and social solidarity.
■ Marxists see religion as a way in which the exploitation of the working class in a capitalist system is
legitimised.
■ Both these perspectives have limitations and can be criticised.
Religion as a source of social change
■ Weber argued for the importance of religion in bringing about social change through the example of
the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.
■ This view has been criticised and alternative explanations put forward.
■ Liberation theology is an example of religion acting as a vehicle for social change.
■ Religious movements, such as the Evangelical movement in the USA and the Ayatollahs in the Iranian
Revolution, can influence political debates and struggles.
The secularisation debate
■ Some societies are experiencing secularisation, the decline of religion.
■ Evidence for secularisation includes declines in membership, attendance and claims to be religious.
■ Rationalisation may be leading to a decline in belief.
■ Religion may be losing its social significance.
Gender, feminism and religion
■ Feminists view religion in terms of gender.
■ Patriarchy and gender inequalities exist in religions.
■ There have been moves towards gender equality in some religious organisations, and there is some
evidence that religious practices may benefit women.
Religion and post modernity
■ It has been argued that in postmodernity there has been a growth in privatised religion.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
■ The postmodernist concept of spiritual shopping contributes to understanding religiosity today.
■ Resacralisation may be a feature of postmodernity.
■ New Religious Movements and New Age ideas may be significant for understanding the meaning and
significance of religion today.
■ There are different explanations for the growth of fundamentalist religions.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. References to assessment
and/or assessment preparation are the publisher’s interpretation of the syllabus requirements and may
not fully reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education. Cambridge International
recommends that teachers consider using a range of teaching and learning resources in preparing
learners for assessment, based on their own professional judgement of their students’ needs.
Exam-style questions
All questions on religion are 35-mark essay questions.
1 ‘Religion’s main function is to create social order and solidarity.’ Evaluate this view.
2 ‘Rationalisation is leading to a decline in religious belief.’ Evaluate this view.
3 ‘Religious organisations may discriminate against women but religious practices may benefit
women.’ Evaluate this view.
Sample answer and activity
Question 1
1 ‘Religion’s main function is to create social order and solidarity.’ Evaluate this view. Here is part
of an answer to this question, arguing for the view in the question.
The view that religion’s main function is to create social order and solidarity is put
forward by functionalists. Religion functions to create, promote and maintain the
cultural values that provide the moral basis for social order. Where people share a
religion, this creates a value consensus and a collective conscience, keeping society
stable and giving individuals a sense of belonging. Durkheim’s study of indigenous
Australians showed how in traditional societies ... (1)
…In modern societies, where there is less likely to be a single religion and
secularisation may be taking place, this is harder to achieve so, according to Bellah, a
civil religion may develop. For example, ... (2)
Thus functionalism sees religion as a conservative force promoting harmony. On the
other hand, a problem with this view is that religion can be a disruptive and divisive
influence ... (3)
Point 1: A lot of advice on essay writing suggests that each paragraph should have a structure – a point,
followed by some explanation or development of the point in greater detail, an example, and an
evaluative point that leads into the next paragraph. You won’t always be able to keep to this structure, but
it can be a useful guide. After completing the activity below, you will see that your answer has been
improved by adding detail, an example and some evaluation or criticism.
Point 2: Durkheim’s study is of a traditional society. Questions will usually ask you to focus on modern or
postmodern societies, so keep references to traditional societies brief. Notice here that the answer moves
on straight away to civil religion in modern societies, and that having the comparison with traditional
societies does help to explain religion today.
ACTIVITY 7.16
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
The dotted line (1) indicates where the answer could be strengthened by adding more detail. The dotted line (2) indicates
where an example could have been used.
The dotted line (3) indicates where a point of criticism or evaluation could be made.
Add these missing sentences.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Chapter 8
Preparing for assessment
Revision
The purpose of revision is to ensure that you can retrieve information when it is required. Revision should not
be something you undertake at the last minute; it needs to be an ongoing process throughout your course.
The initial aim is to condense your notes into a revision-friendly format. One way of doing this is to transform
large blocks of text into a more memorable form based on key words/key ideas.
Key words
Key words help with memory recall; they help unlock your knowledge in two ways:
1 by condensing a large amount of information into a single word or short phrase that is easier to remember
2 by opening the door to a more extensive range of knowledge by linking to ideas you have stored but find
difficult to recall.
When reviewing and condensing your notes, look for key words that contain a great deal of related meaning,
such as:
•
Sociological perspectives
•
Concepts
•
Evidence
•
Names
•
Theories.
The key word ‘Marxism’, for example, should unlock a wide range of related knowledge that can be applied to
a question.
Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a word or phrase formed by taking the first letters from a list, for example you could remember
the list of key words in the previous section using the mnemonic SCENT. Remembering a single word helps
you remember key ideas. Mnemonics are a good recall technique because they condense large amounts of
information.
Refreshing your memory
A second goal of revision is to recall the things you have learnt. The more you ‘refresh your memory’, the
easier it is to recall information. The best way to do this is to keep revising throughout your course, to
consolidate understanding by continually reviewing what you have learnt. This means taking the time to
identify and record key words, to help you condense your notes, and reviewing everything you have learnt on
a particular day or week. Treating revision as a continuous process means:
•
integrating revision into your normal workload – doing ‘a little and often’ is easier and more productive than
trying to cram everything into a few shorts days or weeks
•
reducing the risk that something like a minor illness will have a major disruptive impact
•
at the end of the course, you'll already have a good understanding of many parts of it and can concentrate
on what you find harder.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Revision planning
1 Create a revision routine by setting aside time at the end of each week to review your learning and add to
your key word lists.
2 Revise for short periods of no more than one hour, then take a break.
3 Sleep properly during periods of intensive revision. The brain consolidates information when you sleep and
this helps you remember what you have revised.
4 Revise actively; do not just do the same thing over and over again. For example, mix memory tests with
things such as question planning and answering.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Assessment
Assessment involves clear behavioural rules. Understanding these will help you reach your full potential.
There are two key questions to consider, which are described below.
What skills do you need?
Sociology is not just about knowledge, it is about being able to apply the things you know. The skills you need
to be able to demonstrate are:
•
knowledge and understanding
•
interpretation and application
•
analysis and evaluation
Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding involves the ability to do things such as provide clear definitions and use
appropriate sociological ideas. It also means being able to locate practical and theoretical knowledge in a
relevant sociological context. You must, for example, use your knowledge to answer a particular question.
Interpretation and application
Interpretation and application broadly involves the ability to explain what something means. It tests your ability
to use different areas of knowledge to develop and support the point being made in an answer. This could
involve, for example, showing how a particular theory can be used to explain a specific type of behaviour.
Analysis and evaluation
Analysis and evaluation involves making connections between concepts, theories and studies to draw
conclusions based on the arguments and evidence you present. It involves thinking critically about arguments
and evidence.
When writing sociology essays, be careful to not just write pages of descriptive prose. While this may
demonstrate your knowledge and understanding, it will not show that you are able to apply any other skill. You
have to interpret, apply, analyse and evaluate what you know.
How can you demonstrate your skills?
Make sure that you understand which skills you need to demonstrate when answering a question. You can
identify skills through command words.
Instruction
Skills tested
You will be able to:
Describe
Knowledge and understanding;
interpretation and application
Give an accurate account of something in
a way that captures its most important
characteristics. Accurately convey a
meaning or relationship.
Evaluate
Analysis and evaluation
Weigh up the value of something, such as
a concept, theory or study, by considering
its strengths and weaknesses/uses and
limitations. Draw conclusions about that
value based on your assessment.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Instruction
Skills tested
You will be able to:
Explain
Interpretation and application
Clarify something, such as a concept or
theory, by identifying and describing its
basic qualities and then show how and
why these relate to something else.
Give
Knowledge and understanding;
interpretation and application
Correctly state something or show you
understand what something means.
Accurately convey a meaning or
relationship.
We can illustrate the difference between these various instructions by thinking about how each one
encourages you to approach a concept such as primary socialisation in different ways:
•
Describe two ways in which the family is an agency of primary socialisation.
•
Explain the view that the family is the main agency of primary socialisation.
•
Give one argument against this view.
•
Evaluate the importance of the family group in the socialisation process.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Answering questions
You can bring together your skills practice to think about how to answer different types of question. Some
examples of exam-style questions and suggested approaches to answering each question follow. The
examples are taken from topic areas across the whole Coursebook.
1 Describe two ways in which the existence of family structures may benefit capitalism.
You need to identify two ways and ensure that you include a brief explanation of how each way ‘benefits
capitalism’. If you only write about one way, or you identify without explaining, you will not have demonstrated
all the skills you need.
2 Explain one strength and one limitation of unstructured interviews as a research method.
You should explain only one strength and only one limitation. Identify the strength or weakness, explain why
this method (unstructured interviews) has this strength or weakness and explain why it is a strength or
weakness.
3 Explain two ways in which the family may contribute to value consensus.
Your explanation should cover only two points, in depth and using relevant examples drawn from sociological
research. Make sure that you:
•
identify correctly and relevantly
•
explain in relation to the question
•
support with relevant sociological material (for example, by referring to a sociologist or to research
findings)
•
explain how the sociological material supports the point.
4 ‘The family exists more to benefit society rather than individual family members.’ Explain this view.
You will need to:
•
Show good knowledge and understanding of this view.
•
Make two clear, developed points.
•
Use sociological material such as concepts, theories and evidence.
•
Make clear how the sociological material supports the points.
5 ‘Educational achievement is decided mainly by factors within schools.’ Using sociological material, give
two arguments against this view.
You will need to:
•
Give two clear and developed arguments.
•
Use sociological material such as concepts, theories and evidence.
•
Make the material focused and its relevance to the argument clear.
You must not explain the view, or argue in favour of the view, because the question does not ask for this.
6 ‘Religion performs essential functions for both the individual and society.’ Evaluate this view.
You should:
•
Introduce your answer by defining the key terms in the question and explain any assumptions you’re going
to use in the answer.
•
Show good knowledge and understanding of the view.
•
Contain a range of detailed points with good use of concepts and theory/research evidence.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
•
Demonstrate very good interpretation and application of relevant sociological material. The material
selected will be accurately interpreted and consistently applied to the question in a logical and wellinformed way.
•
Demonstrate very good analysis and evaluation. There will be clear and sustained analysis of the view on
which the question is based, with detailed and explicit evaluation.
•
Use a range of contrasting views and/or evidence discussed, demonstrating good understanding of the
complexity of the issues raised by the question.
•
Provide an overall conclusion based on the evidence you have presented.
Planning
Of all the skills needed in sociology, evaluation can be the most difficult. This is because when evaluating your
answers will:
•
be wide-ranging rather than tightly focused
•
involve the use of all the skill domains
•
involve sustained, extended, arguments
•
include arguments for and against the question.
Therefore, it is important to plan carefully, in order to:
•
avoid simple description
•
avoid repetition and confusion
•
demonstrate all your skills
•
answer the question asked.
In this respect, a plan is both vital and useful – and it needs to be:
•
quick and easy
•
evocative – one that ‘jogs your memory’
•
well structured
•
easy to follow and reference as you write.
One way to do this is to use key words, a simple example of which is a ‘for and against’ table we can illustrate
using the question:
Evaluate the view that the main factor influencing educational achievement is the social class background of
the student.
Create a table labelled ‘for’ and ‘against’ and brainstorm any key ideas you have.
For
Against
Material deprivation
IQ
Cultural deprivation
–
Cultural capital
–
Gender and achievement
Gender and achievement
Ethnicity and achievement
Ethnicity and achievement
Interrelationship – class
Interrelationship – gender and ethnicity
Correspondence theory
–
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
For
Against
Teacher labelling
Teacher labelling
The key ideas can then be used as the basis for your essay. This involves asking the kinds of questions
implicit in demonstrating your skills (what, why, how and where) to focus on the question.
Skill
Ask yourself...
Knowledge
What is the key idea I am explaining?
Understanding
How does this knowledge relate to the question?
Interpretation
Why is this idea significant in the context of the question?
Application
Where is the evidence to support the idea?
Analysis
How are the concepts, theories and evidence I am using related
to each other?
Evaluation
What are the strengths and limitations of the material I have
discussed?
and
What conclusions can I draw?
Try writing a paragraph on the key idea of ‘material deprivation’ using the ‘ask yourself’ questions in the table.
This type of simple plan will give you a basic structure and it can be revised as you write. If you suddenly think
of a key idea, just add it to your table to remind you to use it later.
A more detailed planning technique is to construct a spider diagram. While this takes longer to create, it helps
you make important connections between the key ideas in your plan. For example, using ‘material deprivation’
as a key idea you could note:
•
different types of theory (class cultures, subcultures, situational constraints and investment theory)
•
evidence associated with each theory (situational constraints, for example, could be evidenced by Willis’s
Learning to Labour).
Figure 8.1: Try writing about ‘material deprivation’ based on a spider diagram you have created and
the ‘ask yourself’ questions outlined earlier.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
Errors
There are a number of common errors that sociology students make. An awareness of these common errors –
and how to avoid them – can help you to fully demonstrate your skills.
Not answering the question:
The student writes a great deal of information but they lose sight of what the question is asking.
Avoid by continually referring to the question throughout your answer.
Not answering a question according to the instructions:
Errors here include things such as only giving one example when two are required or only giving one side of
an argument when you have been asked to ‘evaluate’ a statement.
Avoid by reading the question carefully, identifying the instruction (identify, describe, explain, assess…) and
making the mental connection with the assessment objectives.
Not using all the required skills in an answer:
This often involves spending too much time describing something, rather than analysing and evaluating.
Instead of simply referring to a study, for example, and explaining why it is significant in the context of the
question, the student describes the study and its findings at great length.
Avoid by understanding how the instructions relate to the required skills. Practise writing well-structured
answers to different types of questions.
Preparation checklist
Do:
Practise answering as many
questions as you can.
The more you practise, the better you become.
Sleep on it.
Memory functions best when activity, such as revision, is followed by sleep.
During sleep, the brain consolidates learning and retention.
Read each question carefully.
Be clear about what each question is asking and how you plan to answer it.
Answer all parts of a question.
If the question has two parts, then each part will need a response.
Spend time planning your
answer to extended questions.
Structure your answer and ensure that you have demonstrated all your
skills.
Review your answers.
By taking a few minutes to read through your answers, you can rectify
mistakes of spelling, punctuation, grammar and content.
Present your answers clearly
and neatly.
Only use black or blue ink. Punctuate properly and avoid abbreviations.
Be physically prepared.
Make sure that you have eaten well and are hydrated. Both these things
will help you to concentrate as best as you can.
Don't:
Try to squeeze all revision into
a few days.
While all revision is useful, it is better to revise a little over a long period
than a lot over a short space of time.
Revise all night.
Sleep is crucial to memory retention and you will not recall much of what
you covered the night before. You will also be tired and this makes recall
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
more difficult.
Leave everything till the last
minute.
Last-minute revision is not very productive. You are also less likely to retain
learning that has not been consolidated by sleep.
Answer a different question to
the one being asked.
Make sure that you constantly refer your answer back to the actual
question.
Cogito, Ergo Sum.
Muhammad Sohaib Shahzad
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