Define these key terms:
Primary socialisation, secondary socialisation, norm, value, class, peer pressure, labelling theory, self-fulfilling
prophecy, social construction, social change, social control, adolescence, culture, subculture, deviant, moral
panic, spectacular subculture, Marxism, functionalism, postmodernism, feminism
Identity – an individual’s sense of self
Sanctions – conditions/consequences
(Mass) Media – all ways of communicating with large numbers of people
Moral Panics – Cohen’s theory relating to an exaggerate reaction/response to a situation
Social Stratification ‘the division of society into layers’
In most socially stratified societies...
1.
‘the richest and most powerful are at the top of the social strata, and the poorest and most
powerless are at the bottom’
The way that the Government categorises people is different to the way that sociologists do...
1.
For the purposes of the Census, the government uses a scale called the National Statistics
Socio-Economic Classification
For the purposes of the Census, the government uses a scale called the National Statistics Socio-Economic
Classification
Sociologists simplify class divisions...
1.
The Upper Class
2.
The Middle Class
3.
The Working Class
4.
The Underclass
Social class and identity
Sociologists often link identity to social class
Sugarman (1970) argued that middle class and working class children are socialised differently
Sugarman (1970)
Middle class children are encouraged to plan for the future (deferred gratification)
Working class children are encouraged to live for the moment (immediate gratification)
Charles Murray (1994) suggested that certain values keep people poor
E.g. living on state benefits – values that are passed from one generation to the next
John Scott (1991)
The upper class use the public school education system in order to create social networks. Pro-school
and anti-school subcultures (Mac an Ghaill)
It could be argued that middle class children form a pro-school subculture whilst in education
Working class children might be said to form an anti-school subculture
Bourdieu...
The middle class exchange ‘cultural capital’
This allows them to achieve roles that have a high(er) status in society
Key theorists:
Functionalists: Parsons, Eisenstadt, A. Cohen
Marxists: Jefferson, P. Cohen, Hebdige
Postmodernists: Willis, Bennett
Functionalism
Society is a social system based on VALUE CONSENSUS (shared values).
Society has basic needs that must be met to survive.
For that to happen we need the VALUE CONSENSUS (shared values).
To get that into our heads, we need to be SOCIALISED into that culture’s particular norms and values.

Talcott Parsons (1956) suggested that youth subcultures are like rites of passage in modern society.

Rites of passage aid the transition from childhood to adulthood.

According to Parsons, belonging to a subculture is a temporary experience.
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Eisenstadt (1956) said that subcultures are to do with ascribed and achieved status.

In pre-industrial society, an individual’s status was always ascribed.

Today, people tend to achieve their status.

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Adolescence is a time in a person’s life when their status might seem to be unclear.
Eisenstadt believed that subcultures help young people to cope with adolescence by giving them a
clear status.

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Albert Cohen (1955) was influenced by functionalist ideas.
He said that working class boys join subcultures in order to get over feelings of frustration because
of their relatively low status.
Marxism
Society is in a state of CONFLICT between the rich and the poor.
Society uses a system called CAPITALISM to keep the rich - rich and the poor – poor.
CAPITALISM is an economic system where a small minority of society own the FORCES OF
PRODUCTION (factories & information).
This minority is called the RULING CLASS (or the BOURGEOSIE) – they employ people to work for
them to produce goods that they sell.
Marx called this arrangement the RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION and argued it EXPLOITED the
SUBJECT CLASS (or the PROLETARIAT).
Jefferson (1976) researched the Teddy Boys of the 1950’s
Jefferson noted that Teddy Boys wore clothes that would give them higher status
Phil Cohen (1972) studied skinheads: he thought that skinheads emerged as a reaction to the decline of
working class communities
Skinheads recreated the working class culture by dressing in a particular manner and by acting in an
aggressive way
Hebdige (1979) examined the style of the Punk subculture
Hebdige noted that Punk subculture seemed to be about rejecting conventional norms and values
In this respect, Hebdige believes that those who belong to the Punk subculture were rejecting the
identities that were available to them
Postmodernists:

Postmodernists believe the idea of subculture is outdated

It could be argued that youth subcultures have become fragmented

Hetherington (1998) made this point when looking at the fashions and the music styles of the
1980’s
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Willis (1990) believes that there is too much diversity for any one subculture to be dominant

Willis noted that the old spectacular subcultures were quite passive (they accepted the norms
and values of their group)

Young people today are noted for being active and adventurous with regards to their individual
style.

Willis called this ‘symbolic creativity’

Bennett (1999) says that we should not discuss subcultures anymore

Instead, we should talk about neo-tribes (a term that he invented)

A neo-tribe is a group that is loosely based around fashions and lifestyles

Members of Neo-tribes do not share the same values like those in traditional subcultures did
Some history:

Philip Aries (1973) argues that in the middle ages children were viewed as adults from the age of five.
Because of this they had economic and social roles to play.

The Victorians would have found our child centred world totally alien. For them childish behaviour was
to be tolerated and stamped on until the young grew up and could behave in the ‘proper’ manner.

Before the war there was no such thing as a teenager in the way we use the term today. People left
school and went to work and took on an adult role.

The Ik Tribe can be extremely hostile to children and view them as a drain on resources.

They think they should be made to fend for themselves as soon as they possibly can. This may mean
from the age of 3.

The tribe often suffer famine and so do not have the luxury of childhood.

In many countries such as India and parts of Latin America some poor children work in full time jobs
from as young as 5.

The modern family is sometimes very child centred often putting the needs and wishes of the child
before the adults.eg Moving house to get children into better schools

Functionalists view childhood as a crucial process in the modern family, as it is when the young person is
socialised into a useful member of society. This involves the child learning the norms and values of their
culture.

Marxist feel Children are very important to modern capitalism. Bocock (93) claims modern childhood
facilitates capitalist goals by creating new consumers – since capitalists need people to buy the goods it
produces. According to the Marxist perspective this is why we have a new construct of childhood in the
western world
Mods and Rockers typify spectacular subcultures.
These could be described as subcultures that attract the attention of the public and the mass media.
Stan Cohen (1972) studied the spectacular subcultures of the 1960’s.
He studied a number of disturbances that took place in British seaside towns during that decade.
He stated that media reports relating to those incidents encouraged an exaggerated reaction.
As a result, the way in which the courts system and the police reacted intensified.
Cohen argued that young people were encouraged to participate in the fights as a result of these reactions.
Cohen called this an example of a ‘moral panic’.
What is social construction? An attitude or idea that is created by society rather than objective facts.
Education:

The Education system socialises all of its members with the cultural goal of achieving exam success.

Due to inequalities in the education system only a minority can achieve those goals.

Lower working class youths in particular cannot achieve the cultural goals of the education system
because they are “measured” on a “middle class measuring rod” .

The Education system “labels” those who do not achieve the cultural goals as failures.

Young people have a “looking glass self” - they internalise the feelings of inferiority and failure,
“repressing” those feelings - leading to a “reaction formation”.

All people, particularly young people seek status in their own eyes and in the eyes of others.

Denied status through the official status channels, Cohen argued they will established subcultures
where they can achieve status through alternative channels.
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Repressed = feelings of inferiority and failure boil away.
The repressed feelings of inferiority are expressed through peculiarly malicious and violent acts.
Violent and destructive acts that serve no rational purpose may be explained this way.
Nature/Nurture:
1.
In Sociology, we are looking at human behaviour.
2.
Human behaviour is the term we use that refers to all of the things that people do.
3.
There are many ways of explaining why certain people do things in certain ways.
4.
Some biologists think that people behave as they do because they are animals who act according
to animal instincts.
5.
This is known as a Nature theory of human behaviour.
6.
Most sociologists believe that people do certain things and think certain things because they are
taught to do them.
7.
This is known as a Nurture theory of human behaviour.
Sociologists think that people act as they do because they learned to be the people that they are. Example: dvd
on feral children (child raised as a dog/wolf)
Ethnicity:
What is ‘ethnicity’?
1.
The word ‘Race’ is often used as a way of classifying people by virtue of their visible biological
features
2.
However, sociologists tend to use the word ‘ethnicity’ in order to describe people from various
ethnic backgrounds
‘Ethnicity’ is regarded as a better term as it refers to ethnic background, shared culture and socialisation
1.
2001: Census shows that 7.9% of the population are from ethnic minorities
2.
3.
Some ethnic minority groups endeavour to keep the distinctive features of their culture going
Ballard and Ballard (1977) found that Sikh immigrants from Punjab replicated many of the
institutions of Punjabi society
4.
This encouraged a strong sense of ethnic identity
Tasks.
Define the Subcultures: mods, teddy boys, rockers, puck, unromantic, hippie, rasta, chav, neo-tribes, grunge,
emo, greasers, metalheads.
How could you relate these Dvds we have viewed to class, ethnicity, gender, functionalism, Marxism, etc: Feral
children (nature/nurture), Quadrophenia (mods and rockers), Rich Kid Poor Kid (class), Sid and Nancy (punk).
For each of the 4 key theories (or the arguments of the theorists) come up with arguments for and against.
Research into the role gender plays in subcultures