Flashcards · 9699 · AS Topic 1

Paper 1 – Socialisation, Identity and Methods of Research (AS Level) flashcards

33 cards on AS Topic 1, subtopics 1.1 to 2.3. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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1.1 The process of learning and socialisation

Norms vs values: Norms are specific rules of behaviour in a society or group. Values are general beliefs about what is important and worth striving for. Norms usually put values into practice.
Ascribed vs achieved status: Ascribed status is fixed at birth, such as caste or sex. Achieved status is earned through effort, such as an occupation.
Primary vs secondary socialisation: Primary socialisation happens in the family in early childhood: learning language and basic norms and values. Secondary socialisation comes later through education, the peer group, religion, the workplace and the media.
What evidence supports nurture over nature in human behaviour?: Cross-cultural variation in norms and gender roles, and cases of feral children, who fail to develop language and normal social behaviour without human contact.
What is ideology?: A set of ideas and beliefs that justifies the interests of a group. Marxists use it for ruling-class ideas that make inequality seem natural and fair.
Subculture vs counter-culture: A subculture is a group within society with distinct norms and values. A counter-culture is a subculture that actively opposes mainstream norms and values.

1.2 Social control, conformity and resistance

Structuralist vs interactionist views of the individual and society: Structuralist (macro) views, such as functionalism and Marxism, see individuals as shaped by social structure. Interactionist (micro) views see individuals as actively creating society through meanings and interaction.
What is Giddens's structuration theory?: Structure and agency shape each other continuously: people act within structures, and their actions reproduce or change those structures.
Formal vs informal social control: Formal control is by agencies with written rules and official sanctions, such as the police and courts. Informal control is by family, peers and others through approval and disapproval.
Why do individuals conform to social expectations?: Because of sanctions (rewards and punishments), social pressure, self-interest and social exchange (gaining benefits from going along with others).
Consensus vs force (coercion) as ways order is maintained: Consensus: people share values and agree with the social order (functionalism). Force: order is kept by coercion, through power and the threat of punishment. Marxists add ideology, which wins consent to an unequal order.
Name explanations of deviance and non-conformity in the 9699 syllabus: Subcultures, under-socialisation, marginalisation, cultural deprivation and social resistance.

1.3 Social identity and change

What is social identity?: How individuals see themselves and are seen by others, built from elements such as social class, gender, ethnicity and age.
How is age socially constructed?: The meaning of age groups (childhood, youth, old age) varies between societies and over time, so expectations attached to age are learned, not fixed by biology.
What is a hybrid identity?: An identity that combines elements from more than one culture, e.g. young people of migrant heritage mixing aspects of their family's culture with the culture where they live.
How do postmodernists see identity today?: Identity is fluid, chosen and consumed, rather than ascribed by class or tradition, because of globalisation, consumer culture and increased choice.
Give one argument that traditional identities still matter: Class, gender and ethnicity still shape life chances such as income, education and health, so choice of identity is limited by structure (a structuralist response to postmodernism).

2.1 Types of data, methods and research design

Primary vs secondary data: Primary data are collected by the sociologist for the research. Secondary data already exist, collected by others, e.g. official statistics, personal documents, digital content and media sources.
Why are official statistics both useful and problematic?: Useful: cheap, large-scale and allow comparisons over time. Problematic: they are socially constructed, using definitions decided by the state, and may hide what is not recorded.
Questionnaires: main strengths and weaknesses: Strengths: cheap, large samples, reliable and easily quantified. Weaknesses: low validity, often low response rates, and they impose the researcher's categories.
Participant observation: main strengths and weaknesses: Strengths: very high validity and can uncover the unexpected. Weaknesses: the Hawthorne effect (overt), going native, ethical problems (covert), and small unrepresentative samples.
What is a sampling frame?: The list from which a sample is drawn. When no usable frame exists, sociologists often choose non-random methods such as snowball sampling.
What is operationalisation?: Turning an abstract concept into something measurable, e.g. measuring "religiosity" by frequency of attendance or prayer.

2.2 Approaches to sociological research

Positivism vs interpretivism: Positivism: sociology should follow the natural sciences, using objective, quantitative, reliable data to find causal patterns. Interpretivism: sociology should seek verstehen (understanding of meanings) through qualitative, valid data.
What is verstehen?: Empathetic understanding of the meanings people give to their actions, seen from their point of view. It is central to interpretivism.
Triangulation vs methodological pluralism: Triangulation: using more than one method to check the findings of one against another. Methodological pluralism: using several methods to build a fuller picture. Both are mixed-methods approaches.
Ethnography vs longitudinal study: Ethnography: in-depth study of a group's way of life, usually by participant observation. Longitudinal study: following the same group over a long period to track change.
What is value-freedom, and why is it disputed?: The idea that research should be free of the sociologist's own values. Critics argue values affect the choice of topic, method and interpretation, so complete value-freedom is impossible.

2.3 Research issues

Reliability vs validity: Reliability: would repeating the study give the same results? Validity: does it measure what it claims to, giving a true picture? Quantitative methods tend to be high in reliability, qualitative methods high in validity.
Representativeness vs generalisability: Representativeness: does the sample reflect the wider population? Generalisability: can the findings be applied more widely?
Theoretical, practical and ethical factors in choosing a method: Theoretical: the sociologist's perspective (positivist or interpretivist). Practical: time, money, access and the topic. Ethical: consent, harm, confidentiality and deception.
Why is covert observation ethically controversial?: It breaches informed consent and involves deception. It is defended only where overt research would be impossible, e.g. with deviant or closed groups.
How can funding bias research?: A funding body may influence which topics are studied, how questions are framed and which findings are published, so results may suit the funder's interests.