OxfordAQA A-Level Sociology (9690): Individuals, Socialisation and Social Identities — Revision Notes

These notes condense the first three sections of 3.1.2 Socialisation and social control in OxfordAQA International AS/A level Sociology (9690), assessed in Unit 2 Section A. In short: individuals live within cultures of norms, values, roles and statuses, and C. Wright Mills’s sociological imagination links personal troubles to public issues (3.1.2.1); culture is learned through primary, secondary and re-socialisation by several agencies, which perspectives interpret differently (3.1.2.2); and identities — individual and collective — are socially constructed and changing through gender change, diasporas, online life, consumption and globalisation (3.1.2.3).

Full overview: Exploring Sociology study guide.

Specification coverage

• 3.1.2.1 Individuals and society — culture: norms and values; roles; status; stereotypes; subcultures, including ethnic groups in multicultural societies; the sociological imagination (Mills): connecting personal troubles and public issues.
• 3.1.2.2 Socialisation — primary and secondary socialisation; re-socialisation; inadequate socialisation; agencies (families, schools, peers, media, religions, workplace); processes and methods; functionalist, Marxist, feminist and social action/interactionist perspectives.
• 3.1.2.3 Social identities and social change — individual and collective identities; social construction through socialisation; identities based on age and generation/cohort, sex and gender, race and ethnicity, social class, religion, ability/disability and nationality; gender identities, hybrid ethnic identities and diasporas, online identities, consumption and globalisation.

The specification suggests studying Stanley Cohen, Fanon, Goffman, Mead, Mills and Zuboff for section 3.1.2.

Key terms

Term	Definition
Culture	The shared, learned way of life of a group
Norms / values	Specific rules of behaviour / general beliefs about what is worthwhile
Role / status	Expected behaviour / social position (ascribed or achieved)
Stereotype	Oversimplified, generalised image of a group
Subculture	Group with distinctive norms and values within a wider culture
Sociological imagination	Seeing the link between personal biography and wider social structures (Mills, 1959)
Primary / secondary socialisation	Early learning in the family / later learning from other agencies
Re-socialisation	Learning new norms that replace old ones, e.g. in prisons, armies or new jobs
Inadequate socialisation	Failure to learn society’s norms properly
Collective identity	Sense of belonging to a group (nation, faith, class)
Cohort / generation	People born in the same period who share experiences
Diaspora	Dispersed population keeping ties to a homeland
Hybrid identity	Identity mixing more than one culture

3.1.2.1 Individuals and society

• Culture gives the norms, values, roles and statuses that guide behaviour; stereotypes simplify groups and can justify inequality.
• Subcultures, including ethnic groups in multicultural societies, keep distinct languages, religions and customs while sharing some wider norms.
• Mills (The Sociological Imagination, 1959): unemployment of one person is a personal trouble; mass unemployment is a public issue rooted in the economy. Sociology connects the two.

3.1.2.2 Socialisation

Agencies and methods

Agency	Methods / processes
Families	Imitation, role modelling, rewards and punishments, gendered toys and tasks
Schools	Formal curriculum, hidden curriculum, rules and sanctions
Peers	Acceptance, peer pressure, ostracism
Media	Representations, role models, advertising, online feedback
Religions	Teachings, rituals, community expectations
Workplace	Training, codes of conduct, organisational culture

Re-socialisation: Erving Goffman (Asylums, 1961) described “total institutions” such as psychiatric hospitals and prisons that strip away a person’s previous identity (“mortification of the self”) and impose new routines.

Perspectives

Perspective	View of socialisation
Functionalist	Passes on shared values; creates social order and consensus (Parsons)
Marxist	Transmits ruling-class ideology; prepares a compliant workforce
Feminist	Reproduces gender roles and patriarchy (e.g. Oakley on manipulation and canalisation)
Social action / interactionist	Socialisation is active; the self develops through interaction — George Herbert Mead’s “I” and “me”, taking the role of others and the “generalised other” (Mind, Self and Society, 1934)

3.1.2.3 Identities and social change

Bases of identity: age and generation/cohort; sex and gender; race and ethnicity; social class; religion; ability/disability; nationality.

• Ability/disability: Goffman’s Stigma (1963) shows how people with “spoiled identities” manage others’ reactions.
• Race and ethnicity: Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (1952) analysed how colonial racism shaped the identities of colonised Black people, who were pressured to see themselves through the coloniser’s eyes.

Social change and identity

• Gender: more varied masculinities and femininities as women’s education and work expand; but traditional expectations persist.
• Hybrid ethnic identities and diasporas: migrants and their children combine cultures and keep transnational ties.
• Online identities: social media and virtual communities allow curated and multiple selves; Shoshana Zuboff (The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 2019) warns that platforms collect and profit from personal data, shaping behaviour.
• Consumption and globalisation: identities increasingly linked to brands, lifestyles and global culture; critics argue structural factors still limit choice.

Worked example: an 8-mark answer outline

Explain two ways in which social media may influence identity. (practice)

1. Curated online identities — users present selected images and achievements, creating a chosen digital self; this allows experimentation but creates pressure to conform to idealised norms. (4)
2. Virtual communities — people form collective identities with others who share interests, ethnicities or causes across borders, including diaspora members; but platforms’ data collection (Zuboff) shapes what people see and, potentially, who they become. (4)

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Treating re-socialisation as the same as secondary socialisation — it involves replacing earlier norms.
• Describing Mills without the link between personal troubles and public issues.
• Leaving out the interactionist perspective, which the specification names.
• Listing bases of identity without explaining how they are socially constructed.
• Forgetting that the specification requires examples from your own or a known society in some extended answers.

Quick self-test

1. Define the sociological imagination.
2. Give one example of re-socialisation.
3. What did Mead mean by the “generalised other”?
4. Name four bases of social identity in the specification.
5. Explain one way globalisation affects identity.

Frequently asked questions

How does 3.1.2.3 link to 3.1.2.4 social control? Stigmatised identities and othering appear in 3.1.2.4, so identity and control are closely connected.

Which perspective sees individuals as active? Social action/interactionist theory, which emphasises meaning and interaction rather than structure.

Why study Fanon in a socialisation unit? His work shows how identity is shaped by power and racism, linking socialisation to inequality.

Related pages: individuals and identities practice questions | Exploring Sociology revision notes