Key term
WJEC A-Level Sociology 601-5237-0
Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
Topic overviewCulture as a way of lifeNorms, values and beliefsRoles, status and role conflictAspects of culture: dress, language, food and musicHeritage and cultural tradition in WalesHigh culture, popular culture and global cultureNature, nurture and the social construction of cultureCultural diversity and sub-cultures
Socialisation and Its Agencies
Topic overviewPrimary and secondary socialisationRole models, imitation and sanctionsFamilies and primary cultural transmissionPeer groups as an agency of socialisationEducation as an agency of socialisationReligion as an agency of socialisationThe media as an agency of socialisationWork, resocialisation and total institutionsFormal and informal social control
Socialisation and Identity
Topic overviewPersonal and social identityTheories of identity: structural, interactionist and postmodernGender socialisation and gender identityMasculinity, femininity and change in gender identitiesSocial class and identityClass change, mobility and the underclassEthnicity and identityNationality, national identity and BritishnessWelsh identity and the Welsh language
Families and HouseholdsAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewDefining families and householdsFamily forms and family diversity in England and WalesEthnic, cultural and religious diversity in family lifeMarriage, cohabitation and singlehoodDivorce and separationFertility, birth rates and family sizeLife expectancy, ageing and the beanpole familyThe domestic division of labourPower, decision-making and domestic violenceChildhood and parent–child relationshipsFunctionalist and New Right theories of the familyMarxist and feminist theories of the familyPostmodernism, the life course and personal life
Youth CulturesAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewYouth and the social construction of adolescenceThe media and the formation of youth cultureEconomic change, consumption and the youth marketGlobalisation and youth cultureSocial class and youth subculturesGender and youth cultureEthnicity and youth cultureNational identity, Welshness and youth cultureNeo-tribes and the changing nature of youth cultureYouth deviance, delinquency and crimeAnti-school subcultures and the labelling of youthFunctionalist and Marxist theories of youth cultureFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of youth culture
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
Topic overviewQuestionnairesStructured interviewsUnstructured and semi-structured interviewsFocus groupsParticipant observationNon-participant and structured observationThe social surveyEthnographic methodsLongitudinal studiesExisting sociological research as secondary dataOfficial statistics and Welsh Government dataPersonal and public documents
Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
Topic overviewTarget populations, sampling frames and accessSimple random and systematic random samplingStratified random samplingQuota samplingSnowball and volunteer samplingPurposive and opportunity samplingInformed consent, deception and the right to withdrawAnonymity, confidentiality and privacySensitivity, vulnerability and protection from harmPractical constraints: operationalisation, time and cost
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
Topic overviewValidity in sociological researchReliability and replicationRepresentativeness and generalisabilityObjectivity, value freedom and biasEthics as a criterion for judging researchPositivism and the scientific study of societyInterpretivism and verstehenRealism and the critical realist approachChoosing an approach: theory and method in practice
EducationUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of education in societySocial class and differential attainmentGender and differential attainmentEthnicity and differential attainmentParticipation, choice and the marketisation of educationEducation policy in England and Wales since 1944Welsh-medium education and the Curriculum for WalesMaterial factors and educational attainmentCultural capital and cultural deprivationLabelling, streaming and pupil subculturesFunctionalist and New Right theories of educationMarxist theories of educationFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of education
MediaUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of the media in contemporary societyModels of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effectsActive audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theoryMoral panics and folk devilsNew media, globalisation and the digital divideOwnership and control of the mediaMedia professionals, news values and agenda settingRepresentations of social class and ageRepresentations of genderRepresentations of ethnicity, nationality and disabilityMedia policy and regulation in Wales and EnglandPluralist and Marxist theories of the mediaFunctionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media
ReligionUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of religion in contemporary societyReligion in Wales: chapel, nonconformity and the Welsh languageReligion as a conservative force and as a force for changePatterns of religious participation by social class and ageGender and religiosityEthnicity and religiosity in England and WalesChurches, denominations, sects and cultsNew religious movements and new age movementsFundamentalism and religion in a globalised worldSecularisation in England and WalesReligion and social policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of religionWeberian, feminist and postmodernist theories of religion
Crime and DeviancePower and Control
Topic overviewDefining crime, deviance and social controlCrime and deviance as social constructsThe media, moral panics and the fear of crimeSocial class and crimeGender and feminist explanations of crimeEthnicity, policing and the criminal justice systemAge and crimePolice recorded crime and the dark figureVictim surveys and self-report studiesCrime, policing and social policy in WalesFunctionalist and subcultural theories of crimeMarxist and neo-Marxist theories of crimeInteractionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crimeLeft realism, right realism and crime control policy
Health and DisabilityPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining health, illness and diseaseThe biomedical model and the social model of healthThe social construction of disabilityOfficial statistics and the measurement of healthSocial class and health inequalitiesGender and healthEthnicity and healthAge and healthArtefact, selection, cultural and material explanationsAccess to and provision of health care in England and WalesMedicalisation and the role of health professionalsHealth policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and interactionist theories of healthFeminist and postmodernist views of health and disability
World SociologyPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining and measuring developmentGlobal inequalities in health and educationEmployment, poverty and the global division of labourPatterns of inequality in England and WalesPopulation, demographic change and developmentUrbanisation and marginalisationAid, debt and non-governmental organisationsGlobalisation and developmentTransnational corporations and world tradeModernisation theory and its criticsMarxist, dependency and world systems theoriesFeminist explanations of development
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research
Topic overviewChoosing a research topic and framing the aimHypotheses, operationalisation and indicatorsJustifying the chosen methodAnticipating problems with the chosen method and their impactSelecting and justifying a sampleAnticipating problems with the sample and their impactEthical issues in a research designPractical issues in a research designPresenting collected data
Social Inequality: Evidence and Patterns
Topic overviewMeasuring social class in BritainThe distribution of income and wealthWork and pay: occupational inequalityClass inequality: the evidenceGender inequality: the evidenceEthnic inequality: the evidenceAge inequality: the evidenceDisability and inequalityPower and political inequalityPoverty and social exclusionInequality in Wales: the evidence base
Theories and Explanations of Inequality and Stratification
Topic overviewSocial stratification: the core conceptsFunctionalist explanations of inequalityMarxist explanations of inequalityNeo-Marxist explanations of inequalityWeberian explanations of inequalityNeo-Weberian explanations of inequalityFeminist explanations of inequalityPostmodernist explanations of inequalityNew Right explanations of inequalityComparing and evaluating theories of stratification
Socialisation and Its Agencies
- 9 subtopics
- 27 things to know
- AS Unit 1
What Socialisation and Its Agencies covers
Socialisation and Its Agencies is examined in Unit 1 Section A, Acquiring Culture — compulsory for every student. It covers primary and secondary socialisation, role models, imitation and sanctions, families and primary cultural transmission, peer groups as an agency of socialisation, education as an agency of socialisation, religion as an agency of socialisation, the media as an agency of socialisation, work, resocialisation and total institutions and formal and informal social control.
The 9 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Primary and secondary socialisationPrimary socialisation, secondary socialisation and anticipatory socialisation.Open →
- Role models, imitation and sanctionsRole model, part imitation plays in socialisation and vicarious reinforcement.Open →
- Families and primary cultural transmissionCultural transmission, oakley's four processes of gender socialisation within the family and what Oakley meant by manipulation.Open →
- Peer groups as an agency of socialisationPeer group and peer pressure.Open →
- Education as an agency of socialisationHidden curriculum, school's ethos and body that inspects schools in Wales.Open →
- Religion as an agency of socialisationRecall questions on collective worship, the Protestant ethic, the Nonconformist chapels and Sunday schools of Wales, faith schools, secularisation, rites of passage and religion as resistance.Open →
- The media as an agency of socialisationMedia representation, symbolic annihilation and argument that new media have weakened the media's socialising power.Open →
- Work, resocialisation and total institutionsOccupational socialisation, canteen culture in policing and total institution.Open →
- Formal and informal social controlRecall questions on the agencies that enforce conformity, the real function of punishment, the shift towards surveillance, the control of women, and the media's part in it.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Why can socialisation never be complete?
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What did Willis find about the role models the lads followed?
Evaluation
Give one criticism of the view that people simply copy role models.
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How do families transmit cultural capital?
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Give the interactionist account of what pupils learn at school.
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How do the media set the agenda?
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Why is resocialisation inside a total institution often only partial?
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How are pupils prepared for the labour market before they leave school?
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Define a peer group.
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How does religion socialise its members?
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Distinguish social control from socialisation.
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What does cultural transmission mean?
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Why do peer groups become more influential in adolescence?
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What did Durkheim argue is the socialising function of school?
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What did Durkheim argue about collective worship?
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Why do sociologists treat the media as a major agency of secondary socialisation?
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Name three agencies of formal social control.
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Explain how the relationships involved in primary and secondary socialisation differ.
Evaluation
Give one criticism of using the Bobo doll research to explain socialisation.
Key term
What did Parsons identify as the two basic and irreducible functions of the modern family?
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How do peer groups sanction their members?
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What is the hidden curriculum?
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What did Weber argue in his study of the Protestant ethic?
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What is meant by a media representation?
Process
How does a workplace socialise a new employee?
Key term
Give three examples of informal social control.
Take Socialisation and Its Agencies further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Anticipatory socialisation vs Resocialisation
Anticipatory socialisation: learning the norms of a group one expects to join in future. Resocialisation: learning a new set of norms after leaving an old setting, as on entering prison.
Hidden curriculum vs Formal curriculum
Hidden curriculum: what is learned from how an institution is organised. Formal curriculum: the content that is deliberately taught and examined.
In Oakley's account, manipulation vs In Oakley's account, canalisation
In Oakley's account, manipulation: encouraging or discouraging a child's appearance and conduct by gender. In Oakley's account, canalisation: it means steering the child towards particular toys and activities.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Define socialisation.
Model answer
Socialisation is the lifelong process by which a person learns the culture of their society, including its language, norms, values and roles, so that they can take part in it.
- 2
What is primary socialisation?
Model answer
Primary socialisation is the first and most intense stage, carried out in early childhood mainly by the family, in which a child learns language, basic norms and the core values of its culture.
- 3
What is secondary socialisation?
Model answer
Secondary socialisation is the learning that continues beyond the family through agencies such as school, peer groups, religion, the media and work, teaching the wider norms of society.
- 4
Explain how the relationships involved in primary and secondary socialisation differ.
Model answer
Primary socialisation happens in small, emotionally close, face-to-face relationships, while secondary socialisation happens in larger and more impersonal settings governed by formal rules.
- 5
What did Parsons mean by calling families factories that produce human personalities?
Model answer
Parsons argued that the family manufactures personalities suited to the culture, so that a child absorbs society's values until they become part of who the child is.
- 6
What is internalisation?
Model answer
Internalisation is the point at which a learned rule stops feeling imposed from outside and is accepted as the person's own, so it is obeyed without anyone needing to watch.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Socialisation and Its Agencies revision questions
- What does Socialisation and Its Agencies cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 9 subtopics: primary and secondary socialisation, role models, imitation and sanctions, families and primary cultural transmission, peer groups as an agency of socialisation, education as an agency of socialisation, religion as an agency of socialisation, the media as an agency of socialisation, work, resocialisation and total institutions and formal and informal social control. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Socialisation and Its Agencies organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5237-0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Socialisation and Its Agencies, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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