Culture, Norms, Values and Socialisation - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

12 original exam-style questions - 4 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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This topic is chapter 1 of GCSE Sociology: Sociological approaches Practice Book.

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1.1 Culture, Norms, Values and Socialisation

AQA 8192 · about 55 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Show your understanding by using sociological vocabulary and, where asked, your own examples.

Some sociologists focus on how a child's sense of self develops through interaction with other people.

Explain how interaction with other people helps a child develop a sense of self, referring to sociological ideas you have studied.

(Total for Question 1 is 6 marks)

Explain two reasons the peer group is often an important agency of secondary socialisation for teenagers.

(Total for Question 2 is 4 marks)

The functionalist sociologist Emile Durkheim used the term 'collective conscience' to describe how shared beliefs hold society together.

(Total for Question 3 is 3 marks)

People often hold more than one social role at the same time, which can sometimes cause tension.

(a)Define the sociological term 'role'.(2)

(b)Give an example of a situation that could cause role conflict, and briefly explain why.(2)

(Total for Question 4 is 4 marks)

For each item below, state whether it is an example of a norm or a value.

(a)Queuing quietly at a shop till.(1)

(b)Believing that honesty is important.(1)

(c)Shaking hands when greeting someone for the first time.(1)

(Total for Question 5 is 3 marks)

Explain why sociologists describe socialisation as a lifelong process, rather than something that only happens in childhood.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Define the sociological term 'culture'.

(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)

Sociologists distinguish between ascribed status and achieved status.

(a)Define 'ascribed status', giving an example.(2)

(b)Define 'achieved status', giving an example.(2)

(Total for Question 8 is 4 marks)

Socialisation happens throughout a person's life, but sociologists distinguish two main stages.

(a)Explain what is meant by primary socialisation.(2)

(b)Explain what is meant by secondary socialisation.(2)

(Total for Question 9 is 4 marks)

Identify two agencies of secondary socialisation, other than the family.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

Sanctions are used to encourage conformity to norms and values.

(a)Explain what is meant by a positive sanction, giving an example.(2)

(b)Explain what is meant by a negative sanction, giving an example.(2)

(Total for Question 11 is 4 marks)

The functionalist sociologist Talcott Parsons argued that the family performs two essential functions for its individual members.

(a)Explain, with reference to Parsons, how the family carries out primary socialisation.(3)

(b)Explain, with reference to Parsons, what is meant by the 'stabilisation of adult personalities', sometimes called the 'warm bath theory'.(3)

(Total for Question 12 is 6 marks)

Mark scheme · 1.1 Culture, Norms, Values and Socialisation

Question 1

Level 3 (5-6): A clear and accurate explanation that develops at least one sociological idea about the development of the self, with an appropriate example, using sociological terminology accurately.
Level 2 (3-4): Some relevant explanation of how interaction shapes the self, with limited development or a partial example. Some sociological terminology used.
Level 1 (1-2): A simple, undeveloped point about interaction and the self, with little or no sociological terminology.
Level 0 (0): No relevant content.
Indicative content:
- George Herbert Mead, an interactionist sociologist, argued that a child develops a sense of self by 'taking the role of the other', imagining how they appear from another person's point of view.
- Mead described how children first take on the role of significant individuals (e.g. a parent) in play, and later develop an understanding of the 'generalised other', the shared expectations of society as a whole.
- Charles Cooley's idea of the 'looking-glass self' (1902) suggests people develop their self-image by imagining how others see and judge them, and then react to that imagined judgement.
- An appropriate example: a child who is repeatedly praised for sharing may come to see themselves as 'a kind person', because that is the image reflected back by others' reactions.
- A well-developed answer links the idea used (Mead's role-taking or Cooley's looking-glass self) explicitly to the process of socialisation studied elsewhere in this pack.

Question 2

B1 one reason, e.g. teenagers spend a large amount of time with peers, especially at school
B1 development of that reason, e.g. so peer approval/disapproval strongly shapes behaviour, tastes and identity
B1 a second, different reason, e.g. peers are seen as more like equals than parents or teachers
B1 development of that reason, e.g. so young people may feel more comfortable testing new norms/values with peers than with adult authority figures
Answer: Peer groups matter because teenagers spend a great deal of time with them, so peer approval strongly shapes behaviour, and because peers are seen as equals, making it easier to test new attitudes than with adult authority figures.

Question 3

B1 identifies the collective conscience as the shared norms, values and beliefs held in common by the members of a society
B1 explains that this shared culture is what binds individuals together and creates social order/solidarity
B1 development, e.g. without a strong collective conscience, Durkheim believed society would be less stable
Answer: Durkheim's 'collective conscience' refers to the shared norms, values and beliefs held in common across a society, which bind individuals together and create social order.

Question 4

(a) B1 the pattern of expected behaviour attached to a particular status or position (oe)
(a) B1 a correct example, e.g. the role of 'teacher', 'parent' or 'student'
(a) Answer: The pattern of behaviour expected of someone holding a particular status, e.g. the role of 'teacher'.
(b) B1 a plausible example where two roles held by the same person make competing demands, e.g. a working parent whose job and parenting role both demand time at the same moment
(b) B1 a brief, correct explanation of why this creates conflict, e.g. meeting the demands of one role means neglecting the other
(b) Answer: A working parent called into an urgent meeting during their child's school event faces role conflict: meeting the demands of the employee role means neglecting the parent role at the same time.

Question 5

(a) B1 norm
(a) Answer: Norm
(b) B1 value
(b) Answer: Value
(c) B1 norm
(c) Answer: Norm

Question 6

B1 identifies that people continue to learn new norms and values as they move into new situations/roles after childhood
B1 a correct example, e.g. learning the norms of a new workplace, or adapting to the role of parent for the first time
Answer: People keep learning new norms and values as they enter new situations, e.g. learning the expected behaviour of a new workplace, so socialisation continues well beyond childhood.

Question 7

B1 the shared way of life of a group or society (oe)
B1 development, e.g. includes shared norms, values, beliefs, customs and knowledge that are learned rather than inherited biologically
Answer: The shared way of life of a group or society, including its learned norms, values, beliefs and customs.

Question 8

(a) B1 a social position given to a person at birth, which they have little or no control over (oe)
(a) B1 a correct example, e.g. being someone's son or daughter, a member of a royal family by birth, or (in some societies) caste
(a) Answer: A status given at birth that a person has little control over, e.g. being born into a royal family.
(b) B1 a social position a person gains through their own effort, skill or choices (oe)
(b) B1 a correct example, e.g. becoming a doctor, becoming a school prefect, getting married
(b) Answer: A status gained through a person's own effort or choices, e.g. qualifying as a doctor.

Question 9

(a) B1 the early learning of basic norms, values and language, mainly within the family, in the first years of life
(a) B1 development, e.g. it lays the foundations for later social behaviour
(a) Answer: The early learning of basic norms, values and language, mainly in the family, during the first years of a child's life.
(b) B1 socialisation that happens later, outside the immediate family (oe)
(b) B1 development, e.g. through agencies such as school, peer group, media and religion, continuing throughout life
(b) Answer: Socialisation that continues later in life through agencies outside the family, such as school, peer group, media and religion.

Question 10

B1 one correct agency, e.g. school/education
B1 a second correct, different agency, e.g. peer group, media, religion, workplace
Answer: Any two of: school, peer group, media, religion, workplace.

Question 11

(a) B1 a reward given for behaving in a way that conforms to norms/values (oe)
(a) B1 a correct example, e.g. praise from a teacher, a certificate, a pay rise
(a) Answer: A reward for conforming behaviour, e.g. praise from a teacher for good work.
(b) B1 a punishment given for behaving in a way that breaks norms/values (oe)
(b) B1 a correct example, e.g. detention, being told off, a fine
(b) Answer: A punishment for rule-breaking behaviour, e.g. a school detention.

Question 12

(a) B1 identifies primary socialisation as one of Parsons' two essential functions of the family
(a) B1 explains that the family teaches young children the basic norms and values of society in their early years
(a) B1 development/example, e.g. a parent correcting a child's behaviour or teaching them to share, so the child learns to fit into wider society
(a) Answer: Parsons argued the family teaches young children society's basic norms and values in their earliest years, e.g. correcting behaviour or teaching sharing, so children learn to fit into wider society.
(b) B1 identifies stabilisation of adult personalities as Parsons' second essential family function
(b) B1 explains that the family provides adults, especially the main wage-earner, with emotional support and relaxation away from the stresses of work
(b) B1 development, e.g. this 'washes away' the tensions of the working day (the 'warm bath' image), helping the adult return to work calm and stable the next day
(b) Answer: Parsons argued the family gives adults emotional support that 'washes away' the stresses of work, like a warm bath, so they return to work stable and ready to cope again.

Culture, Norms, Values and Socialisation - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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