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Culture and Identity

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What is culture, and how far is human behaviour shaped by nature or by nurture?

Culture, norms, values, roles and status, the idea of cultural diversity, and the nature versus nurture debate about how far human behaviour is innate or learned.
An SQA Higher Sociology answer on culture and the nature versus nurture debate. Covers the meaning of culture, norms, values, roles and status, cultural diversity including subcultures, and the debate over how far human behaviour is innate (nature) or learned through socialisation (nurture).
11 min answer →

How are ethnic and national identities formed in a diverse society?

Ethnicity, nationality and identity: the meaning of ethnicity and national identity, how they are formed and expressed, the ideas of multiculturalism and hybrid identity, and how far they are socially constructed.
An SQA Higher Sociology answer on ethnicity, nationality and identity. Covers the meaning of ethnicity and national identity, how they are formed through socialisation and shared culture, multiculturalism and hybrid identities, and the view that ethnic and national identity are socially constructed rather than fixed.
11 min answer →

How is gender identity formed, and how far is it socially constructed?

Gender and identity: the difference between sex and gender, how gender identity is formed through gender-role socialisation, the agents involved, and the debate over how far gender is socially constructed.
An SQA Higher Sociology answer on gender and identity. Covers the difference between sex and gender, how gender identity is formed through gender-role socialisation by the family, school, peers and media, the feminist view that gender is socially constructed, and the debate with biological explanations.
11 min answer →

What is identity, and how is it socially constructed?

Identity and the social construction of identity: personal and social identity, how identities are formed through socialisation and interaction, and the idea that identity is increasingly chosen rather than fixed.
An SQA Higher Sociology answer on identity and its social construction. Covers personal and social identity, how identities such as class, gender and ethnic identity are formed through socialisation and interaction, the idea that identity is socially constructed rather than natural, and the view that identity is increasingly a matter of choice.
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How does social class shape identity in modern society?

Social class and identity: how class is defined and measured, how class shapes identity and life chances, and the debate over whether class identity is declining in modern society.
An SQA Higher Sociology answer on social class and identity. Covers how class is defined and measured, how class shapes identity, culture and life chances, the evidence that class still matters, and the debate over whether class identity is declining as postmodernists argue.
11 min answer →

How do people learn the culture of their society?

Socialisation: how people learn the norms and values of their society, the difference between primary and secondary socialisation, and the main agents of socialisation including the family, education, peers, the media and religion.
An SQA Higher Sociology answer on socialisation. Covers how people learn the norms and values of their society, the difference between primary and secondary socialisation, the main agents (family, education, peer group, media and religion), and how socialisation reproduces culture and shapes identity.
11 min answer →