← Society and Culture syllabus

WalesSociety and Culture

Key concepts and the process of socialisation

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What do sociologists mean by culture, norms, values, roles and status?

The key sociological concepts of culture, norms, values, roles, status and the difference between ascribed and achieved status, and why these shared ideas hold a society together.
A focused answer on the building-block concepts of WJEC GCSE Sociology: culture, norms, values, roles, status, and the difference between ascribed and achieved status, with clear UK examples.
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How is a person's identity formed by society?

How identity is formed through socialisation: the sources of identity in gender, ethnicity, social class, age, nationality and religion, and how identity can change over time.
A focused answer on identity for WJEC GCSE Sociology: how identity is formed through socialisation, the main sources of identity such as gender, ethnicity, class, age, nationality and religion, and how identity can change.
13 min answer →

Is human behaviour shaped by nature or by nurture?

The nature versus nurture debate: the view that behaviour is biologically determined against the sociological view that it is learned through socialisation, with evidence from feral children and cross-cultural differences.
A focused answer on the nature versus nurture debate for WJEC GCSE Sociology: biological versus social explanations of behaviour, the evidence from feral children and cross-cultural differences, and why sociologists stress nurture.
13 min answer →

How do people learn the culture of their society through socialisation?

The process of socialisation: primary socialisation in the family and secondary socialisation through the agencies of education, peer group, media, religion and the workplace, and how each transmits norms and values.
A focused answer on socialisation for WJEC GCSE Sociology: primary socialisation in the family and secondary socialisation through education, peers, media, religion and the workplace, and the agencies that transmit culture.
14 min answer →

How does society make people follow its norms and values?

Social control through formal agencies such as the police, courts and law, and informal agencies such as the family, peer group and media, working through positive and negative sanctions to maintain social order.
A focused answer on social control for WJEC GCSE Sociology: formal control through the police, courts and law, informal control through the family, peers and media, and how sanctions maintain social order.
13 min answer →