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12 Mark Mini Essays and Sources Socialisation, Culture and Identity
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This document includes 17 essays for 12 mark exam questions with sources for the socialisation, culture and identity topic
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Using Sources A and B and your wider sociological knowledge, explain the concept of culture.Culture can be defined as the way of life of a particular society which consists of norms, values and
traditions. There is cultural diversity across the world: intercultural differences (between cultures)
and intracultural differences (within cultures). There are numerous different examples of culture
such as high, popular and consumer culture.
Source A shows the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at their wedding ceremony which was
broadcasted in the UK. Their wedding was covered by the media worldwide, as they are British
royalty and millions of people idolise them. This shows culture because many people associate
Britain with the royal family, and many British people believe they are a valuable part of what it
means to be British. Another example of culture would be the President in America, who Americans
view as a role model for their country. The President is as well-known as the royal family for a
figurehead representing America.
Source B shows the Nayar culture where girls are allowed to marry up to 12 men, and men can have
an unlimited number of sandbanham wives. Their relationships were mainly sexual as they didn’t
need to have any commitments to each other. This shows culture because it is seen as an
expectation for them but many other cultures would disagree with this. Another example of culture
is how in British culture, marriages are monogamous, where you can only marry one person. The
legal age of marriage is 18 or 16 with parents’ permission which differs from the Nayar culture where
girls can marry even before puberty. The functionalist theory would disagree with the Nayar culture
as they believe that the ideal family is the nuclear family (white, middle-class, heterosexual and
monogamous).
Using Sources A and B and your wider sociological
knowledge, explain the concept of norms.
,Norms are expected patterns of behaviour that are based on the values of a culture. They are
socially constructed as they are made by society and relative as they depend on factors such as time,
culture and country. People typically feel strong pressure to conform to norms to fit in with society,
as they are unwritten rules followed by the majority.
Source A shows a newly married homosexual couple in modern day society. This links to the idea of
norms because it has become increasingly socially acceptable to be a homosexual, more so in more
developed countries such as Britain. However, this is still considered deviant behaviour in many
countries as they can punish you e.g. the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Another example of a norm
would be interracial marriages which are on the rise. This is highly due to immigration and the
acceptance of people from different backgrounds mixing, now a norm, especially in British culture.
Post-modernism accepts that society is changing and people have more choice in terms of their
sexuality, abolishing the idea of the nuclear family.
Source B shows a woman in a bikini and a woman in a burqa, who both think that what the other
woman is wearing has been dictated by men. The woman in the bikini is seen as an object to be
admired by men whereas the woman in the burqa is forced to cover up by her husband to be seen as
respectable. This links to the idea of norms because Western cultures are more relaxed in terms of
what women where, whereas countries such as Afghanistan force women to cover themselves.
Another example of a norm would be the control over females in Afghan culture, where girls
become ‘Bacha Posh’ (dressed as boys) to escape this control. The Bacha Posh have become a norm
to give girls more freedom to play and have a normal childhood.
Using Sources A and B and your wider sociological knowledge, explain the concept of values.
, Values are beliefs and ideas which society sees as important and are accepted by the majority of
society. They are socially constructed as they are created and developed by society. Those who don’t
follow the values are considered deviant.
Source A shows hands which shape a bird, representing liberty and human rights which we are all
entitled to. This is a universal value in most cultures, evident in some more than others. An example
would be the American right to bear arms. They value their freedom and right to defend themselves,
as reinforced by this law. Human rights are valued more in first-world countries as many people are
still oppressed in third-world countries, such as Mexico, where immigrant families are being split up
and deported.
Source B shows a family of four which suggests that the family is a highly important value in many
cultures. This is because they shape a child’s identity as they grow and are greatly influential in the
child’s life. Another example of a value would be the idea of friendship in an individual’s life. Harris
found that peer groups are arguably more influential than the family, especially during a young
person’s teenage life.
Using Sources A and B and your wider sociological knowledge, explain the concept of subculture.
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