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so far we've looked at a lot of

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sociological perspectives and try to
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understand where it is that they are
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coming from we now need to just
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understand a few simple terms that will
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help us to understand the individual
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within society so our next section from
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page thirty onwards is values norms of
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roles and status values a value is a
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belief that something is good or
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valuable it defines what is important
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worthwhile and worth striving for for
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example in modern Britain the value of
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individual achievement is highly
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regarded while in many smaller scale
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societies the importance of group
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solidarity is emphasized values imply
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that there are certain appropriate forms
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of action that ought to be taken for
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example life is precious
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therefore it is wrong to kill anybody
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values change as times and circumstances
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alter child labor for example was
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considered quite acceptable in Britain
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until the mid 19th century when
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opponents began to express their
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opinions publicly today the thought of
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young children working in the mines and
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factories would be abhorrent to the
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population so values are the things that
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are important to a society and those
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will vary across societies and those who
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vary across time norms the word norm may
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cover many types of rules including
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customs conventions social etiquette
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morals and laws the factor common to all
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of these is that social pressure in some
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form is exerted to increase the chances
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of conformity to the norm
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some norms appear trivial such as those
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about appropriate dress at the theater
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or the correct use of cutlery at formal
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dinners others may be deeply felt and
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serve as a basis for the moral order
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such as those that forbid
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incest treason or murder the common link
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between them is that a person who fails
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to obey them in the appropriate
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situation will meet with punishment
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disapproval or even exclusion from the
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group so norms are the accepted way of
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doing something the conventional way of
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doing something
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now some people go out of their way to
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break the norms of society okay and
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those are okay if those norms aren't
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hurting anybody else so it may be that
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you dye your hair orange and come to
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school with it spiked up in a Mohican
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and you would be going against the norm
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of the school and you're not going to
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end up in prison for that and you're not
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ruining anybody's life by doing that and
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but so you know norms have these various
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values added to them as well levels of
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importance added to them roles the
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values of the culture in which we live
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define the roles that we play
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pattern of behavior that goes with those
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roles roles can be defined as a set of
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normative expectations we all play many
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roles in the course of our life
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sometimes even in the same day other
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people see us not as the unique
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individuals we perceive ourselves to be
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but by the particular roles we are
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playing at that time the relationships
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we form as a direct result of having a
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role are called a role set
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unhappiness with or consciousness of
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playing this role is described as rolled
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distance social order is only possible
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because we understand that others are
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playing certain roles some roles are
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replicated throughout institutions for
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example teacher and student on occasion
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individuals may find themselves playing
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two contradictory roles at the same time
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such as employee and mother or they may
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define their role differently to the way
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others expect them to such situations
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involve role conflict as that we all
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play many different roles in a day if I
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am described as a teacher yes that's
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true I am a teacher but I'm also lots of
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other things as well ok I'm a mother I'm
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a sister I'm a daughter and and I and I
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may be different in the way that I act
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when I'm doing those things if I'm a
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friend then I may be behave in a
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different way now you can actually
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combine those roles there's not a
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problem with them being joined together
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but sometimes it can be really difficult
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for somebody to see you in a different
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role and a different light therefore and
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and as
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just sometimes you know you're acting
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you maybe have to tell a child off but
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at that same point you're actually
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thinking that was a really clever thing
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that they did but you can't say that
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because of the role that you are playing
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now sometimes people will see their
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roles in different ways so I as a
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teacher may think that what I have to do
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is plan lessons properly have good
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interactions with my students give you
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feedback so that you know how to
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progress forward test you formatively so
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that it can enhance our understanding of
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how to improve your learning somebody
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else may think that being a teacher
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means they just turn up to class they
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win they wing it they don't really worry
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about the syllabus that they're covering
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and they don't think about your
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different learning styles and there we
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start to get a problem because the
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perception of a role can be different so
5:19
we have to think about where we get our
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ideas now going back to our last two
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definitions of values and norms that's
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where a role comes comes into it how is
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that role valued by society and what are
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the norms of how you act when you are
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playing that role oh that can't status
5:42
the term status refers to the level of
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social honor or prestige given to
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someone by others either as a result of
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the formal role they play in their
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social position all of the individual
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skills and talents they display place on
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one status may improve because of the
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role that I play in society okay it's
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very in the past we've talked about
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different classes so I was born into a
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working-class family now I'm a teacher
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which is considered to be a middle-class
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job so my status has changed because of
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the role that I play
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a teacher okay now I could also have an
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individual skill or a talent which
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raises my status so let's take someone
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like David Beckham for example who has
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this very high status because of the
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football that he plays and the skill
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that he displays you know that changes
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and yet he doesn't come from you know a
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high up wealthy family different
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occupations are associated with
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different levels of status although
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differences of status also exists within
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an occupation a status hierarchy some
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statuses are given to us or ascribed
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such as mother father daughter or son
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others may be chosen or achieved such as
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employment roles being a firefighter or
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a judge the status accorded a role is
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defined by the culture in which you live
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the elderly as a status group for
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example carry a lower status in Western
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than other societies taking on a new
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role that carries higher status in the
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previous role may lead to status
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dissonance if individuals find it
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difficult to play that role okay so we
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have a hierarchy of status within our
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own school certain teachers are seen as
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being higher up in there in the ranking
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of the school and therefore their status
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is regarded as different okay and you
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will see that within all sorts of jobs
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so that's a status hierarchy okay and
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some people will find their their role
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very difficult to play
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if the
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suddenly their status is higher and they
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find themselves having to tell other
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people what to do or to be the person
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that is ultimately responsible when
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actions are taken and so this is role
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dissonance where we've become
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dissatisfied with with the role that
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we're playing it doesn't fit probably
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properly with how we perceive ourselves
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in industrial societies the primary
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stage of socialization is further
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extended when children enter the
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education system
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this is called secondary socialization
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at school they learn wider values of
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society outside their experience of the
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family and are treated not as particular
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individuals but as members of a larger
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community when they leave school
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socialization continues as they prepare
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to enter adulthood and when they become
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parents the cycle begins all over again
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socialization is a continuous never
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ending the process case a primary a
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socialization with your family and then
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into this form of secondary
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socialization through school
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then through maybe university or college
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then through work then your social
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groupings may change if you are married
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you may then start to only mix with
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married couples because you want to do
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married couple things if you're single
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and then you know again you will mix
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with different groups of people so
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different socialization patterns once
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you have children that changes again
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when you move into old age once your
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children have left home that pattern of
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socialization changes again so this
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ongoing never-ending process criticisms
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this somewhat mechanical picture becomes
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far more complicated when attempts are
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made to operationalize these concepts
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that is to make them work in a
9:35
meaningful way in the process of
9:37
research over time these terms have come
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to be hotly contested in such a way that
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the simple and one-dimensional
9:44
definitions given above I'm no longer
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agreed upon by sociologists the link
9:49
between norms and values for example may
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not be as strong as first supposed some
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people may share a cultural desire to
9:57
become closer to God and this may be
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their sole reason for attending a place
10:02
of worship others may go to place their
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family and friends or to maintain their
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social status just because people behave
10:09
in the same way it does not mean that
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their motives are the same this may mean
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that it is not possible for sociologists
10:16
to make generalizations about the
10:18
motives behind behavior okay so we might
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say that it's a value of this society
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that everybody goes to worship God in
10:29
one form or another okay but some people
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may do it just because that's the
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accepted way to behave in society and
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others may do it because they want a
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closer relationship to God so we have to
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be really careful that because there is
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this norm we don't actually know the
10:43
reasoning behind
10:45
and the motives to go with it further
10:47
questions have to be asked do people
10:49
have a choice in play in their various
10:51
roles exactly how does socialization
10:54
happen can it be resisted
10:56
what are sociologists referring to when
10:59
they describe the culture of a society
11:01
does everyone really share the same
11:03
values of the culture they live within
11:05
it may be the case if we look carefully
11:07
that there is as much evidence of
11:10
conflict around these values as there is
11:12
consensus so these are really valuable
11:16
questions to ask okay and you know we we
11:20
will discuss these in graphs the clear
11:24
implication of these questions is that
11:26
there can be no one single view of
11:28
culture and socialization rather there
11:31
are many taken to its extreme there
11:34
could be as many views as to what
11:36
constitutes a culture as there are
11:38
individuals living in that culture as we
11:40
cannot assume that everyone perceives
11:43
the world around them in the same way
11:45
sociologists can choose to don many
11:48
different pairs of spectacles in their
11:50
efforts to see something as complex as a
11:52
society as with other academic
11:54
disciplines as we have seen there are
11:57
many perspectives in sociology so now we
12:00
have our key terms but what we have to
12:03
remember is that there are still going
12:05
to be a variety of ways of understanding
12:08
these
AllFrom your searchListenable

Sherif (1935) Autokinetic Effect Experiment

Method: Sherif used a lab experiment to study conformity. He used the autokinetic
effect – this is where a small spot of light (projected onto a screen) in a dark room
will appear to move, even though it is still (i.e. it is a visual illusion).

Sherif (1936, p. 108) reported that the majority of the participants indicated after the experiment
was over that their judgments had not been influenced by the judgments made by the other
group members. Sherif also found that the norms that were developed in groups could
continue over time.

Aim: The aim was to demonstrate that people conform to group norms when they are put in an
ambiguous situation.

First Sherif studied how subjects reacted to the autokinetic effect when they were in a room by
themselves. He found that they soon established their own individual norms for the
judgment—usually 2 to 6 inches.

Another difference between the two experiments was that Asch had control over his
participants and Sherif had none. The effect of this was that the results could show
conformity clearly as it was evidently definable conformity was occurring whereas Sherif's
results were in ranges that followed a norm.

Sherif (1936) concluded that unstable situations produce uncertainty and confusion and

people assume that “the group must be right” (p. 111) and look to the group for the formation of
a common norm.

Group norms are agreed-upon standards of behavior. Sherif's experiment showed group norms
are established through interaction of individuals and the leveling-off of extreme opinions. The
result is a consensus agreement that tends to be a compromise...even if it is wrong.
Which is an example of the autokinetic effect?
What explains the results Sherif found in his Autokinetic research on conformity?
They had increased their conformity to group norms or agreed-upon standards of
behavior. Sherif's experiment showed that group norms are established through
interaction of individuals, with a leveling-off of extreme opinions. The result is a
consensus agreement that tends to be a compromise, even if it is wrong.

the 3 types of conformity?

Herbert Kelman identified three major types of conformity: compliance, identification,
and internalization.

actors affect conformity?

Group size—larger groups are more likely to conform to similar behaviors and thoughts
than smaller ones. Unanimity—individuals are more likely to conform to group decisions
when the rest of the group's response is unanimous. Status—individuals are more likely
to conform with high-status groups.

the 4 types of conformity

 Conformity.
 Internalisation: Social Influence.
 Compliance.
 Normative Social Influence.
 Identification.

three factors that explain why people conform

 People conform for approval and acceptance (normative social influence), out of
a need for more information and direction (informational social influence), and to
match the behavior of those they admire and want to be like (reference group).