Sociology underpins the way you live

your life. Once you have studied

A LEVEL SOCIOLOGY Sociology you will never look at the

world in the same way again!
A former Sociology student
CONNECTOR
Write down your name and as many statements about yourself as you
can think of (aim for 10) under the heading ‘Who am I?’. Each
statement must begin with ‘I am ….’

e.g. I am a daughter.
I am a teacher.
I am a cyclist.

Put this list aside, we’ll come back to it later.

OBJECTIVES
To find out what Sociology is all about.

To practice thinking like a sociologist.

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
We’ll read an article about the Shirbit culture.

Pay close attention to all the aspects of their culture that are
unusual.

Where in the world do you think the Shirbit live? Why?


SHIRBIT CULTURE
Sociology teaches you to question
the world around you and see
ordinary, everyday aspects of life
with a critical eye.
Sociology aims to explain human
behaviour.
The Shirbit culture believes that the human body is ugly and that its natural
tendency is to feebleness and disease. The Shirbit therefore indulge in rituals
and ceremonies designed to avoid this, and consequently every household
has a shrine devoted to the body. The rituals associated with the shrine are
private and secret.
Adults never discuss the rituals and children are told only enough for them to
be successfully initiated. The focal point of the shrine is a box built into the
wall in which are kept charms and magical potions for the face and body.
These are obtained from the medicine men who write down the ingredients in
an ancient and secret language which is only understood by the herbalist who
prepares the potion. These potions are kept in the charm-box for many years.
Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Every day, twice a day, every member
of the family enters the shrine room in succession and bows his or her head
before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font and
proceeds with a brief rite of ablution.
The Shirbit have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the
mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on
all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe
their teeth would fall out, their friends would desert them and their lovers
would reject them.
Finally, men and women indulge in barbaric acts of self-mutilation. Men
engage in a daily body ritual of scraping and lacerating their faces with a
sharp instrument, whilst women bake their heads in a small oven once a
month.
 WHY DO PEOPLE BEHAVE THE
WAY WE DO?

Is human behaviour biologically determined or learnt? Which of the behaviours are innate
(biological) and which are learned?
 O
WHY DO PEOPLE BEHAVE THE R

WAY WE DO?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93HymGXC_wM

Nature theory – biological view that human behaviour is determined and affected
by biological factors.

Nurture theory – sociological view that human behaviour is learnt from those
around us.

Which of these views was supported by the clip we watched? How/why?

Which one do you agree with?
HOW DO WE KNOW HOW TO
BEHAVE?

Where
1 2345
would you
sit on the
upper
deck?
HOW DO WE KNOW HOW TO
BEHAVE?
1 2 3 4

Which urinal will the

second man use?
HOW DO WE KNOW HOW TO
BEHAVE?
We know how to behave because our society has rules which tell us how to
behave in any given situation.
Sociologists call these rules norms and values.

Values are unwritten general guidelines for behaviour.

Norms are unwritten specific rules for behaviour.

Values are unwritten general guidelines for behaviour.
Norms are unwritten specific rules for behaviour.

SORT THESE INTO NORMS

AND VALUES
Waiting for our Fairness and justice Not reading other
turn in a queue people’s text messages

Not carrying
a knife
Respect for life Helping the poor

Respect for
Give money Privacy the elderly Giving up your
to charity seat on the bus
Sociologists argue we learn the norms and values of our society through the process of
socialisation and it is this process that sociologists are interested in understanding.
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK5J0-cM-HE

Sociology is the study of society we live in and how it affects our behaviour as
individuals.
It asks questions about the world we live in and tries to explain why it is the way
it is.
It therefore teaches you to question the world around you and helps you
understand the main factors that influence people’s behaviour.
Sociology also challenges ‘common sense’ ideas about the way society is and the
reasons for this.
WHAT DO WE STUDY IN A
LEVEL SOCIOLOGY?
Describe what is
happening in the
picture.
ETHNICITY
Have you ever wondered why…
…black men are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police
than white men?
…children of Caribbean background are the most likely group to be
permanently excluded from school?
…people of ethnic minority background are more religious than white groups
in the UK?
…Asian families tend to be extended? Or do they?
…some of the poorest people in Britain are of ethnic minority background?
WHAT DO WE STUDY IN A
LEVEL SOCIOLOGY?
On a rainy morning, a father offered his son a lift to
school and the son gladly accepted.
Unfortunately, on the way to school, they are
involved in a traffic incident and both are hurt.
Two ambulances arrive and the father is taken to
A&H first as he is more badly hurt.
Once the ambulance arrives to A&E, the father is
examined by a doctor who says; ‘this man is badly
hurt and needs immediate surgery to save his life’ so
the father is taken to the operating theatre for surgery.
The second ambulance arrives to A&E where another
doctor examines the son and says: ‘this boy is badly
hurt and needs immediate surgery to save his life, but
I can’t operate on him because he is my son’.
How is this possible?
GENDER
Have you ever wondered why…
...if we say the word ‘doctor’ we think of a man, but the word ‘nurse’ makes
us think of a woman?
…women commit fewer crimes than men? Or do they?
…girls are doing better at GCSEs than boys?
…little girls are dressed in pink and little boys in blue?
…have mothers been more involved in their children’s remote learning during
the lockdown than fathers, even though both have been working from home?
REVIEW
Look at your lists of ‘I am …’ statements again.

1. Divide the list into those aspects of your identity that are the result of
biology and those that are the result of social influence. For example, you
might identify ‘son’ as biological and ‘tennis player’ as social.
2. For those that are the result of social influence, identify the specific social
influences at work e.g. family, education system, peers, religion or the
media. How do they actually exert an influence on our behaviour?
3. Now look at the biological list. Are these simply biological or does society
actually influence the way we express these aspects of our identity?