The Process Of Learning And Socialisation: Culture, Roles, Norms, Values, Beliefs, Customs, Ideology, Power And Status As Elements In The Social Construction Of Reality. (Copy)

Functionalism (Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons)

Core Idea

• Society is based on shared norms and values → creates social order and stability
• Socialisation = process of transmitting culture to maintain system

Application to Social Construction of Reality

• Culture
  • Seen as a shared system of norms, values, beliefs
  • Creates a collective conscience (Durkheim)
• Norms & Values
  • Norms = rules of behaviour
  • Values = guiding principles (e.g. honesty, respect)
  • Internalised through socialisation → individuals behave predictably
• Roles
  • Individuals learn expected behaviour (e.g. student, parent)
  • Parsons: society works because people perform roles correctly
• Beliefs & Ideology
  • Shared beliefs reinforce unity (e.g. religion promotes moral behaviour)
• Customs
  • Traditions maintain continuity (e.g. marriage rituals reinforce family importance)
• Power & Status
  • Status is earned (achieved status) in meritocratic society
  • Power is accepted as legitimate → based on consensus

Exam Application Line

• Reality is socially constructed through value consensus, ensuring social order and stability.

Marxism (Karl Marx, Louis Althusser)

Core Idea

• Socialisation reflects ruling class ideology
• Reality is shaped to maintain capitalist exploitation

Application to Social Construction of Reality

• Culture
  • Dominant culture = ruling class culture
  • Working class accept inequality as normal
• Norms & Values
  • Promote obedience, hard work → benefit capitalism
• Roles
  • People socialised into worker roles (accept authority, routine)
• Beliefs
  • False consciousness: people believe system is fair when it isn’t
• Ideology
  • Althusser: education, media = Ideological State Apparatus
  • Spread capitalist ideology
• Customs
  • E.g. consumerism rituals (shopping culture) support capitalism
• Power & Status
  • Power = held by bourgeoisie
  • Status reflects class inequality, not merit

Exam Application Line

• Social reality is constructed to legitimise inequality and maintain capitalist control.

Feminism (Ann Oakley)

Core Idea

• Socialisation creates gender inequality
• Reality is patriarchal

Application to Social Construction of Reality

• Culture
  • Male-dominated culture → patriarchy
• Norms & Values
  • Gender norms (girls = caring, boys = dominant)
• Roles
  • Women socialised into domestic roles
  • Oakley: manipulation, canalisation, verbal appellations
• Beliefs
  • Belief in “natural” gender differences → socially constructed
• Ideology
  • Patriarchal ideology normalises male dominance
• Customs
  • Marriage traditions reinforce female subordination
• Power & Status
  • Men hold more power
  • Women often have lower status in society

Exam Application Line

• Socialisation constructs a gendered reality that benefits men and disadvantages women.

Interactionism (George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer)

Core Idea

• Reality is created through everyday interactions
• Meanings are not fixed → they are negotiated

Application to Social Construction of Reality

• Culture
  • Not imposed → created through interaction
• Norms & Values
  • Learned through social interaction (family, peers)
• Roles
  • Role-taking (Mead): understanding expectations of others
• Beliefs
  • Constructed through shared meanings
• Ideology
  • Less focus on structure, more on micro-level meanings
• Customs
  • Maintained through repeated interactions
• Power & Status
  • Status comes from how others perceive and label you
  • Labelling theory: identity shaped by social reactions

Exam Application Line

• Social reality is constructed through subjective meanings and interactions between individuals.

Postmodernism (Jean Baudrillard)

Core Idea

• Reality is fragmented and shaped by media and consumer culture
• No single “truth”

Application to Social Construction of Reality

• Culture
  • Diverse, fragmented → no single dominant culture
• Norms & Values
  • More choice → individuals pick their own lifestyles
• Roles
  • Flexible and changing identities
• Beliefs
  • Influenced by media representations
• Ideology
  • No dominant ideology → multiple competing narratives
• Customs
  • Traditional customs weakening
• Power & Status
  • Status linked to consumption (brands, lifestyle)
  • Media shapes what is seen as “high status”

Exam Application Line

• Social reality is fluid, media-driven, and individually constructed rather than fixed.

Key Synoptic Application (High-Level Exam Use)

• Functionalists → consensus creates shared reality
• Marxists → ideology distorts reality to maintain inequality
• Feminists → gendered socialisation constructs patriarchal reality
• Interactionists → reality is actively created through interaction
• Postmodernists → reality is fragmented and shaped by media and choice