Sociology key terms

A reward or punishment used to encourage conformity, such as praise for effort or detention for breaking school rules.

People who support both their children and their ageing parents, often alongside paid work.

Standardised school tests used to assess whether pupils meet expected attainment standards in English and mathematics.

A person or group blamed for something that is not their fault.

Unfairly blaming a person or group for wider social problems that they have not caused.

The values, beliefs and moral expectations which characterise a school.

Existing data originally collected by someone else.

The process of learning society’s norms and values through agencies beyond the family, such as schools and peer groups.

Information or research already produced by others, which a researcher uses for a new investigation.

The declining influence of religion on social institutions, beliefs and behaviour.

A pattern in which partners have separate domestic responsibilities, typically divided by gender, and tend to have separate leisure activities.

Responsibilities divided between partners, commonly along traditional gender lines, with relatively separate leisure activities.

The process of assigning pupils to schools, classes or groups, affecting the educational opportunities available to them.

Support targeted at people who meet particular conditions, commonly financial need assessed through means testing.

Means-tested benefits targeted at those in greatest financial need. Pension Credit for pensioners on low incomes is an example.

The unequal application of the law, with some offences or groups receiving more attention than others.

A school which selects pupils by assessed ability, commonly through an entrance examination; a grammar school is an example.

Choosing which research information to use and which to leave out, for example to focus on a subgroup. Selection can produce a biased account if contrary evidence is excluded.

The ability to control one’s own behaviour and follow rules without needing constant supervision or punishment.

An outcome produced when an initial expectation influences treatment and behaviour so that the expectation becomes true.

A survey asking people to disclose offences they have committed, usually anonymously.

The ability to support oneself rather than depend on financial assistance from the state or others.

An interview using prepared questions or topics while allowing changes in order and follow-up questions.

A punishment or order imposed by a court on someone found guilty of an offence.

The belief that public life, including paid work and politics, is primarily men’s domain, while the private world of home and family is primarily women’s domain.

Having successive partners or marriages, but only one partner at a time, for example through divorce and remarriage.

The occupational class comprising professionals, administrators and managers in Halsey, Heath and Ridge's study.

Grouping pupils by assessed ability or attainment separately for each subject, so a pupil can be in different sets for different subjects.

Unfair treatment based on sex or gender.

Fair and equal treatment regardless of sex or gender.