Sociology key terms

The idea that education in its existing school-based form should be abolished.

Discouraging offending through the threat or experience of punishment.

Behaviour that breaks the norms or expectations of a social group or society.

A process in which public and media reactions to deviance encourage further deviant behaviour.

A process through which someone develops a deviant identity and may become involved in a deviant subculture.

Shared beliefs and values within a group that justify and support behaviour defined as deviant by wider society.

A political system in which power is concentrated in a dictator who rules through force.

The unequal application of the law to different social groups, including differences in investigation, prosecution and punishment.

Unequal enforcement of the law against different social groups or types of crime.

Campaigning that takes action directly on an issue, such as occupying a building.

Treating someone less favourably because of a characteristic such as their religion or belief, including a characteristic they are assumed to have.

Prejudiced attitudes or discriminatory treatment towards disabled people that can restrict their opportunities.

Unequal treatment of people because of their membership of a social group.

How power and wealth are shared, or concentrated, among different groups in society.

The allocation of different tasks and responsibilities to different people.

The legal ending of a marriage.

The number of divorces in relation to the married population over a stated period. ONS figures for 2017 expressed this per 1,000 married men or women aged 16 and over.

Abusive behaviour between partners, ex-partners or personally connected family members, including physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse and controlling behaviour.

The allocation of housework, childcare and other unpaid household tasks between family members.

Work involved in running a household, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and caring for children.

Physical violence within domestic relationships, such as hitting or kicking; it is one form of the wider category of domestic abuse.

The view that female offenders may be judged more harshly because they are seen as breaking both the law and expectations of appropriate female behaviour.

The combination of paid employment and responsibility for unpaid domestic work, often used to describe women's workload.

Applying different rules or judgements to comparable behaviour by different groups, such as men and women.

The combined responsibility for paid employment and unpaid domestic work.

A family in which both partners pursue paid careers.

A harmful consequence of a social institution or practice for individuals, groups or wider society.

A family in which relationships or behaviour harm members or prevent their needs being met, for example through abuse or neglect.

The system through which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed.

A social institution that organises learning and passes on knowledge, skills, norms and values.