Every society has a culture: a shared way of life that includes language, customs, beliefs and everyday habits, passed down from one generation to the next. Culture is learned, not something people are born with, which is why people raised in different societies can grow up with very different habits and beliefs.

Culture is made up of smaller building blocks. Norms are the unwritten rules that tell people how to behave in a particular situation, such as queuing at a bus stop or lowering your voice in a library. Values are broader beliefs about what is good, right or important, such as valuing honesty or fairness.

Sociologists also use the ideas of status and role. Status is the social position a person holds, for example “student” or “parent”. A role is the pattern of behaviour expected of someone holding a particular status.

Sociologists distinguish between two types of status. An ascribed status is given to someone at birth and is hard to change, such as being someone’s daughter or son. An achieved status is gained through a person’s own actions, such as becoming a qualified teacher.

Key terms

Culture: The shared way of life of a group, including its language, customs, beliefs and everyday habits, learned rather than inherited biologically.

Norms: Unwritten social rules that guide behaviour in a particular situation, for example queuing in an orderly line.

Values: Broad beliefs shared by a group about what is good, right or worth aiming for, such as honesty or equality.

Status and role: Status is a person’s social position, for example “teacher”; a role is the behaviour expected of someone holding that status.

Norms and values are not fixed forever.

They can differ between societies.

They can also change significantly over time within the same society: attitudes in the UK towards smoking in public places, and towards marriage, have both changed considerably since the 1960s.

Key Takeaways

Culture is learned, shared and passed down between generations, not something people are born with.

Norms are specific unwritten rules for behaviour; values are broader beliefs about what matters.

Ascribed status is given at birth (e.g. being someone’s child); achieved status is earned through action (e.g. a qualification).

Norms and values change over time and differ between societies.

Check your understanding

1. Give one example of a norm and one example of a value, and explain the difference between them. You could: pick examples from your own school or family life to make the distinction concrete.

2. Explain the difference between an ascribed status and an achieved status, using one example of each. You should: make clear that an ascribed status is given at birth while an achieved status results from a person’s own actions.