CSEC Social Studies cheat sheet

Self-concept is the total picture a person holds of his or her own abilities, traits, roles and worth; self-esteem is the value judgement placed on that picture.

Identity has personal, social and cultural layers: personal identity covers unique traits and interests, social identity covers group memberships, cultural identity covers shared heritage, language and values.

Socialisation is the lifelong process of learning the norms, values and skills of a society; primary socialisation occurs in the family during early childhood, secondary socialisation occurs later through school, peers, religion, media and workplace.

Agents of socialisation ranked by typical influence in early life: family first, then school, peer group, religious institutions, mass media and later the workplace.

Nature versus nurture: heredity supplies physical and temperamental potential, environment (family, community, schooling) shapes how that potential is expressed.

Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and adulthood marked by puberty, identity exploration and growing independence; it is a social category as well as a biological one.

Personality is commonly described through traits; the enduring pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving distinguishes one person from another and is shaped by both heredity and experience.

Maslow's hierarchy orders needs from physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, to self-actualisation; lower needs are usually addressed before higher ones.

A role is the set of expected behaviours attached to a status; role conflict occurs when the demands of two roles clash, for example worker versus caregiver.

A group is two or more people interacting on the basis of shared expectations; a primary group is small, intimate and face-to-face (family, close friends), a secondary group is larger and impersonal (workplace, union).

A community is a group sharing a geographic area or common interest plus a sense of belonging; communities may be territorial (village, town) or relational (religious, occupational, online).

Formal social control is exercised through written rules and institutions such as police, courts and schools; informal social control operates through customs, gossip, praise, ridicule and family pressure.

Institutions are established patterns of norms and roles meeting a basic social need: family (reproduction and care), education (transmission of culture and skills), religion (meaning and morality), economy (production), government (order).

Cooperation, competition, conflict and accommodation are the basic forms of social interaction; accommodation includes compromise, arbitration and mediation used to end conflict.

Social stratification ranks people by class, status and power; ascribed status is assigned at birth, achieved status is earned through effort.

Social mobility is movement between social positions: vertical mobility moves up or down the hierarchy, horizontal mobility changes position without changing rank.

Culture has material elements (tools, buildings, clothing) and non-material elements (norms, values, beliefs, language, symbols); norms include folkways (customs), mores (strong moral rules) and laws (codified and enforced).

Ethnocentrism judges another culture by one's own standards; cultural relativism interprets a practice within its own cultural context.

Rights and responsibilities are paired: the right to education carries the responsibility to attend and learn; the right to vote carries the responsibility to vote informed.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) sets out civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights; it is a declaration, not a treaty, and is not itself legally binding.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) recognises rights to survival, development, protection and participation, including the child's right to be heard in matters affecting the child.

Good governance is characterised by accountability, transparency, rule of law, participation, responsiveness and equity; corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.

Accountability means answerability plus consequences: an office-holder must explain decisions and accept sanctions for misuse of authority.

Citizenship duties commonly listed: obeying the law, paying taxes, respecting the rights of others, protecting public property, serving on juries where required, and participating in democratic processes.

Pressure groups and non-governmental organisations influence policy without seeking office; they differ from political parties, which contest elections to form government.

The ombudsman investigates complaints of maladministration against public bodies; auditors-general examine public spending; both are accountability mechanisms.

Conflict resolution by negotiation is direct bargaining between parties; mediation adds a neutral third party who helps but does not decide; arbitration uses a third party whose decision is binding.

CARICOM was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973 (revised 2001); its original four members were Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

CARICOM's pillars are economic integration, foreign policy coordination, human and social development, and security; the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) allows free movement of goods, services, capital and skilled labour.

The Caribbean Court of Justice, based in Port of Spain, has an original jurisdiction interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and an appellate jurisdiction replacing the Privy Council for member states that adopt it.

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), founded in 1981, operates a common currency through the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and shares a Supreme Court.

The University of the West Indies, founded 1948, serves the region through campuses at Mona, St Augustine and Cave Hill, plus the Open Campus.

The Federation of the West Indies (1958-1962) collapsed after Jamaica and then Trinidad and Tobago withdrew; it is the precedent for later integration efforts.

The Caribbean Examinations Council, established 1972, administers CSEC and CAPE and is owned by participating Caribbean governments.

Regional economic challenges include small market size, narrow export bases, high import dependence and vulnerability to natural disasters and external shocks.

Globalisation is the growing interconnection of economies and societies through trade, investment, technology, migration and communication; it has economic, cultural, political and environmental dimensions.

Comparative advantage holds that a country gains by specialising in goods it produces at lower opportunity cost and trading for the rest; absolute advantage means producing more with the same resources.

Trade protection tools: tariffs (taxes on imports), quotas (quantity limits), subsidies to domestic producers, embargoes and standards; free trade reduces these barriers.

Balance of payments records a country's transactions with the rest of the world: the current account covers goods, services, income and transfers; the capital and financial account covers investment flows.

The World Trade Organization, formed in 1995 from GATT, administers trade rules and settles disputes; the IMF promotes monetary stability and balance-of-payments support; the World Bank funds development.

The United Nations, founded 1945, has principal organs including the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Secretariat and International Court of Justice.

Sustainable development meets present needs without compromising future generations; it integrates economic, social and environmental goals, as in the Rio and SDG frameworks.

Cultural imperialism describes the dominance of one culture's products and values over others; cultural pluralism and hybridisation describe mixing and coexistence of cultures.

Digital divide refers to unequal access to information and communication technology between and within countries, affecting education, commerce and participation.

Emotional intelligence covers self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills; it predicts interpersonal effectiveness alongside cognitive ability.

Stress is the body's response to demands; coping strategies divide into problem-focused (acting on the stressor) and emotion-focused (managing feelings about it).

Gender is the socially constructed roles and expectations attached to being male or female; sex refers to biological characteristics.

Stereotypes are generalised beliefs about a group; prejudice is a preconceived attitude; discrimination is behaviour that treats people unequally on that basis.

A life cycle perspective links stages (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age) to changing roles, needs and social expectations.

Deviance is behaviour that violates significant social norms; it may be formal (breaking law) or informal (breaching custom), and not all deviance is criminal.

Crime is behaviour punishable by law; the criminal justice system processes suspects through police, courts and corrections.

Juvenile delinquency refers to offending by minors, handled by special courts and rehabilitation rather than ordinary adult penalties.

Volunteerism and self-help build social capital, the networks of trust and reciprocity that let a community act collectively.

Migration is movement of people between areas; push factors drive people away (unemployment, disaster), pull factors attract them (jobs, services).

The three branches of government: legislature makes law, executive implements it, judiciary interprets it; separation of powers with checks and balances prevents concentration of authority.

A constitution sets the fundamental rules of the state; it may be written or unwritten, rigid or flexible, and defines citizens' rights and the limits of government power.

The franchise is the right to vote; in most Caribbean states it is universal for adults, with a secret ballot and periodic elections.

An independent judiciary, free press and active civil society are accountability checks that expose abuse and inform public debate.

White-collar crime (fraud, embezzlement, bribery) is committed in the course of legitimate occupation and is often harder to detect than street crime.

The Caribbean Community's decision-making bodies include the Conference of Heads of Government and the Council for Trade and Economic Development.

The Caribbean Development Bank, established 1970 and based in Barbados, finances development projects in borrowing member countries.

Pan-Caribbean identity draws on shared history of indigenous settlement, European colonisation, African enslavement, indentureship and migration, producing plural societies.

Brain drain is the emigration of skilled nationals, reducing the region's human capital; remittances sent home partly offset the loss.

The Caribbean Single Market allows CARICOM nationals to move for work in categories such as university graduates, artists, musicians, sportspersons and media workers.

Multinational corporations operate in several countries; they bring capital, jobs and technology but may repatriate profits and influence local policy.

Terms of trade compare export prices with import prices; a fall means a country must export more to buy the same imports.

Foreign direct investment is investment giving lasting management interest in an enterprise abroad; portfolio investment is buying financial assets without control.

Climate change adaptation (sea defences, drought-resistant crops) differs from mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions).

Global citizenship refers to awareness of, and responsibility for, issues beyond national borders such as poverty, human rights and environmental protection.