MATSEC SEC Social Studies flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Socialisation

The lifelong process by which individuals learn the norms, values, roles and skills of their society, beginning in the family and continuing through school, peers, media and work.

Norms

Shared expectations about how members of a society should behave in given situations, such as queuing, greeting people politely or respecting the law.

Values

Deeply held beliefs about what is good, right or desirable in a society, such as honesty, justice, family loyalty or respect for authority, which guide behaviour and norms.

Culture

The total way of life of a group, including language, beliefs, values, customs, food, dress, art and technology, shared and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Primary socialisation

The first stage of socialisation, occurring in early childhood mainly within the family, where a child learns basic language, values and acceptable behaviour from close carers.

Agents of socialisation

The institutions and groups that transmit norms and values, principally the family, school, peer group, mass media, religion and workplace, each influencing individuals in different ways.

Formal social control

Control exercised through written rules and official sanctions by institutions such as the police, courts and schools, for example fines, imprisonment, detention or expulsion.

Informal social control

Control exercised through everyday social pressure such as disapproval, gossip, ridicule or praise, exercised by family, friends and the community rather than official bodies.

Nuclear family

A household consisting of two parents and their dependent children, often contrasted with the extended family, which includes other relatives in the same or nearby household.

Social stratification

The ranking of people into hierarchical layers according to class, status, wealth or power, producing unequal access to resources, opportunities and life chances.

Social mobility

Movement of individuals or groups between social positions, either upward or downward, and either within a lifetime or across generations.

Absolute poverty

A condition in which a person lacks the basic necessities of life, such as adequate food, clean water, shelter and health care, measured against a fixed minimum standard.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture by the standards of one's own, often treating one's own culture as superior, which can lead to prejudice and misunderstanding.

Cultural relativism

The approach of understanding a culture on its own terms rather than judging it by outside standards, while noting that some practices still raise universal human rights concerns.

Rights and duties

Citizenship entails entitlements such as voting, education and free expression, balanced by obligations such as obeying the law, paying taxes and respecting others' rights.

Malta's Independence Constitution

The constitution granted in 1964 that made Malta a sovereign state within the Commonwealth, with a parliamentary system, after centuries of foreign rule.

Malta as a republic

On 13 December 1974 Malta became a republic, replacing the monarch with a President as head of state elected by the House of Representatives.

Single transferable vote

The proportional representation system used for Maltese general elections, in which voters rank candidates and surplus or eliminated votes transfer until seats are filled.

Separation of powers

The division of government into legislature, executive and judiciary, each with distinct functions and checks on the others, to prevent concentration and abuse of power.

Rule of law

The principle that everyone, including government, is subject to the law, that laws are applied fairly and consistently, and that courts are independent.

Democracy

A system of government in which power derives from the people through free and fair elections, with rule of law, protected rights and accountability of rulers.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Adopted by the United Nations in 1948, it sets out civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all people should enjoy, though it is not itself a treaty.

European Convention on Human Rights

A 1950 Council of Europe treaty protecting rights such as life, fair trial and free expression, enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Malta's EU accession

Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 after a referendum, and adopted the euro as its currency on 1 January 2008.

Scarcity

The basic economic problem that resources are limited while wants are unlimited, forcing individuals and societies to make choices about what to produce and consume.

Opportunity cost

The value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is made, for example the income forgone by studying instead of working.

Factors of production

The resources used to produce goods and services: land (natural resources), labour (human effort), capital (machinery and money) and enterprise (risk-taking organisation).

Sustainable development

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, balancing economic, social and environmental goals.

Malta's water scarcity

Malta has very limited freshwater, relying on groundwater and desalination plants such as reverse-osmosis facilities, so water conservation and leak reduction are policy priorities.

Push and pull factors

Conditions that drive migration: push factors such as conflict, poverty or persecution repel people, while pull factors such as jobs, safety and education attract them.

Globalisation

The growing interdependence of countries through cross-border flows of goods, capital, people, information and culture, bringing growth, access and also inequality and cultural pressures.

Questionnaire research

A research method using written or online questions to gather data from many respondents cheaply, though answers may be shallow or affected by question wording.