Sociology Chapters 1-3 Key Terms

Variable

Any concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can change or vary from one person, time, situation, or society to another

Symbols

Anything that has socially come to stand for something else.

Dependent Variable

Assumed to be caused by the independent variable

Functionalist Perspectives

Based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system

Positivism

A belief that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry. Has two dimension: methodological and social and political

Role

A collection of norms associated with a particular position in society. Ex: I am a student.

Interview

A data-collection encounter in which an interviewer asks the respondent questions and records the answers

Alienation

A feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from other people and from oneself.

Class

A group of people of roughly equivalent status in an unequal society

Counterculture

A group whose values set their members in opposition to the dominant society. They want to change the society in some way. Ex: hippies, hate groups

Survey

A poll in which the researcher gathers facts or attempts to determine the relationships among facts

Myth

A popular, but false notion that may be used, either intentionally or unintentionally, to perpetuate certain beliefs or "theories" even in the light of conclusive evidence on the contrary.

Status

A position in a social structure

Prestige

A positive or negative social estimation of honor

Questionnaire

A printed research instrument containing a series of items to which subjects respond

Global Interdependence

A relationship in which the lives of all people are intertwined closely and any one nation's problems are part of a larger global problem.

Society

A relatively self-sufficient and self-sustaining group of people united by social relationships and who live within a certain territory

Representative Sample

A selection from a larger population that has the essential characteristics of the total population

Theory

A set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and (occasionally) predict social events

Power Elite

A small clique composted of top corporate, political, and military officials

Master Status

A social position of exceptional importance. Ex: Queen Elizabeth, presidential race

Taboo

A socially forbidden act. Ex: cannibalism, incest.

Language

A socially structured system of sound patterns with specific and arbitrary meaning

Institution

A stable cluster of values, norms, statuses, and rules that developed around the basic need of society.

Hypothesis

A statement of the expected relationship between two or more variables

Patriarchy

A system in which men dominate women and in which things that are considered to be "male" or "masculine" are more highly valued than those considered to be "female" or "feminine"

Achieved class

A system is which your social position is based on your own efforts. Sometimes this is called an open system.

Fad

A temporary, but widely copied activity followed by a large number of people. Ex: crocs, gauchos, dance styles, silly bands, heelies

Wonder

A topic. Something you have interest in and want to research.

Fashion

A valued style of behavior, thinking, or appearance that is long lasting. Ex: Jeans

Pop Culture

Consists of activities, products, and services patronized by the middle and working class. Ex: driving a Toyota. Going to a TCU opera and maybe taking a Southwest flight to get to Fort Worth.

High Culture

Consists of activities, products, and services, patronized by the elite in society. Ex: Floyd Mayweather owns millions in cars. Going to the opera in Vienna is high culture, especially if you take a private jet.

Material Culture

Consists of those things humans create that you can physically touch. Ex: desk, shoes, sunglasses, car, hat

Non Material Culture

Consists of those things humans create that you cannot physically touch. Ex: language, religious beliefs, legal system

Laws

Encoded norms. They are norms we take so seriously that we write them down and everyone has to follow them.

Macrolevel Analysis

Examines whole societies, large-scale social structures, and social systems instead of looking at important social dynamics in individuals' lives

Postmodern Perspective

Existing theories have been unsuccessful in explaining social life in contemporary societies that are characterized by post-industrialization, consumerism, and global communications

Mores

Fall under the category of moral violations. We do we morally expect people to do and behave. It can be fluid as it varies through societies and groups. They may not be illegal, but as a society we believe it is not right

Microlevel Analysis

Focuses on small groups rather than large-scale social structures

Social Dynamics

Forces for conflict and change

Social Statics

Forces for social order and stability

Triad

Group of three

Dyad

Group of two

Conflict Perspectives

Groups in society are engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scare resources

Subcultures

Groups whose values and behaviors are so distinct they set their members apart from the general population . Ex: the Amish, polygamy gamilies

Interaction

Immediate reciprocally oriented communication between two or more people

Manifest Functions

Intended and/or overtly recognized by the participants in a social unit.

Qualitative Research

Interpretive descriptions (words) rather than statistics (numbers) are used to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.

Gellschaft

Means association. It is about association and you know people by what they can sell you. A big city has impersonal relationships. Interaction is based on functional need. In a big city, people are oriented towards their personal needs versus the group.

Gemeinschaft

Means community. Refers to a small community or a small town. Tight knit. People might have strong interpersonal relationships. Kinship or family ties are really important. There is a common core of values and unity among the citizens.

Conceptualizing

Narrowing down a wonder and making it more specific

High-Income Countries

Nations with highly industrialized economies; technologically advanced industrial, administrative, and service occupations; and relatively high levels of national and personal income. Ex: USA, Canada, Australia

Middle-Income Countries

Nations with industrializing economies, particularly in urban areas, and moderate levels of national and personal income. Ex: China, Brazil, Mexico

Ascribed System

One in which your social position is determined at birth. Ex: Indian caste system

Social Facts

Patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but that exert social control over each person

Sociologists

People who are concerned with how and why people as members of a group act they way they do towards one another

Respondents

People who provide data for analysis through interviews or questionnaires.

Independent Variable

Presumed to be the cause of the relationship

Low-Income Countries

Primarily agrarian nations with little industrialization and low levels of national and personal income. Ex: nations of Africa

Personal Troubles

Private problems that affect individuals and the networks of people with whom they associate regularly. As a result, individuals within their immediate social settings must solve those problems.

Public Issues

Problems that affect large numbers of people and often require solutions at the societal level.

The Sociological Perspective

Provides a way of looking at life and understanding why people are they way they are

Sex

Refers to the biological and anatomical differences between females and males.

Ethnicity

Refers to the cultural heritage or identity of a group and is based on factors such as language or country of origin.

Gender

Refers to the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with sex differences, referred to as femininity and masculinity

Symbolic Interaction

Refers to the peculiar and distinctive character of interaction as it takes place between human beings

Mechanical Solidarity

Social bonds based on collective conformity to tradition. You are bond together and connected to someone else because you have agreed. Amish is a prime example. They are bound together by their belief system, style of dress, mode of transportation, lack of electricity.

Organic Solidarity

Social bonds based on specialization and interdependence. You are bond to each other because of the fact that you specialize. If you specialize in something, you are good at one thing and if you ever need something you have to bond to another person to get something done.

Norms

Social rules or guidelines that specify is appropriate in a given situation

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Society is the sum of the interaction of groups and individuals

Research Methods

Specific strategies or techniques for systematically conducting research

Power

The ability of a person within a social relationship to carry out his or her own will despite resistance from others

Sociological Imagionation

The ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society. Created by C. Wright Mills.

Social Darwinism

The belief that those species of animals, including human beings, best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out

Culture

The complex pattern of living that humans have developed and that they pass from one generation to the next

Validity

The extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure

Reliability

The extent to which a study or research instrument yields consistent results when applied to different individuals at one time or to the same individuals over time.

Quantitative Research

The goal is scientific objectivity, and the focus is on data that can be measured numerically

Structured Interviews

The interviewer asks questions from a standardized questionnaire

Folkways

The least significant norms. If you violate one, it's not a big deal and people may notice because it is not illegal or immoral. Ex: not matching your socks together.

Sample

The people who are selected from the population to be studied

Urbanization

The process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than in rural cities

Industrialization

The process by which societies are transformed from dependence on agriculture and handmade products to an emphasis on manufacturing and related industries.

Socialization

The process by which we learn the ways of society or a particular group

Cultural Leveling

The process in which cultures become similar to one another. Ex: Coca-Cola, Christmas

Research

The process of systematically collecting information for the purpose of testing an existing theory or generating a new one

Class

The relative location of a person or group within the larger society, based on wealth, power, prestige, or other valued resources.

Culture Shock

The result of coming into contact with a radically different culture that challenges our basic assumptions. Ex: Texas has different culture than Seattle

Sociology

The study of human society and social behavior

Social Structures

The traits of groups as opposed to the traits of individual members themselves

Values

These are what justify norms and are specifically shared ideas about what are good, right, and desirable. They can change over time and they can vary from society to society.

Blase Urbanite

This occurs as a result of people being exposed to the crush of objects, events, and people in a city or urban environment

Latent Functions

Unintended functions that are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants

Unit of Analysis

What or whom is being studied

Cultural Diffusion

When groups borrow culture from one another as a result of contact. Ex: food

Cultural Lag

When one part of culture changes and the other part lags behind. Generally technology changes and we do not have the laws to use the technology. Ex: glow in the dark dogs

Ethnocentrism

When we use our own culture to judge that of others

Cultural Relativism

When you judge another's culture on their own terms and standards

Nature

Your biology or your heredity

Nurture

Your social environment