Intro to Sociology Chapter 1-6

Stigma

"blemishes" that discredit a person's claim to a "normal" identity

Conflict Theory

(Theoretical Framework) society viewed as groups that are competing for scarce resources.

Functional Analysis

(Theoretical framework) society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that contributes to the equilibrium of the society; also known as "functionalism."

Symbolic interactionism

(theoretical perspective) society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communcate with one another.

Dependent Variable

Changed by the independent variable.

Role strain

Conflicts that someone feels within a role

Organic solidarity

Durkheim's term for the interdependence that results from the division of labor; people depending on others to fulfill their jobs

Mechanical Solidarity

Durkheim's term for the unity that people feel as a result of performing the same or similar tasks

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf's hypothesis that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving

Macro-level Analysis

Examination of large-scale patterns of society

Bourgeoisie

Marx's term for capitalists, those who own the means of production.

Proletariat

Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do now own the means of production.

Alienation

Marx's term for workers' lack of connectoin to the product of their labor, caused by their being assigned repetitive tasks on a small part of a product, which leads to a sense of powerlessness and normlessness; a general term for not feeling a part of something

Strain theory

Merton's term for the strain when a society socializes larger numbers of people to desire a cultural goal (such as success), but withholds from some the approved means of reaching that goal

Cultural lag

Ogburn's term for human behavior lagging behind technological innocations

White-Collar Crime

Sutherland's term for crimes committed by people of respectable and high social status in the course of their occupations (ex. bribery of public officials, securities violations, embezzlement, false advertising, and price fixing).

Status

The position that someone occupies in a social group

Social class

Weber: a large group of people who rank close to one another in property, power, and prestige. Marx: either capitalists who own the means of production or workers who sell their labor (Bourgeousie and Proletariat).

Thomas Theorem

William and Dorothy Thomas' classic formulation of the definition of a situation: "If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."

Bureacracy

a formal organization with a hierarchy of authority and a clear division of labor; emphasis on impersonality of positions and written rules, communications, and records.

Primary Group

a group characterized by intimate, long-term, face-to-face association and cooperation

Reference Group

a group whose standards we refer to as we evaluate ourselves

Counterculture

a group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture

Social control

a group's formal and informal means of enforcing its norms

Nonmaterial culture

a group's ways of thinking (beliefs, values and assumptions about the world) and ways of doing (common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction); also called "symbolic culture."

Groupthink

a narrowing of thought by a group of people, leading to the perception that there is only one correct course of action, in which to even suggest alternatives becomes a sign of disloyalty.

Taboo

a norm so strong that it often brings revulsion if violated

Total institution

a place that is almost totally controlled by those who run it, in which people are cut off from the rest of society and the society is mostly cut off from them.

Ascribed status

a position an individual either inherits at birth or receives involuntarily later in life.

Random Sample

a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study.

Master status

a status that cuts across the other statuses that an individual occupies

Looking glass self

a term coined by Charles Cooley to refer to the process by which our self develops through internalizing others' reactions to us.

Degradation ceremony

a term coined by Harold Garfinkel to refer to a ritual whose goal is to remake someone's self by stripping away that individual's self-identity and stamping a new identity in its place.

Transitional adulthood

a term that refers to the period following high school when young adults have not yet taken on the responsibilities ordinarily associated with adulthood; also called "adultolescence."

Gemeinschaft

a type of society in which life is intimate; a community in which everyone knows everyone else and people share a sense of togetherness

Gesellschaft

a type of society that is dominated by impersonal relationships, individual accomplishments, and self-interest

Rationalization of society

a widespread acceptance of rationality (efficiency) and social organizations that are built largely around this idea

Status set

all the statuses or positions that an individual occupies

Dramaturgy

an approach ,by Goffman, in which social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage

Stereotype

an assumption of what other people are like, whether true or false

Significant other

an individual who significantly influences someone else's life

Micro-level Analysis

analysis of small-scale patterns of society.

Macrosociology

analysis of social life that focuses on broad features of society, such as social class and the relationships of groups to one another; usually used by functionalists and conflict theorists.

Secondary Group

compared with a primary group, a larger, relatively temporary, more anonymous formal and impersonal group based on interest or activity

Role Conflict

conflicts that someone feels between roles because the expectations attached to one role are incompatible with the expectations of another role.

Replication

duplicating some research in order to test its findings

Sanctions

either expressions of approval given to people for upholding norms or expressions of disapproval for violating them.

Independent Variable

factor that causes a change in the dependent variable.

Variable

factor thought to be significant for human behavior, which can vary from one case to another

Out-groups

groups toward which one feels antagonism

In-groups

groups toward which one feels loyalty

Sample

individuals inteded to represent the population to be studied.

Folkways

norms that are not stricly enforced

Mores

norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values or the wellbeing of the group.

Cultural relativism

not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms.

Agents of Socialization

people or groups that affect our self-concept, attitudes, behaviors, or other orientations toward life.

Group

people who have something in common and who believe what they have in common is significant; also called "social group."

Respondents

people who respond to a survey

Society

people who share a culture and a territory

Impression management

people's efforts to control the impressions that others receive of them.

Achieved Status

positions that are earned, accomplished, or involve at least some effort or activity on the individual's part

Take the role of the other

putting oneself in someone else's shoes

Status inconsistency

ranking high on some dimensions of social class and low on others; also called "status discrepancy"

Secondary analysis

the analysis of data that have been collected by other researchers

Positivism

the application of the scientific method to the social world.

Roles

the behaviors, obligations, and privileges attached to a status

Survey

the collection of data by having people answer a series of questions.

Culture shock

the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a different culture and can no longer depend on their own assumptions on life.

Validity

the extent to which an operational definition measures what it is intended to measure

Reliability

the extent to which research produces consistent of dependable results.

Social structure

the framework that surrounds us, consisting of the relationships of people and groups to one another, which gives direction to and sets limits on behavior

Control theory

the idea that two control systems (inner controls and outter controls) work against our tendencies to deviate

Culture

the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next.

Material culture

the material objects that distinguish a group of people (ex. art, buildings, hairstyles, clothing, weapons, etc.)

Generalized other

the norms, values, attitudes, and expectations of people in general

Social institutions

the organized, usual, or standard ways by which society meets its basic needs

Socialization

the process by which people learn the characteristics of their group (the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, norms, and actions thought appropriate for them).

Anticipatory socialization

the process of learning in advance a role or status one anticipates having

Resocialization

the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors.

Social Network

the social ties radiating outward from the self that link people together

Division of labor

the splitting of a group's or society's tasks into specialties

Values

the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly

Criminal justice system

the system of police, courts, and prisons set up to deal with people who are accused of having committed a crime

Social construction of reality

the use of background assumptions and life experiences to define what is real

Scientific Method

the use of objective systematic observations to test theories

Ethnocentricism

the use of one's own culture to judge the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to negative evaluations of the other culture.

Subculture

the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world

Value free

the view that a sociologist's personal values or biases should not influence social research

Labeling theory

the view that the labels people are given affect their own and others' perceptions of them thus channeling their behavior into either deviance or conformity

Deviance

the violation of norms (rules or expectations)

Operational Definition

the way in which a researcher measures a variable.

Group dynamics

the ways in which individuals affect groups and the ways in which groups influence individuals

Gender socialization

the ways in which society sets children on different paths in life because they are male or female

Medicalization of deviance

to make deviance a medical matter; a symptom of some underlying illness that needs to be treated by physicians

Sociological Perspective

understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context.

Norms

what is expected of people; the expectations intended to guide people's behaviors