Sociology Terms

role strain

experience when there are contradictory expectations within one single role

interviews

face-to-face information-seeking conversations to gather qualitative data directly from research subjects

Thomas Theorem

if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences

Objectivity

impartiality; the ability to allow the facts to speak for themselves

total institutions

institutions in which individuals are cut off from the rest of society so that they can be controlled and regulated for the purpose of systematically stripping away previous roles and identities in order to create new ones

mores

norms that carry a greater moral significance and are more closely related to the core values of a cultural group

literature review

A thorough search through previously published studies relevant to a particular topic

Differential Association Theory

Asserts that we learn to be deviant through our interactions with others who break the rules

Labeling Theory

Deviance is not inherent in any act, belief, or condition, but determined by the social context

iron cage

Max Weber's pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization

Research Ethics

Standards of conduct that investigators are ethically bound to honor to protect their research participants from physical or psychological harm

Mead's theory of self

The development of the self unfolds in several stages as we move through childhood

Asch Experiment

Three straight lines and match the fourth one; almost all participants were greatly distressed by the discrepancy between their own perceptions and those of the other participants

Deviance

a behavior, trait, or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group

operational definition

a clear and precise definition of a variable that facilitates its measurement

group

a collection of at least two people who not only share some attribute but also identify with one another and have ongoing social relations

criminal justice system

a collection of social institutions that creates and enforces laws

Critical Theory

a contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression

Secondary deviance

a deviant identity or career

in-group

a group a member identifies with and feels loyalty toward

society

a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others

Population

a group that is the focus of their study

reference group

a group that provides standards by which a person evaluates their own personal attributes

out-group

a group toward which an individual feels opposition, rivalry, or hostility

subculture

a group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle

counterculture

a group within society that openly rejects or actively opposes society's values and norms

content analysis

a method in which researchers identify and study specific variables or themes that appear in a text, image, or media message

participant observation

a methodology associated with ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting

Ethnography

a naturalistic method based on studying people in their own environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities

taboo

a norm ingrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust, horror, or revulsion

Structural Functionalism (functionalist theory)

a paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures

anomie

a sense of disconnections brought about by the changing conditions of modern life

culture shock

a sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment

paradigm

a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality

role conflict

a situation in which two or more roles have contradictory expectations

Sample

a smaller group that is representative of the larger population

queer theory

a social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories

structural

a stable, ordered system made up of interrelated parts

acheived status

a status earned through individual efforts or acquired in some other way

embodied status

a status generated by physical characteristics (such as beauty or disability)

master status

a status that seems to override all others in our identities

language

a system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, or written symbols; the basis of nonmaterial culture and the primary means through which we communicate with one another and perpetuate our culture

crowd

a temporary gathering of people in a public place; don't necessarily have a sense of common identity

Feminist Theory

a theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world

Hypothesis

a theoretical statement that they think will explain the relationship between two phenomena

social identity theory

a theory of group formation and maintenance that stresses the need of individual members to feel a sense of belonging

intervening variable

a third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the relationship between two other variables

social network analysis

a tool for measuring and visualizing the structure of social relationships between two or more people

crime

a violation of a norm that has bee codified into law, for which you could be arrested and imprisoned

sociological perspective

a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens

Theories

abstract propositions about how things are and how they should be

deterrence

an approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

an official measure of crime in the United States

material culture

any physical object to which we give social meanin

stigma

any physical or social attribute that devalues a person or group's identity and that may exclude those who are devalued from normal social interaction

traditional authority

authority based in custom, birthright, or divine right

legal-rational authority

authority based in laws, rules, and procedures, not in the heredity or personality of any individual leader

charismatic authority

authority based in the perception of remarkable personal qualities in a leader

empirical

based on observation or experiment

cooling the mark out

behaviors that help others save face or avoid embarrassment, often referred to as civility or tact

ascribed status

one we are born with that is unlikely to change (such as our gender or race)

strong ties

peer group and kinship contacts which are quantitatively small but qualitatively powerful

aggregates

people who happen to find themselves together in a particular physical location; no lasting social relations

category

people who share one or more attributes but who lack a sense of common identity or belonging

sanction

positive or negative reactions to the ways that people follow or disobey norms, including rewards for conformity and punishments for violations

stereotype promise

positive stereotypes lead to positive performance outcomes

coercive power

power that is backed by the threat of force

passing

presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group you belong

deviance avowal

process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant and initiates their own labeling process

Surveys

questionnaires that are administered to a sample of respondents selected from a target population

Quantitative Research

research that translates the social world into numbers that can be treated mathematically; this type of research often tries to find cause and effect relationships

Qualitative Research

research that works with nonnumerical data; often tries to understand how people make sense of their world

weak ties

social connections that are personally superficial but are large in number and provide connections to a wide range of other individuals

agents of socialization

social groups, institutions, and individuals that provide structured situations in which socialization takes place

dramaturgy

social life is analyzed in terms of its relation to theatrical performance

agency

the ability of the individual to act freely and independently

power

the ability to control the actions of others

Replicability

the ability to repeat or replicate the research

Validity

the accuracy of a question or measurement tool

spurious correlation

the appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable

Social Darwinism

the application of the theory of evolution and the notion of "survival of the fittest" to the study of society

Solidarity

the degree of integration or unity within a particular society

social sciences

the disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world

cultural diffusion

the dissemination of material and nonmaterial culture (tools and technology, beliefs, and behavior) from one group to another

impression management

the effort to control the impressions we make on others so that they form a desired view of us and the situation; the use of self-presentation and performance tactics

Alienation

the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness

dependent variable

the factor that is changed (or not) by the independent variable

independent variable

the factor that is predicted to cause change

stereotype threat

the fear of performing poorly could unintentionally confirm a negative stereotype about their social group, and then actually performing poorly

social control

the formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

the idea that language structures thought and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language

symbolic culture

the ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication)

cultural imperialism

the imposition of one culture's beliefs and practices on another culture through media and consumer products rather than by military force

self

the individual's conscious, reflexive experience of a personal identity separate and distinct from others

Primary deviance

the initial act that gets them labeled in the first placed

group dynamics

the patterns of interaction between groups and individuals

generalized other

the perspectives and expectations of a network of others that children learn and then take into account when shaping their own behavior

backstage

the places where we prepare or rehearse for our performances

cultural relativism

the principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging or evaluating according to one's own culture

Ethnocentrism

the principle of using one's own culture as a means or standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than one's own are abnormal or inferior

social construction

the process by which a concept or practice is created and maintained by participants who collectively agree that it exists

socialization

the process by which a society teaches individuals to become functioning members and the process by which individuals learn and internalize the values and norms of the group

emotional labor

the process of evoking, suppressing, or otherwise managing feelings to create a publicly observable display of emotion

resocialization

the process of replacing previously learned norms and values with new ones as part of a transition in life

civil inattention

the process whereby individuals in the same physical setting demonstrate to one another that they are aware of each other's presence

sacred

the quality of being holy, worthy of respect and reverence

norms

the rules and guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable; develops directly out of a culture's value system

role

the set of behaviors expected from a particular status position

Values

the set of shared beliefs that a group of people considers to be worthwhile or desirable in life

frontstage

the setting that helps establish a particular meaning

Hawthorne effect

the specific desired effect is the result not of the independent variable but of the research itself

McDonaldization

the spread of bureaucratic rationalization and the accompanying increases in efficiency and dehumanization

Social control theory

the stronger one's social bonds the less likely one is to commit crime

criminology

the study of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system

Critical Race Theory

the study of the relationship among race, racism, and power

Sociology

the systemic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions

Positivism

the theory that sense perceptions are the only valid source of knowledge

organic solidarity

the type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights

mechanical solidarity

the type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion

social inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society

dominant culture

the values, norms, and practices of the most powerful groups

gestures

the ways in which people use their bodies to communicate without words; actions that have symbolic meaning

Reactivity

the ways that people and events respond to being studies

social network

the web of direct and indirect ties connecting an individual to other people who may also affect the individual

Variables

two or more phenomena that a researcher believes are related; examined in the experiment

laws

types of norms that are formally codified to provide an explicit statement about what is permissible or forbidden, legal or illegal in a given society

Verstehen (Weber)

understanding social behavior by putting yourself in the place of others

hidden curriculum

values or behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling

Representativeness

whether a particular study can apply to something larger

postive deviance

situations in which norms are broken in the name of the good

Bureaucracy

A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials

Bias

A personal preference or point of view

Modernism

a paradigm that places trust in the power of science and technology to create progress, solve problems, and improve life

Symbolic Interactionism

a paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction

Conflict Theory

a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change

Postmodernism

a paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux

status

a position in a social hierarchy that comes with a set of expectations

saturated self

a postmodern idea that the self is no developed by multiple influences chosen from a wide range of media sources

Scientific Method

a procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting concrete data through observation and experimentation

sociological imagination

a quality of mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces

open-ended questions

a question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses

closed-ended questions

a question asked of a respondent that imposes a limit on the possible responses

Causation

a relationship between two variables in which a change in one directly produces a change in the other

Correlation

a relationship between variables in which they change together and may or may not be casual

definition of the situation

an agreement with others about what is going on in a given circumstance

rehabilitation

an approach to punishment that attempts to reform criminals as part of their penalty

Merton's typology of deviance

conformists, innovators, ritualists, retreatists, rebels

social ties

connections between individuals

experiment

formal tests of specific variables and effects, performed in a setting where all aspects of the situation can be controlled

social influence

group impact on others' decisions

primary groups

groups composed of people who are most important to our sense of self

secondary groups

groups that are larger and less intimate than primary groups; relationships are usually organized and temporary

groupthink

highly cohesive groups may demand absolute conformity and punish those who threaten to undermine the consensus

Reflexivity

how the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on in the field setting

expressive leadership

leadership concerned with maintaining harmony within the group

instrumental leadership

leadership that is task or goal oriented

rationalization

logical procedures are the focus, rules and regulations are paramount, and an individual's unique personal qualities are unimportant

folkways

loosely enforced norms involving common customs, practices, or procedures that ensure smooth social interaction and acceptance

Tertiary deviance

redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon

in-group orientation

reject the standards that mark them as deviant and may even actively propose new standards in which their special identities are well within the normal range

Pragmatism

seeking the truth of an idea by evaluating its usefulness in every day life; if it works, its true

profane

showing contempt toward sacred things

signs

symbols that stand for or convey an idea

authority

the legitimate right to wield power

latent functions

the less obvious, unintended functions

Microsociology

the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and structures of society

Macrosociology

the level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals

real culture

the norms and values that actually exist within a society

ideal culture

the norms and values that members of a society believe should be observed in principle

retribution

the notion that society has the right to get even

looking-glass self

the notion that the self develops through our perception of others' evaluations and appraisals of us

manifest functions

the obvious, intended functions of a social structure