Sociology Chpt 5

organic solidarity

Emile Durkheim's term for the social cohesion found in industrial (and perhaps postindustrial) societies, in which people perform very specialized tasks and feel united by their mutual dependence

mechanical solidarity

Emile Durkheim's term for the social cohesion of preindustrial societies, in which there is minimal division of labor and people feel united by shared values and common social bonds

impression management (presentation of self)

Erving Goffman's term for people's efforts to present themselves to others in ways that are most favorable to their own interests or image

face-saving behavior

Erving Goffman's term for the strategies we use to rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face

dramaturgical analysis

Erving Goffman's term for the study of social interation that compares everyday life to a theatrical presentation

True

True or False Conflict theorists maintain that in capitalistic societies, where a few people control the labor of many, the social structure reflects a system of relationships of domination among categories of people (for example, owner-worker and employer-employee).

False

True or False Emile Durkheim argues that homelessness is a "social class phenomenon, the direct result of a steady, across-the-board lowering of the standard of living of the working class and lower class."

True

True or False Family, economy, education, religion, and mass media are all examples of social institutions.

True

True or False Homeless people have lost the vital link with social structures.

False

True or False Horticultural and pastoral societies are more egalitarian than hunting and gathering societies.

True

True or False In agrarian societies, politics are based on a feudal system controlled by a political-economic elite mad e up of the ruler, his royal family, and members of the landowning class.

True

True or False In hunting and gathering societies, the basic social unit is the kinship group or family.

False

True or False People use role exiting techniques when they do not want others to take them as the "self" implied in a particular role, especially if they think the role is "beneath them."

True

True or False President Barack Obama occupies various statuses, including status as an African American, a husband, and a father. However, Obama's status as the POTUS functions as a master status.

True

True or False Role strain occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status that a person occupies.

True

True or False Social structure is essential for the survival of society and for the well-being of individuals because it provides a social web of familial support and social relationships that connects each of us to the larger society.

True

True or False Status symbols are material signs that inform others of a person's specific status.

False

True or False The term "status" refers to high-level positions in society.

True

True or False Traditionally, people of color and white women have been excluded from powerful "old-boy" social networks.

False

True or False Social institutions are transformed by industrialism. The family increases in significance as the economy, education, and political institutions grow in size and complexity.

True

True or False Sociologist Emile Durkheim stated that as societies became industrialized and developed more-specialized economic activities, social solidarity came to be rooted in the members' shared dependence on one another.

social script

a "playbook" that "actors" use to guide their verbal replies and overall performance to achieve the desired goal of the conversation or fulfill the role they are playing

role strain

a condition that occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status that a person occupies

social group

a group that consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity and a feeling of interdependence

role expectation

a group's or society's definition of the way that a specific role ought to be played

formal organization

a highly structured group formed for the purpose of completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals

Gesellschaft

a large, urban society in which social bonds are based on impersonal and specialized relationships, with little long-term commitment to the group or consensus on values

secondary group

a larger, more specialized group in which members engage in more-impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time

status symbol

a material sign that informs others of a person's specific status

role

a set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status

social institution

a set of organized beliefs and rules that establishes how a society will attempt to meet its basic social needs

self-fulfilling prophecy

a situation in which a false belief or prediction produces behavior that makes the originally false belief come true

role conflict

a situation in which incompatible role demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time

role exit

a situation in which people disengage from social roles that have been central to their self-identity

primary group

a small, less specialized group in which members engage in face-to-face, emotion-based interactions over an extended period of time

ascribed status

a social position conferred at birth or received involuntarily later in life, based on attributes over which the individual has little or no control, such as race/ethnicity, age, and gender

achieved status

a social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort

status

a socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties

Gemeinschaft

a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on intergeneration stability

status set

all the statuses that a person occupies at a given time

role performance

how a person actually plays a role

division of labor

how the various tasks of a society are divided up and performed

industrial societies

societies based on technology that mechanizes production

horticultural societies

societies based on technology that supports the cultivation of plants to provide food

pastoral societies

societies based on technology that supports the domestication of large animals to provide food

postindustrial societies

societies in which technology supports a service- and information- based economy

hunting and gathering societies

societies that use simple technology for hunting animals and gathering vegetation

agrarian societies

societies that use the technology of large-scale farming, including animal-drawn or energy-powered plows and equipment, to produce their food supply

social structure

the complex framework of societal institutions (such as the economy, politics, and religion) and the social practices (such as rules and social roles) that make up a society and organize and establish limits on people's behavior

personal space

the immediate area surrounding a person that the person claims as private

master status

the most important status that a person occupies

social construction of reality

the process by which our perception of reality is shaped largely by the subjective meaning that we give to an experience

social interaction

the process by which people act toward or respond to other people: the foundation for all relationships and groups in society

ethnomethodology

the study of the commonsense knowledge that people use to understand the situations in which they find themselves

nonverbal communication

the transfer or information between persons without the use of words