sociology 1 - exam 1
understanding
"Puzzle-solving research" seeks not just to fill a fap in information but to fill a gap in __________.
Alexis de Tocqueville
-A french aristocrat and one of the first great social theorists -he wanted to understand how the conditions of democracy and equality were possible -Ever since the publication of his resulting study, Democracy in America, the United States has been viewed though the lens of sociology as a nation of joiners in which, more so than in Europe, people are involved in many groups and activities. -Yet sociologists constantly revisit questions about whether the way we live today is different from how we lived in earlier times, and one of the enduring questions is whether Americans are less involved today in public-spirited activities than in the past
audience segregation
-Although people cooperate to help one another "save face," they also endeavor individually to preserve their own dignity, autonomy, and respect. One of the ways in which people do this is by arranging for "__________" in their lives. -In each of their roles they act somewhat differently, and they try to keep what they do in each role distinct from what they do in their other roles. This means that they can have multiple serlves.
feminist theory
-a sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women -there are many strands of __________, but they all share the desire to explain gender inequality in society and to work to overcome it
marriage
-a socially approved sexual relationship between two individuals -normally forms the basis of a family of procreation - that is, it is expected that the married couple will produce and bring up children
Erving Goffman
-the sociologist who did the most to create a new field of study focused on social interaction -believed that sociologists needed to concern themselves with seemingly trivial aspects of social behavior
society
Sociologically speaking, a ____________ can be defined as a system of interrelationships that connects individuals
day to day social interactions
The sociologist Erving Goffman played a key role in establishing the field of microsociology, which focuses on _________.
deviant subculture
a subculture whose members hold values that differ substantially from those of the majority
concrete operational
according to Jean Piaget these three stages of cognitive development are universal: -sensorimotor, preoperational, and _________________
sociobiology
an approach that attempts to explain the behavior of both animals and human beings in terms of biological principles -wilson argued that genes influence not only physical traits but also behavior -
organization
an ____________ can be best defined as a group with an identifiable membership that engages in concerted collective actions to achieve a common purpose
social construction
an idea or principle that a group of people agree exists. It is maintained over time by people taking its existence for granted
nonverbal communication
communication between individuals based on facial expression or bodily gesture rather than language -sometimes referred to as "body language," often alters or expands on what is said with words
limit
control theorists argue that the best way to reduce crime is to _____________ the criminal's ability to commit crime
relative deprivation
deprivation a person feels by comparing himself with a group -Merton identified a sense of ___________________, or the recognition that one has less than his or her peers, as an important element in deviant behavior
emerging economies
developing countries, such as India or Singapore, that over the past two or three decades have begun to develop a strong industrial base
instincts
fixed patterns of behavior that have genetic origins and that appear in all normal animals within a given species
primary socialization
occurs in infancy and childhood -is the most intense period of cultural learning -it is the time when children learn language and basic behavioral patterns that form the foundation for later learning -the family is the main agent of socialization during this phase
secondary socialization
occurs later in childhood and in maturity -in this phase, other agents of socialization, such as schools, peer groups, organizations, the media, and the workplace, become socializing forces. Social interactions in these contexts help people learn the values, norms, and beliefs of their culture
corporate crime
offenses committed by large corporations in society. Examples of ___________ include pollution, false advertising, and violations of health and safety regulations
total institution
one in which all aspects of life are conducted in the same place (for example, prisons, monasteries, convents, and army boot camps)
contradictory class locations
positions in the class structure, particularly routine white-collar and lower managerial jobs, that share characteristics with the class positions both above and below them
informal relations
relations that exist in groups and organizations developed on the basis of personal connections; ways of doing things that depart from formally recognized modes of procedure
economic inequalities
robert k. merton argued that _______________ are the primary cause of deviance
oligarchy
rule by a small minority within an organization or society
gender roles
social roles assigned to each sex and labeled as masculine or feminine
wealth
social stratification has increased throughout human history as people have produced more __________ and there have been more resources for them to fight over
agrarian societies
societies whose means of subsistence are based on agricultural production (crop growing)
agency
the ability to think, act, and make choices independently
Emile Durkheim
-The Division of Labor in Society -discussed how the historical changes wrought by industrialization and urbanization had led to the increasing specificity of the roles individuals filled, and how this specialization functioned to benefit society as a whole
postmodernism
-advocates of ______________ claim that the classic social thinkers' idea that history has a shape - it "goes somewhere" and leads to progress - has collapsed -there is no such thing as history -the new world is dominated by the new media, which "take us out" of our past -
cultural conformity
-all cultures serve as an important source of conformity -for example, when you say that you subscribe to a particular value, you are voicing the beliefs of your family members, friends, teachers, or others who are significant in your life -conformity to your group
weak ties
There can be enormous strength in ____________, particularly among higher socioeconomic groups, as shown through the work of sociologist Mark Granovetter. Marc wants to get an internship with a state legislator. He has talked to his family members and friends, but no one seems to have any useful contacts and he knows that the internships are highly competitive. One day he runs into a former classmate he hasn't seen for several years, and it turns out the classmate has a cousin who worked as the assistant campaign manager for a state senator in the most recent election. The classmate offers to put Marc in touch with his cousin. This scenario is an example of what concept?
broken windows theory
There is an empty lot in a middle-class neighborhood that for years was maintained by a neighbor who lived next to it. That neighbor moved away and within a few weeks several bags of garbage and some old furniture were sitting in the lot. Shortly after that, an old car was parked in the lot and teenagers had started to gather there to smoke and hang out. Within a few months, there was a mugging by the lot and the police had made a couple of arrests for drug dealing there. This series of events is an example of what theory?
iron law of oligarchy
A term coined by Weber's student Robert Michels meaning that large organizations tend toward centralization of power, making democracy difficult
lifestyle choices
A woman who describes herself in terms of where she buys clothes, the type of music she listens to, and the gym she belongs to is structuring an identity around which of the following?
subculture
A/An ______ can best be defined as a group that shares distinct cultural values and behavioral patterns that distinguish it from others within the same culture or society.
causal relationship
A/An ________ is an association in which one event or situation produces another.
I, me
According the George Herbert Mead, we achieve self-awareness when we are able to distinguish the me from the I. -The "__" is the unsocialized infant, a bundle of spontaneous wants and desires. -The "___" is the social self. Individuals develop self-consciousness, Mead argued, by coming to see themselves as others see them.
a
According to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, what is the danger in "defining deviance down"? (a)Societies begin to tolerate some unhealthy behaviors and cannot appropriately respond to serious social problems. (b)Societies come to apply drastic, punitive solutions to complex problems without taking a more thorough measure of what's at the core of the problems. (c)Societies become too permissive which increases the chances that primary deviance will quickly evolve into secondary deviance. (d)More and more crimes go unreported and therefore it is difficult to create an accurate picture of levels of deviance in society.
primary deviation
According to Edwin Lemert, the actions that cause others to label one as a deviant
anatomical
Sigmund Freud's theory about the development of gender identity emphasizes _____________ differences between boys and girls
informal social control
Social control comes into play when a person fails to conform adequately to a culture's norms, and informal forms of punishment may include gossiping or cutting ties with a friend You fail to pay your share of the tab a couple of times when a group of your friends orders pizza; the next time they are getting together for pizza, they don't invite you. This is an example of ____________
cybercrime
criminal activities by means of electronic networks or involving the use of information technologies. Electronic money laundering, personal identity theft, electronic vandalism, and monitoring electronic correspondence are all emergent forms of ____________
William Ogburn
the goal for sociology was represented in two figures... -argued that sociology needed to become a science -wanted sociology to be a field that looked a lot more like the natural sciences in both its presentation and its orientation
Robert Park
the goal for sociology was represented in two figures.... -he was interested in developing theories but wanted them to relate directly to the actual lives of people and to be based on the careful accumulation of evidence about their lives -meet people who were the subjects of sociologists' theories --> first hand observation
underclass
a class of individuals situated at the bottom of the class system, normally composed of people from ethnic minority backgrounds
social group
a collection of people who regularly interact with one another on the basis of shared expectations concerning behavior and who share a sense of common identity
participant observation
a method of research widely used in sociology and anthropology in which the researcher takes part in the activities of the group or community being studied
harriet martineau
-been called the "first woman sociologist" -active proponent of women's rights and the abolition of slavery -argued that when one studies a society, one must focus on all its aspects , including key political, religious, and social institutions -insisted that an analysis of a society must include all its members, a point that drew attention to the conspicuous absence of women's lives from the sociology of that time -she was the first to turn a sociological eye on previously ignored issues and institutions, including marriage, children, domestic, and religious life, and race relations -argued that sociologists should do more than just observe; they should also act in ways that benefit society
ann swidler
-characterized culture as a "tool kit" from which people select different understandings and behaviors. Thus, some people can choose to dye their hair, wear nose rings, and tattoo their bodies but still accept their parents' traditional ideas about sexual restraint -because people participate in many different (and often conflicting) cultures, the tool kit can be quite large and its contents varied
w. e. b. du bois
-concept of "double consciousness," a way of talking about identity through the lens of the experiences of African Americans -made a persuasive claim that one's sense of self and one's identity are greatly influenced by historical experiences and social circumstances - in the case of African Americans, the effect of slavery -the first social researcher to trace the problems faced by African Americans to their social and economic underpinnings -he connected social analysis to social reform
Erik Olin Wright
-developed a theoretical position that owes much to Marx but also incorporates ideas from Weber. According to him, there are three dimensions of control over economic resources in modern capitalist production, and these allow us to identify the major classes: 1. control over investments or money capital 2. control over the physical means of production (land or factories and offices) 3. control over labor power -members of the capitalist class have control over each of these dimensions of the production system. Members of the working class have control over none of them.
emile durkheim
-establish sociology on a scientific basis -sociologists must study social facts - aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals, such as the state of the economy or the influence of religion -"study social facts as things" -social life can be analyzed as rigorously as objects or events in nature -argued that the continuation of a society depends on cooperation, which presumes a general consensus among its members regarding basic values and customs (organic solidarity) -argued that society is far more than the sum of individual acts; societies exert social constraint -argued that as the division of labor expands, people become more dependent on one another because each person needs goods and services that those in other occupations supply -also analyzed suicide
Karl Marx
-examined how industrialization had changed the structure of an entire society, transforming the relationships of individuals to their work and to one another from feudalism to capitalism
george herbert mead
-influenced the development of sociological thought through a perspective called symbolic interactionism. -he placed importance on the study of language in analyzing the social world -language allows us to become self-conscious beings aware of our own individuality -human beings live in a richly symbolic universe
auguste comte
-invented the world sociology to describe the discipline he wished to establish -believed that the scientific method could be applied to the study of human behavior and society, and that this new field could produce knowledge of society based on scientific evidence
rational choice approach
-more broadly, the theory that an individual's behavior is purposive. -within the field of criminology, rational choice analysis argues that deviant behavior is a rational response to a specific social situation
max weber
-rejected the materialist conception of history and saw class conflict as less significant than did marx -in his view, economic factors are important, but ideas and values have just as much effect on social change -in his view, cultural ideas and values shape society and affect individual actions -one of the most persistent concerns of his work was the study of bureaucracy, a large organization that is divided into jobs based on specific functions and staffed by officials ranked according to a hierarchy. Bureacracy involves the rule of experts, who make decisions without consulting those whose lives are affected by them
ideologies
-shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. -found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities among groups -the concept of ______________ connects closely with that of power, since ideological systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold
karl marx
-sought to explain social changes arising from the Industrial Revolution -his viewpoint was founded on what he called the materialistic conception of history - social change is prompted primarily by economic influences. The conflicts between classes - rich versus poor - provide the motivation for historical development -for him, the most important changes were bound up with the development of capitalism. Capitalism is a class system in which conflict is inevitable because it is in the interest of the ruling class to exploit the working class and in the interests of the workers to seek to overcome that exploitation
functionalism
-symbolic interactionists have found difficulty in dealing with larger-scale structures and processes - the very things that a rival tradition of thought, ___________, emphasizes -study the function of a social activity by analyzing its contribution to the continuation of society as a whole -emphasizes the importance of moral consensus in maintaining order and stability in society -they regard order and balance as the normal state of society - this social equilibrium is grounded in a moral consensus among the members of society
rational choice approach
-the ____________________ posits that if you could have only a single variable to explain society, self-interest would be the best one -a person who believes in this approach might even use it to explain things that seem irrational -they see decisions to marry as maximizing self-interest in a marriage market (it is not in the self interest of women to marry men who cannot support them)
postmodernism
-the belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress -postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no "grand narrative" guiding its development
rationalization
-the developments of science, modern technology, and bureaucracy are examples of a general social process that Weber referred to collectively as _________________ -it means the organization of social, economic, and cultural life according to principles of efficiency, on the basis of technical knowledge
Durkheim
-the main dynamic of modern development is the division of labor as a basis for social cohesion and organic solidarity -believed that sociology must study social facts as things, just as science would analyze the natural world -his study of suicide led him to stress the influence of social factors, qualities of a society external to the individual, on a person's actions -argued that society exerts social constraint over our actions
marx
-the main dynamic of modern development is the expansion of capitalism. Rather than being cohesive, society is divided by class differences -believed that we must study the divisions within a society that are derived from the economic inequalities of capitalism
weber
-the main dynamic of modern development is the rationalization of social and economic life -focused on why Western societies developed so differently from other societies. He also emphasized the importance of cultural ideas and values on social change
Max Weber
-theorist -looked at the way the world had been changing due to the influence of massive large-scale organizations, and how the emergence of an organizational society and large bureaucratic organizations had changed and transformed social life
C. Wright Mills
-tried to understand how the average person in the United States understood his or her everyday life -according to him, each of us lives in a very small orbit, and our worldview is limited by the social situations we encounter on a daily basis - these include the family and the small groups we are a part of, the school we attend, and even the dorm in which we live -coined the term sociological imagination
social aggregate
A _________ is a collection of people who happen to be together in a particular place but do not significantly interact or identify with each other.
social role
A ____________ be defined as a set of socially defined expectations for a person in a given social position
cultural norm
A ______________ can be defined as a principle or rule about social life that people are expected to observe
Goffman
A central insight of social interaction based on ____________'s work is that every human being possesses a self that is fragile and vulnerable to embarrassment or even humiliation at every turn. People are intensely attuned to what others think of them and how they are being viewed. -There is a norm of collaboration by which human beings try to move through life without embarrassing or humiliating others
labeling theory
A child struggles to learn how to read, is frequently teased about it by his siblings, and is referred to as "slow" by his parents and teachers. He underperforms in school and never thinks about going to college. Ultimately he drops out before graduating from high school, telling the school counselor that he's just not a smart guy who can learn from books. This is an example of which theory of deviance?
anomie
A concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim to refer to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior -Durkheim's notion of __________ suggests that in modern societies traditional norms and standards become undermined without being replaced by new ones. -exists when there are no clear standards to guide behavior in a given area of social life. Under such circumstances, Durkheim believed, people feel disoriented and anxious; anomie therefore heightens dispositions to suicide -Merton modified the concept to refer to the strain put on individuals' behavior when accepted norms conflict with social reality
social exclusion (social exclusion refers to ways in which individuals may become cut off from the wider society)
A local factory closes in a small town and many people move to seek work elsewhere; bus service connecting the town to a nearby city is terminated; the local high school may have to be closed because of declining enrollment; and two long-time retail shops are going out of business. This scenario could be described as an example of what?
deviant (Deviance is nonconformity to a set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society.)
A person who chooses to live in an isolated area with no water, electricity, or other modern conveniences can be considered _____.
intragenerational mobility
A person who starts his career as a carpenter's assistant and works his way up over the years to owning his own construction company has experienced ______.
social facts
According to Emile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed that _______________ could be studied scientifically
encounter
According to Erving Goffman, an ___________ is an instance of focused interaction
taking the role of the other
According to George Herbert Mead, infants and young children develop as social beings by imitating the actions of those around them -Play is one way in which this development occurs -Children's play evolves from simple imitation to more complicated games in which a child of four or five years old will act out an adult role. Mead called this "____________________." It is only at this stage that children acquire a developed sense of self -Children achieve an understanding of themselves as separate agents as a "me" - by seeing themselves through the eyes of others
organizational culture
According to Judy Wajcman, which of the following has the most influence on the type of management techniques used in an organization?
a
According to Karl Marx's theory of stratification, which of the following people belong to the same class? (a) auto mechanic, housekeeper, airline pilot (b) small business owner, teacher, factory worker (c) waitress, bus driver, CEO of an advertising agency (d) factory owner, truck driver, daycare provider
cultural, economic
According to Max Weber, _______ ideas and values shape society as much as ______ factors do.
rationalization
According to Max Weber, _________ is a general process through which social, economic, and cultural life is organized according to principles of efficiency, on the basis of technical knowledge.
systems
According to Max Weber, why is the expansion of bureaucracy inevitable in modern societies? Bureaucratic authority is the only way to manage the administrative demands of large-scale social __________ Weber also believed that bureaucracy exhibits a number of major failings that have important implications for modern social life, but he could not see beyond the bureaucratic system for the management of large-scale social systems.
power
According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, how can gender imbalances in modern organizations be changed? Kanter argues that if equality of opportunity is ensured for women, more and more women will attain positions of __________ in modern organizations and gender imbalances will slowly disappear. Kanter argued that women were in a disadvantaged position because they did not wield sufficient power within organizations, and was primarily concerned with equality of opportunity and ensuring that women were able to attain positions comparable with those of men.
ritualist, conforms
According to sociologist Robert K. Merton's theory about crime and deviance, a __________ is a person who is no longer focused on socially defined goals but still _________ to socially acceptable standards
george herbert mead
According to sociologist ______________, human beings achieve self awareness when they learn to see themselves through the eyes of others -Children around the age of four or five will act out an adult role, which he called "taking the role of the other." It is at this stage that children acquire a developed sense of self, understanding themselves as separate agents—as a "me"—by seeing themselves through the eyes of others.
power structures in society
According to some interactionist and conflict theorists, the way deviance is defined reveals a great deal about __________.
disconnected
According to some postmodern theorists, such as Jean Baudrillard, how has the spread of electronic media affected society? It has ____________ us from real people and places and led to greater social isolation as we respond to signs and images that often have little to do with our everyday lives
its social capital
According to the political scientist Robert Putnam, one of the most important factors to the health of a modern democracy is _________.
it is fulfilling; in order to achieve a specific goal
According to the sociologist Charles Horton Cooley, people belong to primary groups because ________ and they belong to secondary groups ___________.
c (Some evidence shows that female lawbreakers often avoid coming before the courts because they persuade the police or other authorities to see their actions in a particular light.)
According to the text, how does gender play a role in how people are treated by the criminal justice system? (a)Women found to have abused their children receive stiffer penalties and are treated much more harshly than men found guilty of the same behavior. (b)Women are more likely to get arrested for petty crimes than men are. (c)Women are sent to prison much less often than men, even when convicted for similar crimes. (d)Female law-enforcement officials are more likely to "go easy" on female offenders and male law-enforcement officials are more likely to "go easy" on male offenders.
INGOs
According to your text, _________ promote the global interests of their members largely though influencing individual governments and IGOs
the strengthening of community ties
After a devastating flood, a community pulls together to provide relief—housing, clothing, food and water—to those in need. Months later, many people who met through that initial relief effort have formed close friendships and are working together to build a new community center. A latent function of the relief effort was _________.
Max Weber
All large-scale organizations, according to ______________, tend to be bureaucratic in nature. Bureaucracy is thus the rule of officials. The term was first applied only to government officials, but it gradually came to refer to large organizations in general.
class
Although it is one of the most frequently used concepts in sociology, there is no clear agreement about how the notion should be defined. Most sociologists use the term to refer to socioeconomic variations among groups of individuals that create variations in their material prosperity and power -a large-scale grouping of people who share common economic resources that strongly influence the type of lifestyle they are able to lead
intergenerational mobility
Ana's paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from Russia and worked in a sweatshop sewing clothes; her father graduated from a technical high school and worked as an electrician while her mother worked as a secretary; Ana has graduated from college and is in a management training program with an insurance company. This progression is an example of what kind of mobility?
peer groups
Barrie Thorne explores how children learn what it means to be male or female. Rather than seeing children as passively learning the meaning of gender form their parents and teachers, Thorne examines how children actively re-create the meaning of gender in their interactions with one another -Thorne found that ______________ greatly influence gender socialization, particularly as children talk about their changing bodies. The social context determines whether a child's bodily change was experienced with embarrassment or pride
relative poverty
Being poor compared with the standards of living of the majority of the people in a given country or society describes ____________
symbolic interactionism
Examining the interactions between people with a focus on how the people talk, dress, and use body language is an example of which theoretical approach to sociology?
given off
Expressions or gestures that are "____________" are the clues that others may spot to check individuals' sincerity or truthfulness. -example: While nodding and listening to a friend's description of her new apartment, a woman glances at a clock on the wall behind her friend to check the time.
class
For Marx, the term "_________" refers to people who have a common relationship to the means by which they make a livelihood (i.e., the means of production); the two main classes in modern societies consist of those who own the means of production (capitalists) and those who earn their labor by selling it to them (the working class).
culture
From a sociological perspective,_________ can be defined as the values, norms, and material goods held or created by a given group
self enlightenment
Greenpeace is an environmental organization that has used the information gleaned from sociological research to respond to government policies, as well as form policy initiatives of their own. Therefore, we can say that sociology has provided Greenpeace with ______.
pariah groups
Groups who suffer from negative status discrimination - they are looked down on by most other members of society
interpret
Hodge and Tripp emphasize that children actively ___________ what they are watching, relating it to other systems of meaning in their lives.
d (Through interactions with law-abiding individuals, we learn self-control and value conformity and societal conventions)
How are social interactions connected to conformity to social norms? (a) Through social interactions people are constantly sanctioned in overt and subtle ways, which pressures them to conform to social norms. (b)They are not so closely connected; people tend to be predisposed to accept or to rebel against socially established norms and their interactions with other people simply serve to reinforce this tendency. (c)Social interactions have a strong influence on conformity to informal rules and standards of behavior but have little influence on conformity to formal laws. (d)By regularly interacting with people who obey laws and social norms, people learn to behave the same way, and they then value and want to replicate that conformity.
success
How can sociology have practical implications? Sociological studies are often used to assess the ___________, or failure, of policy initiatives in areas ranging from education to housing to sex discrimination
social cohesion.
How did Emile Durkheim think that the division of labor contributes to organic solidarity in modern societies? Durkheim claimed that people become more dependent on one another as the division of labor expands and that this interdependence provides _________________
d
How do men demonstrate control in social interactions with women? (a) Men stand close to women when talking to them and make a lot of sustained eye contact. (b) Men encourage women to show their emotions but then do not reciprocate, which leaves women feeling uncertain about the level of connection that has been achieved. (c) Men tend to talk louder than women and move around more, constantly challenging women's personal space. (d) Men occupy more space than women and they initiate more frequent physical contact with women when talking to them.
sociological imagination
How is the ______________ key to the study of sociology? It helps us get beyond our personal beliefs and circumstances in order to examine things from a broader perspective
surplus value
In Marxist theory, the value of a worker's labor power left over when an employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker -Th relationship between classes, according to Marx, is exploitative. During the working day, workers produce more than employers actually need to repay the cost of hiring them. This __________is the source of profit, which capitalists put to their own use
independent
In a causal relationship, the ________ variable is the variable that produces an effect on another variable.
controlling, risk
In recent years there has been a significant shift in police work from ____________ to detecting and managing ___________
collect data
In the research process, the stage of selecting a research design is focused on how to _________.
authority
In traditional societies older people were greatly respected and their opinions highly valued; in modern societies, the elderly tend to lack ____________ both in the family and community.
an Internet service provider
In which of the following companies might you expect to find characteristics of an organic organization? An organic organization is a type of informal organization originally described by British theorists Tom Burns and George Stalker. According to Burns and Stalker, an organic organization is one that is very flexible and is able to adapt well to changes. Its structure is identified as having little job specialization, few layers of management, decentralized decision making, and not much direct supervision
high; resentment and alienation
In work settings, it has been found that _______ levels of supervision lead to __________.
differential association
Interactionist theories ask how behaviors get defined as deviant and why only certain groups get labeled as deviant; the notion that individuals become delinquent through associating with people who follow criminal norms is called _____________.
nations
International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) are established by treaties between governments for purposes of conducting business between the ________ making up the membership. example: international monetary fund
yes
Is this an example of a "back region" the employee break room at a department store
no
Is this an example of a "back region" the executive dining room at a hotel
no
Is this an example of a "back region" the laundry room in an apartment building
no
Is this an example of a "back region" the lecture hall at a community college
harriet martineau
She was the first to look at subjects such as marriage, religious life, and race relations from a sociological perspective
female
Many people considered poor are working, and most poor people don't receive welfare payments because they earn too much to qualify. Much of the growth in poverty reflects an increase in the proportion of the poor who are _________, may of whom have children they are caring for on their own. And believe it or not, child poverty rates in the United States are the highest in the industrialized world
organized, values
Mead argued that around the age of 8 or 9, children take part in ___________ games rather than unsystematic play, where they begin to understand the ________ and morality that govern social life. -example: A group of eight- to ten-year-olds organize regular games of Capture the Flag, taking turns being team captain and switching team members around from game to game.
physical space; system of authority
Michel Foucault argued that the way an organization's __________ is/are set up reveals a great deal about its __________.
middle class
Most Americans consider themselves to be part of which social class?
newly industrializing economy
NIEs are developing countries that over the past two or three decades have begun to develop a strong industrial base -example: mexico
socially constructed
One purpose of sociology is to disentangle what is biological from what is _______________. It is in part to try to determine how social phenomena relate to biological phenomena. -Many studies show that the things that the average human being thinks are biological, and thus natural, are actually socially constructed.
reflexivity (describes the interchange between sociological research and human behavior, or the connections between knowledge and social life)
Reading a survey about the high level of support for a political party may lead an individual to express support for that party, too. This example best represents the concept of _____.
norms
Rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations -it either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it. -all human groups follow definite _________, which are always backed by sanctions of one or another, varying from informal disapproval to physical punishment
formally
Schools ______________ socialize students through what is specifically taught --> schools teach a specific curriculum of subjects but they also informally socialize students by enforcing punctuality, discipline, and respect for authority --> students learn to respect teachers and admins
industrial revolution
Sociology can be said to have developed as a result of efforts to understand the effects of major societal transformations of the last two hundred years, triggered in large part by the ______________
tool kit
Swidler fights against the notion that culture rigidly determines our values and behaviors; instead, people can select different understandings and behaviors from a variety of options, even if they conflict with one another Culture is flexible and people participate in many different cultures by selecting different understandings and behaviors from their cultural ___________.
space and time
The Internet has had a huge impact on how social interactions are situated because it alters our concept of both ____________ -The Internet rearranges space—we can interact with anyone without moving from our chair—and alters our experience of time—communication is almost immediate.
two
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which was signed into law in 1996, requires that welfare recipients get a job after receiving benefits for _________ years
functionalist
The ________ approach has been criticized for focusing primarily on factors that lead to social cohesion and paying scant attention to factors that create social conflict
dependency culture
The argument that being on welfare breeds a dependence on government subsidies and takes away a person's incentive to work is part of which theoretical explanation of poverty?
separate
The characteristic of human beings that most distinguish us from other animals is that we are aware that we have a distinct identity that is _____________ from others
anomie
The concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim to refer to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior -Durkheim showed that social factors such as ________ - a feeling of aimlessness or despair provoked by modern social life - influence suicidal behavior -traditional moral controls and standards, formerly supplied by religion, largely break down under modern social development, and this leaves many individuals feeling that their lives lack meaning
dependency culture
The concept of "_________________" is associated with the culture of poverty thesis, which states that poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies but is instead the outcome of a larger social and cultural atmosphere into which successive generations of children are socialized.
social structure
The concept of __________ refers to the fact that social contexts are not random events but have distinct patterns.
a
The development of a new class called the "underclass" or the "new urban poor" can be attributed to what factors? (a)increased unemployment among unskilled and semiskilled workers (b)affirmative action programs (c)political unrest (d)lack of interest in doing "dirty work"
rational, norms, beliefs
The explanations for social order consist of: 1. ____________ - Students know that it is in their self-interest to sit quietly and pay, or pretend to pay, attention 2. __________- It is expected in social life that when students come into a classroom they sit and take notes and pay attention. 3. ___________ and values - Perhaps students place a value on the classroom, on the university, or on higher education.
socialization
The social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self. -Although ______________ processes are particularly significant in infancy and childhood, they continue to some degree throughout life. -No individuals are immune from the reactions of others around them, which influence and modify their behavior at all phases of the life course
cultural turn
This represents what in sociology...?? sociology's recent emphasis on the importance of understanding the role of culture in daily life -challenged the assumption that culture rigidly determines our values and behaviors
internet
Through the __________, people who may have limited opportunities for face-to-face interaction can participate in a wide variety of social groups that previously would have been unavailable to them. For example, people in rural communities can now take distance-learning courses on the Web even though they may not be able to physically attend college classes.
authority, rules, salaried, separation, own
Weber listed several characteristics of the ideal or pure type of bureaucracy 1. There is a clear-cut hierarchy of ___________. Each higher office controls and supervises the one below it in the hierarchy. 2. Written ________ govern the conduct of officials at all levels of the organization. The higher the office, the more rules tend to encompass a wide variety of cases and to demand flexibility in their interpretation. 3. Officials work full-time and are ___________. Each job in the hierarchy has a definite and fixed salary attached to it. 4. There is a _________ between the tasks of an official within the organization and his or her life outside. The home life of the official is distinct from his or her activities in the workplace and is also physically separated from it. 5. No members of the organization _____ the materials with which they operate. In bureaucracies officials do not own the offices they work in, the desks they sit at, or the office machinery they use.
b (Like biological interpretations, psychological theories of crime associate criminality with particular types of personality.)
What assumption is central to both biological and psychological approaches to criminality? (a) Both assume that most deviant people want to conform to socially established norms but are simply unable to because there is something fundamentally wrong with them. (b) Both assume that factors outside a deviant person's control—something in the person's biological or psychological makeup—cause the crime and must be fixed in order to change the person's behavior. (c) Both assume that there is little hope of rehabilitating most criminals since the factors that most influence their behavior are out of their control. (d)Both assume that the cause of deviant behavior lies with the individual, who must take responsibility for his or her actions and not blame society.
creativity
What concern does sociologist George Ritzer share with Max Weber about the effects of rationalization on modern society? Ritzer argues that the modern tendency to seek efficiency, uniformity, and control in all aspects of people's lives inhibits _____________ and makes social life more rigid, more homogenous, and less personal.
informal procedures
What conclusion have studies drawn about how people who work in bureaucratic organizations tend to deal with the lack of flexibility in such organizations? Studies show that employees often develop _____________that allow for more initiative and responsibility than an organization's official rules do. Informal relations oftentimes provide solutions to problem and reduce anxieties, despite the fact that they are against official policy.
a
What has been the most significant change in organized crime in recent years? (a) More and more, organized crime groups function in flexible international networks, forming alliances as needed to pursue a particular illicit activity. (b) Trade in weapons and narcotics has come to replace traditional activities such as gambling and protection rackets. (c) Organized crime has taken much of its business to the Internet, making it harder to trace and track its movements. (d) The Chinese mafia has become one of the biggest players on the world stage of organized crime.
b
What has been the primary effect of "situational" crime prevention? (a) a decrease in nonviolent crimes such as auto theft and larceny (b) a shift in criminal offenses from one area or population to another (c) a decrease in violent crime in inner cities (d) an increase in citizen complaints against law-enforcement officials
c (sociological studies have shown that prisons often make offenders more hardened criminals)
What is paradoxical about the relationship between criminal behavior and prisons? (a) For some criminals, incarceration provides a way to make new contacts in the criminal world that will be useful when they are released. (b)The threat of a long prison sentence does not seem to act as a deterrent for most criminals. (c)Prisons may actually reinforce deviant behavior rather than rehabilitating criminals and turning them away from a life of crime. (d)The longer a person is in prison, the more difficult it is to reintegrate him or her into society upon release.
a
What is the biggest problem with relying on official crime statistics to help shape policies about fighting crime? (a)Many crimes go unreported, so official statistics only tell part of the story about crime rates. (b)There is no single, national institution that is in charge of collecting data on local, state, and federal crimes. (c)Studies have shown that there is a great deal of inconsistency in the reporting methods used from one law enforcement agency to another. (d)Because of overlap between the jurisdiction of federal, state, and local agencies, some crimes get reported twice.
c (By defining what we believe to be deviant we become aware of the standards we share as members of a society.)
What is the irony of the relationship between deviance and a well-ordered society? (a) Most deviant behavior is learned through socially acceptable institutions such as schools, the family, and the media. (b) The more a society punishes deviance, the more the unaccepted behavior is repeated. (c) Deviance helps hold societies together by uniting people in opposition to behavior that is deemed unacceptable. (d) Definitions of deviance change over time, thus frustrating society's efforts to enact formal sanctions.
a
What question might someone using a Marxist approach ask about Alice Goffman's study? (a) How do warrants reflect or contribute to class inequality? (b) How does this system of warrants help to maintain the social order? (c) Given the substantial downside to life on the run, why don't men simply turn themselves in, do the time, and get it over with? (d) What does issuing warrants to young men mean for relations between men and women in affected communities?
c
What question might someone using a rational choice approach ask about Alice Goffman's study? (a) How do warrants reflect or contribute to class inequality? (b) How does this system of warrants help to maintain the social order? (c) Given the substantial downside to life on the run, why don't men simply turn themselves in, do the time, and get it over with? (d) Given the substantial downside to life on the run, why don't men simply turn themselves in, do the time, and get it over with?
b
What specific, highly delicate encounter did Henslin and Biggs study in their research on collaboration in impression management? (a) a man's appointment to get a vasectomy (b) a woman's visit to a gynecologist (c) a child's appointment to get vaccinated (d) a widow's appointment at a funeral home
auguste comte
Which foundational figure in the field of sociology felt that science could be used to understand and then predict and control human behavior?
c
Which of the following are factors that have contributed to the increase in the homeless population in the United States? (a) a significant decrease in the availability of jail cells in state penitentiaries (b) a loss of jobs for managerial and other white-collar workers (c) the rising cost of housing (d) the increase in the availability of low-interest-rate loans
historical
Which of the following best describes one of the principal aims of sociology? to explore what we regard as "normal" about our lives and society at large and understand how this concept of "normal" is shaped by __________ and social forces -The example of how colleges changed to using standardized tests, recommendations, and in-person interviews for admission illustrates this concept well
a
Which of the following best describes the fortunes of the major social classes in the United States since the 1970s? (a) The rich have gotten much richer; people in the middle class have made no significant gains; and the poor have increased in number and grown poorer. (b) The rich have gotten richer; people in the middle class have made significant gains; and the poor have stayed about the same. (c) All social classes have seen positive changes in income and wealth. (d) The rich have stayed about the same; people in the middle class have made significant gains; and the poor have stayed about the same.
b
Which of the following concepts is related to interactionist theories? (a) broken windows (b) differential association (c) target hardening (d) boundary maintenance
c
Which of the following describe ways that class systems differ from slavery and castes? (a) Class systems are based on race, rather than economics. (b) Class systems have clear-cut boundaries. (c) Class positions are in some part achieved. (d) Class systems are small scale and personal.
d
Which of the following factors reveals the greatest disparity among people who commit crimes? (a) age (b) socioeconomic status (c) race (d) gender
c
Which of the following groups is consistently at the lowest end of the income scale in the United States? (a) Latino married-couple families (b) Black married-couple families (c) Nonwhite families headed by single women (d) White families headed by single women
a
Which of the following is a characteristic of preindustrial civilizations? (a) based on the development of cities (b) little inequality (c) often ruled by a council of respected leaders (d) little contact with other civilizations
d
Which of the following is an example of a child or children in the preoperational stage of cognitive development? (a) A toddler keeps reaching for his mother's purse on the coffee table. His mother moves the purse to the dining room table, and the little boy looks for another toy to play with. (b) A group of children have a detailed discussion about which Harry Potter book they like best and which is their favorite character in the series. (c) A little boy is playing on the floor with several toys—a plastic horse, a stuffed bear, and some building blocks. He picks each one up in turn, moving it from hand to hand, and sometimes sticks a toy in his mouth. (d) A little girl starts to cry when she accidentally tears a drawing she is working on. Her mother tells her that there's no use crying over spilt milk, and the little girl looks around, confused, and comments that no one spilled any milk.
b
Which of the following is an example of a job that is in a contradictory class position per Erik Olin Wright's theory of stratification? (a) entry-level construction worker (b) factory shift supervisor (c)person who dries cars at a car wash (d)non-tenured elementary school teacher
c
Which of the following is an example of macro-level analysis of society? (a) assessing how people choose where to sit on a public bus (b) observing customers' responses to being greeted upon entering a store (c) conducting a statistical analysis of when professional men and women choose to start families (d) examining how men and women react to riding in an elevator with an infant
c
Which of the following is true about the poor in the United States? (a) The poor do not work. (b) All poor people are on welfare. (c) A growing proportion of the poor are single mothers. (d) Child poverty rates in the United States are the lowest in the industrial world.
childhood
Which of the following life stages have emerged largely in connection with the development of modern societies?
a (this idea is encompassed in the concept of reflexivity, which describes the connections between knowledge and social life.)
Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between sociological research and human behavior? (a) There is a constant feedback loop between sociological research and human behavior; one informs the other. (b) People participating in research studies may not always be completely honest or natural in their responses or behavior because they may be trying to give a "correct" answer or behave as they think the researcher wants them to. (c) Everyday human behavior is not much influenced by the findings of academic research studies. (d) There is no relationship between everyday human behavior and sociological research.
b
Which question might someone using a functionalist approach ask about Alice Goffman's study?. (a) How do warrants reflect or contribute to class inequality? (b) How does this system of warrants help to maintain the social order? (c) Given the substantial downside to life on the run, why don't men simply turn themselves in, do the time, and get it over with? (d) What does issuing warrants to young men mean for relations between men and women in affected communities?
facial expression of emotion
Which type of nonverbal communication has been found to have very consistent characteristics across cultures?
nancy chodorow
Who advanced the argument that male identity is marked most strongly by a rejection of closeness with the mother, which leads to feeling threatened by close emotional relationships later in life?
erving goffman
Who pioneered the analysis of social interaction as based on concepts taken from drama and theater, such as roles, props, sets, back stage, and front stage?
departure
Why do larger groups tend to be more stable than smaller groups? The existence of larger groups is not usually threatened by the __________ of some members; they can absorb such losses and continue to function In most cases, as groups grow in size, their intensity decreases and their stability increases.
a (The racial disparity in wealth stems from Whites' historically higher incomes and levels of wealth, which helps them gain more wealth, which then gets passed on to their children. Also, discrimination is still a factor for minorities, especially in the arena of home ownership.)
Why do whites generally have more assets than minorities? (a) Many whites inherit assets from their parents. (b) Whites have historically earned less money, but bought more assets due to good business decisions. Whites face lots of discrimination in the marketplace, but are able to handle it better than minorities. Whites have historically worked harder than other groups.
actions
Why is developing a global perspective important to the study of sociology? It is important to understand how our ________ affect others and how the world's problems affect us
inequalities
Why is it important to link microsociology and macrosociology when analyzing everyday social interactions? By linking microsociology and macrosociology, sociologists can more accurately identify the root causes of certain behaviors or societal ___________. Without making the link between microsociology and macrosociology, we can have only a limited understanding of everyday interactions.
social systems
Why is it important to study seemingly insignificant forms of social interaction? the three reasons are: (1) our daily routine gives form and structure to what we do and we can learn a lot from studying it, (2) the study of everyday life reveals to us how humans can act creatively to shape reality, and (3) studying social interaction in everyday life sheds light on larger____________ and institutions.
theories
______ are more narrowly focused and attempt to explain particular social conditions or types of events. They are usually formed during the research process and suggest other problems for subsequent research.
sampling
_______ is a method used by researchers to collect data from a subset of individuals and use that data to make inferences about the entire population.
white collar crime
_______ refers to nonviolent crimes usually committed in commercial situations by people of respectability and high social status for financial gain.
social reproduction
________ can be defined as the process by which existing social structures and norms are transmitted from generation to generation, thus providing societies with continuity over time
groupthink
________ is a process by which the members of a group ignore ways of thinking and plans of action that go against the group consensus.
ethnography
________ is the study and systematic description of human cultures through participant observation or interviewing.
triangulation
________ is the use of two or more research methods in the study of the same phenomenon in order to increase the credibility or validity of the results.
labeling
________ theory argues that people become "deviant" because certain labels are attached to their behavior by authority figures.
Chodorow
________'s Theory of Gender Identity -argues that learning to feel male or female derives from the infant's attachment to the parents from an early age -She emphasizes much more than Freud the importance of the mother rather than the father -Children become emotionally involved with the mother because she is the most dominant influence in their early lives
dyads
_________ are likely to be both intense and unstable
deviance
_________ can be defined as any violation of a set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a given community or society
stratification
_________ can be defined as structured inequalities among different groups of people
microsociology
_________ examines everyday human social interactions on a small scale in order to illuminate broad institutional patterns.
socialization
_________ is the process through which people learn the values, norms, and social practices of their culture and thus learn how to function as members of that culture.
family
_________ is/are the main influence during primary socialization.
Goffman
_________ sees social life as played out by actors on a stage (or on many stages) because how we act depends on the roles we play at a given time
sociology
__________ allows us to (1) see the social world from many perspectives. If we properly understand how others live, we better understand their problems
industrialism
__________ hypothesis -As societies become more industrial, workers increasingly get jobs because of their skills and merits, not because of their social status, and thus have more opportunities for social mobility
ethnomethodology
__________ is the study of the folk or lay strategies that people use to make sense of what others do and particularly of what they say.
Freud
__________'s Theory of Gender Identity -the learning of gender differences in infants and young children centers on the possession or absence of the penis
conformists
___________ accept generally held values and the conventional means of realizing them, regardless of whether they meet with success -most of the population falls into this category
anomie
___________ can be defined as a sense of disorientation or anxiousness that develops when there are no clear standards to guide behavior in a given area of social life
social mobility
___________ can be defined as the movement of people between different socioeconomic classes
impression management
___________ refers to people's conscious and unconscious efforts to influence how others view them
Gilligan
___________'s Theory -further developed Chodorow's analysis, concentrating on the images adult women and men have of themselves and their attainments -women, she agrees with Chodorow, define themselves in terms of personal relationships and judge their achievements in terms of their ability to care for others -women's views of themselves are based on successfully fulfilling the needs of others, rather than on pride in individual achievements
piaget
____________ emphasized children's active capability to make sense of the world, and described distinct stages of cognitive development during which children learn to think about themselves and their environment. -children select and interpret what they see, hear, and feel
bureaucratic ritualism
____________ is a situation in which people do not allow themselves to deviate from an organization's rules and procedures even when deviating from them might provide a better solution to a problem
social identity
____________ refers to the characteristics that other people attribute to an individual
Postmodern
____________ theorists argue that much of our world is now a make believe universe in which we respond to media images rather than to real persons or places
class systems
_____________ are fluid, economically based, large scale and personal, and class positions are in some part achieved
structural mobility
_____________ can best be defined as opportunities for advancement made possible by an increase in better-paid occupations at the expense of lower-wage occupations
interactional vandalism
_____________ can occur when the relatively powerless disorient or antagonize the more powerful by breaking the tacit rules of everyday social interaction
social exclusion
_____________ refers to ways in which individuals may become cut off from the wider society
alice goffman
_____________ spent six years in an intensely policed poor black neighborhood. She was interested in the social situation of large numbers of black men who were on the run from the criminal justice system. She became part of the everyday life of a group of boys. -research cast new light on the struggles of men who were dipping and dodging the police, worrying that any encounter would result in their imprisonment
instincts
______________ are biologically fixed patterns of action found in all cultures
informal social sanctions
______________ are imposed by members of a social group, often in a spontaneous, disorganized fashion
ritualists
______________ conform to socially accepted standards, though they have lost sight of their underlying values. They compulsively follow rules of their own sake. -they might dedicate themselves to a boring job, even though it has no career prospects and provides few rewards
reintegrative shaming
______________ is a form of punishment that seeks to rebuild the social bonds of a criminal to his community by requiring him to admit to his crimes in front of members of the community and to accept their help and support in his rehabilitation
income wealth
______________ is money earned though paid work; ___________ includes all of a person's assets such as a home, money in savings and checking accounts, stock investments, and partnership in a business
max weber
_______________ thought that all behavior could be divided into four categories: (1) behavior oriented toward higher values, such as politics (2) behavior oriented toward habit, such as walking to school on a familiar path (3) behavior oriented toward affect (emotions), such as falling in love and (4) behavior oriented toward self-interest, such as making money
audience segregation
________________ allows people to maintain boundaries between different roles they have in their lives Individuals can have multiple selves, acting somewhat differently in each of their roles; _____________ is an effort to try to keep what they do in each role distinct from their other roles.
structured inequalities
________________ that result from patterns in social structure -individuals and groups enjoy unequal access to rewards depending on their position within the larger stratification scheme. Stratification can thus be defined as _______________ - such as classes, races, and genders - between and among different groups of people -sociologists see these inequalities as built into the economic and political system, rather than resulting from individual differences or chance occurrences, such as being the most handsome or beautiful person in a class
innovators
___________________ accept socially approved values but use illegitimate or illegal means to follow them -we might consider members of the Mafia to be this. While most Mafia members want to lead respectable lives by entering into mainstream society, they need to acquire wealth through illegal activities in order to do so
computerization, flexibility
___________has provided many professionals with greater _____________ and opportunities for greater creativity in their work, while less-skilled workers find that their work is analyzed and monitored in greater and greater detail.
ideal type
a "pure type," constructed by emphasizing certain traits of social item that do not necessarily exist in reality. An example is Max Weber's ideal type of bureaucratic organization
reference group
a _____________ is a group that provides a standard for judging one's attitudes or behaviors
social identity, self identity
a ________________ emphasizes a person's similarity to and connection with others, while ____________ demonstrates that a person is a distinct individual
corporate culture
a _____________________ approach involves rituals, events, or traditions that are unique to a specific company in order to promote loyalty to the company and group solidarity -the recognition by corporate leaders that in order for their organizations to be successful, they need employees who feel invested in the company, its processes, and products
marxism
a body of thought deriving its main elements from the ideas of Karl Marx -view sociology as a combination of sociological analysis and political reform -lay emphasis on conflict, class divisions, power, and ideology
communism
a social system based on everyone owning the means of production and sharing in the wealth it produces
prison industrial complex
a complex web of bureaucratic, political, and economic actors that have a vested interest in the existence and expansion of the prison system
generalized order
a concept in the theory of G. H. Mead, according to which the individual comes to understand the general values of a given group or society during the socialization process -A further stage of child development occurs when the child is eight or nine years old, the age at which children take part in organized games rather than unsystematic play. At this period children begin to understand the values and morality that govern social life. -children at this stage learn to grasp what Mead termed the ______________ - the general values and moral rules of the culture in which they are developing
rationalization
a concept used by Max Weber to refer to the process by which modes of precise calculation and organization, involving abstract rules and procedures, increasingly come to dominate the social world
multiculturalism
a condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political life -calls for respecting cultural diversity and promoting the equality of different cultures
slavery
a form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others as their property
Kuznets curve
a formula showing that inequality increases during the early stages of capitalist development, then declines, and eventually stabilizes at a relatively low level; advanced by the economist Simon Kuznets -a formula showing that inequality increases during the early stages of capitalist development, then declines, and eventually stabilizes at a relatively low level
peer group
a friendship group composed of individuals of similar age and social status -in some cultures, particularly traditional societies, ___________ are formalized as age-grades (normally confined to males), with ceremonies or rites that mark the transition from one age-grade to another. Those within a particular age-grade generally maintain close connections throughout their lives
triad
a group consisting of three persons -tend to be more stable that dyads because the presence of a third person relieves some of the pressure on the other two members to always get along and energize the relationship
dyad
a group consisting of two persons -The simplest group, which Georg Simmel called a _______, consists of two people. He reasoned that ______, which involve both intimacy and conflict, are likely to be simultaneously intense and unstable. To survive, they require the full attention and cooperation of both parties.
society
a group of people who live in a particular territory, are subject to a common system of political authority, and are aware of having a distinct identity from other groups -require some degree of common culture - a set of shared values and norms to guide behavior -could not exist without culture
formal organization
a group that is rationally designed to achieve its objectives often by means of explicit rules, regulations, and procedures -example: the modern bureaucratic organization -the dominant form of organization throughout the world
reference group
a group that provides a standard of judging one's attitudes or behaviors -family, peers, classmates, and coworkers are crucial _____________s. -you don't have to belong to a group for it to be a reference group -Although few of us interact socially with such reference groups, we may take pride in identifying with them, glorify their accomplishments, and even imitate the behavior of their members
linguistic relativity hypothesis
a hypothesis, based on theories of Sapir and Whorf, that perceptions are relative to language -argues that language influences our perceptions of the world because we are more likely to be aware of things if we have words for them
organization
a large group of individuals with a definite set of authority relations. Many types of ________________s exist in industrialized societies, influencing most aspects of our lives. While not all are bureaucratic, there are close links between the development of organizations and bureaucratic tendencies -can be a small primary group, but it is more likely a larger, secondary one -examples: universities, religious bodies, and business coporations
encounter
a meeting between two or more people in a situation of face-to-face interaction. Our daily lives can be seen as a series of different ____________s spread out across the course of the day. In modern societies, many of these encounters are with strangers rather than with people we know
survey
a method of sociological research in which questionnaires are administered to the population being studied -one contains a standardized, or fixed choice, set of questions to which only a fixed range of responses is possible (do not allow for subtleties of opinion --> may yield misleading info) -others are open-ended as respondents have opportunity to use their own words
sanction
a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior -All social norms carry ___________s that promote conformity and protect against nonconformity. -any reaction from others that is meant to ensure that a person or group complies with a given norm -they may be positive (the offering of rewards for conformity) or negative (punishment for behavior that does not conform), -they can be formal or informal.
nation state
a political community with clearly marked borders in which a government creates laws that apply to all who live within the borders
community policing
a renewed emphasis on crime prevention rather than law enforcement to reintegrate policing within the community
nationalism
a set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a national community -a sense of identification with one's people expressed through a common set of strongly held beliefs -can be highly political, involving attempts to assert the power of a nation based on a shared ethnic or racial identity over people of a different ethnicity or race
social aggregate
a simple collection of people who happen to be together in a particular place but do not significantly interact or identify with one another -people waiting together at a bus station, for example, may be aware of each other, but they are unlikely to think of themselves as a "we" - the group waiting for the next bus to Poughkeepsie or Des Moines
sample
a small proportion of individuals or cases from a larger population as representative of that population as a whole -must be representative
working class
a social class broadly composed of people working in blue-collar , or manual, occupations
upper class
a social class broadly composed of the more affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own businesses, or hold large numbers of stocks (shares)
middle class
a social class composed broadly of those working in white-collar and lower managerial occupations
lower class
a social class comprised of those who work part-time or not at all whose household income is typically lower tan $20,000 a year
caste
a social system in which one's social status is held for life -It is believed that individuals who fail to abide by the rituals and duties of their __________ will be reborn in an inferior position in their next life.
intersectionality
a sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group members affect our lives in ways that are distinct from single group memberships. For example, the experience of a black female may be distinct from that of a white female or black male -the study of the interacting effects of these different sources of inequality, and the resulting experiences of oppression, is termed ___________
concrete operational stage
a stage of cognitive development, as formulated by Piaget, in which the child's thinking is based primarily on physical perception of the world -in this phase, the child is not yet capable of dealing with abstract concepts or hypothetical situations -During this stage, children master abstract, logical notions such as causality. -the child becomes capable of carrying out the mathematical operations of multiplying, dividing, and subtracting -
preoperational stage
a stage of cognitive development, in Piaget's theory in which the child has advanced sufficiently to master basic modes of logical thought -children master language and use words to represent objects and images in a symbolic fashion -children are not yet able to use their developing mental capabilities systematically -children in this stage are egocentric in the sense that they interpret the world exclusively in terms of their own position. Holding a book upright, the child may ask about a picture in it, not realizing that the person sitting opposite can see only the back of the book
mean
a statistical measure of central tendency, or average, based on dividing a total by the number of individual cases
age grade
a system found in small traditional cultures by which people belonging to a similar age group are categorized together and hold similar rights and obligations
class systems
a system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among classes. The four chief bases of class are ownership of wealth, occupation, income, and education -differ from slavery and castes in four main ways: fluid and movement is possible; positions are partly achieved; classes are economically based; and class systems are large-scale and impersonal
dependency culture
a term popularized by Charles Murray to describe individuals who rely on state welfare provision rather than entering the labor market. The dependency culture is seen as the outcome of the "paternalistic" welfare state that undermines individual ambition and people's capacity for self-help -this term refers to the poor people who rely on welfare rather than entering the labor market. Murray argue that the growth of the welfare state undermines personal ambition and the capacity for self-help;welfare erodes people's incentive to work
symbolic interactionism
a theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction
functionalism
a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform - that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of a society
pilot study
a trial run in survey research -any difficulties can then be ironed out before the main survey takes place
bureaucracy
a type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full time, salaried officials
bureaucracy
a type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full-time, salaried officials -enables large organizations to run efficiently, but at the same time it poses problems for effective democratic participation in modern societies. -it involves the rule of experts, who make decisions without consulting those whose lives are affected by them
standard deviation
a way of calculating the spread of a group of numbers
shaming
a way of punishing criminal and deviant based on rituals of public disapproval rather than incarceration. The goal of __________ is to maintain the ties of the offender to the community
secondary deviation
according to Edwin Lemert, following the act of primary deviation, ______________ occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant and acts accordingly -The perception that one is deviant may in fact motivate deviant behavior
sensorimotor stage
according to Jean Piaget, a stage of human cognitive development in which a child's awareness of his or her environment is dominated by perception and touch -at this stage, infants learn mainly by touching objects, manipulating them, and physically exploring their environment -objects are not differentiated from persons, and the infant is unaware that anything exists outside his or her range of vision -the main accomplishment of this stage is children's understanding that their environment has distinct and stable properties
formal operational stage
according to Piaget's theory, a stage of cognitive development at which the growing child becomes capable of handling abstract concepts and hypothetical situations -When faced with a problem, children at this stage are able to review all the possible ways of solving it and go through them theoretically to reach a solution
egocentric
according to Piaget, the characteristic quality of a child during the early years of his or her life -_____________ thinking involves understanding objects and events in the environment solely in terms of one's own position
organic solidarity
according to durkheim, the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole -a growing division of labor, with all members of society engaged in highly specialized roles, with functional interdependence resulting in ties that bind the members of society together
labeling theory
an approach to the study of deviance that suggests that people become "deviant" because certain labels are attached to their behavior by political authorities and others -It was originally associated with Howard S. Becker's studies of marijuana smokers. It is not the act of marijuana smoking that makes one deviant but the way others react to it.
capitalism
an economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit -Those who own capital - factories, machines, and large sums of money - form a ruling class. The mass of the population makes up a class of wage workers, a working class, who do not own the means of their livelihood but must find employment provided by the owners of capital.
feminization of poverty
an increase in the proportion of the poor who are female
differential association
an interpretation of the development of criminal behavior proposed by Edwin H. Sutherland, according to whom criminal behavior is learned through association with others who regularly engage in crime -argues that we learn deviant behavior in precisely he same way we learn about conventional behavior: from our contacts with primary groups such as peers, family members, and coworkers -we become deviant when exposed to a higher level of deviant persons and influences, compared with conventional influences
poverty line
an official government measure to define those living in poverty in the United States
signifier
any vehicle of meaning and communication -any vehicle of meaning - any set of elements used to communicate -any set of elements used to communicate -ex: the sounds made in speech or the marks made on paper or other materials in writing
back region
areas apart from front-region performance, as specified by Erving Goffman, in which individuals are able to relax and behave informally
self consciousness
awareness of one's distinct social identity as a person separate from others -human beings are not born with __________________ but acquire an awareness of self as a result of early socialization -the learning of language is of vital importance to the processes by which the child learns to become a self conscious being
white collar crime
criminal activities carried out by those in white-collar, or professional, jobs -Crimes by people in positions of power and wealth can have farther-reaching consequences than the often petty crimes of the poor. The term ______________, introduced by Edwin Sutherland, refers to crime by affluent people. This category of criminal activity includes tax fraud, antitrust violations, illegal sales practices, securities and land fraud, embezzlement, the manufacture or sale of dangerous products, and illegal envionrmental pollution
social category
doctors as a group represent a/an: ____________ -consists of people who share a common characteristic (such as gender or occupation) but do not necessarily interact or identify with one another
empirical investigation
factual inquiries carried out in any area of sociological study -science is the use of systematic methods of _________________, the analysis of data, theoretical thinking, and the logical assessment of arguments to develop a body of knowledge about specific subject matter
mass media
forms of communication, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, designed to reach mass audiences
information and communication technology
forms of technology based on information processing and requiring microelectronic circuitry
latent functions
functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur
secondary groups
groups characterized by large sized and by impersonal, fleeting relationships -large and impersonal and seldom involve intense emotional ties, enduring relationships, powerful commitments to the group itself, or experiences of unity -examples include businesses, schools, work groups, athletic clubs, and governmental bodies -we rarely feel we can be ourselves; rather, we are often playing a role, such as employee or student -Cooley argued that people belong to primary groups mainly because membership is fulfilling, but people join ______________ to achieve a specific goal: to earn a living, get a college degree, or compete on a sports team
agents of socialization
groups or social contexts within which processes of socialization take place -ex: the family, schools, peer relationships, the mass media, work
primary groups
groups that are characterized by intense emotional ties, face-to-face interaction, intimacy, and a strong, enduring sense of commitment -often experience unity, a merging of the self with the group into one personal "we"
out groups
groups toward which one feels antagonism and contempt - "those people"
in groups
groups toward which one feels particular loyalty and respect - the groups to which "we" belong
cognition
human though processes involving perception, reasoning, and remembering -Jean Piaget studied many aspects of child development, but his best-known writings concern ____________ - the ways in which children learn to think about themselves and their environment
values
ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good, and bad -what individuals value is strongly influenced by the specific culture in which they happen to live -ex: being faithful to one marriage partner
hypothesis
ideas or educated guesses about a given state of affairs, put forward as bases for empirical testing -must be formulated in such a way that the factual material gathered will provide evidence either supporting or disproving it
focused interaction
interaction between individuals engaged in a common activity or in direct conversation with one another -occurs when individuals directly attend to what others say or do. Goffman calls an instance of focused interaction an encounter. -Much of our day to day life consists of encounters with other people - family, friends, colleagues - frequently occurring against the background of unfocused interaction with others -each person communicates as much by facial expression and gesture as by the words actually exchanged
unfocused interaction
interaction occurring among people present in a particular setting but not engaged in direct face-to-face communication -takes place whenever individuals exhibit awareness of one another's presence. This is usually the case anywhere large numbers of people are assembled, as on a busy street, in a theater crowd, or at a party. -When people are in the presence of others, even if they do not directly talk to them, they continually communicate nonverbally through their posture and facial and physical gestures.
structural mobility
mobility resulting from changes in the number and kinds of jobs available in a society -upward mobility made possible by an expansion of better-paid occupations at the expense of poorly paid ones
deviance
modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by most members of a group or society. -What is regarded as deviant is as variable as the norms and values that distinguish different cultures and subcultures from one another. Forms of behavior that are highly esteemed by one group may be regarded negatively by others
wealth
money and material possessions held by an individual or group
income
money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments
social mobility
movement of individuals or groups between different social positions
intergenerational mobility
movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy from one generation to another -refers to social movement across generations; we can analyze where children are on the scale compared wit heir parents or grandparents
intragenerational mobility
movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy within the course of a personal career -refers to how far an individual moves up or down the socioeconomic scale during his or her working life
absolute poverty
not meeting the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence -means that a person or family simply can't get enough to eat. -undernourished and, in situations of famine, may even starve to death
symbol
one item used to stand for or represent another - as in the case of a flag, which symbolizes a nation
nation states
particular types of states, characteristic of the modern world, in which governments have sovereign power within defined territorial areas, and populations are citizens who know themselves to be part of single nations -political communities with clearly delimited borders and shared culture, rather than vague frontier areas that separated traditional states
agrarian
people in ___________ societies could accumulate more material possessions than people in the other two groups because they didn't move around as much
homeless
people who have no place to sleep and either stay in free shelters or sleep in public places not meant for habitation
bourgeoisie
people who own companies, land, or stocks (shares) and use these to generate economic returns -capitalists -own the means of production
proletariat
people who sell their labor for wages, according to Marx -earn their living by selling their labor to the capitalists
social category
people who share a common characteristic (such as gender or occupation) but do not necessarily interact or identify with one another
working poor
people who work but whose earnings are not enough to lift them above the poverty line -people who work at least 27 weeks a year but those earnings are not high enough to lift them above the poverty line
compulsion of proximity
people's need to interact with others in their presence
agrarian socities
period of existence -12,000 BCE to the present -most are now part of larger political entities and losing their distinct identity characteristics -based on small rural communities, without towns or cities -livelihood gained through agriculture, often supplemented by hunting and gathering -strong inequalities than among hunters and gatherers -ruled by chiefs
pastoral socities
period of existence -12,000 BCE to the present -today mostly part of larger states; their traditional ways of life are being undermined characteristics -range from a few hundred people to many thousands -depend on the tending of domesticated animals for their subsistence -marked by distinct inequalities -ruled by chiefs or warrior kings
hunting and gathering societies
period of existence -50,000 BCE to the present -now on the verge of complete disappearance characteristics -consist of small numbers of people gaining their livelihood from hunting, fishing, and the gathering of edible plants -few inequalities -differences of rank limited by age and gender
traditional societies or civilizations
period of existence -6000 BCE to the nineteenth century -all traditional states have disappeared characteristics -very large in size, some numbering millions of people (though small compared with larger industrialized societies) -some cities exist, in which trade and manufacture are concentrated -based largely on agriculture -major inequalities exist among different classes -distinct apparatus of government headed by a king or emperor
relative poverty
poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society -essentially a measure of inequality. It means being poor as compared with the standards of living of the majority.
impression management
preparing for the presentation of one's social role -Although we may sometimes do this in a calculated way, usually it is among the things we do without conscious attention. -When going on a job interview, a person will typically dress more formally and try to put his or her best foot forward; however, when going out with friends, he or she might dress down, use slang, and act in ways that may not impress a prospective employer
formal relations
relations that exist in groups and organizations, as laid down by the norms, or rules, of the official system of authority -
comparative research
research that compares one set of findings on one society with the same type of findings on other societies
laws
rules of behavior established by a political authority and backed by sate power -norms defined by governments as principles their citizens must follow; sanctions are used against people who do not conform to those principles
norms
rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations -either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it -all human groups follow definite ________, which are always backed by sanctions of one kind or another, varying from informal disapproval to physical punishment
random sampling
sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included
response cries
seemingly involuntary exclamations individuals make when, for example, they are taken by surprise, drop something inadvertently, or want to express pleasure -certain kinds of utterances are not talk but consists of muttered explanations or what Goffman has called ____________ -Saying "Oops" for example is not a reflex. It is normally directed toward others present. The exclamation demonstrates to witnesses that the lapse is only minor and momentary, not something that should cast doubt
networks
sets of informal and formal social ties that link people to each other
front region
settings of social activity in which people seek to put on a definite "performance" for others
social roles
socially defined expectations of an individual in a given status or social position -individuals learn the expectations for social positions in their culture and perform these roles largely as they have been defined -through socialization, individuals internalize ___________ and learn how to carry them out -individuals come to understand and assume social roles through an ongoing process of social interaction
hunting and gathering societies
societies whose mode of subsistence is gained from hunting animals, fishing, and gathering edible plants -For all but a tiny part of our existence on this planet, human beings have lived in small _________________, often numbering no more than 30 or 40 people -societies were usually participatory rater than competitive
pastoral societies
societies whose subsistence derived from the rearing of domesticated animals -about 15,000 years ago, some hunting and gathering groups started raising domesticated animals and cultivating fixed plots of land as their means of livelihood
cultural turn
sociology's recent emphasis on the importance of understanding the role of culture in daily life -the phrase ____________ describes sociology's recent emphasis on understanding the role of culture in daily life
interpret results
standard steps in the research process -review evidence; select a research design; _____________; report findings
experiments
strengths: -influence of specific variables can be controlled by the investigator -are usually easier for subsequent researchers to repeat limitations: -many aspects of social life cannot be brought into the laboratory -responses of those studied may be affected by experimental situation
surveys
strengths: -make possible the efficient collection of data on large numbers of individuals -allow for precise comparisons to be made among the answers of respondents limitations -material gathered may be superficial; if questionnaire is highly standardized, important differences among respondents' viewpoint may be glossed over -responses may be what people profess to believe rather than what they actually believe
ethnography
strengths: -usually generates richer and more in-depth information than other methods -can provide a broader understanding of social processes limitations -can be used to study only relatively small groups or communities -findings might apply only to groups or communities studied not easy to generalize on the basis of a single fieldwork study
industrialized societies
strongly developed nation-states in which the majority of the population works in factories or offices rather than in agriculture, and most people live in urban areas
compulsion of proximity
the ________________ refers to people's need for face to face interaction, despite the many options that exist in modern societies for connecting virtually
power
the ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold -it is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are struggles over power, because how much power an individual or group is able to achieve governs how far they are able to put their wishes into practice
assimilation
the acceptance of a minority group by a majority population in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture -the process by which different cultures are absorbed into a mainstream culture
sociological imagination
the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. -someone using the ______________ "thinks himself away" from the familiar routines of daily life -C. Wright Mills coined this term -Mills tried to understand how the average person in the United States understood his or her everyday life -does leave room for the person to have an impact, even as we acknowledge that he or she is constrained
conflict theory
the argument that deviance is deliberately chosen and often political in nature
group conformity
the asch task provides insight into what concepts
social self
the basis of self consciousness in human individuals, according to the theory of G. H. Mead -the _________ is the identity conferred upon an individual by the reactions of others. -a person achieves self-consciousness by becoming aware of this social identity
social identity
the characteristics that are attributed to an individual by others -these characteristics place that individual in relation to others who share the same attributes -examples: student, mother, lawyer, Catholic, homeless, Asian, dyslexic, and married -all individuals have more than one _________________, thereby reflecting the many dimensions of their lives -a person could simultaneously be a mother, an engineer, a Muslim, and a city council member
social constraint
the conditioning influence on our behavior of the groups and societies of which we are members -regarded by Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts
interactional vandalism
the deliberate subversion of the tacit rules of conversation -describes cases in which a subordinate person breaks the tacit rules of everyday interaction that are of value to the more powerful person -
identity
the distinctive characteristics of a person's or group's character that relate to who he is and what is meaningful to him. These understandings are formed in relation to certain attributes that take priority over other sources of meaning -some of the main sources of identity include gender, sexual orientation, nationality or ethnicity, and social class
research methods
the diverse methods of investigation used to gather empirical (factual) material -the most commonly used are fieldwork (or participant observation) and survey methods -for many purposes, it is useful to combine two or more methods within a single research project
regionalization
the division of social life into different regional settings or zones
conversation analysis
the empirical study of conversations, employing techniques drawn from ethnomethodology. -______________________ examines details of naturally occurring conversations to reveal the organizational principles of talk and its role in the production and reproduction of social order
exchange mobility
the exchange of positions on the socioeconomic scale such that talented people move up the economic hierarchy while the less talented move down
social stratification
the existence of structured inequalities between groups in society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards. While all societies involve some forms of stratification, only with the development of state-based systems did wide differences in wealth and power arise. The most distinctive form of stratification in modern societies is class divisions -inequalities among individuals and groups that are determined not so much by individual personality or small-scale social situations but, more broadly, by attributes such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, or religious affiliation
roles
the expected behaviors of people occupying particular social positions. The idea of social role originally comes from the theater, referring to the parts that actors play in a stage production. In every society, individuals play a number of social roles
families with children
the fastest growing group of homeless people is ____________
ethnography
the firsthand study of people using participant observation or interviewing -the investigator works or lives with a group, organization, or community, and perhaps participates in its activities -provides rich information on the behavior of people in groups, organizations, and communities as well as information on how these people understand their own behavior -limitation: researcher could identify so closely with the group that he loses the perspective of an objective outside observer
manifest functions
the functions of a type of social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity
gender role socialization
the learning of gender roles through social factors such as schooling, the media, and family
socialization
the life long process of learning the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to your social position, such as your age, gender, or social class -the lessons one learns must be appropriate to one's level of maturity -reflects not only the social position that a child has, but the positions that a child will someday occupy -the process whereby the helpless infant gradually becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of his or her culture -describes the processes whereby preschool-age children learn to be students, students learn to be workers, and childless persons learn to become parents -a process in which humans can exercise agency; they are not passive subjects waiting to be instructed or programmed
timetables
the means by which organizations regularize activities across time and space -activities must be consistently coordinated in time and space, something promoted both by the physical settings of organizations and by the precise scheduling of detailed ______________, which regularize activities across time and space. -they are a condition of organizational discipline because they organize, or schedule, the activities of large numbers of people.
means of production
the means whereby the production of material goods is carried on in a society, including not just technology but also the social relations between producers -For Marx, the term class refers to people who have a common relationship to the _________________ - the means by which they gain a livelihood
correlation coeffcients
the measure of the degree of correlation between variables
mode
the number that appears most often in a given set of data. This can sometimes be a helpful way of portraying central tendency
median
the number that falls halfway in a range of numbers - a way of calculating central tendency that is sometimes more useful than calculating a mean
self identity
the ongoing process of self development and definition of our personal identity through which we formulate a unique sense of ourselves and our relationship to the world around us -sets us apart as distinct individuals -refers to the process of self-development through which we formulate a unique sense of ourselves and our relationship to the world -it is our constant negotiation with the outside world that shapes our sense of self, linking our own personal and public worlds -through the cultural and social environment is a factor in shaping __________, individual agency and choice are key -we are our own best resources in defining who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going -the decisions we make in our everyday lives - about what to wear, how to behave, and how to spend our time - help makes us who we are
population
the people who are the focus of social research
material culture
the physical objects that a society creates that influence the ways in which people live -these include consumer goods, from clothes to cars to houses; the tools and technologies used to make those goods, from sewing machines to computerized factories; and the towns and cities that serve as places for people to live and work -another example of the globalization of ___________________ is the way that classrooms and department stores the world over increasingly resemble one another, and the fact that McDonald's restaurants are now found on nearly every continent
personal space
the physical space individuals maintain between themselves and others -In Western culture, people usually maintain a distance of at least three feet when engaged in focused interaction with others; when standing side by side, they may stand closer together. In the Middle East, people often stand closer to each other than is thought acceptable in the West.
cultural relativism
the practice of judging a society by its own standards
cultural relativism
the practice of judging a society or culture by its own standards
language
the primary vehicle of meaning and communication in a society -a system of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts -demonstrates both the unity and the diversity of human culture because there are no cultures without language, and there are thousands of languages spoken in the world -give permanence to a culture and identity to a people --> outlives any particular speaker or writer, affording a sense of history and cultural continuity
social interaction
the process by which we act and react to those around us
social reproduction
the process of perpetuating values, norms, and social practices through socialization, which leads to structural continuity over time -the process whereby societies have structural continuity over time -all societies have characteristics that endure over time, even though their members change as individuals are born and die -american society, for example, has many distinctive social and cultural characteristics that have persisted for generations - such as the fact that English is the main language spoken
industrialization
the process of the machine production of goods -the emergence of machine production based on the use of inanimate power resources (such as steam or electricity).
colonialism
the process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories
civil inattention
the process whereby individuals in the same physical setting glance at each other and quickly look away to indicate awareness of each other but not intrusiveness -When passersby - either strangers or intimates - quickly glance at each other and then look away again, they demonstrate what Goffman calls _____________. -not the same as merely ignoring another person. Each individual indicates recognition of the other person's presence but avoids any gesture that might be taken as too intrusive -something we engage in more or less unconsciously, but it is of fundamental importance to the existence of social life, which must proceed efficiently, and sometimes among total strangers, without fear -When ___________ occurs among passing strangers, an individual implies to another person that she has no reason to suspect his intentions, be hostile to him, or in any other way specifically avoid him
degree of dispersal
the range or distribution of a set of figures
crime
the result of any action that contravenes the laws established by a political authority -constitutes any type of behavior that breaks a law
policed
the setting for Alice Goffman's study? -an intensely ___________ poor black neighborhood
status
the social honor or prestige a particular group is accorded by other members of a society. Status groups normally display distinct styles of life - patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow. Status privilege may be positive or negative.
status
the social honor or prestige that a particular group is accorded to by other members of a society. _______ groups normally display distinct styles of life - patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow. Status privilege may be positive or negative
social position
the social identity an individual has in a given group or society. ___________s maybe general in nature (those associated with gender roles) or more specific (occupational positions)
socialization
the social processes though which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self -Although ______________ processes are particularly significant in infancy and childhood, they continue to some degree throughout life. -no individuals are immune to the reactions of others around them, which influence and modify their behavior at all phases of the life course -a process in which humans can exercise agency; they are not passive subjects waiting to be instructed or programmed
division of labor
the specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system -all societies have at least some rudimentary form of ______________, especially between the tasks allocated to men and those performed by women. -With the development of industrialism, the division of labor became vastly more complex than in any prior type of production system.
race socialization
the specific verbal and nonverbal messages that older generations transmit to younger generations regarding the meaning and significance of race
ethnomethodology
the study of how people make sense of what others say and do in the course of day-to-day social interaction -__________________ is concerned with the "ethnomethods" -folk or lay methods - by which people sustain meaningful interchanges with one another -Garfinkel argued that in order to understand the way people use context to make sense of the world, sociologists need to study he "background expectancies" with which we organize ordinary conversations.
microsociology
the study of human behavior in the context of face-to-face interaction -face to face interaction is the basis of all forms of social organization, no matter how large scale. -studying face to face interactions in a company contributes significantly to understanding how the organization works
macrosociology
the study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems -analysis of large-scale social systems, such as the political system or the economy -essential for understanding the institutional background of daily life, because people's lives are affected by the broader institutional framework
semiotics
the study of the ways in which nonlinguistic phenomena can generate meaning - as in the example of a traffic light -in traditional cities, the main temple or church usually sat on high ground in or near the city center to symbolize the all-powerful influence of religion
surveillance
the supervising of the activities of some individuals or groups by others in order to ensure compliant behavior -the supervision of activities in organizations. -In modern organizations, everyone, even those in relatively high positions of authority, is subject to _____________; but the lowlier a person is, the more his or her behavior tends to be scrutinized
age grade
the system found in small traditional cultures by which people belonging to a similar age group are categorized together and hold similar rights and obligations
ethnocentrism
the tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of one's own culture, and thereby misrepresent them
broken windows
the theory of ______________ states that any sign of social disorder in a community encourages more serious crime
control theory
the theory that views crime as the outcome of an imbalance between impulses toward criminal activity and controls that deter it. Control theorists hold that criminals are rational beings who will act to maximize their own reward unless they are rendered unable to do so through either social or physical controls -posits that crime results from an imbalance between impulses toward criminal activity and the social or physical controls that deters it -assumes that people act rationally and that, given the opportunity, everyone would engage in deviant acts
culture of poverty
the thesis, popularized by Oscar Lewis, that poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies, but is instead the outcome of a larger social and cultural atmosphere into which successive generations of children are socialized. -The _____________________refers to the values, beliefs, and lifestyles, habits, and traditions that are common among people living under conditions of material deprivation
social structure
the underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave in their relationships with one another
culture
the values, norms, and material goods characteristic of a given group. -Like the concept of society, the notion of _________ is widely used in sociology and the other social sciences (particularly anthropology). -one of the most distinctive properties of human social association
materialist conception of history
the view developed by Marx according to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role in determining historical change
measures of central tendency
the ways of calculating averages
civil inattention
this is an example of?? A person enters an elevator, glances briefly at the other people in the elevator, and then turns around to face the doors as they close
clock time
time as measured by the clock, in terms of hours, minutes, and seconds, as opposed to measuring it by the rising and setting of the sun
subcultures
values and norms distinct from those of the majority, held by a group within a wider society -these people are not as nonconformist as they may think they are because they conform to the norms of their respective social groups
cultural universals
values or modes of behavior shared by all human cultures -for example, there is no known culture without a grammatically complex language -the institution of marriage is a cultural universal, as are religious rituals and property rights - although that constitutes marriage, how many spouses one is entitled to, and what is considered acceptable behavior both within and outside the marriage can vary considerably from culture to culture
linguistic relativity hypothesis
we are more likely to be aware of things if we have words for them For example, expert skiers and snowboarders use terms such as black ice, corn, powder, and packed powder to describe different snow and ice conditions to more readily perceive potentially life-threatening situations that would escape the notice of a novice.
inference (general assumptions), reproduce results, uncertainty, reflexibility (investigator doing research is part of the world she is research so it is hard to separate herself)
what are the four principles that help identify work that is living up to the highest ideals of social science?
nonindustrial civilizations
what are the three main types of premodern societies? -hunter and gatherers, agrarian or pastoral societies, _____________________
time space
when and where events occur
marxism and feminist theory
which two theoretical approaches share the belief that sociological theory must be linked to political and social action?
norms, social control
willingness to conform is accomplished in two ways (1) members learn the ________ of their culture starting from childhood, with parents playing a key role (2) _______________ comes into play when a person fails to conform adequately to a culture's norms. Social control often involves informal punishment, such as rebuking friends for minor breaches of etiquette, gossiping behind their backs, or ostracizing them from the group