Sociology CH4

organic solidarity

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

mechanical solidarity

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

impression management (presentation of self)

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

face-saving behavior

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

dramaturgical analysis

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

postindustrial society

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

social script

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

role strain

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

social group

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

role expectation

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

formal organization

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

Gesellschaft

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

secondary group

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

social institution

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

self-fulfilling prophecy

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

role conflict

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

role exit

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

primary group

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

ascribed status

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

achieved status

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

Gemeinschaft

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

People engage in civil inattention in an elevator, regardless of where the elevator is located. This illustrates that meanings shared across situations serve to regulate the form and process of interaction, but not the content. Which of the following terms refers to this pattern? a. Interaction order b. Mechanical solidarity c. Impression management d. Patterned interaction

a. Interaction order

Which of the following terms refers to the process by which our perception of reality is largely shaped by the subjective meaning that we give to an experience? a. Social construction of reality b. Self-fulfilling prophecy c. Definition of the situation d. Intersubjectivity

a. Social construction of reality

Which of the following refers to a group's ability to maintain itself in the face of obstacles? a. Social solidarity b. Social networking c. Cultural diffusion d. Cultural bonding

a. Social solidarity

Recent research indicates that women athletes have their own ways of dealing with the "female/athlete paradox." This paradox is an example of role __________. a. conflict b. exit c. distancing d. expectation

a. conflict

Brenda is a housekeeper who is supposed to stand in the presence of her employers as a sign of respect. Given this information, it can be said that Brenda is required to show __________. a. deference b. transference c. organic solidarity d. inflection

a. deference

The term "emotional labor" refers to a. appropriate emotions for a given role or situation. b. the display of only certain carefully selected emotions toward the public instead of true feelings. c. strategies used to rescue our performance when we experience a potential loss of face. d. the transfer of information between people without the use of words.

b. the display of only certain carefully selected emotions toward the public instead of true feelings.

Which of the following terms refers to a social position a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort? a. Central status b. Ascribed status c. Achieved status d. Universal status

c. Achieved status

According to Durkheim, social solidarity in industrialized societies is sustained by __________. a. the power of the elite to create social control b. commonly held values and beliefs c. shared dependence established through division of labor d. networks of family and friends

c. shared dependence established through division of labor

Which of the following terms refers to the ways in which an individual shows an awareness that another is present without making this person the object of particular attention? a. Passive rudeness b. Reserved rejection c. Selective attention d. Civil inattention

d. Civil inattention

Which of the following terms refers to a society in which technology supports a service- and information-based economy? a. Industrial society b. Horticultural society c. Agrarian society d. Postindustrial society

d. Postindustrial society

role performance

how a person actually plays a role

division of labor

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

industrial society

societies based on technology that mechanizes production.

horticultural society

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

pastoral society

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

hunting-and-gathering society

societies that use simple technology for hunting animals and gathering vegetation

agrarian society

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

master status

the most important status that a person occupies.

social construction of reality

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

ethnomethodology

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

nonverbal communication

the transfer of information between persons without the use of words.