Soc. Ch. 5
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 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 groups 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 of values
secondary group
a larger more specialized group in which members engage in more impersonal goal oriented relationships for a limited time
status symbol
a material sign that informs others of a person's specific status
social script
a play book 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
a set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status
social institution
a set of organized rules that establishes how a society will attempt to meet its basic social needs
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 received at birth or involuntary later on in life based on attributes over which the individual has little or no control such as race, ethnicity, age and gender
achieved status
a social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort
status
a socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights and duties
gemeinschaft
a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on inter-generational stability
status set
all the statuses that a person occupies at a given time
organic solidarity
emile durkehims term for the social cohesion found in industrial 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 a minimal division of labor and people feel united by shared values and common social bonds
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
impression management (presentation of self)
erving goffmans term for people's efforts to present themselves to others in ways that are most favorable to their own interest or image.
role performance
how a person actually plays a role
division of labor
how the various tasks of 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
postindustrial society
societies in which technology supports a service and information based economy
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 energy powered plows and equipment to produce their food supply
social structure
the complex framework of societal institutions such as the economy. politics, and religion and the social practices such as rules and social roles that make up a society and that organize and establish limits on people's behavior
personal space
the immediate area surrounding a person that the person claims as private
master status
the most important status that a person occupies
social construction of reality
the process by which our perception of reality is shaped largely by the subjective meaning that we give to an experience
social interaction
the process by which people act toward or respond to other people; the foundation for all relationships and groups in society
self fulfilling prophecy
the situation in which false beliefs or predictions produces behavior that makes the originally false belief come true
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 speech
