Sociology Chpt 5
organic solidarity
Emile Durkheim's term for the social cohesion found in industrial (and perhaps postindustrial) societies, in which people perform very specialized tasks and feel united by their mutual dependence
mechanical solidarity
Emile Durkheim's term for the social cohesion of preindustrial societies, in which there is minimal division of labor and people feel united by shared values and common social bonds
impression management (presentation of self)
Erving Goffman's term for people's efforts to present themselves to others in ways that are most favorable to their own interests or image
face-saving behavior
Erving Goffman's term for the strategies we use to rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face
dramaturgical analysis
Erving Goffman's term for the study of social interation that compares everyday life to a theatrical presentation
True
True or False Conflict theorists maintain that in capitalistic societies, where a few people control the labor of many, the social structure reflects a system of relationships of domination among categories of people (for example, owner-worker and employer-employee).
False
True or False Emile Durkheim argues that homelessness is a "social class phenomenon, the direct result of a steady, across-the-board lowering of the standard of living of the working class and lower class."
True
True or False Family, economy, education, religion, and mass media are all examples of social institutions.
True
True or False Homeless people have lost the vital link with social structures.
False
True or False Horticultural and pastoral societies are more egalitarian than hunting and gathering societies.
True
True or False In agrarian societies, politics are based on a feudal system controlled by a political-economic elite mad e up of the ruler, his royal family, and members of the landowning class.
True
True or False In hunting and gathering societies, the basic social unit is the kinship group or family.
False
True or False People use role exiting techniques when they do not want others to take them as the "self" implied in a particular role, especially if they think the role is "beneath them."
True
True or False President Barack Obama occupies various statuses, including status as an African American, a husband, and a father. However, Obama's status as the POTUS functions as a master status.
True
True or False Role strain occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status that a person occupies.
True
True or False Social structure is essential for the survival of society and for the well-being of individuals because it provides a social web of familial support and social relationships that connects each of us to the larger society.
True
True or False Status symbols are material signs that inform others of a person's specific status.
False
True or False The term "status" refers to high-level positions in society.
True
True or False Traditionally, people of color and white women have been excluded from powerful "old-boy" social networks.
False
True or False Social institutions are transformed by industrialism. The family increases in significance as the economy, education, and political institutions grow in size and complexity.
True
True or False Sociologist Emile Durkheim stated that as societies became industrialized and developed more-specialized economic activities, social solidarity came to be rooted in the members' shared dependence on one another.
social script
a "playbook" that "actors" use to guide their verbal replies and overall performance to achieve the desired goal of the conversation or fulfill the role they are playing
role strain
a condition that occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status that a person occupies
social group
a group that consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity and a feeling of interdependence
role expectation
a group's or society's definition of the way that a specific role ought to be played
formal organization
a highly structured group formed for the purpose of completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals
Gesellschaft
a large, urban society in which social bonds are based on impersonal and specialized relationships, with little long-term commitment to the group or consensus on values
secondary group
a larger, more specialized group in which members engage in more-impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time
status symbol
a material sign that informs others of a person's specific status
role
a set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status
social institution
a set of organized beliefs and rules that establishes how a society will attempt to meet its basic social needs
self-fulfilling prophecy
a situation in which a false belief or prediction produces behavior that makes the originally false belief come true
role conflict
a situation in which incompatible role demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time
role exit
a situation in which people disengage from social roles that have been central to their self-identity
primary group
a small, less specialized group in which members engage in face-to-face, emotion-based interactions over an extended period of time
ascribed status
a social position conferred at birth or received involuntarily later in life, based on attributes over which the individual has little or no control, such as race/ethnicity, age, and gender
achieved status
a social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort
status
a socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties
Gemeinschaft
a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on intergeneration stability
status set
all the statuses that a person occupies at a given time
role performance
how a person actually plays a role
division of labor
how the various tasks of a society are divided up and performed
industrial societies
societies based on technology that mechanizes production
horticultural societies
societies based on technology that supports the cultivation of plants to provide food
pastoral societies
societies based on technology that supports the domestication of large animals to provide food
postindustrial societies
societies in which technology supports a service- and information- based economy
hunting and gathering societies
societies that use simple technology for hunting animals and gathering vegetation
agrarian societies
societies that use the technology of large-scale farming, including animal-drawn or energy-powered plows and equipment, to produce their food supply
social structure
the complex framework of societal institutions (such as the economy, politics, and religion) and the social practices (such as rules and social roles) that make up a society and organize and establish limits on people's behavior
personal space
the immediate area surrounding a person that the person claims as private
master status
the most important status that a person occupies
social construction of reality
the process by which our perception of reality is shaped largely by the subjective meaning that we give to an experience
social interaction
the process by which people act toward or respond to other people: the foundation for all relationships and groups in society
ethnomethodology
the study of the commonsense knowledge that people use to understand the situations in which they find themselves
nonverbal communication
the transfer or information between persons without the use of words