Sociology Midterm

Sociology

The study of how societies are organized and how the organization of a society influences the behavior of people living in it

Overlaps with other disciplines like political science psychology, and economics.

Sociological imagination

Perspective in which we think about our own personal experience in relation to a larger set of social forces that influence every aspect of our lives

Social conflict

The struggle between groups that have different interests and needs.

Economic relationships

How goods and resources are owned and distributed

Class

A group of people with similar positions in the economy and similar needs and interests

Dialectic

An ongoing struggle between opposites

Relational sociology

Sociological perspective that sees individuals as defined by relationships to others and to instructions such as the economy

Alienation

Feeling of being disconnected from others, from work, and even from one’s own sense of humanity.

Structure

Social forces that impact individual behavior that are produced by that behavior

Solidarity

Patterns of connections between people in a society

Mechanical solidarity

Present in simple societies, where everyone is connected and the society is highly cohesive

Organic solidarity

Present in complex societies, where many members are not connected to each other personally but depend on others due to the division of labor

Integration

How tied you are to others in your community

Regulation

A society’s use of rules to monitor member’s actions

Anomie

A lack of morals or social expectations to guide behavior

Methodological individualism

Perspective that individuals should be at the center of any study of society

Social action

Behaviors that produce social structures

Interpretative understanding

Perspective that focuses on the meaning that people make of their actions

Culture

According to Weber, the values people hold together that guide their behavior

Socially engaged scholarship

Research that includes community members as researchers and data-gatherers and that focuses on their experiences

Psychological wage

Symbolic rewards Whites receive from a system that values Whiteness

Conspicuous consumption

Extravagant spending on items, services, and leisure to gain prestige and show off one’s social status to others

Individual class

Individuals who are wealthy enough that they do not have to work for money

Pecuniary emulation

A competitive process of accumulating goods and services that can display as as a sign of how well of we are

Veblen good

A luxury item where demand increases as price goes up

Audit study

Research experiment in which researchers match participants on key characteristics to determine how people behave in real-world situations

Nuremberg Code

First international guidelines establishing research ethics

Ethical research

Participants must take part voluntarily, must understand the risks involved, and must be able to stop at any time

Covariation

Relationship between variables

Ethnography

In-depth study of a group and its culture

Sampling frame

Method for choosing which members of a population will be in the sample

Spurious relationship

Where a third variable actually explains the apparent connection between two variables

Social structure

The set of social statuses, roles, groups, networks, and institutions that organize and influence the way people go about their lives

Social status

A person or group’s socially determined positions within a larger group or society

Ascribed status

Status assigned by society without regard for the person’s unique talents, efforts, or characteristics

Achieved status

Status that results form you efforts

Life chances

Opportunities that provide yourself with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences

Social role

Set of expectations concerning the behavior and attitudes of people who occupy a particular social status

Role conflict

Inconsistency between two or more roles

Social group

Two or more people with similar values and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis

Social network

Series of social relationships that link a person directly to other individuals and indirectly to even more people

Social institutions

Central domains of social life that guide our behaviors and meet our basic social needs

Self-concept

Thoughts and feelings we have of ourselves as physical, social, and emotional beings

Socialization

Experiences that give us an identity and that teach us how to be members of society

Generalized other

Values and norms of the larger culture that guide your actions

Looking glass self

The way our perception of how others see us affects our sense of self

Resocializaiton

The