Essentials of Sociology Chapters 1-6, 15. Review

social groups

a collection of people who regularly interact w/ one another on the basis of shared expectations concerning behavior and who share a sense of community

social aggregate

a collection of people who happen to be together in a particular place but do not significantly interact or identify with one another

social category

people who share a common characteristic (such as gender or occupation) but do not necessarily interact w/ one another

In-groups

groups toward which one feels particular loyalty and respect. the groups that "we" belong to

out-groups

groups toward which one feels antagonism and contempt. "those people" the in groups scorn and mistreat the out-groups as a sort of bonding

primary group

a group that is characterized by intense emotional ties, face-to-face interaction, intimacy, and a strong, enduring sense of commitment. these are families, friends, peers, and they exert a long lasting influence on our development

secondary group

groups characterized by its large size and by impersonal, fleeting relationships. ex) business organizations, schools, work groups, athletic clubs, and government bodies. often, we are playing a role in these. we join them so we can achieve a goal (like getting paid)

reference group

a group that provides a standard for judging one's attitude or behavior, these are families, peers, classmates, coworkers. we are also influenced by media and those unrealistic expectations

dyad

a group consisting of two persons, these are likely to be both unstable and intense, as they involve intimacy and conflict. to exist they need full attention and cooperation of both parties

triads

groups consisting of three persons, the 3rd person relieves some of the pressure/tension. alliances are likely to form between two individuals in the group where they gang up on the other

instability, stability and exlcusivity

as group size increases, their _____ decreases while their ______ and ____ increase

leader

a person who is able to influence the behavior of other members of a group

transformational leader

leaders who are able to instill in the members of a group a sense of mission or higher purpose, thereby changing the nature of the group itself (ex. Nelson Mandela)

transactional leaders

leaders who are concerned with accomplishing the group's tasks, getting group members to do their jobs, and making certain that the group achieves its goals. this is routine leadership

Asch Experiment

experimented how people would rather conform than state their own individual answer even though they know the group's answer is wrong (basically conformity)

Millgram Experiment

A study that set subjects up to believe they were delivering dangerous amounts of electric shock to other participants. The study taught us that people will do horrible things to others if they feel pressured to do so by a person in a position of authority.

groupthink

a process by which the members of a group ignore ways of thinking and plans of action that go against group consensus (ex. Bay of Pigs Invasion)

networks

A set of informal and formal social ties that links people to each other.

organization

a large group of individuals with a definite set of authority relations. there are many types in industrialized societies, influencing most aspects of our lives. while not all of them are bureaucratic, there are close links between the development of them and bureaucratic tendencies

formal organization

means by which a group is rationally designed to achieve its objectives often using explicit rules, regulations, and procedures

Weber's characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy

1.) A clear-cut hierarchy of authority, such that tasks in the organization are distributed as 'official duties'

2.) Written rules govern the conduct of officials at all levels of the organization.

3.) Officials are full time and salaried.

4.) There is a separation between tasks of an official within the organization and his or her life outside.

5.) No members of the organization own the material resources with which they operate.

Merton's Dysfunctions of a Bureaucracy

1) An effective bureaucracy demands reliability of response and strict devotion to regulations. (2) Such devotion to the rules leads to their transformation into absolutes; they are no longer conceived as relative to a set of purposes. (3) This interferes with ready adaptation under special conditions not clearly envisaged by those who drew up the general rules. (4) Thus, the very elements which conduce toward efficiency in general produce inefficiency in specific instances. Full realization of the inadequacy is seldom attained by members of the group who have not divorced themselves from the meanings which the rules have for them. These rules in time become symbolic in cast, rather than strictly utilitarian.[3]

Mechanistic Bureaucracy

Emphasizes vertical specialization and control.

Organizations of this type stress rules, policies, and procedures; specify techniques or decision making; and emphasize developing well-documented control systems.

organic bureaucracy

emphasizes horizontal specialization

international governmental organization

Organizations in which governments of different nations cooperate. For example, the UN, NATO, EU, and the League of Nations

international nongovernmental organizations

international organizations established by agreements between the individuals or private organizations making up their membership

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 individuals

ideal type

a "pure type" constructed by emphasizing certain traits of a social item that do not necessarily exist in reality. an example is Weber's ideal type of bureaucratic organization

formal relations

relations that exist in groups and organizations, laid down by the norms or rules of the official system of authority

informal networks

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

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

oligarchy

rule by a small minority within an organization or society

human resource management

a style of management that regards a company's work forces as vital to its economic competitiveness

corporate culture

an organizational culture involving rituals, events, or traditions that are unique to a specific company ex. picnics

information technology

forms of technology based on information processing and requiring microelectronic circuitry

social capital

the social knowledge and connections that enable people to accomplish their goals and extend their influence

megacity

City with more than 10 million people

conurbation

a cluster of towns or cities forming an unbroken urban environment

megalopolis

the "city of all cities" in ancient Greece, used in modern terms to refer to very large conurbations

urbanization

the movement of the population into towns and cities and away from the land

ecological approach

from the chicago school of thought. a perspective on urban analysis emphasizing the 'natural' distribution of city neighborhoods into areas having contrasting characteristics. developed by Louis Wirth

inner city

the areas composing the central neighborhoods of a city, as distinct from the suburbs. in many modern urban settings in industrialized nations, inner-city areas are subject to decay and dilapidation, the more affluent residents having moved to the outlying areas

urban ecology

an approach to the study of urban lifebased on an analogy with the adjustment of plants and organisms to the physical environment. according to ecological theorists, the various neighborhoods and zones within cities are formed as a result of natural processes of adjustment on the part of populations as they compete for resources

urbanism

a term used by louis wirth to denote distinctive characteristics of urban social life, such as its impersonal or alienating nature

created environment

constructions established by human beings to serve their own needs, including roads, railways, factories, offices, homes, and other buildings

suburbanization

the development of towns surrounding a city

exurban communities

low-density suburban counties on the periphery of large metro areas

gentrification

a process of urban renewal in which older, deteriorating housing is refurbished by affluent people moving into the area

urban renewal

the process of renovating deteriorating neighborhoods by encouraging the renewal of old buildings and the construction of new ones

global city

A city-such as London, New York, or Tokyo-that has become an organizing center of the new global economy.

informal economy

economic transactions carried on outside the sphere of formal paid employment

demography

the study of the size, distribution, and composition of populations

crude birthrate

the number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year. it is only a general measure, because it does not specify numbers of births in relation to age distribution

fertility

the average number of live-born children produced by women of childbearing age in a particular society

fecundity

a measure of the number of children that it is biologically possible for a woman to produce

crude death rate

The number of deaths per year per 1,000 people. useful, but do not take age range into consideration

mortality

the number of deaths in a population

infant mortality rate

the number of infants who die during the first year of life, per 1,000 live births

life expectancy

the number of years the average person can expect to live

life span

the maximum length of life of a species; for humans, the longest that a human has lived

rates of population growth or decline

a measure of population change calculated by subtracting the yearly number of deaths per 1,000 from the number of births per 1,000

exponential growth

a geometric rate of increase. populations tend to grow exponentially

doubling time

the time it takes for a particular level of population to double

malthusianism

a doctrine about population dynamics developed by Thomas Malthus, according to which population increase comes up against "natural limits", represented by famine and war

demographic transition

the changes in the ratio of births to deaths in the industrialized countries from the nineteenth century onward

dependency ratio

the ratio of people of dependent ages (children and the elderly) to people of economically active ages

sustainable development

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Antrhopocene

a term used to denote the current geological epoch, in which many geologically significant conditions and processes are profoundly altered by human activities

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 norms, which are backed by by sanctions of one kind or another-- varying from informal disapproval to physical punishment

mores

norms that are widely adhered to and have great moral or social significance. violations are generally sanctioned strongly

folkways

norms that guide casual or everyday interactions. violations are sanctioned subtly or not at all.

deviance

modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by members of a group or society who can enforce their definitions. What is regarded as deviant is as variable as the norms and values that distinguish different cultures and subcultures from one another

deviant subculture

a subculture whose members hold values that differ substantially from those of the majority

sanction

a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior

laws

rules of behavior established by a political authority and backed by state power (norms defined by governments as principles that their citizens must follow). Sanctions are used against people who don't follow them

crimes

any actions that contravene the laws established by a political authority

psychopath

a specific personality type; such individuals lack the moral sense and concern for others held by most normal people

anomie

concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim, referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior

relative deprivation

the recognition that one has less than their peers

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

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

primary deviance

according to Edwin Lemert, the actions that cause others to label one as a deviant

secondary deviance

according to Edwin Lemert, following the act of primary deviance, secondary deviation occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant and acts accordingly

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

documents that contain official data on crime that is reported to law enforcement agencies that then provide the data to the FBI

hate crime

a criminal act by an offender who is motivated by some bias, such as racism, sexism, or homophobia

organized crime

criminal activities carried out by organizations established as businesses

broken windows theory

a theory proposing that even small acts of crime, disorder, and vandalism can threaten a neighborhood and render it unsafe

community policing

a renewed emphasis on crime prevention rather than law enforcement to reintegrate policing within the community

control theory

posits that crime occurs as a result of an imbalance between impulses towards criminal activity and the social or physical controls that deter it

conflict theory

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources.

social interaction

the process by which we act with and react to those around us

microsociology

the study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction

civil inattention

the process whereby individuals in the same physical setting demonstrate to one another that they are aware of each other's presence

agency

the ability to think, act, and make choices independently

structure

the recurrent patterned arrangements and hierarchies that influence or limit the choices and opportunities available to us!

unfocused interaction

interaction occurring among people present in a particular setting but not engaged in direct face-to-face communication

focused interaction

interaction betweeen individuals engaged in a common activity or in direct conversation with each other

encounter

a meeting between two or more people in a situation of face-to-face interaction. Our daily lives can be seen in a series of different encounters strung out across the course of the day. in modern societies, many of these encounters are with strangers rather than with people we know

nonverbal communication

communication between individuals based on facial expression or bodily gestures rather than on language

status

the social honor or prestige that 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.