soc exam2

Structural functionalism

Theoretical perspective that views society as a system of interconnected parts that contribute to social order and stability.

Émile Durkheim

Classical sociologist who studied social solidarity collective consciousness religion and suicide.

Social facts

Social patterns or forces that exist outside individuals and influence their behavior.

Law as a social fact

An external expression of society's morality and collective sentiments that can be observed through rules and sanctions.

Mechanical solidarity

Social cohesion based on similarity in beliefs values and ways of life.

Organic solidarity

Social cohesion based on interdependence created by specialization and the division of labor.

Division of labor

The specialization of work into different tasks and roles that makes people dependent on one another.

Mechanical vs organic solidarity

Mechanical solidarity relies on similarity while organic solidarity relies on interdependence and specialized roles.

Collective consciousness

Shared beliefs and sentiments that create a common moral framework within a society.

Collective consciousness and mechanical solidarity

Shared beliefs and sentiments are especially influential in societies held together by similarity.

Religion as a social fact

A social institution involving beliefs and practices that can unite people and reinforce collective values.

Sacred and profane

The sacred refers to things set apart as special while the profane refers to ordinary everyday things.

Religion and social cohesion

Religious beliefs rituals and worship can reinforce shared identity and social bonds.

Collective effervescence

The shared emotional energy experienced when people gather and participate in collective rituals.

Collective effervescence and solidarity

Shared emotional experiences can strengthen social bonds and make people feel part of something larger than themselves.

Anomie

State of normlessness or weakened social regulation in which social expectations become unclear.

Anomie according to Durkheim

Can emerge when rapid social change disrupts established norms and leaves individuals without clear guidance.

Anomie and suicide

Weakened social regulation can contribute to higher suicide rates under certain social conditions.

Robert K. Merton

Theorist associated with strain theory and modes of individual adaptation to cultural goals and institutionalized means.

Merton's strain theory

Explains how a gap between culturally approved goals and socially available legitimate means can produce strain.

Cultural goals

Socially approved outcomes that people are encouraged to pursue such as success or wealth.

Institutionalized means

Socially accepted and legitimate ways of achieving culturally approved goals.

Conformity

Accepting culturally approved goals and using legitimate means to achieve them.

Innovation

Accepting culturally approved goals while using unconventional or illegitimate means to achieve them.

Ritualism

Abandoning or lowering cultural goals while continuing to follow accepted rules and means.

Retreatism

Rejecting both culturally approved goals and legitimate means of achieving them.

Rebellion

Rejecting existing goals and means while attempting to replace them with new ones.

Merton's five modes of adaptation

Conformity innovation ritualism retreatism and rebellion

Rituals of rebellion

Temporary role reversals or sanctioned rule-breaking that may release tension while ultimately reinforcing the established social order.

Manifest functions

Intended or recognized consequences of a social practice or institution.

Latent functions

Unintended or less recognized consequences of a social practice or institution.

Structural functionalism and social order

Functionalist explanations emphasize how social practices contribute to stability and the continuation of society.

Methodological critique of functionalism

Functionalist explanations can be difficult to test empirically and may not establish causal relationships.

Functionalist circular reasoning

Explaining a social feature by its function and then treating its continued existence as proof of that function.

Conflating cause and effect

Confusing the consequences of a social feature with the causes of its existence.

Functionalism and power

Functionalist explanations may overlook inequality conflict power relations and rapid social change.

Historical materialism

Marxist approach that explains historical and social change through material conditions and economic relationships.

Karl Marx

Thinker associated with historical materialism class relations and the analysis of capitalism.

Base and superstructure

The economic organization of society is the base while political legal cultural and ideological institutions form the superstructure.

Economic base

The productive forces and relations of production that organize economic life.

Superstructure

Political legal cultural and ideological institutions shaped in part by the economic organization of society.

Forces of production

The labor power technology tools and materials used to produce goods and services.

Relations of production

The social relationships governing ownership and control of production and the distribution of labor and surplus.

Mode of production

The way a society organizes production through its forces of production and relations of production.

Class relations

Relationships between groups based on their positions in the economic system and their control over productive resources.

Capitalism

An economic system in which private owners control the means of production and workers generally sell their labor power for wages.

Feudalism

An economic system in which production is organized largely through landownership and obligations between social classes.

Capitalism vs feudalism

Capitalist workers generally sell labor for wages while feudal production relies more heavily on land-based obligations and production for use.

Commodity production

Production of goods intended for exchange in a market.

Rising discontent

The idea that dissatisfaction can grow even when economic or political conditions have been improving.

Relative deprivation

Discontent arising from a perceived gap between what people believe they deserve and what they actually receive.

Reference group

The group or people used as a standard for evaluating one's own circumstances.

Rising expectations theory

The idea that improvements can raise expectations and that frustration may grow when those expectations are not met.

J-curve theory

The idea that discontent can arise when a period of improving conditions is followed by a sudden reversal.

Relative deprivation vs J-curve

Relative deprivation emphasizes perceived gaps and comparisons while the J-curve emphasizes rising expectations followed by a sharp decline in actual conditions.

Conformity Example

Studies hard and works ahead to get a job

Innovation Example

Cheats to get a job

Ritualism Example

Follows rules but lost sight of purpose, buying christmas gifts

Retreatism Example

Drops out of school

Rebellion Example

Changes social order, revolution