Soc 101 Final Section 2 - Dorton

Culture

the way of life of a group of people, pervasive ideas, passed between/across generations

material culture

aspects of culture with a physical component

nonmaterial culture

those aspects of culture without a physical component, includes symbolic culture

technology

an ability to get results from social products, a capactity to create change in the social or physical environment

language

most important social product, a symbolic system of communication

values

a culture’s standard for discerning what is good in just in society, cultural and personal, shape experience

freedom, equality, progress, individualism, materialism, hardwork

What are American values?

ideal culture

defined by our self-ascribed values, what we say is important

real culture

defined by the values and rules that people actually follow

norms

standards and rules of behavior for self and others, folkways, mores, taboos, laws

sanctions

consequences of following and/or not following norms, can be positive or negative

folkway

something small/situational, etiquette, minimal

mores

likely to be cross cultural, deep held values, morals, more consequences

taboos

disqualify someone as a member of society, ex. cannibalism

laws

formalized (standard and sanction match up), written down, real punishments

subculture

groups that share a specific identification, apart from a society’s majority, even as a member exists within a larger society

counterculture

groups that reject and oppose society’s widely accepted cultural patterns

ethnocentrism

the evaluation and judgement of another culture based on ones own cultural norms

cultural relativism

understanding the practices, ideas, values, norms, or behaviors of another culture relative to the culture in which they are embedded

deviance

a violation of contextual, cultural, or social norms, nonconformity, a lack of social control

explanations of deviance, how and why

What are sociologists most interested in about deviance?

functionalist theory of deviance

focuses on how people learn deviance, durkheim, merton

anomie

durkheim, normlessness that comes from social change, especially as it relates to change from mechanical to organic solidarity

strain theory

merton, addresses the relationship between having socially acceptable goals and having socially acceptable means of reaching those goals

strain

caused by social structure, explains deviance

conformity

having the means to reach a socially acceptable goal, absence of strain

innovation

having a goal but no means to achieve it, response to a particular type of strain

ritualism

when the means are more important than the goal

retreatism

having neither a goal nor the means to achieve it, listlesness

rebellion

rejection of the system

differential association theory

symbolic interactionism, individuals learn deviant behavior from those close to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance, when regular associations are weak and differential associations are present and more powerful

labeling theory

symbolic interactionism, the ascribing of deviant behavior to another person by members of society, treatment as deviant → acceptance of deviant identity

primary deviance

a violation of norms that does not result in any long-term effects on the individual’s self-image or interactions with others

secondary deviance

deviance that occurs when a person’s self-concept and behavior begin to change after his or her actions are labeled as deviant by society

control theory

states that social control is directly affected by the strength of social bonds and deviance results from a feeling of disconnect from society

crime

a behavior that violates official law and is punishable through formal sanctions

sanctions 2

the means of enforcing rules

corrections

society’s response to a crime, ex. fines, probation, jail, prison, parole

group

any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency and who share an aligned identity

in-group

a group a person belongs to and feels is an integral part of his identity

out-groups

a group that an individual is not a member of, and may even compete with

primary groups

small, informal groups who are closest to us, important in identity work and creation of self, shape our understanding of the world, our values, and our perceptions of who is an “other”

secondary groups

larger and more impersonal groups that are task focused and time limited

formal organization

special type of secondary group, characterized by bureaucracy

bureaucracy

weber, division of labor, highly organized, written rules, impersonal