Sociology 151 Exam #1

Sociology

Systematic study of human interaction within the larger society

The Sociological Imagination

A quality of mind that allows people to understand what is happening in the world and with themselves as points of the intersections of biography and history within society.

To understand a phenomenon sociologically, we need to know something about these three components:

Biography, History, Society

Personal Troubles

Occur within the character of the individual and are a private matter.

Public Issues

Problems that transcend the individual and are a public matter.

Egoistic Suicide

Suicide stemming from insufficient social integration

Altruistic Suicide

When ties to one's community are too strong, individuality may be overshadowed.

Anomic Suicide

Detachment from or absence of norms and regulation.

Fatalistic Suicide

Too much regulation suffocates the individual

The crisis of prosperity

Suicide rates are higher in rapidly developing and economically prosperous countries, compared to poorer countries.

Status

A socially-defined, named position in society that people can occupy.

Ascribed status

Acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily. Examples: race, ethnicity, gender, son/daughter

Achieved status

Entered based on personal choice or accomplishment. Examples: education, job, income, spouse.

Role

Culturally-defined expectations (rights, obligations, behaviors, duties) associated with a particular status.

Violations of Culturally Defined Role Expectations

If we go too far outside role expectations, we make ourselves susceptible to sanctions.

Variation & Change in Roles

Role expectations associated with a status will change over time, and so does the status itself.

Role Conflict

Frustration people feel when the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clash with the demands of another role.

Mechanisms to Abate Role Conflict

1. Rationalization (the job is only temporary)

2. Denial (reluctance to identify with the job)

3. Projection (the girls are "low born")

4. Aggression (hostility toward the girls)

5. Withdrawal (horseplay, general zaniness on the job, threats to quit)

6. Compensation(emphasis on discussion of sexual dominance)

Groups

Sets of people who interact regularly with each other and are conscious of their identity as a group. A structure defines the relationships between members, and each individual occupies a status within the group.

Primary Groups

A small number of members who have direct contact over a relatively long period of time. Emotional attachment is high and members often have intimate knowledge of each other's lives.

Secondary Groups

More impersonal, established for a specific task and less emotionally committed to one another.

Organization

Large, complex networks of statuses and groups, created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor. Example: religions, Wake Forest, government agencies.

Social Institution

A stable set of statuses/roles, groups, and organizations that meet some need in a major area of social life. Examples: education, family, politics, religion, health care, economy, media, law

Healthy Social Body

When each institution functions well without conflicting with each other, the result is a stable equilibrium in society.

Institutional Change and Conflict

Over time, new institutions arise that fulfill needs that were previously covered by other institutions. Certain social needs can be met by more than one social institution, and some conflicts arise over which institution should fulfill a need.

Why Social Structure Matters

Our thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions, and interactions are the product of a complex interplay between societal forces and personal characteristics. To understand either individuals or society, we must understand both.

Culture

Language, values, beliefs, rules, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize a society. Provides codes of conduct for acceptable ways of doing things.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to evaluate other cultures in comparison to their own.

Cultural Relativism

The principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture, rather than judged by outsiders.

Implicit Culture (Non-material Culture)

Implicit culture deals with attitudes and beliefs, not tangible or physical things. A view toward power is an example of implicit culture.

Explicit Culture (Material Culture)

Cultural practices and knowledge based on tangible things that people can easily talk about, such as clothing styles, respect, behavior, and appropriate greetings

Subcultures

Smaller cultures within a large culture. Examples: greek life, student-athletes at Wake.

Macrolevel

Everyday lives are a part of structural societal and historical processes.

Microlevel

Society is an integral part of individual-level human interaction.

Society

A population living in the same area who share a culture and common identity. Its members are subject to the same political authority.

Role Strain

Situations in which people lack the the necessary resources to fulfill the demands of a role.

In-Group

The groups we belong and feel a sense of loyalty toward.

Out-Group

The groups which we don’t belong and feel some antagonism toward.

Dyad

Group consisting of 2 people, smallest possible group

Triad

Group of 3 people

Coalition

Subgroup of a triad when two members unite against the third member.

Value

A standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes. The general criteria on which our lives can be judged.

Norm

A culturally defined rule of conduct. Specifies what people should do and how they pursue values.

Globalization

Process thru which people’s lives all around the world become increasingly interconnected.

Structural-Functionalist Perspective

Social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society.

Manifest Function

The intended consequences of activities designed to help some part of the social system.

Latent Function

The unintended, sometimes unrecognized, consequence of actions that coincidentally help the system.

Conflict Perspective

Views society as a source of inequality that benefits some groups at the expense of others.

Feminist Perspective

Gender is the most important source of conflict and inequality in society.

Symbolic Interactionism

People make sense of and shape their social worlds through face-to-face communication, language, and the exchange of meaning using symbols

Symbol

Something used to represent something else.

Heteronormative Culture

A culture where heterosexuality is considered the normal.

Institutionalized Norm

A pattern of behavior that is widely accepted within a specific social institution.

Sanction

A direct social response to a behavior.

More

Rules/laws with major consequences if violated

Folkways

Everyday norms with minor sanctions. Treated like customs or manners.

Sick Role

A widely understood set of rules about how people are supposed to behave when sick.

Sexual Dichotomy

Belief that the two sex categories are permanent and universal.

Genetic Determinism

Belief that human behavior, physical traits, and intelligence are entirely controlled by an individual's genes

Normative Dimension

Theory of how things should be. Consists of Values, norms, mores, folkways. and the sanctions associated with them.

Cognitive Dimension

Theory of how things are. Consists of knowledge, belief, and tangible things in material culture

Emotional/Feeling Rules

Organizational rules about which emotions are appropriate to display on the job.

Epigenetics

“Where nature meets nurture.“ The study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect how your genes work.

Behavioral Determinism

Concept that all behaviors are caused by environmental conditioning and external stimuli rather than free will