Key Concepts in Sociology and Social Theories

Family vs. Families

"Family" refers to the concept of a social institution typically made up of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption, while "families" emphasizes the diversity of forms that family units can take (e.g., nuclear, single-parent, same-sex, extended). Example: A sociologist studying "families" might explore the different parenting styles in single-mother households versus blended families.

Homogamy

________ is the tendency for people to choose partners with similar social characteristics such as race, religion, education, or socioeconomic status. Example: A college graduate marrying someone they met at university who has a similar educational and cultural background reflects homogamy.

Kin

Kin refers to a person's relatives, whether by blood, marriage, or adoption, forming a network of social support and obligations. Example: Aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are all considered kin within an extended family structure.

Sandwich Generation

The sandwich generation consists of adults who are simultaneously caring for their aging parents and their own children. Example: A 45-year-old woman who supports her teenage son while managing the healthcare needs of her elderly father is part of the sandwich generation.

Second Shift

The second shift refers to the household labor and caregiving duties performed by working individuals—usually women—after their paid workday ends. Example: After working an 8-hour day, a mother cooks dinner, helps with homework, and cleans the house—her unpaid "second shift."

Socialization

Socialization is the lifelong process through which individuals learn norms, values, behaviors, and roles appropriate to their society. Example: A child learning to say "please" and "thank you" is undergoing early socialization into societal manners.

Deprivation Amplification

Deprivation amplification occurs when the negative effects of social inequality are worsened by a lack of resources or services in disadvantaged communities. Example: A low-income neighborhood without access to healthy food or medical care experiences poor health outcomes, amplifying existing poverty.

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of how diseases spread and can be controlled within populations. Example: Researchers studying COVID-19 infection patterns across cities are conducting epidemiological research.

Food Desert

A ____ is an area—often low-income—where residents lack access to affordable and nutritious food. Example: An inner-city neighborhood with only convenience stores and no grocery stores is considered a food desert.

Medicalization

Medicalization is the process by which non-medical issues are framed and treated as medical conditions. Example: Viewing ADHD as a medical disorder requiring prescription treatment is an example of medicalization.

Sick Role

The sick role, as defined by sociologist Talcott Parsons, describes the social expectations of behavior and responsibilities for individuals who are ill. Example: A person with the flu is expected to rest and seek treatment, and is temporarily exempt from work or school.

Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health are the economic and social factors that influence individuals' health outcomes, such as income, education, and environment. Example: Living in a polluted neighborhood with poor schools and low income can negatively impact a person's long-term health.

Collective Behavior

refers to spontaneous and unstructured social actions by a group of people in response to an event or shared concern.

Collective Behavior

A spontaneous protest forming in response to a police shooting exemplifies collective behavior.

Contagion Theory

Contagion theory suggests that emotions and behaviors spread through a crowd like a virus, reducing individual responsibility. Example: A peaceful rally turning violent as emotions escalate shows how contagion theory operates.

Crowd

A ____ is a temporary gathering of people in close proximity who may share a focus or goal. Example: Fans cheering at a concert form a crowd with a shared emotional experience.

Fads

Fads are short-lived, highly popular social behaviors or trends that quickly spread and fade. Example: The ice bucket challenge was a viral fad that raised awareness for ALS.

Fashion

Fashion refers to longer-lasting trends in style, behavior, or appearance that reflect cultural values. Example: Wearing skinny jeans became a fashion trend that lasted over a decade.

Framing Theory

Framing theory focuses on how social movements and media shape issues to influence public perception and mobilization. Example: Environmental activists framing climate change as a 'climate crisis' to spur political action.

Mass Behavior

Mass behavior involves collective behavior by large groups of people, often geographically dispersed, responding to common stimuli. Example: Millions watching and reacting to a viral video online is a form of mass behavior.

Mass Society Theory

Mass society theory argues that modern society leads to isolation and vulnerability to mass movements due to weakened social ties. Example: The rise of authoritarian political movements during social unrest can be explained by mass society theory.

Relative Deprivation Theory

Relative deprivation theory suggests that people mobilize for social change when they feel deprived relative to others, even if their absolute situation hasn't worsened. Example: Workers demanding higher wages after seeing executives' bonuses exemplify relative deprivation.

Resource Mobilization Theory

This theory explains social movements in terms of their ability to acquire resources and organize people effectively. Example: The civil rights movement's success was partly due to its organizational networks and funding.

Riot

A riot is a form of violent crowd behavior characterized by destruction and chaos, often in response to perceived injustice. Example: Riots broke out in response to a controversial court verdict perceived as unfair by the community.

Social Change

Social change refers to significant, lasting transformations in social institutions, behaviors, or cultural norms. Example: Legalizing same-sex marriage in many countries represents a major social change.

Social Dilemma

A social dilemma occurs when individual interests conflict with collective well-being, often leading to worse outcomes for all. Example: Overfishing benefits individuals short-term but depletes fish stocks for everyone, creating a social dilemma.

Social Movement

A social movement is an organized effort by a large group of people to achieve or resist social, political, or economic change. Example: The Black Lives Matter movement mobilizes people to address systemic racism and police violence.

Karl Marx

Marx focused on class conflict as the engine of social change. He argued that society is divided into the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers), whose struggle over resources drives history. He believed capitalism leads to alienation and would eventually be replaced by socialism.

Bourgeoisie

Owners in society who control resources.

Proletariat

Workers in society who struggle over resources.

Talcott Parsons

A key figure in structural functionalism, emphasizing social institutions' role in maintaining order.

AGIL schema

A framework developed by Talcott Parsons consisting of Adaptation, Goal attainment, Integration, and Latency to explain how societies function.

Émile Durkheim

Known for studying social facts and collective conscience, and how institutions contribute to social cohesion.

Mechanical solidarity

A form of social cohesion based on shared beliefs and values in traditional societies.

Organic solidarity

A form of social cohesion based on interdependence in modern societies.

Auguste Comte

Coined the term 'sociology' and proposed positivism, studying society through scientific methods.

Positivism

The idea that society should be studied using scientific methods.

Erving Goffman

Developed dramaturgical analysis, comparing social life to theater and emphasizing impression management.

C. Wright Mills

Introduced the sociological imagination, linking personal troubles to public issues and critiquing the 'power elite.'

Max Weber

Focused on verstehen and the role of ideas in social change, studying bureaucracy and authority types.

Iron cage

A concept by Max Weber describing the constraints of rationalization in modern society.

Herbert Spencer

Applied evolutionary theory to society, coining 'survival of the fittest' and viewing social change as natural.

Looking-glass self

A concept by Charles Horton Cooley where individuals form their self-concept based on others' perceptions.

Symbolic interactionism

A sociological perspective founded by Herbert Blumer, emphasizing that meanings arise from social interactions.

Jane Addams

A pioneer in applied sociology and social reform, co-founding Hull House to assist marginalized groups.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Studied race and inequality, coining 'double consciousness' to describe the internal conflict of being Black and American.

Double consciousness

The internal conflict experienced by individuals who are both Black and American, as described by W.E.B. Du Bois.

George Herbert Mead

A foundational figure in symbolic interactionism, focusing on how the self emerges through social interaction.

I and me

Concepts by George Herbert Mead distinguishing between the spontaneous self ('I') and the socialized self ('me').