SOCL 250 Midterm 1

Globalization

The development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide

Sociological imagination

The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions; separation of one's thinking from familiar routines of daily life

Social structure

The underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave in their relationships with one another

Social construction

An idea or practice that a group of people agree exists; maintained over time by people taking its existence for granted

Socialization

The social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self; more significant throughout childhood, but continues throughout life; no individuals are exempt and all behavior at all phases of life is influenced by it

Social facts

The aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals

Organic solidarity

The social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole

Social constraint

The conditioning influence on our behavior of the groups and societies of which we are members

Division of labor

The specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system; all societies have some rudimentary form (especially seen between men and women)

Anomie

A situation where social norms lose hold over an individual's behavior

Capitalism

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested to produce profit

Rationalization

The process by which modes of precise calculation and organization, involving abstract rules and procedures, increasingly come to dominate the social world

Symbolic interactionism

Theoretical approach emphasizing the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction

Symbol

One item used to stand for or represent another

Functionalism

a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform (the contributions they make to the continuity of a society)

Manifest functions

the functions of a type of social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity

Latent functions

functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur

Conflict theory

a sociological perspective that emphasizes the role of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order

Marxism

a body of thought deriving its main elements from the ideas of Karl Marx

Power

the ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold

Ideologies

shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of a dominant group; legitimizes power

Feminist theory

a sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world; emphasis on including the female perspective in the study of sociology to explain and overcome inequalities

Feminism

advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life

Rational choice approach

the theory that an individual's behavior is purposive

Postmodernism

the belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress, with so much plurality and diversity that there is no longer a 'grand narrative' guiding development

Microsociology

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

Macrosociology

the study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems

Quantitative methods

approaches to sociological research that draw on objective and statistical data and often focus on documenting trends, comparing subgroups, or exploring correlations

Qualitative methods

approaches to sociological research that often rely on personal and/or collective interviews, accounts, or observations of a person or situation

Hypotheses

ideas or educated guesses about a given state of affairs, put forward as bases for empirical testing

Research methods

the diverse methods of investigation used to gather empirical (factual) material; most common types are fieldwork (or participant observation) and survey methods; often methods are combined in a project

Ethnography

the firsthand study of people using observation, interviewing, or both; also called fieldwork

Participant observation

a method of research involving the researcher taking part in the activities of the subjects being studied

Survey

a method of sociological research in which questionnaires are administered to the population being studied

Population

the people who are the focus of social research

Pilot study

a trial run in survey research

Sample

a small proportion of a larger population

Representative sample

a sample from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population

Sampling

studying a proportion of individuals or cases from a larger population as representative of that population as a whole

Random sampling

a sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included

Experiment

a research method by which variables can be analyzed in a controlled and systematic way, either in an artificial situation constructed by the researcher or in a naturally occurring setting

Comparative research

research which compares one set of findings on one society with the same type of findings on other societies

Culture

the values, norms, and material goods characteristic of a given group

Society

a group of people who live in a particular society, are subject to the same common authority, and maintain a distinct identity from other groups

Cultural universe

values or modes of behavior shared by all human cultures

Marriage

a socially approved sexual relationship between two individuals; follow bases of procreational goals but have in modern times encapsulated more than heterosexual relationships

Nonmaterial culture

cultural ideas that are not themselves physical objects

Material culture

the physical objects that a society creates that influence the ways in which people live

Values

ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good, and bad; strongly influenced by culture

Norms

rules of conduct which specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations

Signifier

any vehicle of meaning and communication

Semiotics

the study of ways in which nonlinguistic phenomena can generate meaning

Language

the primary vehicle for meaning and communication in society; a system of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts

Linguistic relativity hypothesis

a hypothesis that perceptions are relative to language

Cultural turn

sociology's recent emphasis on the importance of understanding the role of culture in daily life

Colonialism

the process whereby powerful nations established their rule in areas away from their home territories

Cultural capital

the accumulated cultural knowledge within a society that confers power and status

Emerging economies

countries (primarily located in the Global South) that have, in the past three or four decades, begun to develop strong industrial base

Cultural appropriation

the adoption of one cultural group's elements by another cultural group

Subcultures

values and norms held by a group within a wider society that are distinct from those of the majority

Countercultures

cultural groups within a wider society that largely reject the values and norms of the majority

Assimilation

the process by which different cultures are absorbed into a mainstream culture

Multiculturalism

a condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political life

Ethnocentrism

the tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of one's own culture (thereby misrepresenting them)

Cultural relativism

the practice of judging a society by its own standards

Sociobiology

an approach that attempts to explain the behavior of both animals and human beings in terms of biological principles

Instincts

fixed patterns of behavior that have genetic origins and that appear in all normal animals within a given species

Life course

the various transitions and stages people experience during their lives

Social reproduction

the process of perpetuating values, norms, and social practices through socialization, which leads to structural continuity over time

Agents of socialization

groups or social contexts within which processes of socialization take place

Resocialization

the process whereby people learn new rules and norms upon entering a new social world

Desocialization

the process whereby people unlearn rules and norms upon exiting a particular social world

Anticipatory socialization

the process whereby we learn about a social role in advance of enacting the role

Hidden curriculum

traits of behavior or attitudes that are learned at school but not included in the formal curriculum- for example, gender differences

Peer group

a group composed of individuals of similar age and social status

Age-grade

the system found in small traditional cultures by which people belonging to a similar age group are categorized together and hold similar rights and obligations

Social roles

socially defined expectations of an individual in each status or social position

Identity

the distinctive characteristics of a person's (or group's) character that relate to who they are and what they care about

Social identity

the characteristics that are attributed to individuals by others

Master status

a single identity or status that overpowers all other identities one holds

Self-identity

the ongoing process of self-development and definition of personal identity, formulating unique senses of selves and relations to the world

Social self

the basis of self-consciousness in human individuals; the identity placed on an individual based upon the reactions of others; causes a person to consequently achieve self-consciousness

Self-consciousness

awareness of one's distinct social identity as a person separate from others; not born with but acquired

Generalized other

when the individual comes to understand the general values of a given group or society during the socialization process

Looking-glass self

the reactions we elicit in social situations create a mirror in which we see ourselves

Cognition

human thought processes involving perception, reasoning, and remembering

Sensorimotor stage

stage of human cognitive development in which a child's awareness of their environment is dominated by perception and touch

Preoperational stage

stage of human development in which the child has advanced sufficiently to master basic modes of logical thought

Egocentric

the characteristic quality of a child during early years of life, involving understanding objects and events solely in terms of one's own position

Concrete operational stage

stage of cognitive development in which the child's thinking is based primarily on physical perception of the world; the child is not yet capable of dealing with abstract concepts of hypothetical situations

Formal operational stage

stage of cognitive development at which the growing child becomes capable of handling abstract concepts and hypothetical situations

Race socialization

specific verbal and nonverbal messages older generations transmit to younger generations regarding the meaning and significance of race

Gender role socialization

the learning of gender roles through social factors

Gender roles

social roles assigned to each sex and labeled as masculine or feminine

Social stratification

the existence of structural inequalities between groups in society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards; most significant in modern societies is class divisions

Intersectionality

sociological perspective which holds that one's multiple group memberships impact lives in distinctly separate ways from single group memberships

Structured inequalities

Social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure

Slavery

A form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others as property

Caste

A social system in which one's social status is held for life

Class system

A system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among classes (ex. income, wealth, education, occupation, lifestyle, etc.)