Flashcards Sociology Foundations: Culture, Theory, Groups & Research Methods

Agents & institutions of social control

People and organizations that encourage people to follow society's rules, such as parents, schools, police, and courts.

Agents of socialization

People, groups, and institutions that teach us society's norms, values, and behaviors, such as family, peers, school, and media.

Analytical concepts

Ideas or categories sociologists use to organize information and understand social patterns.

Belief

An idea that a person or group accepts as true.

Big Three Theoretical Perspectives

The three major sociological perspectives: functionalism (society as an interconnected system), conflict theory (competition and inequality), and symbolic interactionism (everyday interactions and meanings).

Capital (social, cultural, and economic)

Resources that help people gain opportunities and advantages. Economic capital is money and wealth; social capital is useful relationships and connections; cultural capital is knowledge, skills, tastes, and behaviors valued by society.

Causal relationship/causality

A relationship in which one factor directly contributes to a change in another factor. Correlation alone does not prove causation.

Code switch

Changing language, speech, behavior, or presentation depending on the social setting or audience.

Comparative research

Research that compares different groups, societies, places, or time periods to identify similarities and differences.

Conflict theories

Theories that view society as shaped by competition over power, wealth, resources, and opportunities.

Content analysis

A research method that systematically examines media, texts, images, or other recorded material for patterns and themes.

Correlation/association

A relationship between two variables in which they tend to change or occur together. It does not necessarily mean one causes the other.

Counterculture

A group whose values and behaviors actively reject or challenge the dominant culture.

Crime

Behavior that violates formal laws and is punishable by the government.

Cultural lag

When material culture, such as technology, changes faster than society's norms, values, laws, or institutions can adapt.

Cultural relativism

Understanding a culture's beliefs and practices within that culture's own context rather than judging them by your own culture's standards.

Cultural scripts

Socially learned guidelines or expectations for how to behave in particular situations.

Cultural values attached to body size

Social beliefs that assign meanings or judgments to body sizes, such as associating thinness with discipline or larger bodies with negative stereotypes. These values vary across cultures and time periods.

Culture

The shared beliefs, values, norms, language, symbols, practices, and material objects of a group.

Culture shock

Feelings of confusion, discomfort, or disorientation when encountering an unfamiliar culture.

Deviance (formal vs. informal)

Behavior that violates social norms. Formal deviance violates laws or official rules; informal deviance violates unwritten social expectations.

Double consciousness

W. E. B. Du Bois's concept describing how marginalized people may experience themselves through their own perspective and through the judgments of the dominant society.

Dramaturgical theory

Erving Goffman's perspective that social life is like a theatrical performance in which people present themselves differently depending on the audience and setting.

Embeddedness

The idea that people's actions and decisions are shaped by their relationships and social networks.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture using the standards of your own culture and assuming your culture is superior or normal.

Ethnography

An in-depth study of a group or culture, often involving extended observation and participation in its everyday life.

Experiment

A research method that tests cause and effect by manipulating an independent variable and measuring its effect on a dependent variable, while controlling other factors when possible.

Functionalism (a.k.a. structural functionalism)

A theoretical perspective that views society as a system of interconnected parts that work together to maintain stability and social order.

Gender roles

Social expectations about how people should behave based on their perceived or assigned gender.

Generalizability

The extent to which research findings can be applied to people, groups, or situations beyond those studied.

Generalized other

George Herbert Mead's concept for the broader society's expectations and rules that people learn and use to guide their behavior.

Group size (dyad, triad, party, small/large)

The number of people in a group affects its interactions. A dyad has two members; a triad has three; a party is a larger grouping of people interacting socially; small groups allow more direct interaction, while large groups are often more formal and complex.

Groups (in vs. out)

An in-group is a group someone identifies with and feels they belong to; an out-group is a group they see as different from or outside their own.

Groups (primary vs. secondary)

Primary groups have close, personal, long-term relationships, such as family and close friends. Secondary groups are often larger, more formal, and organized around a goal, such as coworkers or classmates.

Hegemony

The dominance of one group or worldview maintained partly through cultural influence and the acceptance of its ideas as normal or common sense.

Historical methods

Research methods that use historical records, documents, and other evidence to understand past societies and social change.

I, me, other

Concepts associated with George Herbert Mead's theory of the self. The I is the spontaneous, active part of the self; the me is the part shaped by social expectations; the other refers to other people whose reactions and expectations help shape the self.

Ideology

A set of connected beliefs and ideas that shapes how people understand society, politics, power, and social relationships.

Impression management

The process of controlling how others perceive you through your behavior, appearance, words, and presentation.

Isomorphism

The process by which organizations become more similar to one another because of shared rules, professional expectations, competition, or pressure to appear legitimate.

Level of analysis, macro

Examining large-scale social structures and patterns, such as entire societies, economies, governments, and social institutions.

Level of analysis, meso

Examining the middle level of society, such as organizations, communities, schools, and social networks.

Level of analysis, micro

Examining individuals, small groups, and face-to-face interactions.

Material & non-material culture

Material culture includes physical objects, such as clothing and technology. Non-material culture includes ideas, values, beliefs, norms, and language.

Media

Channels used to communicate information and messages to large audiences, including television, newspapers, websites, and social media.

Media framing and blame

Media framing is how media present an issue by emphasizing certain details or interpretations. Blame involves assigning responsibility for a problem or event, which can shape public opinion.

Medicalization

The process of defining a behavior, condition, or life experience as a medical problem requiring medical diagnosis or treatment.

Methods

The systematic techniques researchers use to collect and analyze information to answer research questions.

Mixed-methods research

Research that combines qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a more complete understanding of a topic.

Multiplex ties

Relationships in which two people are connected in multiple ways, such as being coworkers, friends, and neighbors.

Natural experiment

A study that examines the effects of an event or change that occurs naturally, rather than being deliberately created by researchers.

Norm

A social rule or expectation that guides behavior in a particular society or group.

Organization

A coordinated group of people working together toward shared goals, usually with established roles and rules.

Organizational culture

The shared values, beliefs, expectations, and practices that shape how people behave within an organization.

Organizational structure

The formal arrangement of roles, responsibilities, authority, and communication within an organization.

Organized crime (traditional view vs. network view)

The traditional view sees organized crime as a hierarchical organization with leaders and ranks. The network view sees it as flexible connections among people and groups working together for illegal activities.

Participant observation

A research method in which a researcher participates in a group's activities while observing its behavior and social interactions.

Qualitative methods

Research methods that explore meanings, experiences, and social processes using non-numerical data, such as interviews, observations, and written accounts.

Quantitative methods

Research methods that use numerical data and statistical analysis to identify patterns and test relationships.

Reference group

A group people use as a standard for evaluating themselves, their behavior, their beliefs, or their achievements.

Roles (+ role strain & role conflict)

A role is the behavior expected of someone with a particular status. Role strain occurs when expectations within one role are difficult to meet; role conflict occurs when expectations from two or more roles clash.

Sanction (formal & informal)

A response to behavior that encourages people to follow norms. Formal sanctions are official rewards or punishments, such as awards or fines; informal sanctions are unofficial responses, such as praise, gossip, or disapproval.

Self

A person's understanding of who they are, shaped by personal experiences, social interactions, and feedback from others.

Self (ideal vs. authentic)

The ideal self is who a person wants or feels expected to be; the authentic self is who they understand themselves to genuinely be.

Self-triangulation (via networked logic & preemptive action)

A way of understanding or presenting oneself by comparing multiple sources of feedback, audiences, or social connections and anticipating others' reactions. Networked logic means considering connected audiences and relationships; preemptive action means adjusting behavior before a reaction occurs. Check your class notes for the precise definition your instructor uses for this term.

Social control

The ways society encourages conformity to norms and discourages deviance through rules, rewards, punishments, and social expectations.

Social groups

Two or more people who interact and share some sense of connection, identity, or common purpose.

Social institution

An established system of social relationships and practices that meets important societal needs, such as family, education, religion, the economy, and government.

Social media

Digital platforms that allow people to create, share, and interact with content and with one another.

Social network (nodes & ties)

A set of people or groups connected through relationships. Nodes are the individuals or groups; ties are the connections between them.

Socialization

The lifelong process of learning a society's culture, norms, values, roles, and expected behaviors.

Sociological imagination

C. Wright Mills's concept describing the ability to connect personal experiences and troubles to larger social structures, historical events, and public issues.

Sociologist

A social scientist who studies society, social relationships, institutions, groups, and patterns of human behavior.

Sociology

The systematic study of society, social interaction, social institutions, and social behavior.

Status (+ ascribed, achieved, master, & status set)

A status is a social position a person occupies. Ascribed status is assigned at birth or involuntarily; achieved status is acquired through actions or accomplishments; master status strongly shapes how others perceive someone; a status set is all the statuses a person holds.

Stereotypes in media (patterns & implications)

Oversimplified beliefs about groups repeated in media portrayals. These patterns can reinforce prejudice, normalize inequality, influence public attitudes, and shape how people see themselves and others.

Stigma

A socially discrediting label or characteristic that leads people to be judged, excluded, or treated as inferior.

Strength of weak ties

The idea, associated with sociologist Mark Granovetter, that acquaintances and less-close connections can provide valuable new information and opportunities because they connect us to different social circles.

Structural hole

A gap between people or groups in a social network that are not directly connected. Someone who bridges the gap may gain access to unique information or opportunities.

Subculture

A group within a larger society that shares distinctive values, norms, interests, or practices while still existing within the broader culture.

Symbolic interactionism

A theoretical perspective that examines how people create and interpret shared meanings through symbols, language, and everyday social interactions.

The looking-glass self

Charles Horton Cooley's concept that people develop their self-image partly by imagining how others see and judge them and responding to those imagined judgments.

The networked self (3 conditions)

A way of understanding identity when people are connected through digital and social networks. Common features include a potentially large audience, persistent or searchable information, and overlapping social contexts. The exact three conditions may vary by course, so check your lecture notes.

Theory

A set of connected ideas that explains social patterns and helps sociologists understand or predict social behavior.

Troubles vs. issues

Personal troubles are difficulties experienced by individuals, while public issues are larger social problems connected to institutions and social structures.

Value

A shared cultural belief about what is important, desirable, right, or worthwhile.