SOCIO 120 MIDTERM 1

Sociology

The study of society and social life, and how groups and institutions shape behavior.

Social interaction

The ways people act and react toward one another in everyday life.

Status

A social position a person occupies.

Role

The expected behavior attached to a status.

Sociological perspective

Seeing individual behavior in the context of larger social patterns.

Sociological imagination

C. Wright Mills’ idea that personal troubles are linked to public issues and history.

Theory

A set of ideas that explains patterns or predicts outcomes.

Paradigm

A broad framework or viewpoint for studying society.

Structural functionalism

A paradigm that sees society as a system of interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability.

Conflict theory

A paradigm that sees society as shaped by competition over power and resources.

Symbolic interactionism

A paradigm that focuses on face-to-face interaction and how people create meaning through symbols.

Scientific method

A step-by-step process for testing ideas through observation and evidence.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction.

Independent variable

The factor that is changed or compared in a study.

Dependent variable

The outcome that is measured in a study.

Survey

A research method that gathers information from many people using questions.

Participant observation

A research method in which the researcher joins and observes a group.

Representative sample

A sample that accurately reflects the larger population.

Validity

The extent to which a measure actually measures what it claims to measure.

Causality

A cause-and-effect relationship.

Material culture

Physical objects created and used by a society.

Non-material culture

Ideas, values, beliefs, norms, and language.

Technology

The tools and knowledge a society uses to meet its needs.

Hunting and gathering

A subsistence pattern based on hunting animals and gathering plants.

Horticulture

Small-scale farming using simple tools.

Pastoralism

A subsistence pattern based on raising livestock.

Agriculture

Large-scale farming that uses plows and domesticated animals.

Industrial revolution

The shift to machine production and urban industrial society.

Post-industrial revolution

A society organized around services, information, and technology.

Socialization

The lifelong process of learning culture, norms, and social roles.

Nature vs. nurture

The debate over whether biology or environment has a greater influence on development.

Harlow

Researcher who showed that contact comfort matters in development.

Anna and Isabelle

Cases that showed the importance of early social contact for normal development.

Freud

Theorist who argued that early childhood experiences shape personality.

Id

The part of personality that seeks immediate pleasure.

Ego

The part of personality that deals with reality.

Superego

The part of personality that represents moral standards.

Sublimation

Redirecting unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable actions.

Piaget

Theorist of cognitive development.

Sensorimotor stage

First Piaget stage; infants learn through senses and actions.

Preoperational stage

Second Piaget stage; symbolic thought develops but logic is limited.

Concrete operational stage

Third Piaget stage; logical thinking about concrete things develops.

Formal operational stage

Fourth Piaget stage; abstract reasoning develops.

Kohlberg

Theorist of moral development.

Preconventional morality

First stage of Kohlberg; morality based on punishment and reward.

Conventional morality

Second stage of Kohlberg; morality based on social rules and approval.

Postconventional morality

Third stage of Kohlberg; morality based on abstract principles.

Gilligan

Researcher who found that women often emphasize care and relationships in moral reasoning.

Cooley

Theorist of the looking-glass self.

Looking-glass self

The idea that we form self-image by imagining how others see us.

Mead

Theorist who said the self develops through social interaction.

Imitation

Early stage in Mead’s theory when children copy others.

Play stage

Mead stage when children take on roles of significant others.

Game stage

Mead stage when children learn the generalized other.

Generalized other

The internalized attitudes and expectations of society.

Role-taking

Seeing yourself from another person’s perspective.

Anticipatory socialization

Preparing for a future role by learning its expectations.

Total institution

A place where people are cut off from wider society and live under strict control.

Resocialization

Learning new norms and values in a new setting.

Institutionalized

Adapted so completely to an institution that its rules strongly shape behavior.

Ascribed status

A status assigned at birth or involuntarily.

Achieved status

A status earned through effort or choice.

Master status

The status that most strongly shapes a person’s identity.

Status set

All the statuses a person holds at one time.

Role set

All the roles tied to one status.

Role conflict

Conflict between two or more roles.

Role strain

Tension within one role.

Role exit

Leaving an important social role and adjusting to a new identity.

Dramaturgical analysis

Goffman’s idea that social life is like a performance.

Impression management

The process of controlling how others see us.

Thomas theorem

If people define situations as real, they become real in their consequences.