Sociology Lecture Notes: Impression Management, Socialization, and Status/Role Dynamics

Vocabulary flashcards covering core sociology concepts from the lecture notes on impression management, socialization, status and role dynamics, and related processes.

Impression management

The process of presenting ourselves to others through controlled performance tactics (manner, appearance, costume) to shape how we are perceived.

Personal front

The aspect of impression management focusing on how we present ourselves—manner, appearance, and costume.

Master status

The most salient status that dominates others in how people view us and interact with us.

Ascribed status

A social position one is born into or that is unlikely to change; examples include sex, gender, race, ethnicity.

Achieved status

A social position earned through effort or choice; examples include college graduate, licensed driver.

Role

Behaviors and expectations attached to a particular status.

Role conflict

When the roles associated with one status clash with the roles associated with a different status.

Role strain

Tension among the roles within a single status.

Role exit

The process of leaving a role associated with a status.

Status

A position in a social structure that comes with expected behaviors and obligations.

Socialization

The lifelong process of learning values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors of a society or group.

Agents of socialization

Critical institutions and individuals (family, school, peers, media) that shape our social development.

Total institution

A highly regulated environment that isolates individuals from society to resocialize them (e.g., prisons, military, certain mental health units).

Resocialization

The process of discarding old behaviors and adopting new ones as part of changing life circumstances or statuses; can be intense, as in Alcoholics Anonymous or media narratives.

Mean Girls (as an agents example)

A cultural reference used to illustrate how schools can be powerful agents of socialization shaping behavior.