Social Interaction, Social Structure, and Groups (Chapter 5)

Vocabulary flashcards covering the main concepts, terms, and theorists from Chapter 5 on social interaction, social structure, and groups.

Social Interaction

The process by which people act and react in relation to others.

Social Construction of Reality

The process by which people shape reality through social interaction.

Thomas Theorem

If situations are defined as real, they become real in their consequences.

Social Structure

The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships.

Status

A socially defined position that an individual occupies.

Status Set

All the statuses a person holds at a given time.

Ascribed Status

A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics.

Achieved Status

A social position a person assumes voluntarily that reflects ability and effort.

Master Status

A status that has special importance for social identity and shapes a person’s entire life.

Role

Behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status.

Role Conflict

Incompatibility among roles corresponding to two or more different statuses.

Role Strain

Incompatibility among roles corresponding to a single status.

Mechanical Solidarity

Durkheim’s term for social bonds based on shared values and common activities; individuals perform similar tasks.

Organic Solidarity

Durkheim’s term for social cohesion based on interdependence caused by specialization of work.

Gemeinschaft

Tönnies’s concept of a small community with close, personal relationships and shared life experiences.

Gesellschaft

Tönnies’s concept of a large, impersonal society where individuals are strangers and feel little in common.

Sociocultural Evolution

Lenski’s term for the process of change in societies driven by technological development.

Technology (Lenski)

Cultural information about how to use material resources to satisfy human needs and desires.

Hunting-and-Gathering Society

Preindustrial society in which people rely on naturally available food and fibers.

Horticultural Society

Preindustrial society in which people grow plants for food using simple tools.

Agrarian Society

Preindustrial society primarily engaged in large-scale cultivation and food production.

Industrial Society

Society that depends on mechanization and new energy sources to produce goods and services.

Postindustrial Society

Economic system primarily engaged in processing and controlling information.

Postmodern Society

Technologically sophisticated society characterized by consumerism and media saturation.

Group

Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact regularly.

Primary Group

A small group with intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.

Secondary Group

A large, formal, impersonal group with little social intimacy or mutual understanding.

In-Group

Any group or category to which people feel they belong.

Out-Group

Any group or category to which people feel they do not belong.

Reference Group

A group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating their own behavior.

Formal Organization

A large, secondary group organized to achieve goals efficiently.

Utilitarian Organization

Formal organization in which membership is primarily for monetary reward or other material benefit.

Normative Organization

Formal organization people join to pursue goals they consider worthwhile, not for income.

Coercive Organization

Formal organization in which membership is involuntary and people are forced to join.

Bureaucracy

An organizational model based on explicit rules, hierarchical authority, and impersonality.

Characteristics of Bureaucracy

Specialized division of labor, hierarchy of authority, explicit rules, merit-based rewards, extensive written records.

Corporation

A legal entity created through incorporation that is separate from its owners and has limited liability.

Limited Liability

Legal principle that shareholders are not personally responsible for a corporation’s debts beyond their investment.

Groupthink

Intense pressure within a group for individuals to conform to group norms, discouraging critical thinking.

Solomon Asch Experiment

Classic study demonstrating that people often compromise their judgments to avoid dissent in a group.