Sociology: Small-Scale Interaction, Social Structures, and Deviance

Social interaction

The process by which we act and react to those around us.

Microsociology

The study of human behavior in contexts of small-scale face-to-face interaction.

Civil inattention

The process where individuals in the same setting demonstrate they are aware of each other's presence without being intrusive.

Agency

The ability to act, think, and make choices independently.

Structure

Recurrent patterned arrangements and hierarchies that influence or limit our choices.

Unfocused interaction

Interaction among people present in a setting but not engaged in direct face-to-face communication.

Focused interaction

Interaction between individuals engaged in a common activity or direct conversation.

Encounter

A meeting between two or more people in a situation of face-to-face interaction.

Nonverbal communication

Communication based on facial expressions or bodily gestures rather than language.

Status

The social honor or prestige accorded to a particular group by other members of society.

Social position

The social identity an individual has in a given group or society.

Dramaturgy (Goffman)

A model of social interaction that views social life as a theatrical performance.

Front region

Settings where individuals act out formal roles, described as 'on-stage performances'.

Back region

Where individuals assemble props and prepare for interaction in more formal settings.

Impression management

The preparation for the presentation of one's social role to others.

Interactional vandalism

The deliberate subversion of the tacit rules of conversation.

Ethnomethodology

The study of how people make sense of what others say and do in daily interaction.

Response cries

Seemingly involuntary exclamations (like 'Oops!') made to demonstrate 'controlled alertness'.

Personal space

The physical space individuals maintain between themselves and others.

Network

A set of direct or indirect social ties that links people to one another.

Social group

A collection of people who regularly interact based on shared expectations and a common identity.

Social aggregate

A collection of people who happen to be together but do not significantly interact or identify with each other.

Social category

People who share a common characteristic (like gender) but do not necessarily interact.

In-group

Groups toward which one feels loyalty and respect; the 'we'.

Out-group

Groups toward which one feels antagonism and contempt; 'those people'.

Primary group

A group characterized by intense emotional ties, face-to-face interaction, and intimacy.

Secondary group

A group characterized by large size and impersonal, fleeting relationships.

Reference group

A group that provides a standard for judging one's own attitudes or behaviors.

Dyad

A social group consisting of two persons.

Triad

A social group consisting of three persons.

Transformational leader

A leader who instills a sense of mission or higher purpose in group members.

Transactional leader

A leader concerned with accomplishing tasks and ensuring members do their jobs.

Asch Experiment

A study showing that many people will discount their own perceptions to conform to group pressure.

Milgram Experiment

A study showing ordinary citizens will obey orders from power figures even if they have horrible consequences.

Groupthink

A process where group members ignore plans of action that go against the group consensus.

Organization

A group with an identifiable membership that engages in collective action for a common purpose.

Bureaucracy

A type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy, written rules, and full-time salaried officials.

Ideal type

A 'pure type' constructed by emphasizing certain traits that do not necessarily exist in reality.

Iron law of oligarchy

The tendency of large organizations toward centralization of power, making democracy difficult.

Oligarchy

Rule by a small minority within an organization or society.

Social capital

The social knowledge and connections that enable people to accomplish goals.

Norms

Rules of conduct specifying appropriate behavior in social situations.

Mores

Norms that are widely adhered to and have significant social and moral meaning.

Folkways

Norms that guide casual or everyday interactions.

Deviance

Modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by most members of a society.

Sanction

A mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected behavior.

Laws

Rules of behavior established by a political authority and backed by state power.

Crime

Any actions that contravene the laws established by a political authority.

Anomie

A situation in which social norms lose their hold over behavior, leading to aimlessness or despair.

Conformist (Merton)

Accepts both cultural goals and the conventional means of achieving them.

Innovator (Merton)

Accepts cultural goals but uses illegitimate or illegal means to achieve them.

Ritualist (Merton)

Conforms to standards but has lost sight of the underlying values.

Retreatist (Merton)

Rejects both the dominant values and the approved means of achieving them.

Rebel (Merton)

Rejects existing values and means, working to substitute new ones and reconstruct the system.

Differential association

The theory that criminal behavior is learned through association with others who engage in crime.

Labeling theory

Suggests people become deviant because certain labels are attached to their behavior by authorities.

Control theory

Views crime as the outcome of an imbalance between impulses and the social/physical controls that deter it.

White-collar crime

Criminal activities carried out by those in professional or white-collar jobs.

Corporate crime

Offenses committed by large corporations, such as pollution or false advertising.

Organized crime

Criminal activities carried out by organizations established as businesses.

Cybercrime

Criminal activities conducted by means of electronic networks or information technologies.

Broken windows theory

Proposes that minor acts of deviance and disorder can lead to a spiral of crime and decay.

Community policing

An approach emphasizing crime prevention and reintegrating police within the community.