soc final

Sociological imagination

The ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of the individuals life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces.

Functionalism

The theory that various social institutions and processes in society exists to serve some important function to keep society running.

Positivist sociology

The approach to sociology that emphasizes the scientific method as an approach to studying the objectively observable behavior of individuals irrespective of the meanings of those actions for the subjects themselves.

Double consciousness

A concept conceived by WEB DuBois to describe the use of two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the general social world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudice onlookers.

Interpretive sociology

A type of scholarship in which researchers imagined themselves experiencing the life positions of the people they want to understand rather than treating them as objects to be examined.

Validity

The extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure.

Independent variable

A measured factor that researchers believe has a casual impact on the dependent variable.

Dependent variable

The outcome the researcher is trying to explain.

Content analysis

A systematic analysis of the content rather than the structure of a communication, such as a written word, speech, or film.

Participant observation

In-depth interviews.

Counterculture

A large cultural group defined in opposition to the ideologies, values, and norms of the mainstream culture.

Nonmaterial culture

Values, beliefs, social, norms, and ideologies.

Culture jamming

The act of turning media against themselves.

Hegemony

A condition by which a dominant group uses its power to elicit the voluntary “consent” of the masses.

Symbolic interactionism

A micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people‘s actions.

The I

One subjective sense of having consciousness, agency, action, or power

The me

The self perceived as an object by the “I”; the self as one imagines others perceive one

Role conflict

The tension caused by competing demands between two or more roles pertaining to different statuses.

Looking glass self

The individual identity of a person as perceived by that same person.

Institutional isomorphism

A constraining process that forces one unit in a population to reassemble other units that faced the same set of environmental conditions.

Reference group

A group that helps us understand or make sense of our position in society relative to other groups.

Dyad and triad

A group of two and a group of three

Social capital

The information, knowledge of people or things, and connections that help individuals enter, gain power in, or otherwise leverage social network networks.

Primary group

You’re immediate family (parents and siblings)

In groups/outgroups

In-group- another term for the powerful group, most often the majority. Out-group- another term for the stigmatized or less powerful group, the minority.

Innovators

Social deviant who accepts socially acceptable goals but rejects socially acceptable means to achieve them.

White collar crime

Offense committed by a professional against a corporation, agency, or other institution

Socioeconomic status

An individuals position in a stratified social order.

Social mobility

The movement between different positions within a system of social stratification in any given society.

Affirmative action

A set of policies granting preferential treatment to a number of particular subgroups within the population, typically, women and historically disadvantage racial minorities.

Sex/gender

Sex- the perceived biological differences that society typically uses to distinguish males from females. Gender- a social position; behaviors and a set of attributes that are associated with sex identities

Hegemonic masculinity

The condition in which men are dominant and privileged, and this dominance and privilege is invincible.

Bourgeoisie

The capitalist class.

The aspen effect

Forces families to move far away from their jobs in order to live in acceptable and affordable neighborhoods.

Globalization

The rise and the trade of goods and services across national boundaries, as well as the increased mobility of multinational businesses and migrant labor.

Race and ethnicity

Race- a group of people who share a set of characteristics, typically, but not always physical ones and are said to share a common bloodline. Ethnicity- ones ethnic quality or affiliation.

Code switch

To flip fluidly between two or more languages and set of cultural norms to fit different cultural contexts.

Racism

The belief that members of separate races possess different and unequal traits

Medicare/medicaid

Medicare- only for those over 65 years of age. Medicaid- those who have children and are poor or disabled.

Deviance

A crime

Total institution

An institution in which one is totally immersed in that controls all the basics of day-to-day life

Sexuality

Desire, sexual preference, and sexual identity and behavior.

Heteronormativity

The idea that heterosexuality is the default or normal sexual orientation from which other sexualities deviate.

Symbolic ethnicity

A nationality, not in the sense of carrying the rights and duties of citizenship, but in the sense of identifying with the past or future nationality

Informal deviance

Minor violations of social norms that may or may not be punished

Racial prejudice

Thoughts and feelings about an ethnic or racial group, which leads to preconceived notions and judgments

Oscar Lewis culture of poverty

The argument that poor people adopted certain practices that differ from those of middle class, mainstream society in order to adapt and survive in difficult economic circumstances

Cultural capital

The symbolic and interactional resources that people use to their advantage in various situations.

Credentialism

An overemphasis on credentials for signaling social status or qualifications for a job.

Hidden curriculum

The non-academic and less overt socialization functions of schooling

Self fulfilling prophecy

A psychological and sociological phenomenon where a false belief or expectation about a situation influences behavior in a way that causes the expectation to come true

Human capital

The skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by a person or group that can yield economic benefits.

Capitalism

The economic system in which poverty and goods are primarily privately owned; private decisions determine investments.

Agricultural revolution

The period around 1700 marked by the introduction of new farming technologies that increased food output in farm production.

Alienation

A condition in which people are dominated by forces of their own creation that then confront them as alien powers; according to Marx, the basic state of being in a capitalist society.

Monopoly

The form of business that occurs when one seller of a good or service dominates the market to the exclusion of others, potentially leading to zero competition.

Oligopoly

The economic condition that exists when a handful of firms effectively control a particular market.

Offshoring

A business decision to move all or part of a company’s operations abroad to minimize costs.

Civil right

The right guaranteeing a citizen’s personal freedom from state interference, including freedom of speech and the right to travel freely.

Bureaucracy

A legal-rational organization or mode of administration that governance with reference to formal rules and roles that emphasize merit based advancement.

Milgram expirement

An experiment devised in 1961 by Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, to see how far ordinary people would go to obey and Authority figure.

Dictatorship

A form of government that restricts the right to political participation to a small group or even to a single individual.

Political party

An organization that seeks to gain power in a government, generally by backing candidates for office who subscribe to the organizations political ideals.

Social change

The Long-term, structural alteration of societal norms, behaviors, cultural values, and institutions.

Contagion theory

Theory of collective action claiming that collective action arises because of people’s tendency to conform to the behavior of those with whom they are in close contact

Social movement

Collective behavior that is purposeful and organized and that seeks to challenge or change one or more aspects of society through institutional and extra institutional means.

Political process model

Model of social movements that focuses on the structure of political opportunities.

Institutionalization (Routinzation)

The final stage of a social movement, in which it is institutionalized and a formal structure develops to promote the cause