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individualistic explanation
Tendency to attribute people’s achievements and failures to their personal qualities
macrolevel
Way of examining human life that focuses on the broad social forces and structural features of society that exist above the level of individual people
microlevel
Way of examining human life that focuses on the immediate, everyday experiences of individuals
sociological imagination
Ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives
sociology
The systematic study of human societies
achieved status
Social position acquired through our own efforts or accomplishments or taken on voluntarily
ascribed status
Social position acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily later in life
conflict perspective
Theoretical perspective that views the structure of society as a source of inequality that always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups
culture
Language, values, beliefs, rules, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize a society
feminist perspective
Theoretical perspective that focuses on gender as the most important source of conflict and inequality in social life
globalization
Process through which people’s lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally interconnected
group
Set of people who interact more or less regularly and who are conscious of their identity as a unit
in-groups
The groups to which we belong and toward which we feel a sense of loyalty
latent function
Unintended, unrecognized consequences of activities that help some part of the social system
manifest functions
Intended, obvious consequences of activities designed to help some part of the social system
norm
Culturally defined standard or rule of conduct
organization
Large, complex network of positions created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor
out-groups
The groups to which we don’t belong and toward which we feel a certain amount of antagonism
primary group
Collection of individuals who are together for a relatively long period, whose members have direct contact with and feel emotional attachment to one another
role
Set of expectations—rights, obligations, behaviors, duties—associated with a particular status
role conflict
Frustration people feel when the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clash with the demands of another role
role strain
Situations in which people lack the necessary resources to fulfill the demands of a particular role
secondary group
Relatively impersonal collection of individuals that is established to perform a specific task
social institution
Stable set of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations—such as the institution of education, family, politics, religion, health care, or the economy—that provides a foundation for behavior in some major area of social life
society
A population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a common identity and whose members are subject to the same political authority
status
Any named social position that people can occupy
structural-functionalist perspective
Theoretical perspective that posits that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society
symbol
Something used to represent or stand for something else
symbolic interactionism
Theoretical perspective that explains society and social structure through an examination of the microlevel, personal, day-to-day exchanges of people as individuals, pairs, or groups
value
Standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes
analysis of existing data
Type of unobtrusive research that relies on data gathered earlier by someone else for some other purpose
content analysis
Form of unobtrusive research that studies the content of recorded messages, such as books, speeches, poems, songs, television shows, websites, and advertisements
dependent variable
Variable that is assumed to be caused by, or to change as a result of, the independent variable
empirical research
Research that operates from the ideological position that questions about human behavior can be answered only through controlled, systematic observations in the real world
experiment
Research method designed to elicit some sort of behavior, typically conducted under closely controlled laboratory circumstances
field research
Type of social research in which the researcher observes events as they actually occur
historical analysis
Form of social research that relies on existing historical documents as a source of data
hypothesis
Researchable prediction that specifies the relationship between two or more variables
incorrigible proposition
Unquestioned cultural belief that cannot be proved wrong no matter what happens to dispute it
independent variable
Variable presumed to cause or influence the dependent variable
indicator
Measurable event, characteristic, or behavior commonly thought to reflect a particular concept
nonparticipant observation
Form of field research in which the researcher observes people without directly interacting with them and without letting them know that they are being observed
participant observation
Form of field research in which the researcher interacts with subjects, sometimes hiding his or her identity
probabilistic
Capable only of identifying those forces that have a high likelihood, but not a certainty, of influencing human action
qualitative research
Sociological research based on nonnumeric information (text, written words, phrases, symbols, observations) that describes people, actions, or events in social life
reactivity
A problem associated with certain forms of research in which the very act of intruding into people’s lives may influence the phenomenon being studied
representative
Typical of the whole population being studied
sample
Subgroup chosen for a study because its characteristics approximate those of the entire population
self-fulfilling prophecy
Assumption or prediction that in itself causes the expected event to occur, thus seeming to confirm the prophecy’s accuracy
social construction of reality
Process through which the members of a society discover, make known, reaffirm, and alter a collective version of facts, knowledge, and “truth”
spurious relationship
A false association between two variables that is actually due to the effect of some third variable
survey
Form of social research in which the researcher asks subjects a series of questions verbally, online, or on paper
theory
Set of statements or propositions that seeks to explain or predict a particular aspect of social life
unobtrusive research
Research technique in which the researcher, without direct contact with the subjects, examines the evidence of social behavior that people create or leave behind
cultural relativism
Principle that people’s beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture
ethnocentrism
Tendency to judge other cultures using one’s own as a standard
folkway
Informal norm that is mildly punished when violated
heteronormative culture
Culture in which heterosexuality is accepted as the normal, taken-for-granted mode of sexual expression
institutionalized norm
Pattern of behavior within existing social institutions that is widely accepted in a society
intersex
Category of individuals in whom sexual differentiation is either incomplete or ambiguous (also known as people with disorders of sex development)
material culture
Artifacts of a society that represent adaptations to the social and physical environment
mores
Highly codified, formal, systematized norms that bring severe punishment when violated
nonmaterial culture
Knowledge, beliefs, customs, values, morals, and symbols that are shared by members of a society and that distinguish the society from others
sanction
Social response that punishes or otherwise discourages violations of a social norm
sexual dichotomy
Belief that two biological sex categories, male and female, are permanent, universal, exhaustive, and mutually exclusive
sick role
Set of norms governing how one is supposed to behave and what one is entitled to when sick
subculture
Values, behaviors, and artifacts of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture
agents of socialization
Various individuals, groups, and organizations that influence the socialization process
anticipatory socialization
Process through which people acquire the values and orientations found in statuses they will likely enter in the future
collectivist culture
Culture in which personal accomplishments are less important in the formation of identity than group membership
game stage
Stage in the development of self during which a child acquires the ability to take the role of a group or community (the generalized other) and conform their behavior to broad societal expectations
gender
Psychological, social, and cultural aspects of masculinity and femininity
generalized other
Perspective of the larger society and its constituent values and attitudes
individualist culture
Culture in which personal accomplishments are a more important component of one’s self-concept than group membership
looking-glass self
Sense of who we are that is defined by incorporating the reflected appraisals of others
play stage
Stage in the development of self during which a child develops the ability to take a role, but only from the perspective of one person at a time
reflexive behavior
Behavior in which the person initiating an action is the same as the person toward whom the action is directed
resocialization
Process of learning new values, norms, and expectations when an adult leaves an old role and enters a new one
role taking
Ability to see oneself from the perspective of others and to use that perspective in formulating one’s own behavior
self
Unique set of traits, behaviors, and attitudes that distinguishes one person from the next; the active source and passive object of behavior
sex
Biological maleness or femaleness
socialization
Process through which one learns how to act according to the rules and expectations of a particular culture
total institution
Place where individuals are cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period and where together they lead an enclosed, formally administered life
tracking
Grouping of students into different curricular programs, or tracks, based on an assessment of their academic abilities
back stage
Area of social interaction away from the view of an audience, where people can rehearse and rehash their behavior
dramaturgy
Study of social interaction as theater, in which people (“actors”) project images (“play roles”) in front of others (“audience”)
front stage
Area of social interaction where people perform and work to maintain appropriate impressions
impression formation
The process by which we define others based on observable cues such as age, ascribed status characteristics such as race and gender, individual attributes such as physical appearance, and verbal and nonverbal expressions
impression management
Act of presenting a favorable public image of oneself so that others will form positive judgments
stigma
Deeply discrediting characteristic that is viewed as an obstacle to competent or morally trustworthy behavior
endogamy
Marriage/intimate relations within one’s social group
exogamy
Marriage/intimate relations outside one’s social group
extended family
Family unit consisting of the parent–child nuclear family and other relatives, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
family
Two or more persons, including the householder, who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption and who live together as one household
household
Living arrangement composed of one or more people who occupy a housing unit
neolocal residence
Living arrangement in which a married couple sets up residence separate from either spouse’s family
nuclear family
Family unit consisting of at least one parent and one child
absolutism
Approach to defining deviance that rests on the assumption that all human behavior can be considered either inherently good or inherently bad
criminalization
Official definition of an act of deviance as a crime
deterrence theory
Theory of deviance positing that people will be prevented from engaging in a deviant act if they judge the costs of such an act to outweigh its benefits