Sociology Exam 1 Review

globalization

the development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide

sociological imagination

the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. People who use the sociological imagination “think themselves away” from the familiar routines of daily life.

social structure

the underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave in their relationships with one another.

social construction

an idea of practice that a group of people agree exists. It is maintained over time by people taking its existence for granted.

socialization

the social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self. Although socialization processes are particularly significant in infancy and childhood, they continue to some degree throughout life. No individuals are immune from the reactions of others around them, which influence their behavior at all phases of the life course.

social facts

According to Emile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed that social facts could be studied scientifically.

organic solidarity

According to Emile Durkheim, the social cohesion that results from various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole.

social constraint

the conditioning influence on our behavior of the groups and societies if which we are members. Social constraint was regarded by Emile Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts.

division of labor

the specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system. All societies have at least some rudimentary form of division of labor, especially between the tasks allocated to men and those performed by women. With the development of industrialism, the division of labor became vastly more complex than in any prior type production system.

anomie

a concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Emile Durkheim to refer to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.

materialist conception of history

the view developed by Karl Marx according to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role in determining historical change.

capitalism

an economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit.

bureaucracy

A type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full-time, salaried officials.

rationalization

a concept used by Max Weber to refer to the process by which modes of precise calculation and organization, involving abstract rules and procedures, increasingly come to dominate the social world.

symbolic interaction

a theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction.

symbol

one item used to stand for or represent another, as in the case of a flag symbolizing a nation

functionalism

a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform — that is, the contributions they make to the community of a society.

manifest functions

the functions of a type of social activity that are known to an intended by the individuals involved in the activity.

latent functions

functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur

conflict theory

a sociological perspective that emphasizes the roles of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order.

Marxism

a body of thought deriving its main elements from the ideas of Karl Marx

power

the ability of individuals of the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold. Power is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are struggles over power, because the amount of power individual or group holds governs its ability to put its wishes into practice.

ideologies

Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. Ideologies are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities among groups. The concept of ideology connects closely with that of power, since ideological systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold.

feminists theory

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women. There are many strands of feminist theory, but they all share the desire to explain gender inequality in society and to work to overcome it.

feminism

advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life. Feminism dates from the late eighteenth century in Europe, and feminist movements exist in most countries today.

rational choice approach

more broadly, the theory that an individual’s behavior is purposive. Within the field of criminology, rational choice analysis argues that deviant behavior is a rational response to a specific social situation.

postmodernism

the belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no “grand narrative” guiding its development.

microsociology

the study of human behavior in the context of face-to-face interaction.

macrosociology

the study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems.

culture

the values, norms, and material goods characteristic of a given group. Like the concept of society, the notion of culture is widely used in sociology and the other social sciences (particularly anthropology). Culture is one of the most distinctive properties of human social association.

society

a group of people who live in a particular territory, are subject to a common system of political authority, and are aware of having a distinct identity from other groups. Some societies, such as hunting and gathering societies, are small numbering no more than a few dozen people. Others are large, numbering millions. Modern Chinese society, for instance, has a population of more than a billion people.

cultural universals

values or models of behavior shared by all human cultures

marriage

a socially approved sexual relationship between two individuals. Marriage historically has involved two person of opposite sexes, but in the past decade marriage between same-sex partners has been legalized in a growing number of states and nations throughout the world. Marriage normally forms the basis of a family procreation — that is, it is expected that the married couple will produce and bring up children.

nonmaterial culture

culture ideas that are not themselves physical objects

material culture

the physical objects that a society creates that influences the ways in which people live.

values

ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good, and bad. What individuals value is strongly influenced by the specific culture in which they happen to live.

norms

rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations. A norm either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it. All human groups follow definite norms, which are always backed by sanctions of one kind or another, varying from informal disapproval to physical punishment

symbol

one item used to stand for or represent another, as in the case of a flag symbolizing a nation

signifier

any vehicle of meaning and communication

semiotics

the study of the ways in which nonlinguistic phenomena can generate meaning, as in the example of a traffic light.

language

the primary vehicle for meaning and communication in a society, language is a system of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts.

linguistic relatively hypothesis

a hypothesis, based on the theories of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, that perceptions are relative to language.

cultural turn

sociology’s recent emphasis on the importance of understanding the role of culture in daily life.

hunting and gathering societies

societies whose mode of subsistence is hunting animals, fishing, and gathering edible plants.

pastoral societies

societies whose subsistence derives from the rearing of domesticated animals.

agrarian societies

societies whose means of subsistence are based on agricultural production

industrialization

the process of the machine production of goods

industrialized societies

strongly developed nation-states which the majority of the population works in factories or offices rather than in agriculture, and most people live in urban areas.

nation-states

particular types of states, characteristics of the modern world, in which governments have sovereign power within defined territorial areas, and populations are citizens who believe themselves to be part of single nations.

colonialism

the process whereby powerful nations established their rule in parts of the world away from their home territories.

cultural capital

the accumulated cultural knowledge within a society that confers power and status

emerging economies

countries located primarily in the global south, such as India and Singapore

culture appropriation

the adoption of one culture group’s elements by another cultural group

subcultures

values and norms held by group within a wider society that are distinct from those of the majority

countercultures

Cultural groups within a wider society that largely reject the values and norms of the majority.

assimilation

the process by which different cultures are absorbed into a mainstream culture.

multiculturalism

a condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in econimic and political life.

ethnocentrism

the tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of one’s own culture, and thereby misrepresent them.

cultural relativism

the practice of judging a society its own standards

sociobiology

an approach that attempts to explain the behavior of both animals and human beings in terms of biological principles

instincts

fixed patterns of behavior that have genetic origins and that appear in all normal animals within a given species.

nationalism

a set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a national community

cultural lag

the idea, introduced by William Ogburn, that changes in cultural values and norms take time to catch up with technological developments.

roles

the expected behaviors of people occupying particular social positions. The idea of social role originally comes from the theater, referring to the parts that actors play in stage production. In every society, individuals play a number of social roles.

status

the social honor or prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of a society. Status groups normally display distinct styles of life — patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow. Status privilege may be positive or nagative.

social position

the social identity an individual has in a given group or society. Social positions may be general in nature (those associated with gender roles) or more specific (occupational positions).

impression management

preparation for the presentation of one’s social role

civil inattention

the process whereby individuals in the same physical setting glance at each other and quickly look away to indicate awareness of each other but not intrusiveness.

nonverbal communication

communication between individuals based on facial expression or bodily gesture rather than on language

response cries

seemingly involuntary exclamations individuals make when, for example, they are taken by surprise, drop something inadvertently, or what to express pleasure.

unfocused interaction

interaction occurring among people present in a particular setting but not engaged in direct face-to-face communication

focused interaction

interaction between individuals engaged in a common activity or in direct conversation with one another

encounter

a meeting between two or more people in a situation of face-to-face interaction. Our daily lives can be seen as a series of different encounters spread out across the course of the day. In modern societies, many of these encounters are with strangers rather than with people we know.

time-space

when and where events occur

regionalization

the division of social life into different regional settings or zones

back region

areas apart from front-region performance, as specified by Erving Goffman, in which individuals are able to relax and behave informally.

front region

settings of social activity in which people seek to put a definite “performance” for others, as specified by Erving Goffman

clock time

time as measured by the clock, in terms of hours, minutes, and seconds, as opposed to measuring it by the rising and setting of the sun

social interaction

the process by which we act and react to those around us

agency

the ability to think, act, and make choices independently

personal space

the physical space individuals maintain between themselves and others

ethnomethodology

the study of how people make sense of what others say and do in the course of day-to-day social interaction. Ethnomethodology is concerned with the “ethnomethods” by with people sustain meaningful interchanges with one another.

conversation analysis

the empirical study of conversation, employing techniques drawn from ethnomethodology. Conversation analysis examines details of naturally occurring conversations to reveal the organizational principles to talk and its role in the production and reproduction of social order.

interactional vandalism

the deliberate subversion of the tactic rules of conversation

compulsion of proximity

people’s need to interact with others in their presence

networks

sets of informal and formal social ties that link people to each other

social group

a collection of people who regularly interact with one another on the basis of shared expectations concerning behavior and who share a sense of common identity.

social aggregate

a simple collection of people who happen to be together in a particular place but do not significantly interact or identify with one another

social category

people who share a common characteristic (such as gender or occupation) but do not necessarily interact with one another.

primary groups

groups characterized by intense emotional ties, face-to-face interaction, intimacy, and a strong, enduring sense of commitment

secondary groups

groups characterized by large size and by impersonal, fleeting relationships

organization

a large group of individuals with a definite set of authority relations. Many types of organizations exist in industrialized societies, influencing most aspects of out lives. While not all organizations are bureaucratic, there are close links between the development of organizations and bureaucratic tendencies.

formal organization

a group that is rationally designed to achieve its objectives, often by means of explicit rules, regulations, and procedures.

in-groups

groups toward which one feels particular loyalty and respect — the groups to where “we” belong

out-groups

groups toward which one feels antagonism and contempt — “those people.”

reference group

a group that provides a standard for judging one’s attitudes or behaviors

dyad

a group consisting of two persons

triad

a group consisting of three persons.

bureaucracy

a type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full-time, salaried officials.