PA 4 Vocab - Society & Social Interactions

Society

a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same culture

Hunter-gatherer society

strong dependence on the environment, based around kinship or tribes, hunt and forage, nomadic

Pastoral society

livestock, nomadic, trade, specialized occupations

Horticultural society

crops, permanent settlements, basis for the 1st revolution in human survival

Agricultural society

3000 B.C.E. Agricultural Revolution, farmers & craftspeople, towns & cities, "dawn of civilization," resource competition

Feudal society

hierarchy based on land ownership and protection

Industrial society

Industrial Revolution, birth of sociology, urban, capitalism, factory jobs, diverse population, production of material goods

Postindustrial societies

production of information and services, digital technology, social classes divided by access to education

Collective conscience

the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes, of a society

Solidarity

the strength of ties that people have to their social groups

Mechanical solidarity

a type of social order maintained by the collective conscience, NPCs, preindustrial

Organic solidarity

social order based around acceptance of economic and social differences, industrial

Anomie

when a society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness, "without law"

Bourgeoisie

owners of the means of production

Proletariat

the laborers

Capitalism

the things used to make and transport products are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government

Alienation

when an individual is isolated and divorced from his or her society, work , or the sense of self

False consciousness

condition in which the beliefs, ideals, or ideology of a person are not in the person's own best interest

Class consciousness

awareness of one's rank in society

Rationalization

a rational society is built around logic and efficiency rather than morality and tradition

The iron cage

when the individual is trapped by institutions and bureaucracy

Habitualization

any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern which can then be performed again in the future in the same manner; society is habit

Institutionalization

the act of implanting a convention or norm into society

Thomas theorem

if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences

Self-fulfilling prophecy

when people believe a false idea to the extent that it is true

Roles

the behavior expected of a person holding a certain status

Status

rank in social hierarchy

Ascribed status

those that cannot be selected

Achieved status

obtained by choice

Role set

array of roles

Role strain

when too much is required of a single role

Role conflict

one or more roles are contradictory

Role perfromance

how a person expresses their role

Looking-glass self

we base our image on what we think other people see