SOC 1305: Introduction to Sociology Comprehensive Study Guide – Spring 2025

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from an introductory sociology course, based on lecture notes from Spring 2025.

Sociology

The scientific study of human society, including patterns of social relationships, interaction, and culture. It helps us understand how social forces shape our behavior and the structures we live within.

Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)

The ability to see the connection between personal experiences and broader societal forces. It helps people understand that their lives are shaped by the historical and social context.

Structural Functionalism

Views society as a system of interdependent parts working together for stability and order.

Conflict Theory

Focuses on inequality, conflict, and power struggles in society, often between different social classes.

Symbolic Interactionism

Examines small-scale social interactions and how people use symbols (like language or gestures) to create social life.

Scientific Method in Sociology

Sociologists use a step-by-step method to ask questions, gather data, and draw conclusions about society. This ensures that research is systematic and objective.

Quantitative research

Research that focuses on numbers and statistics.

Qualitative research

Research that focuses on words, meanings, and experiences.

Independent variable

A variable that causes change.

Dependent variable

A variable that is affected by that change.

Spurious Correlation

When two variables appear related but are actually influenced by a third variable.

Culture

Includes the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics shared by members of a society. It shapes how people view the world and interact with others.

Material culture

Includes physical objects created by humans

Nonmaterial culture

Includes beliefs, values, and norms.

Norms

Social rules that define acceptable behavior in society.

Sanctions

Reactions from others that reinforce norms, either through rewards or punishments.

Subculture

A group within a larger culture that has its own distinct values and behaviors.

Counterculture

Actively rejects the dominant societal norms and values.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture by your own standards

Cultural relativism

Understanding a culture on its own terms.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which people learn the norms, values, and roles of their society. It begins in childhood and continues through adulthood.

Agents of Socialization

People or institutions that influence personal attitudes and behaviors.

Mead’s Theory of Self

The self is formed through social interaction, distinguishing between the “I” (individual response) and the “Me” (social self).

Resocialization

Learning new norms and behaviors when entering a new social environment.

Annette Lareau’s Parenting Styles

Middle-class parents use concerted cultivation, while working-class parents rely on natural growth.

Primary groups

Close-knit and personal relationships

Secondary groups

More goal- oriented and less intimate

In-groups

One to which an individual feels loyalty and belonging

Out-groups

One they feel opposition or difference from.

Reference Group

A group people compare themselves to when evaluating their own behaviors, values, and attitudes.

Bureaucracy

Formal organizations structured with a clear hierarchy, division of labor, rules, and impersonality to achieve efficiency.

McDonaldization (Ritzer)

This theory describes how the principles of fast-food restaurants—efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control—are applied to other areas of society.

Deviance

Refers to behaviors that violate social norms, which may or may not be illegal.

Crime

Behavior that breaks a formal law and is punishable by legal institutions.

Social Control

Consists of the methods a society uses to encourage conformity and discourage deviance.

Strain Theory (Merton)

Suggests that people may turn to deviance when they lack the means to achieve culturally approved goals.

Labeling Theory

Argues that deviance is not just the act but how society reacts to and labels it.

Differential Association

Proposes that deviance is learned through interactions with others who commit deviant acts.

Control Theory (Hirschi)

States that strong social bonds discourage deviance, while weak bonds increase the likelihood of it.

Conflict Theory (on crime)

Sees deviance as a result of social inequality and suggests that laws serve the interests of those in power.

Stratification

The ranking of people into layers based on wealth, power, or prestige.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A combined measure of a person’s income, education, and occupation, reflecting their position in society.

Davis-Moore Thesis

This theory argues that stratification is necessary to motivate people to fill important roles in society.

Conspicuous Consumption (Veblen)

Refers to buying expensive goods to display wealth and status.

Social Mobility

The ability to move up or down in social class.

Sex

Refers to biological characteristics

Gender

A set of social roles and behaviors assigned by society.

Doing Gender (West & Zimmerman)

The idea that gender is performed through daily interactions and social expectations.

Wage Gap

The average difference in earnings between men and women, often influenced by occupational segregation and discrimination.

Bechdel Test

A measure of gender representation in media; a movie passes if it has two named women who talk to each other about something other than a man.

Gender Socialization

The process by which individuals learn gender norms and roles from society.

Sexual Violence (SV)

Includes any non-consensual sexual act or behavior, ranging from harassment to assault. It reflects broader power imbalances and gender norms in society.

Rape Culture

Refers to a societal environment where sexual violence is normalized or excused. It includes victim blaming, trivializing assault, or glorifying aggressive masculinity.

Masculinity Norms

Social expectations about how men should behave, often emphasizing dominance, stoicism, and control. They can contribute to harmful behaviors and suppress emotional expression.

Prevention (Micro & Macro)

Includes personal strategies (micro) and structural changes (macro) to reduce sexual violence. Macro changes focus on policies, education, and cultural norms.

Race

A socially constructed category based on perceived physical differences, not biological fact. It influences how people are treated and access opportunities.

Ethnicity

Refers to shared cultural traits such as language, religion, and traditions. It is usually self-identified and tied to heritage.

Prejudice

A biased attitude toward a group

Discrimination

Acting on that bias in harmful ways.

Camara Jones’ Levels of Racism

Institutionalized (systemic), personally mediated (interpersonal), and internalized (self-directed).

Residential Segregation

The physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods based on race or class. It leads to unequal access to resources and opportunities.

White Privilege

Refers to unearned advantages that benefit White people in society due to systemic inequality.

Work

Involves tasks done for pay or survival

Occupation

A specific job or profession.

Economy

The system through which a society produces, distributes, and consumes goods and services.

Division of Labor

How different tasks are divided among individuals or groups, increasing efficiency and specialization.

Alienation (Marx)

When workers feel disconnected from their work, the products they make, and other people due to exploitation.

Worker Resistance

Includes individual or collective actions taken by workers to cope with or oppose poor conditions.

CEO-to-Worker Pay Gap

This refers to the growing disparity between what CEOs earn and what average workers are paid.

Religion

A set of beliefs and practices centered around the sacred that provides meaning and unites followers.

Durkheim on Religion

Viewed religion as a source of social cohesion that distinguishes between the sacred and the profane.

Religious Organizations

Types include cults (new movements), sects (breakaway groups), denominations (mainstream branches), and ecclesia (state-endorsed).

Cults and NRMs

Cults or new religious movements are often small, unstructured, and led by charismatic leaders.

Family

A social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and raising of children. It can include biological, adopted, or chosen relatives.

Cohabitation

When two people live together in a romantic relationship without being married. It’s become increasingly common, especially among younger adults.

Nonmarital Childbearing

This refers to children born to parents who are not legally married. It does not necessarily mean the child is being raised by a single parent.

Divorce and Remarriage

The legal dissolution of a marriage, and remarriage is entering into a new marriage after a previous one ends. These changes often create blended or stepfamilies.

Family Complexity

Refers to diverse and non-traditional family structures, often involving stepfamilies, cohabitation, or multiple parental figures.

Diverging Destinies

This concept describes how family experiences and outcomes vary increasingly across social classes, with higher SES families experiencing more stability.

Health (WHO Definition)

A complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, not just the absence of disease. It includes how people feel and function in daily life.

Sick Role (Parsons)

A concept where a sick person is temporarily exempt from normal roles but is expected to get better and seek medical help. It frames illness as deviance.

Social Construction of Illness

Illness is shaped by cultural and social meanings, not just biology. What counts as “sick” varies across time and place.

Health Disparities

Preventable differences in health outcomes linked to social, economic, and environmental disadvantage.

Social Determinants of Health

The conditions where people live, work, and play that affect their health and quality of life.

Fundamental Cause Theory (FCT) (Link & Phelan)

Explains why socioeconomic status (SES) continues to predict health outcomes despite changes in diseases and treatments. It argues that access to “flexible resources” allows wealthier individuals to avoid health risks and adopt protective strategies.

Flexible Resources

Include money, knowledge, power, prestige, and social connections that people use to avoid risks or improve health. They help maintain advantage across different health conditions.