Sociology Midterm review

Society

can be believed physically as a geographic location marked by a physical or political border or mentally where individuals in one society see themselves as different from others due to cultural differences.

social identity

the personality characteristics that particular cultures associate with certain social rules.

social construction of reality

the theory that explains that the way we present ourselves to other people is shaped partly by our interactions with others, as well as by our life experiences.

primary socialization

your first experiences with language, values, beliefs, behaviors, and norms of your society

secondary socialization

The process through which children become socialized outside the home, within society at large. This often starts with school.

Material culture

the physical things created by members of a society that reflect cultural knowledge, skills and interests.
e.g. cars, phones and books.

non-material culture

the knowledge and beliefs valued by a particular culture; including religious and scientific beliefs.

manifest function

the purpose the object was created for

latent function

the values and status we attach to the object.

feral child

a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age and so has not experienced proper primary socialization.

markers of individuality (Fulcher and Scott)

identify people as different to others.

self

a individuals personal sense of his or her own identity and a product of how the individual sees their own experience.

Functionalism

a structuralist theory which means it sees the individual as less important as society as a whole.

Althusser

rejects the functionalist view and instead said that cultural institutions pass on the ruling class norms as normal or natural.

Marxism

cultural is the product of humans
presents socialization as a process that never fails.
ignores power isn't distributed equally.

customs

established and accepted cultural practices and behaviors

Culture

the way of life of a particular group of people, taught and learnt through socialization.

Socialization

the process through we develop our personalities and human potential and learn about our society and culture.

social construction

history and culture shape our perception of reality rather than something that is set in stone and occurs naturally.

roles

expected patterns or behavior expected with each position that we hold.
such as: being a friend, student or teacher.

values

beliefs or ideas that are important to the people who hold them. always expresses a belief about how something should be.

norms

socially acceptable ways of behaving when playing a particular role

role sets

when the role involves a set of different relationships with different types of people.

anomie

a situation in which people are unable to predict the behavior of others because the system of norms and values is not being followed.

social control

ways in which members of society are made to conform to norms and values.

sanctions

ways of rewarding or punishing acceptable or unacceptable behavior; usually used in the sense of punishments

Agencies of socialization/social control

The social institutions and groups, such as family and the media, which influence behavior by providing guidance, examples and sanctions.

family

a social institution comprising a group of people linked by relationship ties

peers

people of similar status, and usually age, with whom a person has frequent contact.

subcultures

a culture within a larger culture. take many forms, such as religious groups, fans of a person etc. usually develop their own norms and values, although these do not necessarily conflict with those of the wider culture within which they exist.

consensus

general agreement across a society on a set of values; seen by functionalists as essential for society to be stable.

Consumerism

repeated experience of wealthy lifestyles and desirable consumer goods that suggests that 'happiness' is something that can bought.

Patriarchy

male-dominated unit or society

Pierre Bourdieu

several forms of capital or social currency stem from our membership in different groups

captial

the non-financial assets that help people succeed in the world.

gender socialization

learning the psychological and social traits associated with a person's sex

race socialization

The process through which children learn the behaviors, values, and attitudes associated with racial groups.

class socialization

Teaches the norms, values, traits, and behaviors you develop based on the social class you're in

anticipatory socialization

the social process where people learn to take on the values and standard of groups that they plan to join.

hidden curriculum

an education in norms, values, and beliefs that are passed along through schooling.

peer groups

A social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in common

social prescriptions

behaviors that were expected of people in those groups

total institution

places where people are completely cut off from the outside world, and face strict rules for how they must behave.

Resocialization

the process where the environment is carefully controlled to encourage people to develop a new set of norms, values, or beliefs.

functionalists

do not think people choose their own identities
they're imposed on people by social institutions in order to produce a vale or more consensus.

What are the criticisms of functionalism ?

doesn't acknowledge culture is the product of humans
presents socialization as a process that never fails.
ignores power isn't distributed equally.

key point

work is the major source of identity in capitalist societies.

what are the criticisms of marxism

don't think people choose how to behave
rarely acknowledge people create culture

interpretivism

the interaction between society in the individual and says that it is this interaction that creates culture and identity.

labelling theory

some identities are made by negative reactions of others.

Me and I theory

the spontaneous, selfish and impulsive side of us and the ability to see ourselves through the eyes of others and to understand how or impulsive desires might harm others.

symbolic meaning of mead

interpretations to the behavior of others and deciding how to respond.

role taking

putting yourself in someone else's shoes

dramatirgical (Goffman)

life is like a play with thousands of scenes everyone knows their role and their lines.

becker

the media and agents of social control, such as police and the courts may apply deviant labels to individuals acting outside of the norm.

what are the criticism of interpretivism

vague about who is responsible for seeing what is acceptable norms of behavior
failed to explore origins of power and don't look at areas like social class, gender and ethnicity.
ignore the influence of social structures on human behavior.

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

non-comformity

when a person acts in ways that go against the norms and values of society.

Sociology

a science guided by the basic understanding that 'the social matters'

sociological imagination

the ability to look beyond the individuals as the cause for success/failure and see how one's society influences the outcome.

solidarity

the level of connectedness a person feels to others in the environment.

social control

the social mechanism that regulates a persons actions

functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. views society as a system of interrelated parts. It studies how social structures affect how society works.

Who coined the terms sociology?

Aguste Comet

social laws

statements of fact that are unchanging under given conditions and can be used as ground rules for any kind of society

social statistics

the existing structural elements in society

social dynamics

the changes in the existing structural elements of society

Herbert Spencer

English philosopher and sociologist who applied the theory of natural selection to human societies (1820-1903)

Social Darwinism

A notion that suggests strong societies survive and weak ones become extinct

eugenics

the idea that there are some in society who are more "genetically superior" to others

Emile Durkheim

Believed in functionalism and the scientific method; saw society as a set of independent parts that maintain a system but each separate part has a function

Solidarity

Integrates or holds society together because people see themselves as unified. The level of connectedness a person feels towards others in their environmterm-57ent.

Mechanical Solidarity (Durkheim)

refers to the state of community bonding in traditional societies in which people share beliefs and values and perform common activities

Organic Solidarity (Durkheim)

occurs when people live in a society with a diverse division of labor

egoistic suicide

When people lack feelings towards others in their environment.

alturistic suicide

when the level of solidarity is exceptionally high 'suicide bomb'.

fantalistic suicide

results from too much social control

anomic suicide

Occurs as a result of rapid change, usually economic

What is a example of egoistic suicide

The mentally ill, lonely, social out-cast, 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-depression

What is a example of altruistic suicide

suicide bombers, cult members, 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- obligation to the group.

What is a example of fatalistic suicide

Inmates, elderly, terminally ill, 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- hopelessness.

What is a example of anomic suicide

anyone who cannot deal with chaos, such as the stock market crash of 1929 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-Insecurity

formal sanctions

sanctions enforced through the laws of the criminal justice system

informal sanctions

A sanction that is not enforced or punished by an authority but that occurs in everyday interactions with other people.

Ideology

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Interactionism

the idea that situations and personality interact to determine behavior

Macro Sociological Perspective

Big picture, large scale social posses, such as change

Micro sociological perspective

Small picture, small scale interactions between individuals such as conversation.

Agency

When people have some control over their lives and can make choices and decisions, rather than their behavior being determined by forces beyond their control.

Deviance

Behavior that breaks norms or values of a group.

Determinism

the claim that human behavior is shaped by forces beyond the immediate control of individuals, such as social structures or 'society'

force

using intimidation and threats to persuade someone to do something they dont want to do.

power

the ability to make others do what you want, even against their will.

latent functions

the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern

manifest functions

the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern

what are the outcomes of latent and manifest functions

positive effects on an institution or other social phenomenon.

organic solidarity

a type of social order based around an acceptance of economic and social differences

mechanical solidarity

social dependency based on a widespread consensus of values and beliefs, enforced conformity, and dependence on tradition and family

top-down perspective

the interpretation of incoming information based on prior knowledge, experiences, and expectations.