Ultimate Sociology Review

Sociology

The scientific, systematic study of social behavior and human groups.

Culture

The beliefs, practices, and artifacts of a group; shared values, celebrations, and tools.

Material Culture

Tangible objects and belongings of a group, such as clothing, hairstyles, and school buildings.

Non-material Culture

Intangible ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations that represent and reflect material culture.

High Culture

Cultural patterns of society’s highest class, marked by wealth, prestige, and formal events.

Pop Culture

Mainstream, widely accessible cultural patterns found in TV, radio, internet memes, etc.

Subculture

A smaller cultural group within a larger one that has distinct values, norms, or lifestyles.

Counterculture

A group whose values and norms oppose and actively challenge those of the dominant culture.

Folkway

A norm without moral significance, such as table manners or elevator behavior.

More (Mores)

A norm with moral underpinnings; violations (e.g., theft, incest) provoke strong sanctions.

Cultural Universal

A pattern or trait common to all human cultures, such as weddings, funerals, or jokes.

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own; viewing one’s culture as the default.

Xenocentrism

Belief that another culture is superior to one’s own, e.g., preferring European wine over local.

Cultural Relativism

Evaluating a culture by its own standards; adaptive negotiation of norms amid differences.

Cultural Lag

The time gap between the introduction of a material innovation and its acceptance in non-material culture.

Cultural Diffusion (Exchange)

The spread of cultural elements from one society to another, opening opportunities for new ideas.

Society

The social structures and organization of people who share beliefs and practices (e.g., education, healthcare).

Functionalism

Theory that culture exists because societies need it; norms and values maintain stability and meet basic needs.

Conflict Theory

Perspective that cultural value systems reinforce inherent inequalities within social structures.

Symbolic Interactionism

Focus on face-to-face interactions where culture is created, maintained, and interpreted through symbols.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The idea that language shapes our perception of reality; related to symbolic interactionism.

Cultural Change

The ongoing process by which cultural elements evolve, often spurred by innovation, diffusion, or social forces.

formal norms

established, written rules

globalization

the integration of international trade and finance markets

ideal culture

the standards a society would like to embrace and live up to

informal norms

casual behaviors that are generally and widely conformed to

social control

a way to encourage conformity to cultural norms

Society

A population that shares territory, culture, and institutions, guiding members’ behavior and interactions.

Social Interaction

The process by which people act and react in relation to others.

Social Roles

Behavioral expectations attached to particular social statuses (e.g., teacher, parent).

Norms

Culturally shared rules that prescribe appropriate behavior in given situations.

Institution

An organized, enduring system (family, school, media, etc.) that fulfills core social needs.

Status

A recognized social position an individual occupies within a society.

Social Group

Two or more people who regularly interact and share a sense of identity or purpose.

Conformity

Adjusting thoughts or actions to align with perceived group standards.

Asch Conformity Experiment

1950s study demonstrating people’s tendency to conform to a majority even when the majority is clearly wrong.

Stanford Prison Experiment

1971 study revealing how quickly individuals internalize assigned roles of guard or prisoner, leading to abusive behavior.

Internalization

The process of adopting a role’s norms and values as one’s own.

Functionalism

Perspective that sees society as a stable system; interactions clarify roles and enforce norms through rewards and punishments.

Conflict Theory

Perspective emphasizing power struggles; interactions reinforce dominant ideologies and inequalities.

Symbolic Interactionism

Micro-level theory focusing on how people create shared meanings and social reality through symbols and interaction.

Dominant Ideology

The set of cultural beliefs that justifies and maintains the power of privileged groups.

Rewards and Punishments (Social Sanctions)

Positive or negative reactions used to enforce conformity to norms.

Symbol

Anything to which people attach meaning and use to communicate (e.g., thumbs up, wedding ring).

Shared Meaning

A collectively understood interpretation of a symbol or action formed through interaction.

Power of Social Roles

The strong influence of roles on behavior, often overriding individual personality traits.

Group Dynamics

Patterns of influence, decision-making, and interaction that emerge within a group.

Socialization

The lifelong process of learning and internalizing society’s norms, roles, and values.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which people learn the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors appropriate to their society through interaction with others.

Primary Group

A small, close-knit social group—such as family or best friends—characterized by intimate, enduring, face-to-face relationships.

Secondary Group

A larger, more impersonal group formed to achieve specific goals or tasks, such as coworkers or classmates.

Nature

Innate, genetically inherited characteristics present before birth (e.g., temperament, talents, interests).

Nurture

Environmental influences and relationships after birth that shape an individual’s behaviors, choices, and identity.

Functionalism (view of socialization)

Perspective that socialization is essential for transmitting culture, teaching skills and values, and fostering social cohesion and belonging.

Conflict Theory (view of socialization)

Perspective that socialization reproduces inequality by encouraging acceptance of norms and roles that advantage dominant groups.

Symbolic Interactionism

Perspective focusing on face-to-face interaction and symbolic communication; self develops through interpreting how others see us.

Looking-Glass Self

Concept that an individual’s self-image is shaped by how they think others perceive and judge them.

Agents of Socialization

Individuals, groups, or institutions (e.g., family, peers, school) that teach societal norms, values, and roles.

Family (as an agent)

The first and most influential agent of socialization, where children learn language, values, and role expectations modeled by parents.

Peer Group

A social group of similar age or interests that becomes influential during childhood and adolescence, introducing new norms and activities.

School

Formal institution that socializes students to teamwork, schedules, citizenship, and national culture through curriculum and routines.

Workplace

Setting where adults learn the norms, roles, and behaviors associated with specific jobs; each new job brings new expectations.

Mass Media

Communication platforms (newspapers, television, internet) that transmit material and non-material culture to wide audiences.

Formal Institution

Structured organization—such as schools or workplaces—that systematically communicates and reinforces societal rules and roles.

Age Norms

Culturally defined expectations for behavior at various life stages, enforced by laws or social sanctions (e.g., childhood learning, adult work).

Total Institution

Place where people are isolated from society under strict control (e.g., military basic training, prison) to radically reshape identities.

Resocialization

Process of shedding old behaviors and adopting new ones, often occurring within total institutions that impose new values and roles.

Social Learning

The ongoing acquisition of norms, beliefs, and behaviors through interaction with individuals, groups, and social institutions throughout life.

Conflict theory

Examines social and economic factors as the causes of criminal deviance.

Control theory

States social control is directly affected by the strength of social bonds; deviance results from a feeling of disconnection from society.

Corporate crime

Crime committed by white-collar workers in a business environment.

Corrections system

The system tasked with supervising individuals who have been arrested for, convicted of, or sentenced for criminal offenses.

Court

A system that has the authority to make decisions based on law.

Crime

Behavior that violates official law and is punishable through formal sanctions.

Criminal justice system

An organization that exists to enforce a legal code.

Deviance

A violation of contextual, cultural, or social norms.

Differential association theory

Holds that individuals learn deviant behavior from those close to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance.

Formal sanctions

Sanctions that are officially recognized and enforced.

Hate crimes

Attacks based on a person’s race, religion, or other characteristics.

Informal sanctions

Sanctions that occur in face-to-face interactions.

Labeling theory

The ascribing of a deviant behavior to another person by members of society.

Legal codes

Codes that maintain formal social control through laws.

Master status

A label that describes the chief characteristic of an individual.

Negative sanctions

Punishments for violating norms.

Nonviolent crimes

Crimes that involve the destruction or theft of property but do not use force or the threat of force.

Police

A civil force in charge of regulating laws and public order at a federal, state, or community level.

Positive sanctions

Rewards given for conforming to norms.

Power elite

A small group of wealthy and influential people at the top of society who hold the power and resources.

Primary deviance

A violation of norms that does not result in any long-term effects on the individual’s self-image or interactions with others.

Sanctions

The means of enforcing rules.

Secondary deviance

Deviance that occurs when a person’s self-concept and behavior begin to change after actions are labeled as deviant by society.

Self-report study

A collection of data acquired using voluntary response methods such as questionnaires or telephone interviews.

Social control

The regulation and enforcement of norms.

Social disorganization theory

Asserts crime occurs in communities with weak social ties and the absence of social control.

Social order

An arrangement of practices and behaviors on which society’s members base their daily lives.

Strain theory

Addresses the relationship between having socially acceptable goals and having socially acceptable means to reach those goals.

Street crime

Crime committed by average people against other people or organizations, usually in public spaces.

Victimless crime

Activities against the law that do not result in injury to any individual other than the person engaging in them.

Violent crimes

Crimes based on the use of force or the threat of force.