CLEP Introductory Sociology

achieved status

A status that individuals secure on the basis of choice and competition.

altruistic suicide

type of suicide that occurs where ties to the group or community are considered more important than individual identity

affiliation motivated

when one's actions are geared to helping them join or connect with a particular social status

agricultural societies

Societies that cultivate large amounts of crops with the plow and other relatively advanced tools and equipment.

egoistic suicide

suicide that results from social isolation and individualism

fatalistic suicide

suicide that occurs as a result of "too much" social regulation

anomic suicide

Suicide that occurs as a result of "too little" social regulation

anomie

A social condition in which people find it difficult to guide their behavior by norms they experience as weak, unclear, or conflicting.

ascribed status

social position a person receives at birth or involuntarily later in life

status

a social position that a person holds

status set

all the statuses a person holds at a given time.

Sociology

study of the evolution, development, and functioning of human society

social change

the transformation of culture and social institutions over time

social control

a group's formal and informal means of enforcing its norms

social hierarchy

The division of society by rank or class

social mobility

a change in position within the social hierarchy

social movement

a widely shared demand for change in some aspect of the social or political order

social stratification

a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

Socialization

the process by which people, especially children, learn socially desirable behavior by means of verbal messages; the systematic use of rewards and punishments, and other teaching methods

socialization agents

The people, institutions, and organizations that exist to help ensure that socialization occurs.

Society

an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization

egoism

Self-ism or "I"ism

views self as reality and all other individuals as essentially unreal.

authoritarianism

A political system in which the government tolerates little or no opposition to its rules but permits nongovernmental centers of influence and allows debate on issues of public policy.

Barter system

a system of exchange in which goods or services are traded directly for other goods or services without the use of money.

birth rate

the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area

Bourgeoisie

Those individuals who control the means of production.

Upper class

Bureaucracy

A social structure made up of a hierarchy of statuses and roles that is prescribed by explicit rules and procedures and based on a division of function and authority.

caste system

a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity

charismatic authority

Power that is legitimated by the extraordinary superhuman or supernatural attributes people attribute to a leader.

Church

A religious organization that considers itself uniquely legitimate and enjoys a positive relationship with the dominant society.

Cognitive Development theory

Piaget's theory that children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world; children experiences expand as their brain develops; they move through

4 stages:

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational

collective behavior

voluntary, often spontaneous activity that is engaged in by a large number of people and typically violates dominant-group norms and values.

Concrete operational stage of Cognitive development theory

begins around age 7-11. Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.

conflict perspective

A sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups

Contagion theory

An approach to crowd behavior that emphasizes the part played in crowd settings by rapidly communicated and uncritically accepted feelings, attitudes, and actions

Control Group

The group that affords a neutral standard against which the changes in an experimental group can be measured.

Convergence theory

An approach to crowd behavior stating that a crowd consists of a highly unrepresentative body of people who assemble because they share the same predispositions.

counterculture

a subculture deliberately and consciously opposed to certain central beliefs or attitudes of the dominant culture

Cult

A religious movement that represents a new and independent religious tradition.

Culture

The social heritage of a people; those learned patterns for thinking, feeling, and acting that are transmitted from one generation to the next, including the embodiment of these patterns in material items.

cultural relativism

A value-free or neutral approach that views the behavior of a people from the perspective of their own culture.

death rate

the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area

democratic government

A government in which the rulers are elected by the people through fair, free, competitive, and periodic elections. Public decision making is delegated to the representatives elected by the people.

Deviance

Behavior that a considerable number of people in a society view as reprehensible and beyond the limits of tolerance.

Differential Association theory

A general theory of crime that states that deviants come to learn the motivations and the technical knowledge of criminal activity through exposure to deviants and deviant behavior.

Division of labor

Division of work into a number of separate tasks to be performed by different workers

Dyad

A two-member group.

Norms

Social rules that specify appropriate and inappropriate behavior in given situations.

Values

Broad ideas regarding what is desirable, correct, and good that most members of a society share.

Emergent-norm theory

An approach to crowd behavior stating that crowd members evolve new standards for behavior in a crowd setting and then enforce the expectations in the manner of norms.

ethical problems

Involve situations where there are conflicts between one or more values and uncertainty about the correct course of action.

Ethnicity

a shared cultural heritage

Ethnocentrism

The tendency to judge the behavior of other groups by the standards of one's own culture.

Exomgamy

The requirement that marriage occur outside a group.

expressive leaders

Leaders who achieve group harmony by making others feel good.

extended family

A family arrangement in which kin-individuals related by common ancestry-provide the core relationship; spouses are functionally marginal and peripheral.

Family of Orientation

A nuclear family that consists of oneself and one's father, mother, and siblings

Family of Procreation

A nuclear family that consists of oneself and one's spouse and children.

fertility rate

the average number of children a woman of childbearing years would have in her lifetime, if she had children at the current rate for her country

Folkways

Norms people do not deem to be of great importance and to which they exact less stringent conformity.

formal organization

A group formed deliberately for the achievement of specific objectives

functional approach

an approach to group problem solving that assumes that to achieve a group goal, group members should perform certain communication functions.

Functionalism

a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Gemeinschaft

a type of society in which life is intimate; a community in which everyone knows everyone else and people share a sense of togetherness

general deterrence

a crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties, convincing the potential law violator that the pains associated with crime outweighs its benefits.

Gesellschaft

a community, often urban, that is large and impersonal, with little commitment to the group or consensus on values

group conformity

the degree to which group members accept and follow group norms

Conformity

The degree to which we alter our behavior, attitudes and points of view to fit into our perceived expectation of what is appropriate.

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 740)

Hawthorne effect

phenomenon in which participants' knowledge that they're being studied can affect their behavior

horticultural societies

Society in which people plant seeds and crops rather than merely subsist on available foods

hunting societies

Societies that use simple technology for hunting animals and gathering vegetation

Identity

one's sense of self

industrial society

A society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services.

Informal Organzations

Interpersonal networks and ties that arise in a formal organization but that are not defined or prescribed by it.

In-group

an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose

Institution

an organization founded and united for a specific purpose

Institutionalized Racism

Racist attitudes that are held by the vast majority of people living in a society where stereotypes and discrimination are the norm

Instrumental Leaders

leaders who achieve their group's goal by getting others to focus on task performance

intergenerational mobility

A comparison of the social status of parents and their children at some point in their respective careers.

Iron Law of Oligarchy

The principle that states that bureaucracies invariably lead to the concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals who use their offices to advance their own fortunes and self-interests.

Legitimacy

undisputed credibility

Looking glass self

an image of yourself based on what you believe others think of you

master status

A key or core status that carries primary weight in a person's interactions and relationships with others.

material culture

the concrete, tangible objects of a culture

immaterial culture

Not tangible and is abstract. For example religion, beliefs and values.

megalopolis

A strip city formed when the rural interstices between metropolitan centers fill with urban development.

the law of three stages

According to Comte, ech branch of our knowledge passes through the different theoretical conditions.

Theological stage

First stage in the development of a science where scientists look toward the supernatural realm of ideas for an explanation of what they observed.

sub-stages: a) Fetishism b)Polytheism c) Monotheism

Fetishism

sub-stage of Theological stage

Man accepts the existence of the spirit or soul. Does not admit priesthood

Polytheism

sub-stage of Theological stage

Man begins to believe in magic and allied activities. Believes in several gods and created the class of priests to get the goodwill and the blessings of these gods.

Monotheism

sub-stage of Theological stage

Man believes that there is only one central power which guides and controls all the activities of the world. The superhuman power of only one god.

Metaphysical stage

Second stage in the development of a science where scientists begin to look to the real world for an explanation of what they have observed.

Positive stage

Final stage in the development of a science where scientists search for general ideas or laws.

Positivism

the application of the scientific approach to the social world

mores

Norms to which people attach a good deal of importance and exact strict conformity

nuclear family

Family unit consisting of parents and children

Overurbanization

condition in which cities grow more rapidly than the jobs and housing they can sustain

Parkinson's Law

the observation that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion"

pastoral societies

societies whose subsistence derives from the rearing of domesticated animals.