sociology exam 2

CHAPTER 4 – SOCIALIZATION

Socialization

The lifelong process through which people learn society's norms, values, behaviors, and expectations.

Agents of socialization

The people and institutions that teach individuals social norms and behaviors, such as family, school, peers, and media.

Identity

The way individuals understand and define themselves, shaped by personal experiences, social interactions, and society.

Master status

The social position or identity that most strongly shapes how others perceive an individual.

Looking-glass self

Charles Cooley's theory that people develop their self-image by imagining how others see and judge them.

Mead's theory of self

George Herbert Mead's theory that the self develops through social interaction and learning to take the perspective of others.

The Me

The part of the self that reflects society's expectations, rules, and attitudes.

The I

The spontaneous, individual, and less predictable part of the self that responds to society's expectations.

Generalized other

The internalized expectations and attitudes of society that guide an individual's behavior.

Racial socialization

The process of learning about race, racial identity, and society's attitudes and expectations surrounding race.

Gender role socialization

The process of learning the behaviors, attitudes, and expectations society associates with different genders.

CHAPTER 5 – SOCIAL INTERACTION

Roles

The behaviors and responsibilities expected of someone occupying a particular social position.

Status

A social position an individual occupies within society or a group.

Ascribed status

A social position assigned at birth or received involuntarily, rather than earned.

Achieved status

A social position gained through an individual's actions, choices, or accomplishments.

Impression management

The process of controlling how others perceive you through your behavior and presentation.

Audience segregation

The practice of keeping different audiences separate so different versions of yourself are not seen together.

Civil inattention

The act of briefly acknowledging another person's presence without directly engaging with them.

Focused interaction

Social interaction in which people directly engage with one another and share a common focus of attention.

Unfocused interaction

Social interaction in which people are aware of one another's presence but do not directly communicate.

Ethnomethodology

The study of how people use everyday interactions and unwritten rules to create and maintain social order.

Regionalization

The division of social life into different spaces where different behaviors and expectations are appropriate.

Front region (front stage)

The area where individuals perform social roles and manage how others perceive them.

Back region (back stage)

The area where individuals step away from public performances and behave more freely.

CHAPTER 6 – GROUPS, NETWORKS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

Social group

A collection of people who interact regularly and share a sense of belonging or common identity.

Social aggregate

A collection of people who are physically together in the same place but do not necessarily interact or share an identity.

Social category

A collection of people who share a common characteristic but do not necessarily interact or identify as a group.

Primary group

A small group with close, personal, and emotionally meaningful relationships, such as family or close friends.

Secondary group

A larger, more impersonal group formed around a specific goal, task, or activity, such as coworkers or classmates.

Conformity

The process of adjusting one's behavior or beliefs to match the expectations of a group.

Formal organization

A structured group with specific goals, established rules, and defined roles and responsibilities.

Networks

The connections and relationships linking individuals and groups that provide access to information, resources, and opportunities.

In-group

A group that an individual identifies with and feels a sense of belonging to.

Out-group

A group that an individual does not identify with and may view as different from their own group.

Reference group

A group people use as a standard for evaluating themselves, their behavior, and their choices.

Dyad

A social group consisting of two people; the relationship depends on both members.

Triad

A social group consisting of three people, allowing for more complex relationships and alliances.

Bureaucracy

A formal organizational structure with a hierarchy of authority, specialized roles, written rules, and standardized procedures.

Ideal type

A simplified model used by sociologists to highlight key characteristics and compare them to real-world situations.

McDonaldization

The process by which society increasingly adopts fast-food principles: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.

Surveillance

The monitoring and observation of individuals' behavior by organizations or institutions.

Panopticon

A model of constant possible surveillance in which people behave as though they are always being watched.

Iron law of oligarchy

The theory that large organizations eventually become controlled by a small group of powerful leaders.

Rationalization

The process of organizing society around efficiency, calculation, predictability, and rules rather than tradition or emotion.

CHAPTER 7 – CONFORMITY, DEVIANCE, AND CRIME

Deviance

Behavior that violates the norms or expectations of a particular society or social group.

Crime

Behavior that violates laws established by a government and is punishable by the legal system.

Sanction

A reward or punishment used by society to encourage conformity or discourage deviance.

Strain theory

The theory that deviance occurs when people cannot achieve culturally approved goals through socially accepted means.

Control theory

The theory that strong social bonds and connections discourage people from committing deviant acts.

Differential association theory

The theory that deviant behavior is learned through interactions with others who engage in or support it.

Labeling theory

The theory that deviance is shaped by how society labels and reacts to individuals and their behavior.

Conflict theory

The theory that laws and definitions of deviance reflect inequalities in power, often benefiting dominant groups.

Primary deviation

The initial act of rule-breaking that does not significantly affect a person's identity.

Secondary deviation

Deviant behavior that develops after someone is labeled deviant and begins to identify with that label.

Robert Merton's typology of deviance

A theory explaining how people respond to the gap between culturally approved goals and legitimate ways of achieving them.

Conformity (Merton)

Accepting society's goals and using socially approved means to achieve them.

Innovation (Merton)

Accepting society's goals but using illegitimate or unconventional means to achieve them.

Ritualism (Merton)

Giving up on society's major goals but continuing to follow its accepted rules and procedures.

Retreatism (Merton)

Rejecting both society's goals and the accepted means of achieving them.

Rebellion (Merton)

Rejecting existing societal goals and means while attempting to replace them with new ones.

Relative deprivation

The feeling of being disadvantaged when comparing your situation or resources to those of others.

White-collar crime

Nonviolent crime committed by individuals or organizations in professional or business settings, usually for financial gain.

CHAPTER 8 – STRATIFICATION, CLASS, AND INEQUALITY

Social stratification

The system by which society ranks individuals and groups into unequal layers based on wealth, power, and status.

Social class

A group of people who share a similar economic position, often based on income, wealth, occupation, and education.

Income

The money a person receives over a period of time, such as wages, salaries, or investments.

Wealth

The total value of a person's assets minus their debts.

Cultural capital

Knowledge, skills, education, tastes, and cultural experiences that can provide social advantages.

Marx's theory of stratification

The theory that society is divided into classes based on their relationship to the means of production, creating conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat.

Bourgeoisie

The capitalist class that owns and controls the means of production.

Proletariat

The working class that sells its labor to earn wages.

Weber's theory of stratification

The theory that inequality is based on three dimensions: class, status, and power (party).

Status (Weber)

The social honor or prestige an individual receives from others, separate from their wealth or economic class.

RESEARCH EXAMPLES AND DATA TRENDS

Solomon Asch's conformity experiment

Participants often gave an obviously incorrect answer about line lengths when other group members gave the same incorrect answer, demonstrating the power of group pressure.

Asch experiment – main finding

People may conform to a group's opinions even when they know the group is wrong.

Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment

Participants followed instructions from an authority figure to administer what they believed were increasingly severe electric shocks, demonstrating obedience to authority.

Milgram experiment – main finding

Ordinary people may obey authority figures even when asked to do something that conflicts with their personal morals.

Mark Granovetter's strength of weak ties study

Weak social connections, such as acquaintances, can be more useful than close friends for finding new information and job opportunities.

Strength of weak ties – main finding

Acquaintances connect people to new social networks and opportunities they might not otherwise encounter.

Pager's criminal record study

The study found that having a criminal record significantly reduced employment opportunities, with especially unequal effects across racial groups.

Pager study – main finding

Employers may discriminate based on criminal records and race, creating barriers to employment.

Crime statistics

Crime statistics measure reported or recorded crime, but they do not capture every crime because many incidents go unreported.

Incarceration patterns

Incarceration rates are unequal across social groups, reflecting differences in policing, sentencing, socioeconomic conditions, and systemic inequality.

Income distribution in the U.S.

The distribution of income is unequal, with higher-income households receiving a disproportionate share of total income.

Income inequality vs. wealth inequality

Income measures money received over time, while wealth measures accumulated assets minus debts; wealth is generally more unequally distributed.

READINGS

Ritzer – The McDonaldization of Society

Ritzer argues that society increasingly adopts fast-food principles: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.

Ritzer – Efficiency

Choosing the fastest or most convenient way to accomplish a task.

Ritzer – Calculability

Emphasizing quantity, speed, and measurable results over quality.