Sociology test 2

status

position in a social group

roles

expectations rights and duties assigned to a particular status

social networks

total web of ones relationships and group memberships

social institutions

clusters of values norms social statuses roles and groups addressing fundamental social needs

social interaction

the mutual influence of two or more people on each other's behavior

patterns of interaction

exchange cooperation competition conflict coercion

social perception

process by which we form impressions of others and ourselves

stereotypes

static oversimplified ideas about a social category

social acts

behaviors influences or shaped by the presence of others

W.I. Thomas: definition of the situation

when people define situations as real they become real in their consequences

dramaturgy

analogy between life and stage

impression managment

ways that people use disclosure and concealment to make a favorable impression on others

Ethnomethodology

a way of analyzing the "taken for granted" aspects that give meaning to social interaction

structural functionalist perspective

focus on cooperation and interconnections

conflict perspective

focus on competition and coercion

symbolic interactionist perspective

focus on how actors manipulate symbols

feminist perspective

focus on gender stratification of statuses and roles

deviance

violation of a social norm

conformity

adherence to social norms

norms

rules guiding behavior

prescriptive

what we should do

proscriptive

what we should not do

folkways

informal guidelines for day to day living

mores

the morals and principles of society. Violation can lead to harsh consequences

range of tolerance

scope of behaviors considered acceptable and defined as conformity

extreme deviance

beliefs behaviors or physical traits that are so unacceptable that they elicit strong negative reactions

crime

violation of criminal law

diversity vs. deviance

While individuality and diverse skills and ability are valued in the USA at the same time we require conformity to the dominant norms and values of our society

stigma

Characteristic that sets people apart and discredits them from acceptance and participation

Goffman's Stigma Types

abominations of the body blemishes of individual character tribal stigma

strain theories

deviance due to position in social structure

conformity

Accepting goals and using approved mean even if they are not available to them

innovation

Accepting goals and either rejecting approved means or innovating [deviant] means to obtain them

ritualism

Focus is on the means rather than the goals which have either been rejected or deemed unobtainable. Going through the motions so as to not appear to be deviant

retreatism

Rejecting both the socially approved goal and means. Dropping out of mainstream society. Vagrancy drug/alcohol abuse deviant subcultures etc

rebellion

Rejecting both the socially approved goals and means and replacing them with deviant goals and means. Most threatening to the social order. Terrorists etc.

conflict perspective

focus on inequality and power that lead to creation of laws and enforcement

techniques of neutralization

rationalizing deviant behavior

social control

mechanisms people use to enforce prevailing social norms

social differentiation

process by which we are set apart for differential treatment based on status role and other social characteristics

social inequality

condition under which we have unequal access to resources such as wealth prestige and power

social stratification

form of inequality based on our access to the scarce but valued resources of society

slave system

two distinct strata: category of free people and a category who are tge legal property of others

caste system

rank is heredity and permanent marriage between members of different categories is prohibited

estate system

centered on monopoly of power and ownership of land

class system

achieved statuses are the principal means of ranking

socioeconomic status

a ranking that combines income occupational prestige education and neighborhood to define social class

U.S. social classes

upper class upper middle class lower middle class working class lower class

absolute poverty

being below the minimum level of subsistence and unable to function as members of society

relative poverty

a lack of resources relative to others and the overall standards of a society

structural mobility

large scale changes causing movement in hierarchy major basis of movement in the U.S.

Critical race theory

An intellectual movement and a framework of legal analysisaccording to which (1) race is a culturally invented category used tooppress people of color and (2) the law and legal institutions in theUnited States are inherently racist insofar as they function to createand maintain social political and economic inequalities betweenwhite and nonwhite people.

biological race

a population that differs from others in the frequency of certain hereditary traits

races

categories of people set apart from others because of socially defined physical characteristics race is a social construct

ethnicity

the shared culture of a group

ethnic group

a category of people set apart from others because of distinctive customs and lifestyles

minority group

a category of people set apart for unequal treatment because of physical or cultural characteristics

prejudice

preconceived judgments about a category of people

affrimitive action

action or policy favoring those who historically have been targets of discrimination

functionalist

relationship between prejudice and discrimination

gender identity

acknowledging ones sex and internalizing ones gendered expectations

gender role socialization

the lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine primarily through four major agents of socialization: family schools peers and media

Heteronormativity

the belief that heterosexuality is and should be the norm

patriarchy

system in which males dominate females in most spheres of life

religion

patriarchal beliefs and structures exist in most major religions

education

curriculum reinforces gener roles

family of orientation

the family into which an individual is born

family of marriage or procreation

the family that a person forms at his or her marriage

consanguineal

kinship characterized by the sharing of common ancestors

affinal

established via marriage rather than through the actual or mythological ties of descent

fictive

forms of kinship or social ties that are based on neither consanguineal (blood ties) nor affinal (by marriage) ties

Bilineal

blood links and rights of inheritance through both male and female ancestors are of equal importance

patrilineal

blood links and rights of inheritance through male ancestors

matrilineal

blood links and rights of inheritance through female ancestors

nuclear family

parents and their children who live apart from other kin

extended family

two or more closely related families who share a household and are economically and emotionally bound to others in the group

kinship group

network of people whose social relationships are based on common ancestry marriage adoption and or affiliation

fictive kin

people who although they are not biologically or legally related are labeled as kin and treated as family member

incest taboo

norm forbidding people from mating with and marrying close kin

exogamy

norm requiring that mates be selected from outside a given category they are a member of

endogamy

norm requiring that mates be selected from ones own group of category

monogamy

having only one spouse/partner at a time

polygamy

marriage to multiple spouses at the same time

Partiarchal

male elders dominate decision making

matriarchal

female elders dominate decision making

egalitarian

a family led equally by a female and a male

patrilocal

living near or with the husbands family

matrilocal

living near or with the wife's family

neolocal

living separately from both the husbands and the wife's families

cohabitation

two people living together without legal marriage

singlehood

postponing marriage widowhood and divorce

postparental stage

children leave home adults retire a spouse dies

multigenerational families

families include four or five generations but have relatively few members in each

sacred

uncommon and extraordinary parts of life that inspire feelings of reverence and respect

profane

ordinary and common activities that people take for granted in their ordinary life

symbols

represent the sacred; though to possess special power

cosmology

general theory of the universe

rituals

formalized enactments of beliefs detach people from ordinary experiences

magic

a ritual attempt to compel supernatural forces to influence events in natural world

compensators

beliefs that a reward will be obtained in the distant future or in some other context that can't be immediately verified