Sociology and Medical Sociology: Core Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering general sociology, medical sociology, deviance, family, stratification, health inequalities, and organizational theory from the course material.

Structuralism (Strukturalizam)

A sociological paradigm that views human behavior as largely shaped and constrained by membership in social groups, institutions, and overarching social structures.

Functionalism (Funkcionalizam)

A theoretical perspective rooted in the work of Auguste Comte and Émile Durkheim that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity, order, and stability.

Social Facts (Društvene činjenice)

Ways of acting, thinking, or feeling that Émile Durkheim identified as being external to individuals, possessing an objective coercive reality outside individual perception, and requiring study 'as things.'

Anomie (Anomija)

A state of normlessness or social instability where shared collective rules and moral values break down, leaving individuals feeling aimless and despairing.

Mechanical Solidarity (Mehanička solidarnost)

Social cohesion in pre-industrial societies characterized by low division of labor, shared values, similarity of tasks, and repressive law, where the collective group takes precedence over the individual.

Organic Solidarity (Organska solidarnost)

Social cohesion in modern industrial societies resulting from an advanced division of labor, task specialization, economic interdependence, individual autonomy, and restitutive law.

Law of Three Stages (Zakon o tri razvojna stupnja)

Auguste Comte's evolutionary model positing that human understanding develops across three historical stages: the theological (supernatural/mythological), metaphysical (abstract/philosophical), and positive (scientific/empirical).

Surplus Value (Višak vrijednosti)

In Marxist theory, the value generated by laborers over and above the cost of their wages, which is appropriated by the bourgeoisie as profit.

Symbolic Interactionism (Simbolički interakcionizam)

A micro-sociological approach focusing on how social actors construct meaning, develop self-awareness, and shape reality through face-to-face interaction and the exchange of shared symbols.

Social Constructionism (Socijalni konstrukcionizam)

The theoretical view that social reality, including concepts of health and illness, is not an objective biological constant, but is continuously created, defined, and reinterpreted through human interaction.

Values (Vrijednosti)

Abstract ideas shared by members of a culture that define what is important, worthwhile, desirable, and meaningful in society.

Norms (Norme)

Specific behavioral rules and expectations that embody cultural values and regulate how people behave within their social environment.

Ethnocentrism (Etnocentrizam)

The practice of evaluating and judging other cultures against the standards, beliefs, and practices of one's own culture.

Cultural Relativism (Kulturni relativizam)

The perspective that a culture's practices and beliefs should be understood and analyzed within the framework of that culture's own values and context, rather than judged from the outside.

Primary Socialization (Primarna socijalizacija)

The foundational period of cultural and behavioral learning that occurs during infancy and early childhood, primarily within the family unit.

Secondary Socialization (Sekundarna socijalizacija)

The lifelong process of learning social roles and cultural norms occurring from later childhood through adulthood via agents such as schools, peer groups, work environments, and media.

Social Identity (Društveni identitet)

The collective characteristics and markers attributed to an individual by others that designate their position in broader social groups (e.g., mother, physician, spouse).

Personal Identity (Osobni identitet)

The distinct, internal self-concept that an individual actively constructs through personal self-development, distinguishing them from others.

Civil Inattention (Pristojna / Civilizirana nepažnja)

An everyday interaction technique in public spaces where individuals acknowledge another's presence with brief eye contact and then look away to avoid appearing intrusive.

Social Stratification (Društvena stratifikacija)

Structured, enduring inequalities between groups of people in society, arranged in hierarchical layers based on wealth, property, power, prestige, age, or ethnicity.

Contradictory Class Locations (Proturječan klasni položaj)

Erik Olin Wright's concept for intermediate occupational roles (such as managers and supervisors) who hold authority over workers and control certain aspects of production, but lack ownership of capital.

Market Situation (Tržišna situacija)

A dimension of John Goldthorpe's class schema concerning material returns, income levels, job security, and overall advancement prospects associated with an occupation.

Work Situation (Radna situacija)

A dimension of John Goldthorpe's class schema concerning the degree of autonomy, control, and authority a worker experiences within their occupational setting.

Absolute Poverty (Apsolutno siromaštvo)

A condition characterized by the severe deprivation of basic human needs necessary to maintain physical survival, including food, clean water, shelter, and clothing.

Relative Poverty (Relativno siromaštvo)

A condition in which an individual's or household's resources fall substantially below the average standard of living prevailing in that specific society.

Social Exclusion (Društvena isključenost)

The systematic processes through which individuals and groups are cut off from full participation in the economic, political, and social institutions of wider society.

Social De-commodification (Socijalna dekomodifikacija)

Gøsta Esping-Andersen's concept measuring the degree to which social welfare benefits and services are provided to citizens as social rights, independent of market reliance.

Total Institutions (Totalne institucije)

Erving Goffman's concept describing organizations (such as psychiatric hospitals and prisons) where individuals are isolated from wider society and subjected to strictly regimented, formal control that mortifies the self.

Taylorism (Tejlorizam)

A system of scientific management pioneered by Frederick Winslow Taylor that breaks industrial tasks down into simple, standardized, and precisely timed components to maximize efficiency.

Portfolio Workers (Radnici s portfeljom)

Workers who possess high levels of technical qualifications, specialized knowledge, and expertise, but do not hold permanent employment, relying instead on multiple short-term contracts.

Structural Unemployment (Strukturna nezaposlenost)

Unemployment that arises from major, systemic changes in the economic structure rather than temporary or individual factors.

Frictional Unemployment (Frikcijska nezaposlenost)

Temporary, natural unemployment occurring during the brief transitional period between leaving one job and securing or starting another.

Deviance (Devijantnost)

Any behavior, belief, or trait that violates the cultural or social norms accepted by the majority within a given community or society.

Labeling Theory (Teorija etiketiranja)

A sociological perspective positing that deviance is not an inherent attribute of an action or person, but a consequence of the social process of rule application and labeling by authorities.

Primary Deviance (Primarna devijantnost)

Edwin Lemert's concept for initial norm violations that remain temporary, marginal, and normalized without altering an individual's core self-concept.

Secondary Deviance (Sekundarna devijantnost)

Edwin Lemert's concept for behavior that develops when an individual internalizes a deviant label applied by society, adopting it as their dominant identity.

Restorative Justice (Restaurativna pravda)

A criminal justice approach aimed at fostering offender accountability and awareness through restitution and community-based sentences rather than punitive isolation.

Corporate Crime (Korporacijski kriminal)

Illegal or regulatory offenses committed by business organizations that maintain many trappings of legitimate commerce while breaking statutory law.

White-Collar Crime (Zločini bijelih ovratnika)

Non-violent, financially motivated illegal activities committed by middle- or upper-class individuals by exploiting their occupational or professional positions.

Institutional Racism (Institucijski rasizam)

Pervasive racial discrimination and bias embedded directly into the institutional routines, policies, and structures of society (such as the justice system or military).

Cultural Racism (Kulturni rasizam / Novi rasizam)

A contemporary form of discrimination that rationalizes exclusion and social hierarchy on the basis of asserted cultural, linguistic, or lifestyle incompatibilities rather than biological differences.

Authoritarian Personality (Autoritarna ličnost)

Theodor Adorno's characterization of individuals marked by strict conformity, submissiveness to authority figures, and intense intolerance toward minorities and sexual or religious non-conformists.

Melting Pot Model (Lonac za taljenje)

An ethnic integration concept in which diverse immigrant cultures and host traditions blend and fuse together into a newly evolving cultural whole.

Assimilation (Asimilacija)

A model of ethnic integration where immigrant groups abandon their original customs, habits, and languages to conform completely to the values and norms of the host majority.

Cultural Pluralism (Kulturni pluralizam / Model pluralizma)

An integration model where diverse ethnic communities retain their distinct identities while having equal legal, economic, and political standing.

Asylum Seekers (Azilanti)

Individuals who cross international borders to seek refuge in a foreign country due to a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland.

Diaspora (Dijaspora)

The dispersal of an ethnic population from its original homeland across multiple countries, united by a retained collective identity, history, and memory of the homeland.

Polygyny (Poliginija)

A marriage structure that allows a single man to be married to more than one woman simultaneously.

Polyandry (Poliandrija)

A rare marital arrangement in which a woman is married to multiple men concurrently.

Reconstituted Family (Rekonstruirana obitelj)

A family unit formed when two adult partners cohabit or marry and bring children from previous unions or relationships into the household.

Binuclear Family (Binukleusna obitelj)

A family system that divides into two distinct households following a divorce, where both parents continue to share parental responsibilities.

Cohabitation (Kohabitacija)

An arrangement where two adult partners live together in a sexual and domestic relationship without entering into a legal marriage.

Horizontal Segregation (Horizontalna segregacija)

The tendency for women and men to be concentrated in different occupational sectors or types of work across the labor market.

Vertical Segregation (Vertikalna segregacija)

The concentration of women in lower-level jobs with limited power and promotional prospects, while men disproportionately hold superior, well-paid leadership posts.

Female Forfeit / Family Forfeit (Ženski gubitak / Obiteljski gubitak)

The aggregate lifetime earnings deficit experienced by a woman (or mother) compared to an equally qualified male worker.

Medicalization (Medikalizacija)

The process through which non-medical behaviors, life events, or social problems are newly defined, conceptualized, and treated as medical disorders.

Sick Role (Uloga bolesnika)

Talcott Parsons' functionalist model describing institutionalized social expectations: the patient is excused from normal duties and absolved of blame, but must seek competent medical care and cooperate to recover.

Stigma (Stigma)

Erving Goffman's concept of an attribute, behavior, or physical characteristic that is socially discrediting, reducing its bearer from a whole person to a culturally tainted or rejected status.

Inverse Care Law (Zakon inverzne skrbi)

The sociological principle stating that the availability and quality of medical care tends to vary inversely with the health needs of the population served.

Social Epidemiology (Socijalna epidemiologija)

The discipline that investigates the incidence, distribution, and social determinants of health and disease across different socio-economic groups, classes, genders, and geographic regions.

Barker Hypothesis (Barkerova hipoteza)

The epidemiological thesis formulated by David Barker proposing that fetal development and infant weight program adult health, showing that lower birth weight correlates with higher adult coronary heart disease mortality.

Lalonde Model (Lalondov model)

A health determinants framework identifying four key sectors shaping individual and population health: human biology/genetics, physical and social environment, lifestyle choices, and healthcare organization.

Emotional Labor (Emocionalni rad)

The process of managing, inducing, or suppressing feelings in institutional employment to produce an acceptable emotional state in customers or clients.

Informal Care (Neformalna njega)

Unpaid, uncontracted care work provided in the domestic environment for ill, disabled, or elderly kin, overwhelmingly performed by middle-aged women.

Medical Autonomy (Medicinska autonomija)

The legitimate, publicly recognized self-governance of the medical profession, giving it authority over clinical standards, practice organization, and evaluation.

Medical Dominance (Medicinska dominacija)

The professional authority and control exercised by physicians over allied health occupations (such as nursing), patients, and societal definitions of health.

Managerialism (Menadžerizam)

An ideology and administrative approach that restructures healthcare delivery through corporate business rhetoric, efficiency targets, and budgetary oversight of clinicians.

Dying Trajectories (Putanje umiranja)

The perceived duration and shape of an individual's decline toward death—classified as lingering, expected quick, or unexpected quick—that structure hospice and clinical care.

Geneticization (Genetizacija)

The tendency to conceptualize, define, and explain human behaviors, medical conditions, and social traits primarily through genetic makeup.

Gerontology (Gerontologija)

The multidisciplinary scientific study of aging and older people, addressing biological, sociological, and cultural factors associated with advanced age.

Gerontism / Ageism (Gerontizam)

Systematic stereotyping, prejudice, and discriminatory practices directed against elderly individuals solely on the basis of their chronological age.