Sociological Concepts and Theories

This set of flashcards covers essential sociological concepts, theories, and definitions related to social interaction and identity.

People and Interaction Norms

Shared expectations for behavior in social contexts, described by Harvey Sacks as 'being ordinary'.

Social Rules

Culturally specific norms, policies, and laws that guide behavior in social interactions.

Folkways

Loosely enforced norms that govern everyday behavior.

Mores

Tightly enforced norms that carry moral significance.

Taboos

Social prohibitions so strong that the thought of violating them can be scary.

Social Sanctions

Reactions from others aimed at promoting conformity or punishing non-conformity.

Accounts

Excuses that explain rule-breaking while affirming the validity of the rules.

Symbolic Interactionism

Herbert Blumer's theory that reality is a product of the meanings we give it.

Impression Management

Efforts to control how we are perceived by others in social situations.

Dramaturgy

Erving Goffman's practice of viewing social life as a series of performances.

The looking glass self

Charles Cooley's concept that we develop our self-concept based on how others perceive us.

Microaggressions

Brief, often unintentional, exchanges that denigrate a person based on their identities.

Intersectionality

An analytical framework that examines how various social identities intersect and create overlapping systems of discrimination.

Social Construction

The process by which societal meanings and realities are created and maintained through social interactions.

Cultural Sociology

The study of shared practices and beliefs that define a group's way of life.

People and Interaction Norms

Shared expectations for behavior in social contexts, described by Harvey Sacks as 'being ordinary'.

Social Rules

Culturally specific norms, policies, and laws that guide behavior in social interactions.

Folkways

Loosely enforced norms that govern everyday behavior.

Mores

Tightly enforced norms that carry moral significance.

Taboos

Social prohibitions so strong that the thought of violating them can be scary.

Social Sanctions

Reactions from others aimed at promoting conformity or punishing non-conformity.

Accounts

Excuses that explain rule-breaking while affirming the validity of the rules.

Symbolic Interactionism

Herbert Blumer's theory that reality is a product of the meanings we give it.

Impression Management

Efforts to control how we are perceived by others in social situations.

Dramaturgy

Erving Goffman's practice of viewing social life as a series of performances.

The looking glass self

Charles Cooley's concept that we develop our self-concept based on how others perceive us.

Microaggressions

Brief, often unintentional, exchanges that denigrate a person based on their identities.

Intersectionality

An analytical framework that examines how various social identities intersect and create overlapping systems of discrimination.

Social Construction

The process by which societal meanings and realities are created and maintained through social interactions.

Cultural Sociology

The study of shared practices and beliefs that define a group's way of life.

Norms

Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.

Deviance

Behavior that violates social norms.

Social Roles

Socially expected behavior patterns associated with a particular status or position.

Social Status

A recognized social position that an individual occupies.

People and Interaction Norms

Shared expectations for behavior in social contexts, described by Harvey Sacks as 'being ordinary'.

Social Rules

Culturally specific norms, policies, and laws that guide behavior in social interactions.

Folkways

Loosely enforced norms that govern everyday behavior.

Mores

Tightly enforced norms that carry moral significance.

Taboos

Social prohibitions so strong that the thought of violating them can be scary.

Social Sanctions

Reactions from others aimed at promoting conformity or punishing non-conformity.

Accounts

Excuses that explain rule-breaking while affirming the validity of the rules.

Symbolic Interactionism

Herbert Blumer's theory that reality is a product of the meanings we give it.

Impression Management

Efforts to control how we are perceived by others in social situations.

Dramaturgy

Erving Goffman's practice of viewing social life as a series of performances.

The looking glass self

Charles Cooley's concept that we develop our self-concept based on how others perceive us.

Microaggressions

Brief, often unintentional, exchanges that denigrate a person based on their identities.

Intersectionality

An analytical framework that examines how various social identities intersect and create overlapping systems of discrimination.

Social Construction

The process by which societal meanings and realities are created and maintained through social interactions.

Cultural Sociology

The study of shared practices and beliefs that define a group's way of life.

Norms

Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.

Deviance

Behavior that violates social norms.

Social Roles

Socially expected behavior patterns associated with a particular status or position.

Social Status

A recognized social position that an individual occupies.

Who described "being ordinary" in the context of People and Interaction Norms?

Harvey Sacks

Which theorist is associated with the concept of Symbolic Interactionism?

Herbert Blumer

Which theorist is associated with Dramaturgy, the practice of viewing social life as a series of performances?

Erving Goffman

Who developed the concept of "the looking glass self"?

Charles Cooley

People and Interaction Norms

Shared expectations for behavior in social contexts, described by Harvey Sacks as 'being ordinary'.

Social Rules

Culturally specific norms, policies, and laws that guide behavior in social interactions.

Folkways

Loosely enforced norms that govern everyday behavior.

Mores

Tightly enforced norms that carry moral significance.

Taboos

Social prohibitions so strong that the thought of violating them can be scary.

Social Sanctions

Reactions from others aimed at promoting conformity or punishing non-conformity.

Accounts

Excuses that explain rule-breaking while affirming the validity of the rules.

Symbolic Interactionism

Herbert Blumer's theory that reality is a product of the meanings we give it.

Impression Management

Efforts to control how we are perceived by others in social situations.

Dramaturgy

Erving Goffman's practice of viewing social life as a series of performances.

The looking glass self

Charles Cooley's concept that we develop our self-concept based on how others perceive us.

Microaggressions

Brief, often unintentional, exchanges that denigrate a person based on their identities.

Intersectionality

An analytical framework that examines how various social identities intersect and create overlapping systems of discrimination.

Social Construction

The process by which societal meanings and realities are created and maintained through social interactions.

Cultural Sociology

The study of shared practices and beliefs that define a group's way of life.

Norms

Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.

Deviance

Behavior that violates social norms.

Social Roles

Socially expected behavior patterns associated with a particular status or position.

Social Status

A recognized social position that an individual occupies.

Who described "being ordinary" in the context of People and Interaction Norms?

Harvey Sacks

Which theorist is associated with the concept of Symbolic Interactionism?

Herbert Blumer

Which theorist is associated with Dramaturgy, the practice of viewing social life as a series of performances?

Erving Goffman

Who developed the concept of "the looking glass self"?

Charles Cooley

Front Stage

In dramaturgical theory, the area where individuals perform their roles in front of an audience, maintaining appropriate appearances for the setting.

Back Stage

In dramaturgical theory, the area where individuals can relax their role performance, drop their front, and prepare for future performances.

Face

In Erving Goffman's terms, the positive social value a person effectively claims for themselves by the line others assume they have taken during a particular social encounter.

Macroaggressions

Large-scale, systemic, and institutionalized forms of oppression

Unmarked

Status-advantaged identities (men)

Marked

Identities that aren’t advantaged (women/trans men)

Importance of setting in Interactionism

Our behavior is guided by a setting’s symbols

Interpersonal discrimination

Prejudicial behavior displayed by individuals

Ethnomethodology

Research aimed at revealing the underlying shared logic that is the foundation of social interactions

Indigenous Methodologies

Approaches to research partnerships with Indigenous communities that respect their ways of being

Factors affecting discrimination

1. How many low-status identities we carry

2. The intersection of our identities

3. Whether our roles and identities match

4. The situations in which we find ourselves

Social Rules

1. Guide social interactions

2. Help us be culturally competent

3. Include folkways, mores, and taboos

4. Culturally specific norms, policies, and lows that govern our behavior

Social interaction depends on?

The social construction of reality

Social Facts

The laws, morals, values, and customs that govern social life, guiding individual behavior. This includes societal expectations and norms individuals internalize shaping how they act with their communities

What does Connell argue in his article about classical theory

Construction and empirical entanglement

3 major frameworks within sociology

1. Functionalism

2. Social Interactionism

3. Conflict theory

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

Qualitative research is interested interpretive method focused on experience and meaning making, and quantitative is for quantifying data

Public Sociology

The work of using sociological theory to make societies better. It connects research with the real world issues and makes sociology more relevant

According to Mills, what do people often fail to recognize about their personal troubles?

That troubles are connected to broader historical and structural changes

Symbolic Interactionism

Reality is socially constructed and we respond to the meanings derived from social interaction, whether with individuals, groups, institutions, or symbols