| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Sociology | The study of society |
Organic Solidarity | In industrial societies (big cities) people's bonds are based on differences in tasks performed, individual rights, and interdependence |
Means of Production | Marx; Anything that can create more wealth (e.g. money, factories, property, businesses etc.) |
Alienation | Marx; People where unable to directly benefit from their own labor |
Rationalization | Weber; The application of ecological logic to all spheres of human activity |
Sample | A smaller group who are representative of a larger group in an interview |
Experiment | Uses the scientific method to test a hypothesis |
Culture | The entire way of life of a group of people, material and non-material |
Sanctions | Means of enforcing norms |
Values | The set of shared beliefs that a group of people consider to be worthwhile or desirable in life |
Folkways | Ordinary conventions of everyday life, not strictly enforced |
Cultural Diffusion | When cultures exchanged material and non-material culture |
Socialization | The twofold process in which a society, culture, or group teaches individuals to become functioning members and the individuals learn and internalize the values and norms of the group |
Resocialization | Adult socialization that requires the replacement of previously learned values and norms with different ones |
Role | The set of behaviors expected from a particular status position |
Status Set | |
Master Status | A status that seems to override all others in our identity |
Triad | A group of 3 |
Groupthink | The tendency to enforce a high degree of conformity among members, creating a demand for unanimous agreement |
In Group | The group that one identifies with and feels loyalty towards |
Social Network | All groups to which an individual belongs |
Coercive Power | Power that is backed by the threat of force |
Legal-rational Authority | Authority based in laws, rules, and procedures, not in the heredity or personality of any individual leader |
Expressive Leader | Leader concerned with maintaining emotional harmony and relational harmony within a group |
Mechanical Solidarity | In agricultural societies (small towns) people's bonds are based on shared traditions, beliefs, and experiences |
Social Bonds | The bonds between people |
Proletariat | Workers; those who have no means of production and must sell their labor power to live |
Socialism | A political system based on state ownership or control of principle elements of the economy in order to reduce levels of social inequality |
Bureaucracies | Secondary groups designed to perform tasks efficiently; characterized by written rules, formal written communication, hierarchy, impersonality |
Random Sample | A type of probability sampling in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected |
Participant Observation | A method associated with ethnography where the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting |
Material Culture | The objects associated with a culture, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork; any object to which we give a social meaning |
Cultural Relativism | The principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging or evaluating according to one's own culture |
Norms | The rules and guidelines regarding what kinds of behaviors are acceptable |
Mores | Norms that carry a greater moral significance and are more closely related to core values of a culture |
Cultural Leveling | The process by which cultures that were once unique and distinct become increasingly similar |
Self | The individual's conscious, reflexive experience of a personal identity separate and distinct from other individuals |
Total Institution | An institution where individuals are cut off from the rest of society so that their lives can be controlled to strip away previous roles and identities to create new ones |
Role Conflict | When two or more rolls have contradictory expectations |
Ascribed Statuses | The status which you have no control over (e.g. age, race) |
Group | A collection of people who have a shared attribute, goal, or purpose |
Consequential Strangers | Someone that has power over you that you do not know |
Primary group | People with which we are closest and most intimate |
Out Group | Any group an individual feels opposition, rivalry, or hostility toward |
Group Cohesion | The sense of solidarity or loyalty that individuals feel toward a group to which they belong |
Authority | The legitimate right to wield power |
Charismatic Authority | Authority based in the perception of remarkable personal qualities of a leader |
Theory | An abstract proposition that explain the social world and make predictions about the future |
Anomie | "Normlessness"; used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change |
Bourgeoisie | Owners; the capitalist class who own the means of production and employ wage workers |
Ideology | A system of beliefs, attitudes, and values that directs a society and reproduces the status quo of the bourgeoisie |
Iron Cage | Weber; pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules |
Survey | A research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a sample of a target population |
Content Analysis | A method of research to identify and study specific variables in a text, image, or media message |
Symbolic Culture | The ideas associated with a culture, including ways of thinking and behaving |
Subculture | A group within a society that is differentiated by its distinct values, norms, and lifestyle |
Counter Culture | A group within a society that open rejects and/or actively opposes the values or norms of the society |
Taboos | A norm ingrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust |
Cultural Imperialism | The imposition of one culture's beliefs and practices on another culture through media and consumer products rather than by military force |
I and Me | Mead
I is the spontaneous, active, and creative part of ourselves that is somewhat less socialized
Me is the conforming part of ourselves, more socialized and more reliant on others |
Status | A position that carries a particular set of expectations |
Role Strain | When there are contradictory expectations in one role |
Achieved Statuses | A status which we choose |
Dyad | A group of 2 |
Contagion | The things that flow through social ties |
Secondary Group | A larger, less intimate group with which we share a purpose |
Reference Group | A group in which we want to be |
Power | The ability to control the actions of others |
Traditional Authority | Authority based in custom, birthright, or divine right |
Instrumental Leader | A leader which is task or goal oriented |
Sociological perspective | Understanding human behavior by placing ut within broader social content |
Science | Systematic used to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by methods |
Sociology | Attempts to study the social world by looking at social institutions, focuses on industrialized societies, and looks at extreme factors that influence people |
Auguste Comte | Coined the term sociology. Focused on positivism (applying the scientific approach to the social world) |
Positivism | Applying the scientific approach to the social world |
Herbert Spencer | Convinced no one should intervene in the evolution of society (social Darwinism) |
Karl Marx | Father of conflict theory |
Emile durkhiem | Wanted to get sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline and famous for his suicide studies |
Max Weber | Had controversial disagreements with marx and defined religion as a central force in social change. Also advocated that sociological research should be value free |
The 4 K's | Kirche, küchen, kinder, und kleider (church, cooking, children, and clothes) |
Harriet Martineau | Known for her translations of Comte's ideas into English |
W. E. B. Du Bois | Sociologist and first African American to earn a Ph.D from Harvard and one of the founders of the NAACP |
Jane Addams | Founder of the Hull-House (where immigrants could stay until they got on their feet) |
Theory | General statement how some parts of the world fit together and how they work |
Symbolic interactionism | (Micro) views symbols, things to which we attach meaning, as the basis of social life. |
Functional analysis | Views society as a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together. |
Manifest | Actions that are intended |
Latent | Unintended consequences |
Conflict theory | Society is viewed as composed of groups competing for scares resources |
Sociology | the systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior. |
Society | a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from other groups. |
Sociological Perspective | taking a sociological approach or thinking sociologically. |
Beginners Mind | Open and receptive to experience. Opposite of expert's mind, which is filled with facts, projections, assumptions, opinions, and explanations that it cant learn anything new. |
Culture Shock | sense of disorientation that occurs when you enter a radically new social or cultural environment. |
C. Wright Mills | theorist who was responsible for sociological imagination. |
Sociological Imagination | a quality of mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social factors. |
W.E.B Dubois | was a notable pioneer in the study of race relations as a professor of sociology at Atlanta University and one of the most influential African American leaders of his time. Was a founding member of the NAACP. |
Famous Sociology Majors | Michelle Obama, Ronal Reagan, MLK Jr., Kal Penn |
Theory | abstract propositions about how things are as well as how things should be. |
Theoretical Approach | the basic image of society that guides thinking and research. |