3 Flashcards
Agency
An individual’s ability to think and act independently of society. Very similar to the concept of free will.
Causal Explanations
An explanation that focuses on what caused something to occur.
Cultural Explanations of Social Phenomena
Explanations that argue that social phenomena are caused by the values they have been taught to believe in and/or by limiting the universe of possible thought, discourse, and action.
Cultural Tool-Kit
The collection of symbols, rituals, skills, and ways of thinking (i.e. ideologies), which we use in varying configurations to construct strategies of action that we use every day to solve problems and get through our day. People from similar social locations tend to develop similar cultural tool-kits.
Culture
- Culture is a system of meanings and symbols which are expressed in both material and non-material ways and used by people to communicate, interact, and coordinate their actions with others.
Ideologies
A system of shared beliefs, values, and attitudes that help us make sense of the world. A culture’s set of ideologies explain & justify the status quo (i.e., “the way things are”).
Individual Explanations of Social Phenomena
Explanations that argue that social phenomena are caused by the personal choices and/or characteristics of the individuals involved with the social phenomena.
Language
A comprehensive system of symbols (i.e., letters, words, images) that are used to communicate.
Norms
Are rules that tell us how to behave in a particular situation.
Path Dependency
How the actions and outcomes of the past influence people and organizations today by making it harder/illogical to do some things and easier/logical to do others.
Public Policy
All of the laws, policies, and regulations that are created and enforced by social institutions and every other type of social organization.
Rituals
A ritual is a formalized sequence of behaviors or activities. Some rituals are sacred (e.g., taking communion in the Catholic church), but many others are not (e.g., when I wave my hand at you to say hi, you wave your hand back at me).
Roles
The behavioral expectations that society associates with a status.
Social Hierarchies
Are rank ordered networks of relationships where individuals or groups at the top of the hierarchy command the most status, power, and resources while those at the bottom command the least.
Social Phenomena
A social phenomenon is an observable action, event, or outcome that is caused by social (and therefore supra-individual) factors. Social phenomena cannot be created, caused, or controlled by any single individual.
Social Structure
Social structures are durable forms of organization and networks of social relations that create patterns of human behavior by constraining some actions and enabling others.
Society
A group of people who share a social structure, culture, and territory.
Statuses
A title or position within a social hierarchy (e.g., mother, doctor, college student).
Structural Explanations of Social Phenomena
Explanations that argue that social phenomena are caused by how society is organized.
Symbols
Symbols are stand-ins for other things. Symbols are inherently empty or meaningless until the people within a culture socially construct a meaning for them
The Sociological Imagination
The ability to think simultaneously analyze individual, societal, and historical factors surrounding any social phenomena.
The Universe of Possible Thought, Discourse, and Action
Everything that can be thought, said, or done.
Values
Tell us how things ought to be.
