Chapter 04: Society and Social Interaction

Question 1

achieved status

Answer 1

the status a person chooses, such as a level of education or income

Question 2

agricultural societies

Answer 2

societies that rely on farming as a way of life

Question 3

alienation

Answer 3

an individual’s isolation from his society, his work, and his sense of self

Question 4

anomie

Answer 4

a situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness

Question 5

ascribed status

Answer 5

the status outside of an individual’s control, such as sex or race

Question 6

bourgeoisie

Answer 6

the owners of the means of production in a society

Question 7

class consciousness

Answer 7

awareness of one’s rank in society

Question 8

collective conscience

Answer 8

the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society

Question 9

false consciousness

Answer 9

a person’s beliefs and ideology are in conflict with her best interests

Question 10

feudal societies

Answer 10

societies that operate on a strict hierarchical system of power based around land
ownership and protection

Question 11

habitualization

Answer 11

the idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed
like a habit

Question 12

horticultural societies

Answer 12

societies based around the cultivation of plants

Question 13

hunter-gatherer societies

Answer 13

societies that depend on hunting wild animals and gathering uncultivated plants for survival

Question 14

industrial societies

Answer 14

societies characterized by a reliance on mechanized labor to create material goods

Question 15

information societies

Answer 15

societies based on the production of nonmaterial goods and services

Question 16

institutionalization

Answer 16

the act of implanting a convention or norm into society

Question 17

iron cage

Answer 17

a situation in which an individual is trapped by social institutions

Question 18

looking-glass self

Answer 18

our reflection of how we think we appear to others

Question 19

mechanical solidarity

Answer 19

a type of social order maintained by the collective consciousness of a culture

Question 20

organic solidarity

Answer 20

a type of social order based around an acceptance of economic and social
differences

Question 21

pastoral societies

Answer 21

societies based around the domestication of animals

Question 22

proletariat

Answer 22

the laborers in a society

Question 23

rationalization

Answer 23

a belief that modern society should be built around logic and efficiency rather than
morality or tradition

Question 24

role conflict

Answer 24

when one or more of an individual’s roles clash

Question 25

role performance

Answer 25

the expression of a role

Question 26

role strain

Answer 26

stress that occurs when too much is required of a single role

Question 27

role-set

Answer 27

an array of roles attached to a particular status

Question 28

roles

Answer 28

patterns of behavior that are representative of a person’s social status

Question 29

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 29

an idea that becomes true when acted upon

Question 30

social integration

Answer 30

how strongly a person is connected to his or her social group

Question 31

status

Answer 31

the responsibilities and benefits that a person occupies and experiences according to their rank and role in society

Question 32

Thomas theorem

Answer 32

how a subjective reality can drive events to develop in accordance with that
reality, despite being originally unsupported by objective reality