Chapter 1-4 Vocabulary Flashcards
sociology
the discipline that attempts to understand the forces outside us that shape our lives, interests, and personalities.
Social Determinism
The assumption that human behavior is explained exclusively by social factors.
human agency
individuals that actively shape social life by adapting to, negotiating with, and changing social structures.
sociological imagination
a book written by C. Wright Mills, which discusses that the task of sociology is to realize that individual circumstances are linked to the structure of society.
positivism
knowledge based on systematic observation, experiment, and comparison
social facts
social factors that exist external to individuals such as tradition, values, laws, religious ideology, and population.
false consciousness
believing in ideas that are not in a group’s objective interest but rather in the objective interest of the capitalist class.
class consciousness
when a class recognizes their class interests, common oppression, and an understanding of who the oppressors are.
charisma
expressive qualities of individual leaders.
sociological theory
a set of ideas that explains a range of human behavior and a variety of social and societal events.
value neutrality
to be absolutely free of bias in research
sample
a representative part of a population
variable
attitude, behavior, or condition that can vary in magnitude and significance from case to case
longitudinal surveys
special type of research that collects information about the same person over many years.
social organizations
refers to the ways in which human conduct becomes socially organized
social structure
the structure of behavior in groups and society
culture
the shared beliefs of group members that unite them and guide their behavior
aggregate
a collection of individuals who happen to be at the same place and time
group
a collection of people who because of because of sustained interaction, have evolved a common structure and culture
social interaction
the actions of one person affect another person
social relationship
a case of enduring social interaction that can occur from a number of reasons such as religion, common interests, or just being neighbors
social roles
expectations that group members have of individuals occupying the various positions within the group
norms
rules that specify appropriate/inappropriate behaviors
folkways
minor rules that groups can have like a church having wine at communion being acceptable but beer isn’t
Mores
more important norms that violation may cause severe punishment and often deal with morality like stealing, disloyalty, or bringing shame to the group
status
the bestowing of a social identity from the positions within groups.
hierarchy
the arrangement of people in order of importance and can include job titles, and placement in various organizations.
master status
a status that has exceptional significance for social identity, and which trumps all others when a situation or individual is judged by others.
Role
behavior expected of a person occupying a status in a group
sanctions
social punishments for approved or disproved behavior that may be lifted as a reward
social group
organization created through enduring and patterned interaction
primary groups
groups whose member are most intimately involved with each other
Secondary Groups
much larger and more impersonal than primary groups
bureaucracy
a hierarchical formal organization characterized by rationality and efficiency
Mcdonaldization
coined by sociologist George Ritzer it means the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world
Iron Cage of Rationality
The idea that bureaucracies can be dehumanizing since they would trap people in rational systems devoid of creativity. (Max Weber feared this)
Egoistic suicide
when an individual has minimal ties to a social group. The person is alone, lacks group goals and group support. Causing more distress and statistically leads to suicide more than a person that has people around them.
Altruistic suicide
When your life is given even when it is irrational for the group. Such as japanese kamikaze pilots giving their lives for their country by suicide bombing.
anomic suicide
When you are thrown into a extreme amount of change such as sudden poverty, divorce, or widowhood. It causes a change in life perspective, and can make you more likely to commit suicide.
anomic
normlessness (basically you are free from previous rules or norms and no longer know what to do)
society
the largest social organization to which people owe their allegiance
social system
composed of interdependent parts that are linked together into a boundary-maintaining whole.
social stratification
the hierarchical arrangement of people in terms of power, prestige, and resources.
institutions
social arrangements that channel behavior in prescribed ways in the important areas of social life.
Order Model (functionalism)
attributes to societies that all parts of the system are in harmony and work together to form order, and if this order is disrupted the parts with adjust to produce a new stable order.
manifest consequence
punishing and deterring the criminal
latent consequence
unintended consequence of punishment
conflict model
the view that society that posits conflict as a normal feature of social life, influencing the distribution of power and the direction and magnitude of social change. Based not on cooperation but competition. Karl Marx was the most famous conflict model theorist
social problems
societally induced conditions that harm any segment of the population, or acts, or conditions that violate the norms and values of society (poverty, homelessness , and discrimination)
instrumental process
the desire for technological change to find new and more efficient techniques to achieve goals.
institutional process
the process to make our lives have more certainty even though they also restrict our freedoms. The ideas of monotheism, monogamy, sovereign states. All restrict our lives but also are assumed proper by almost all individuals in U.S. society because of their certainty and “security” they give.
dialectic
the opposing forces of society. The instrumental process often generates tension with the institutional because of it is constantly prodding at the institutions to change when it is not its nature to do so.
myth of peaceful progress
the incorrect belief that throughout u.s. history disadvantaged groups have gained their share of power, prosperity, and respectability without violence. This NEVER happens
functional integration
because different groups rely on each other such as (worker-factory-raw materials-customer) they try to maximize benefits leading to cooperation and this helps stitch society together.
co-optation
appointing a member of a dissident group to a policy-making force to appease the dissenting group
false consciousness
when oppressed people hold beliefs that are damaging to their interests. Such as the rich getting more money will trickle down to everyone else.
dysfunctions
negative consequences of things such as society or institutions
socialization
process of learning culture
internalization
the process in which society’s demands become a part of the individual, acting to control the persons’ behavior. starting at birth
reference groups
groups in which individuals want to belong to
membership groups
groups in which individuals DO belong to
ethnocentrism
universal tendency to depreciate other cultures, and believe that your culture is superior.
Material technology
knowledge of how to make and use things. Such as the knowledge of how to make and use a table
social technology
knowledge of how to establish, maintain, and operate the technical aspects of a social organizations.
Ethnomethodology
sub discipline in sociology that is the scientific study of the commonplace activities of daily life. Such as the “script” that is usually said between a cashier and a customer.
values
the criteria used in evaluating objects, acts, feelings, or events as to their relative desirability, merit, or correctness
ascribed status
statuses over the individual in which they have no control over such as race, sex, or age.
achieved status
an individuals achieved status such as their occupation (phd, big lawyer, major, doctor)
social construct of reality
meaning is not inherent in an object, and people can learn how to define reality from other people in interaction and leaning of culture`
linguistic relativity
the idea that language shapes thought
cultural relativity
the idea that we should not judge other customs of a particular culture according to our standards but in accordance to their own.
cultural diffusion
the spread of one society’s cultural characteristics to another
global culture
In short, national boundaries and traditional institutions are becoming increasingly obsolete
protestant ethic
the religious belief the empathizes hard work and continual striving to prove that one is saved.
latent functions
unintended consequence
manifest functions
intended consequences of an activity of social arrangements
subculture
relativity cohesive cultural system that varies in form and substance from the dominant culture
counter culture
culturally homogenous group that has developed values and norms that differ from the larger society because the group opposes the larger society
Peter burger
A theorist that made he social construct of reality and theorized that realty is made by society and that we become what we play
Philip zimbardo
Theorist known for the prisoner guard experiment and theorized that roles influence social behavior
The Thomas theorem
That which we treat as real becomes real in its consequences
The linguistic relativity hypothesis
Words predispose us the perceive the world in many ways
Central insights of sociology
1) we are thoroughly interconnected
2) things are not always as they appear
