Chapter 15 - Terms

Question 1

social change

Answer 1

the alteration of culture and societies over time

Question 2

modernization

Answer 2

the transformation of traditional societies into industrial societies

Question 3

dialectical process (of history)

Answer 3

each arrangement of power (a thesis) contains contradictions (antitheses) which make the arrangement unstable and which must be resolved; the new arrangement of power (a synthesis) contains its own contradictions; this process of balancing and unbalancing continues throughout history as groups struggle for power and other resources

Question 4

invention

Answer 4

the combination of existing elements and materials to form new ones; identified by William Ogburn as one of three processes of social change

Question 5

discovery

Answer 5

a new way of seeing reality; identified by William Ogburn as one of three processes of social change

Question 6

diffusion

Answer 6

the spread of an invention or a discovery from one area to another; identified by William Ogburn as one of three processes of social change

Question 7

cultural lag

Answer 7

Ogburn’s term for human behavior lagging behind technological innovations

Question 8

postmodern society

Answer 8

another term for postindustrial society

Question 9

alienation

Answer 9

Marx’s term for workers’ lack of connection to the product of their labor; caused by workers being assigned repetitive tasks on a small part of a product—this leads to a sense of powerlessness and normlessness; others use the term in the general sense of not feeling a part of something

Question 10

sustainable environment

Answer 10

a world system that takes into account the limits of the environment, produces enough material goods for everyone’s needs, and leaves a heritage of a sound environment for the next generation

Question 11

acid rain

Answer 11

rain containing sulfuric and nitric acids (burning fossil fuels release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that become sulfuric and nitric acids when they react with moisture in the air)

Question 12

environmental injustice

Answer 12

refers to how minorities and the poor are harmed the most by environmental pollution

Question 13

ecosabotage

Answer 13

actions taken to sabotage the efforts of people who are thought to be legally harming the environment

Question 14

environmental sociology

Answer 14

a specialty within sociology whose focus is how humans affect the environment and how the environment affects humans