Chapter 2 Flashcards
Society
a group of people
Four factors of society
1) self sustaining 2) self sufficient 3) united by social relationships 4) live in a particular territory
What are societies composed of
social structures
stratification
social “layers” that result fro the unequal distribution of rewards (property, power, prestige)
class
a “layer” of people who share a similar position in society
upward/downward mobility
movement between (or within) classes
status
position or rank in a stratified structure (could be achieved or ascribed)
Social network
strong ties enhance social solidarity; social conflict may arise between groups; social network analysis may be used to study social solitary and social conflict
Local networks
person to person interaction, strong ties; emotional and material support; weakness: self contained, lack input and outreach (ex: nall avenue)
cosmopolitan networks
little face to face interactions, scattered geographically; little solidarity and comfort to members; benefit: constant new information and reach of influence. “strength of weak ties” (ex: Facebook friends)
Humans law of inequality
friendships tend to be concentrated among people of the same rank
exception to Homans law
members with close ties to those of another rank, tend to lack ties with others of the same rank
Culture definition
then total sum of human creation… complex pattern of living that directs social life
5 aspects of culture that shape the way we live
Language; values; norms; roles; sanctions
Language
Language expresses culture
argot
specialized language that creates artificial barriers to distinguish insiders from outsiders
sapir-whorf hypothesis
language categories lead people to think in particular ways
values
general ideals of a culture or evaluative standards about what is desirable and good
norms
agreed upon rules governing behavior
What do values justify
norms
types of norms
folkways, mores, taboos, laws
role
a collection of norms or expectations of how a particular position should behave (a script a person in a certain position should follow)
sanction
the penalties or rewards for creation and response to a norm
diffusion
spread of cultural characteristics through borrowing
