Chapter 4 Flashcards
2 Levels of Analysis
Macrosociology & Microsociology
Analysis of social life that focuses on the broad features of society, such as social class and the relationships (used by functionalists/conflict theorists)
Macrosociology
Analysis of social life that focuses on social interaction (used by symbolic interactionists)
Microsociology
What people do in one another’s presence
Social Interaction
The framework of society that surround us; consist of the ways that people and groups are related to one another; the framework gives direction to and sets limits on our behavior
Social Structure
The difference in our behavior and attitudes are not because of __ (race-ethnicity, sex, or genetic features), but to our __ in the social structure.
Biology; Location
Determines what kind of people we will become (language, values, behaviors, ideals, and attitudes)
Culture
Influences our behaviors, ideals, and attitudes
Social Class
Provides guidelines on how we should act/feel
Social Status
The position that someone occupies in a social group
Status
All positions that an individual occupies (such as homeowner, spouse, and parent)
Status Sets
A position an individual inherits at birth / recieves involutarily later in life
Ascribed Status
Positions that are earned , accomplished, or involve at least some effort
Achieved Status
Indicators of a status (such as a police uniform or a wedding ring)
Status Symbol
A status that dominaces other status (such as noticing a the male waiter)
Master Status
Ranking high on some dimensions of social status and low on others (ex. R. Kelly & younger girls)
Status Inconsistency
The behaviors, obligations, & privileges attached to a status
Roles
People who interact with one another and who believe that what they have in common is significant (also called a social group)
Group
The organized, usual, or standard ways by which society meets its basic needs (ex. family, religion, the economy, media, ect.)
Social Institutions
What perspective believes that society need to survive & works together in harmony for the common good
Functionlist Perspective
What perspective believes that society need to survive & does NOT works together in harmony for the common good
The Conflict Perspective
The degree at which members of a society are united by shared values & bonds (also known as social cohesion)
Social Integration
Durkeim’s term for the unity that people feel as a result of performing that same or similar tasks
Mechanical Solidarity
The splitting of a group’s or a society’s tasks into specialities
Divison of Labor
Durkheim’s term for interdependence that results from the divison of labor; as of the same unit, we all depend on others to fulfill their jobs (ex. heart and lungs)
Organic Solidarity
A type of society in which life is intimate; everyone knows everyone
Geminschaft
A type of society dominated by impersonal, individual accomplishments, and self-interest
Gesellschaft
What distance is 18 in. and is used for touching an hugging
Intimate Distance
What distance is 18 in. to 2 ft and is used for friends, acquintances, and normal conversations
Personal Distance
What distance is 4 to 12 ft and is used for impersonal or formal relations
Social Distance
What distance is beyond 12 ft and is even more formal
Public Distance
An approach, pioneered by Erving Goffman, which social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage (also called dramatyrgical analysis)
Dramaturgy
People’s efforts to control that others receive of them stages
Impression management
Place where people give performances
Front Stage
Rest from performances discuss and plan future /past presentations
Back Stage
In which someone performs a role; showing a particular “style” or “personality” (ex. daughter role or cashier)
Role Performance
Conflicts that someone feels between role because the expectations at odds with one another
Role Conflict
Conflicts with a role (ex. student knowing an answer but not raising their hand so they won’t make students feel bad)
Role Strain
Term used by Goffman to refer to how people use social setting , appreance, and manner to communicate info about the self
Sign-Vechicles
Place where the action unfolds
Social Setting
How you look when you play roles
Apperance
Attitudes showed as you play roles
Manner
Collaboration of 2 or more people
Teamwork
Techniques used to salvage a performance
Face-saving behavior
The study of how people use background assumptions to make common sense of life
Ethnomethodology
A deeply embedded, common understanding of how the world operates and how people ought to act
Background Assumptions
William I. and Dorothy S. Thomas classic formulation of the definition of the situation
Thomas Theorem
The use of background assumptions and life experiences to define what is real
Social Construction of Reality
What characterizes a stereotype?
It is a simplified description applied to every person in some category.
Religion, class, and interests are all part of our __________ that affects how we perceive the world.
social structure
Which of the following statements explains the relationship between interactions and how we control our personal bubble?
We control eye contact with other people.
If Ferdinand Tönnies wanted to find a village that exhibited what he called Gemeinshaft, he could look to __________.
the Amish communities in United States
The family gives the newcomer to society a sense of belonging by providing __________, an account of how he or she is related to others.
a lineage
Eye contact is an example of __________.
social interaction
Which of the following is an example of norms pertaining to the social institution of religion?
A child attending a church’s Sunday school
Roles are remarkably effective at __________.
keeping people in line
Societies with organic solidarity __________.
use a specialized division of labor
Which of the following statements best explains the relationship between the social construction of reality and the definition of the situation?
Reality is a social construction based on how we define the situation.
Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding social status?
Both ascribed and achieved statuses provide guidelines for how we are to act and feel.
Cindy acts casually around her friends but formally around her coworkers. When she gets together with her in-laws, she is polite and reserved; however, when she is alone with her husband and children, she is extroverted and witty. Erving Goffman would present Cindy’s behavior as an example of __________.
dramaturgical analysis
Which of the following statements best describes the difference between a role and a status?
You occupy a status, but you play a role.
Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding master status?
The master status of an 87-year-old retired police officer is that he is old.
The differences in people?s behavior and attitudes are due to __________.
their location in the social structure
