Chapter 4

Question 1

Define socialization

Answer 1

The lifelong process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture.

Question 2

Define self

Answer 2

Our sense of who we are, distinct from others and shaped by the unique combination of our social interactions.

Question 3

Define looking-glass self

Answer 3

A theory that we become who we are based on how we think others see us.

Question 4

Define I

Answer 4

The acting self that exists in relations to the Me.

Question 5

Define Me

Answer 5

The socialized self that plans actions and judges performances based on the standards we have learned from others.

Question 6

Define significant other

Answer 6

An individual who is most important in the development of the self, such as a parent, friend, or teacher.

Question 7

Define symbol

Answer 7

A gesture, object, or word that forms the basis of human communication.

Question 8

Define role taking

Answer 8

The process of mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that imagine viewpoint.

Question 9

Define generalized other

Answer 9

The attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior.

Question 10

Define dramaturgical approach

Answer 10

A view of social interaction in which people are seen as actors on a stage attempting to put on a successful performance.

Question 11

Define impression management

Answer 11

The altering of the presentation of the self in order to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences.

Question 12

Define face-work

Answer 12

The efforts people make to maintain a proper image and avoid public embarrassment.

Question 13

Define cognitive theory of development

Answer 13

The theory that children’s thought progresses through four stages of development.

Question 14

Define gender roles

Answer 14

Expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females.

Question 15

Define rite of passage

Answer 15

A ritual marking the symbolic transition from one social position to another dramatizing and validating changes in a person’s status.

Question 16

Define life course approach

Answer 16

A research orientation in which sociologists and other social scientists look closely at the social factors that influence people throughout their lives, from birth to death.

Question 17

Define anticipatory socialization

Answer 17

Processes of socialization in which a person “rehearses” for future positions, occupations, and social relationships.

Question 18

Define resocialization

Answer 18

The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one’s life.

Question 19

Define total institution

Answer 19

An institution that regulates all aspects of a person’s life under a single authority, such as a prison, the military, a mental hospital, or a convent.

Question 20

Define degradation ceremony

Answer 20

An aspect of the socialization process within some total institutions, in which people are subjected to humiliating rituals.

Question 21

Define midlife crisis

Answer 21

A stressful period of self-evaluation that begins at about age 40.

Question 22

Define sandwich generation

Answer 22

The generation of adults who simultaneously try to meet the competing needs of their parents and their children.

Question 23

Define gerontology

Answer 23

The study of the sociological and psychological aspects of aging and the problems of aging adults.

Question 24

Define disengagement theory

Answer 24

A theory of aging that suggests that society and the aging individual mutually sever many of their relationships.

Question 25

Define activity theory

Answer 25

A theory of aging that suggests that those elderly people who remain active and socially involved will have an improved quality of life.

Question 26

Define ageism

Answer 26

Prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s age.

Question 27

Define hospice care

Answer 27

Treatment of the terminally ill in their own homes, or in special hospital units or other facilities, with the goal of helping them die comfortably, without pain.