Chapter 4: Society and Social Interaction

Question 1

achieved status

Answer 1

the status a person chooses, such as a level of education or income

Question 2

agricultural societies

Answer 2

societies that rely on farming as a way of life

Question 3

alienation

Answer 3

an individual’s isolation from his society, his work, and his sense of self

Question 4

anomie

Answer 4

a situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness

Question 5

ascribed status

Answer 5

the status outside of an individual’s control, such as sex or race

Question 6

bourgeoisie

Answer 6

the owners of the means of production in a society

Question 7

capitalism

Answer 7

a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government

Question 8

class consciousness

Answer 8

the awareness of one’s rank in society

Question 9

collective conscience

Answer 9

the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society

Question 10

false consciousness

Answer 10

a condition in which the beliefs, ideals, or ideology of a person are not in the person’s own best interest

Question 11

feudal societies

Answer 11

societies that operate on a strict hierarchical system of power based around land ownership and protection

Question 12

habitualization

Answer 12

the idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed like a habit

Question 13

horticultural societies

Answer 13

societies based around the cultivation of plants

Question 14

hunter-gatherer societies

Answer 14

societies that depend on hunting wild animals and gathering uncultivated plants for survival

Question 15

industrial societies

Answer 15

societies characterized by a reliance on mechanized labor to create material goods

Question 16

information societies

Answer 16

societies based on the production of nonmaterial goods and services

Question 17

institutionalization

Answer 17

the act of implanting a convention or norm into society

Question 18

iron cage

Answer 18

a situation in which an individual is trapped by social institutions

Question 19

looking-glass self

Answer 19

our reflection of how we think we appear to others

Question 20

mechanical solidarity

Answer 20

a type of social order maintained by the collective consciousness of a culture

Question 21

organic solidarity

Answer 21

a type of social order based around an acceptance of economic and social differences

Question 22

pastoral societies

Answer 22

societies based around the domestication of animals

Question 23

proletariat

Answer 23

the laborers in a society

Question 24

rationalization

Answer 24

a belief that modern society should be built around logic and efficiency rather than morality or tradition

Question 25

role conflict

Answer 25

a situation when one or more of an individual’s roles clash

Question 26

role performance

Answer 26

the expression of a role

Question 27

role strain

Answer 27

stress that occurs when too much is required of a single role

Question 28

role-set

Answer 28

an array of roles attached to a particular status

Question 29

roles

Answer 29

patterns of behavior that are representative of a person’s social status

Question 30

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 30

an idea that becomes true when acted upon

Question 31

social integration

Answer 31

how strongly a person is connected to his or her social group

Question 32

society

Answer 32

a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same cultural components

Question 33

status

Answer 33

the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to his or her rank and role in society

Question 34

Thomas theorem

Answer 34

how a subjective reality can drive events to develop in accordance with that reality, despite being originally unsupported by objective reality