CLEP - Sociology 7-8 Flashcards
Association
A type of relationship formed on the basis of an accommodation of interests or on the basis of an agreement
Group
An assembly of people or things
Communal relationship
A relationship that is formed on the basis of a subjective feeling of the parties “that they belong together,” whether the feeling is personal or is linked with tradition.
Aggregate
A number of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time.
Social category
A number of people with certain characteristics in common.
Social group
A collection of people interacting with one another in an orderly fashion.
Primary group
A grouping of individuals with whom an interaction is direct, the common bonds are close & intimate, & the relationships among members is warm, intimate, & personal.
Secondary group
A grouping of individuals with whom the interaction is anonymous, the bonds are impersonal, & the duration of time of the group is short & where the relationships involve few emotional ties.
Gemeinschaft
Term used by Ferdinand Tonnies to describe small communities characterized by tradition & united by the belief in common ancestry or by geographic proximity in relationships largely of the primary group sort.
Gesellschaft
Term used by Ferdinand Tonnies to describe contractual relationships of a voluntary nature of limited duration & quality, based on rational self-interest & formed for the explicit purpose of achieving a particular goal.
Dyad
The social relationship of two people in which either member’s departure destroys the group; George Simmel
Triad
The addition of a third person to a social relationship, one who sometimes serves as a mediator or nonpartisan party; George Simmel
Interaction process analysis
A technique developed by Robert Bales of observing & immediately classifying in predetermined ways the ongoing activity in small groups.
Sociometry
A technique developed by J.L. Moreno focused on establishing the direction of the interaction in small groups.
In-groups
Those groups toward which a person feels he or she belongs.
Out-groups
Those groups toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition.
Reference groups
Social groups that provide the standards in terms of which we evaluate ourselves.
Group conformity
Individuals’compliance with group goals, in spite of the fact that group goals may be in conflict with individual goals.
Groupthink
A phenomenon that occurs when group members begin to think similarly & conform to one another’s views.
Organization
A specific type of social relationship or arrangement between persons that is either closed to outsiders or that limits their admission.
Formal organization
A type of group or structural pattern within which behavior is carried out in a society; characterized by 1) formality, 2) a hierarchy of ranked positions, 3) large size, 4) a rather complex division of labor, and 5) continuity beyond its membership.
Bureaucracy
A rationally designed organizational model whose goal it is to perform complex tasks as efficiently as possible.
Characteristic institution
The basic organization of society; in prehistoric times, the kin, clan, or sib; in modern times, particularly in the West, a bureaucracy.
Parkinson’s Law
Belief that in any bureaucratic organization, “work expands to fill the time available for its completion”.
