definitions Flashcards
Historical Materialism
Regarding a person’s beliefs and philosophies, this concept focuses on the material and social conditions of life as formative of those beliefs.
Infrastructure v. Superstructure
Infrastructure - the base of society (ex. its economic system, political economy etc)
Superstructure - everything else within society (all social institutions)
Social Facts
Another word for social norms.
Mechanical Solidarity v. Organic Solidarity
Mechanical - a non-specialized society; everyone does, thinks, and acts the same way.
Organic - a specialized society; there is an interdependence.
Anomie
“normlessness”
Microsociology
The study of small groups and face-to-face interactions.
Mesosociology
The study of groups, organizations, and communities.
Macrosociology
The study of large patterns formed by large groups over a long period of time.
Interpretative Sociology
Weber was the first to argue;
Wanting to understand as well as explain behaviours.
causality
Cause and effect
culture
The sum total of the heritage of a people; a collective definition and interpretation of reality that produces a way of life or a design for living.
society
A complex, all encompassing system of interrelationships that connects people within a defined territory with a defined culture.
cultural myth
Truth telling stories that provide a worldview.
the true
knowledge; what is.
the good
ethics; what should be.
the beautiful
aesthetics; what is attractive.
prescriptive norms
the do’s
proscriptive norms
the don’ts
false consciousness
A perception of a situation that is not in accord with reality.
cultural lag
When the norms and values of society lag behind the development of Technology.
Cultural universals
Cultural elements found in every culture of the world
Culture shock
Feeling of unreality, disorientation, anxiety, frustration upon realizing our taken for granted thoughts or actions are not appropriate in a new context.
Ethnocentrism
The tendency to view things from the viewer’s culture instead of from the perspective of the viewed.
Cultural relativity
The empirical fact of cultural diversity.
Cultural relativism
The metaphysical assumption that all cultures are equally valid, moral, and deserving of respect.
Absolute cultural relativism
Whatever happens in a particular culture cannot be questioned.
Critical cultural relativism
Posing questions about cultural practices in terms of who accepts them and why.
Subculture
Culture patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population.
Counter culture
Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those that are widely accepted in society.
High culture
Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite.
Popular culture
Cultural patterns that are widespread throughout a society.
Cultural capital
Non financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means.
Cultural literacy
Having enough general knowledge about society to communicate effectively with anyone.
Culture of poverty
The structure, rationale, and defence mechanism of those at the bottom of the socio economic scale.
Socialization
The learning process through which individuals:
-develop their self hood and
-acquire knowledge skills and motivations required for participation in social life.
Social determinism
Believes that you are nothing but your social context.
Biological determinism
The belief that you are nothing but your biology.
Ubuntu
A south African concept; I am because we are.
Human Interaction
The process by which people act and react in relation to others and how we interact with people face to face.
Civil Inattention
A north American concept; In public settings, the best way to be civil to one another is to not pay attention to one another.
Sociology
The scientific study of the patterns of human behavior as shaped by human interaction.
The “structure”
The Organization of perception in which people assemble objects, meanings, and others and act toward them in a coherent way.
status
A socially defined position in a group or a society.
Awareness context
What each person knows about the identity of the other person and their own identity in the eyes of the other person.
role
A cluster of duties, rights, and obligations associated with a particular status.
scripts
What one’s own behavior follows.
claims
What one is entitled to expect from other people.
Ascribed role
An imposed, involuntary role.
Achieved role
Has been gained through ability and effort.
Status set
The multiple statuses held simultaneously by an individual.
Role set
A variety of expectations attached to each status that an individual holds.
Master status
The status that cuts across all others held by an individual; one’s primary identity.
Role strain
This happens when role performance becomes stressful or problematic.
Role conflict
Incompatible demands built into multiple statuses one person occupies.
Role exit
The process of terminating a status or role.
Impression management
People’s efforts to present themselves to others in ways that are most favorable to their own interests or image.
Disclaimers
Verbal devices used to ward off negative implications of something about to be said or done.
Accounts
Explanations for having already violated a social norm; retrospective.
Excuse
Acknowledging that the behavior was wrong but denying personal responsibility.
Justification
Acknowledging personal responsibility but denying that the behavior was wrong.
Motive talk
Provider explains the link between what people say and what people do.
Teamwork
Supporting each other’s role performances.
Leakage
Something about your face that communicates something different than what you’re saying.
Feeling rules
Socially appropriate emotions for particular situations.
feeling work
A result of feeling rules; what is required when how an individual feels doesn’t match the situation?
Superficial impression management
Displaying one emotion when an individual really feels another.
