Introducing Sociology Flashcards
What is ‘Social structure’
Refers to the social institutions and social relationships that form the building blocks of society.
What are ‘Social Institutions’
The various organise social arrangements which are found in all societies.
What is ‘Objectivity’?
When a researcher is unbiased and take on the research with an open mind.
What is ‘Value Freedom’?
When a researcher doesn’t allow the own prejudices and beliefs influence the way to carry out their research
What are ‘roles’?
Patterns of behaviour expected from individuals in society
What is ‘Identity’?
How individuals see and find themselves and how other people define them.
What is ‘culture’?
refers to the language, beliefs, values, dresses and way of life in any society
What is ‘socialization’?
The lifelong process of learning the culture of any society
What are ‘role models’?
Peoples patterns of behaviour which of others model their own behaviour on
What are ‘laws’?
Legal rules in force by the government and punishment will be given if broken
What are ‘norms’?
social rules which define the correct and acceptable behaviour in a society which people are expected to conform to
What are ‘values’?
The general beliefs of what is right or wrong
What is ‘role conflict’?
Give an example.
When two more social roles overlap and are incompatible; because the performance of one role interferes with the performance of another
What are ‘customs’?
Norms which have lasted for a long time and have become a part of society’s traditions.
What is ‘social control’?
The methods used to persuade/force individuals to conform to the dominant social norms and values
What is ‘deviance’?
A failure to conform to social norms
What are ‘sanctions’?
Rewards and punishments, by which social control is achieved in conformity to norms and values and forced
What is ‘social class’?
A group of people who share a similar economic situation
What is ‘income’?
The flow of money, which people obtain from work or investments
What is ‘wealth’?
Is property in the form of assets which can be sold and turned into cash for the benefit of the owner
What is ‘life chances’?
The opportunities, each individual has to improve the quality of life.
What is ‘social mobility’?
The movement of groups or individuals up or down the social hierarchy or social classes
What is ‘the upper class’?
Those who are the main owners of societies, wealth
What is ‘middle class’?
Those in non-manual work, such as office, work or computer work
What is ‘working class’?
Those in manual work jobs such as factory or labour work
What is ‘the underclass’?
Those at the bottom of the social class hierarchy and excluded from the rest of society
What is ‘status’?
The role/position someone occupies in society; the social importance a person has in the eyes of others in society
what is ‘Ascribed Status’?
Give an example.
The status someone was born with, ie; skin colour, sex, ethnicity
what is ‘Achieved Status’?
Status which has been achieved through ones own merit
what is ‘Structuralism’?
A perspective which is concerned with the overall structure of society and sees individual behaviour moulded by social institutions
what is ‘Macro Approach’?
Focuses on the large scale structure of society rather than on individuals
what is ‘Functionalism’?
A sociological perspective which sees society made up of parts which work together to maintain society: similar to how organs work together to make the body function
what are ‘Functional Prerequisites’?
Give 3 examples.
Basic needs for society to survive, i.e; food and water, shelter, socialisation of the young
what is ‘Value Consensus’?
The general agreement around values and norms in society
What is ‘Marxism’?
A structural theory which sees society divided by two conflicting social groups; the bourgeoise and the proletariat
what are ‘the means of production’?
and who owns them?
the key resources necessary for producing society’s goods.
Owned by the Bourgeoisie
what are ‘the relations of production’?
Forms of relationship between those involved in production
what is an ‘ideology’?
A set of ideas, values and beliefs that represent the outlook of a social group and justifies the interests of that group
what is ‘surplus value’?
Surplus value is defined by Marx as the difference between the value that living labour creates in production and value paid by the capitalist to the worker in the form of wages.
What are the ‘Bourgeoisie/Capitalists’?
The owners of means of production, their primary focus is to make profits
what is ‘proletariat’?
Social class of worker who work for wages as they do not own means of production
what is ‘LAbour Power’?
People capacity to work and sell their labour power in return for a wage
what is ‘Class Conflict’?
the conflict that arises between different social classes.
what is ‘Ruling class/ Dominant ideology’?
The set of ideas and beliefs held by the most powerful groups in society, which can influence the ideas of society
what is ‘False Class Consciousness’?
A failure by members of a social class to recognise their real interests
what is ‘Communism’?
An equal society without social classes, and the means of production are common property of all
what is ‘Social Action Theories or interpretivists’?
Perspectives which emphasize the action people can take, rather than being passive victims of societal forces around them.
what is ‘Determinism’?
The idea that people’s behaviour is moulded by their social surroundings and they have little free will, control and choice over how they behave
what is ‘Micro Approach’?
Focuses on a small groups or individuals in society, rather than focusing on society as a whole
what is ‘interactionalism’?
A sociological perspective which is concerned with understanding human behaviour in face to face situations and how individuals come to be defined by how they interact with other
what is ‘Labelling’?
Defining a person or a group in a certain way
what is ‘Structuration’?
An approach between structuralism and social action theory, which suggests that while people are constrained by social institutions, they also have the free choice and take action to support or change those institutions
what is ‘Feminism’?
examining the world from the point of view of women, who are seen as disadvantaged and devalued in society
What are Marxist, Radical and Liberal feminists?
Marxist feminists believe women are doubly exploited as workers and as women
Radical feminists focus on the problem that society is a patriarchy
Liberal feminists believe with the change of laws, women can reach equality
what is patriarchy’?
A system in which all parts of society are dominated by men
what is ‘post modernism’?
An approach which stresses society is rapidly changing so much that society is fragmented into many different groups, interests, lifestyles and essentially society cannot be defined
what is ‘Metanarritive’?
A big theory which explains how society operates
what is a ‘Social Problem’?
Something that is seen as being harmful to society in some way
what is a ‘sociological problem’?
any social issue that needs explaining
what is ‘Social Policy’?
the plans adopted by the government to solve social problems
