Midterm 1 Glossary

Question 1

Altruistic Suicide

Answer 1

occurs in setting that exhibits high levels of social solidarity, according to Durkheim. It results from norms very tightly governing behaviour.

Question 2

Anomic Suicide

Answer 2

occurs in setting that exhibits low levels of social solidarity, according to Durkheim. It results from vaguely defined norms governing behaviour.

Question 3

Conflict Theory

Answer 3

generally focuses on large macrolevel structures, such as the relations between or among classes. It shows how major patterns of circumstances and social change in others. It stresses how members of privileged groups try to maintain their advantages while subordinate groups struggle to increase theirs. It typically leads to the suggestion that eliminating privilege will lower the level of conflict and increase human welfare.

Question 4

Democratic Revolution

Answer 4

began around 1750. It suggested that people are responsible for organizing society and that human intervention can therefore solve social problems.

Question 5

______________ are effects of social structures that create social instability.

Answer 5

Dysfunctional Consequences

Question 6

Egoistic suicide

Answer 6

results from a lack of integration of the individual into society because of weak social ties to others.

Question 7

Ethnomethodology

Answer 7

the study of how people make sense of what others do and say in therms of norms that exist independently of individual social actors.

Question 8

Feminist theory

Answer 8

claims that patriarchy is at least important as class inequality in determining a person’s opportunities in life. It hold that male domination and female subordination are determined not by biological necessity but by structures of power and social convention. It examines the operation of patriarchy in both micro and macro settings. It contends that existing patterns of gender inequality can and should be changed for the benefit of all members of society.

Question 9

Functionalist theory

Answer 9

stresses that human behaviour is governed by relatively stable social structures. It underlines how social structures maintain or undermine social stability. It emphasizes that social structures are based mainly on shared values or preferences. It suggests that reestablishing equilibrium can best solve most social problems.

Question 10

Global structures

Answer 10

are patterns of social relations that lie outside and above the national level/ They include international organizations, patterns of worldwide travel and communication, and the economic relations between and among countries.

Question 11

Globalization

Answer 11

is the process by which formerly separate economies, states, and cultures are becoming tied together and people are becoming increasingly aware of their growing interdependence.

Question 12

Industrial Revolution

Answer 12

refers to the rapid economic transformation that began in Britain in the 1780s. It involved the large-scale application of science and technology to industrial processes, the creation of factories, and the formation of a working class.

Question 13

Latent functions

Answer 13

are invisible and unintended effects of social structures

Question 14

Macrostructures

Answer 14

are overarching patterns of social relations that lie outside and above our circle of intimates and acquaintances. They include classes, bureaucracies, and power systems, such as patriarchy.

Question 15

Manifest functions

Answer 15

are visible and intended effects of social structures.

Question 16

Microstructures

Answer 16

are the patterns of relatively intimate social relations formed during face-to-face interaction. Eg) families, friendship circles, and work associations.

Question 17

Patriarchy

Answer 17

is the traditional system of economic and political inequality between women and men.

Question 18

Postindustrial Revolution

Answer 18

refers to the technology-driven shift from manufacturing to service industries and the consequences of that shift for virtually all human activities.

Question 19

Protestant Ethic

Answer 19

is the belief, originating in the 16-17th centuries, that religious doubts can be reduced, and a state of grace ensured, if people work diligently and live ascetically. According to Weber. the __________ __________ had the unintended effect of increasing savings and investment and thus stimulating capitalist growth.

Question 20

Research

Answer 20

the process of systematically observing reality to assess the validity of a theory.

Question 21

Scientific Revolution

Answer 21

began about 1550. It encouraged the view that sound conclusions about the workings of society must be based on solid evidence, not just on speculation.

Question 22

Social Solidarity

Answer 22

refers to the degree to which group members share beliefs and values and the intensity and frequency of their interaction.

Question 23

Social Structures

Answer 23

are relatively stable patterns of social relations.

Question 24

Sociology

Answer 24

is the systematic study of human behaviour in social context.

Question 25

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 25

focuses on face-to-face communication or interaction in microlevel social settings. It emphasizes that an adequate explanation of social behaviour requires understanding the subjective meanings people attach to their social circumstance and do not merely react to them. By underscoring the subjective meanings people create in small social settings, symbolic interactionism validates unpopular and nonofficial viewpoints, thus increasing our understanding and tolerance of people who may be different from us.

Question 26

Theory

Answer 26

is a tentative explanation of some aspect of social life that states how and why certain facts are related.

Question 27

Values

Answer 27

are ideas about what is right and wrong.

Question 28

Adult Socialization

Answer 28

process by which adults take on new statuses and acquire new and different social identities.

Question 29

Ageism

Answer 29

refers to discriminatory practices based on age.

Question 30

Agents of socialization

Answer 30

are the individuals, groups, and institutions that impart, and from which we acquire, the range of information required to interact effectively and participate in society.

Question 31

Anticipatory socialization

Answer 31

involves beginning to take on the norms and behaviours of a role you aspire to but do not yet occupy.

Question 32

Game Stage

Answer 32

in the _______ _______ of development, children have developed a generalized impression of the behaviour people expect as well as the awareness of their own importance to the group and vice-versa. This is the third and final developmental stage described by Mead.

Question 33

Gender socialization

Answer 33

is the process by which individuals learn to become feminine and masculine according to expectations current in their society.

Question 34

Generalized Other

Answer 34

is a conception of how people in general will respond in a situation. It is internalized.

Question 35

Hidden Curriculum

Answer 35

consists of informal teaching that helps ensure students’ integration into society.

Question 36

I

Answer 36

is the subjective or active part of the self, according to Mead.

Question 37

Imitative stage

Answer 37

in the ________ ________ of development, children two years old and under do not interact effectively with others because they cannot take the role of the other. They merely imitate the behaviours of others. This is the first developmental stage described by Mead.

Question 38

Instincts

Answer 38

are inborn patterns of behaviour that are often responses to specific stimuli.

Question 39

Looking-glass Self

Answer 39

suggests that the gestures and reactions of others are a mirror in which we see ourselves.

Question 40

Me

Answer 40

is the objective element of the self. according to Mead.

Question 41

Peer group

Answer 41

comprises individuals who are usually of the same age and enjoy approximately equal status.

Question 42

Play stage

Answer 42

in the _______ ________ of development, children begin to adopt the roles of significant others-a parent, a sports celebrity, a storybook hero-and their plays shifts from imitative to imaginative. This is the second developmental stage described by Mead.

Question 43

Primary group

Answer 43

is a small group (especially the family) that is characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.

Question 44

Primary socialization

Answer 44

is the crucial learning process that occurs in childhood and makes us members of society.

Question 45

Resocialization

Answer 45

is the deliberate attempt to correct or instill particular values and behaviours in an individual or group.

Question 46

Secondary socialization

Answer 46

is learning that occurs after people have undergone primary socialization.

Question 47

Self

Answer 47

a sense of individual identity, allows us to understand ourselves and differentiate ourselves from others.

Question 48

Significant others

Answer 48

are people, such as parent, who are of central importance in the development of the self.

Question 49

Socialization

Answer 49

is the social process whereby people undergo development by interacting with the people around them.

Question 50

Status

Answer 50

refers to the culturally and socially defined position a person occupies in an interaction.

Question 51

Taking the role of the other

Answer 51

involves anticipating in advance how others will see and react to you. It is an essential skill that children must develop to be effective members of society.

Question 52

Total institutions

Answer 52

are settings in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period and in which all aspects of a person’s life are regulated under one authority.

Question 53

Causal relationship

Answer 53

involves a relationship between two variables in which change or variation in one variable produces change or variation in a second variable. Four criteria are essential to establishing a causal relationship between two variables: association, time ordering, non spuriousness, and theoretical rationale.

Question 54

Dependent variable

Answer 54

is a variable that is assumed to depend on or be cause by one or more other variables (independent variables); it is the variable that is the effect, or outcome, in a cause-effect relationship.

Question 55

Ethnography

Answer 55

is the detailed description of a particular culture or way of life, or the written results of a participant-observation study.

Question 56

Experiment

Answer 56

is a controlled test of the causal effects of a particular variable or set of variables on a dependent or outcome variable.

Question 57

Explanation

Answer 57

is an account of the causal logic that shows how and why variables influence one another.

Question 58

External validity

Answer 58

is the generalizability of a particular finding from the study group to a larger population; the relevance of conclusions for a larger population; or the ability to infer that the results of a study are representative or processes operating in a broader population.

Question 59

Hawthorne effect

Answer 59

in the ________ _______, people involved in a study may be influenced by the very process of being studied; the study has an impact on the subjects of the study.

Question 60

Hypothesis

Answer 60

is a knowledge claim or hunch about how the world works; it is a testable statement, derived from a theory, about the relationship between two variables.

Question 61

Independent variable

Answer 61

is a variable that is presumed to affect or influence other variables; it is the causal variable.

Question 62

Interview

Answer 62

is a method of collecting information by asking people questions, either in person or over the telephone. Interviews range from highly structured (preset questions in a fixed order) to loosely structured (topic guidelines, but no prescribed question wording).

Question 63

Meaningful action

Answer 63

in _________ _______, human action, as distinct from physical behaviour, occurs with specific intentions or reasons in mind. The uncontrollable tic in a person’s eye is a physical behaviour, which differs from that of a person who is winking at someone, where intention or purpose is central to understanding what is happening. Most human activity is _______ ______, or social action.

Question 64

Measurement

Answer 64

comprises procedures for assigning numbers to observations according to present rules; it is the act of finding data or information relevant to theoretical concepts.

Question 65

Objectivity

Answer 65

is the attempt to minimize the effect of personal bias on research results or the idea of impartiality , of “fair hearing.” _________ researcher being open to the critical scrutiny of others. __________ as complete impartiality is a myth.

Question 66

Participant observation

Answer 66

in _______ ________, the study of social life involves the participation of the researcher to varying degrees, in the activities of the group under investigation; it attempts to give an “insider’s” account of a particular way of life or cultural system.

Question 67

Randomization

Answer 67

is a procedure used in experiments to assign test subjects to experimental conditions on the basis of chance.

Question 68

Reliability

Answer 68

is the consistency of measurements and the ability to reproduce the same measurements on repeated occasions.

Question 69

Sampling

Answer 69

is the process of selecting units from a larger population. Random ______ involves the selection of representative units (eg. people, organizations) from a population (eg. all Canadians, voluntary organizations in a city). _______s can be selected by probability (where every unit has a non-zero chance of selection) or non probability (where chance does not enter into the selection of ________ units).

Question 70

Self-administered questionnaire

Answer 70

is a method of collecting information by having people record their own answers to preset questions.

Question 71

Spurious relationships

Answer 71

involve an incorrect inference about the causal relations between variables.

Question 72

Understanding

Answer 72

is the ability to provide a definition of a situation that members of a culture find authentic and valid.

Question 73

Validity

Answer 73

is the relevance or accuracy of measurement in relation to the theoretical concept that it is supposed to measure.

Question 74

Variable

Answer 74

is something that varies or an attribute or event that can take on more than one value (eg. unemployment rates, age, sex)