Sociology Flashcards
What is a network?
A network is people linked by social ties (some stronger, other weak). It is the web of social connections a person has.
A network includes family, friends, acquittances, coworkers, cliques, friends of friends, etc.
Network often influences whom a person marries, the type of job a person is able to get, and overall social support.
What are groups?
A group is people who interact, have a sense of “we,” and have shared beliefs and values.
What is the difference between primary groups and secondary groups?
Primary groups are small, long-term, and personal, and offers social-emotional support. Primary groups include family and friends.
Secondary groups are larger, formal, and centered around a mutual interest. They do not exist to offer intimacy/social-emotional support. Secondary groups include clubs, organizations, etc.
What is social solidarity?
Solidarity is the act of being together in relative harmony. There are two types of solidarity.
Mechanical solidarity: similarity/homogeneity serves as social glue.
Organic solidarity: interdependence (usually through division of labor) serves as social glue
What is social conflict?
Social conflict is the opposite of social solidarity. With social conflict, society is being pulled apart because different groups within it is trying to advance or maintain their position in society.
What is status?
A person’s social position e.g. race, gender, occupation, social class, etc.
What is role?
The set of expectations associated with a social position (status).
Roles can be seen as the behaviors, obligations, and privileges attached to a status.
What are norms?
A society’s way of doing things. It is the society’s expectations for living. A society’s what to do and what not to do for a variety of situations.
There are three types of norms:
Folkways: the popular way of doing something (mildly sanctioned)
Mores: a more serious norm (sometimes okay in certain situations, often codified into law, moderately sanctioned)
Taboo: never allowed (severely sanctioned, repulsive)
Who is a minority?
Individuals or groups outside the center of power. In sociology, minority status is not about numbers. For example, even though black South Africans are the numerical majority, they still have minority status in SA.
What is ethnicity?
A group of people who identify with each other based on shared cultural traits that distinguish them from others.
What is socialization?
Socialization is the process through which we learn our society’s culture, learning how to live in the society we are from. Socialization promotes continuity and social order.
Socialization is a life-long process, and socialization agents include family, peers, school, mass media, workplace, total institutions, etc.
What is acculturation?
Acculturation is borrowing/adopting some aspects of another group’s culture while retaining major elements of one’s original culture. For example, burgers in Japan. Japanese people eat burger but their native cuisine is still a staple.
Acculturation is different from assimilation because with assimilation a group adopts another culture in place of its original culture. With assimilation, the adopting group is said to have been absorbed into the other society. For example, blacks in the U.S since 1960s.
What is sanction?
Sanctioning is a mechanism of social order. Sanctions are used to enforce norms in order to maintain conformity.
Positive sanctions: rewards received for following norms. Meant to reinforce desired behavior.
Negative sanctions: punishments received for breaking norms. Mean to discourage deviant behaviors.
Sanctions can be formal or informal, severe or mild depending on the context.
What is socioeconomic status (SES)?
One’s social location in the stratification system based on wealth, power, and prestige.
What is stratification?
It is society’s practice of ranking people based on their wealth (property & income), education, and power.
