Sociology in Funeral Services vocab

Question 1

adaptive funeral rite

Answer 1

a funeral rite adjusted to the needs and desires of the deceased family members or which has been altered to suit modern trends

Question 2

agrarian

Answer 2

related to agriculture or being farm based. considered the original locale of the extended (joint) family structure

Question 3

anonymity

Answer 3

when a person or entity’s identity is unknown

Question 4

blended family

Answer 4

membership consists fo one male and one female and the children from their previous marriages. may also include children from the present marriage

Question 5

bureaucratization

Answer 5

systems that govern through numerous levels of departments and subdivisions in an inflexible manner. not responsive to the needs of the individual

Question 6

ceremony / ritual

Answer 6

an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite. considered a formal activity conducted for an important occasion (ex. weddings, funerals)

Question 7

class

Answer 7

a social grouping in which members possess generally equivalent culturally valued attributes or similar economic resources/levels

Question 8

cohabitants

Answer 8

2 unrelated adults sharing living quarters without being legally married

Question 9

common law marriage

Answer 9

a marriage recognized in some but not all jurisdictions and premised on the partners perspective that they are married and their cohabitation status

Question 10

contemporary

Answer 10

living or happening in the same time period. considered the present time

Question 11

cultural assimilation

Answer 11

the process by which a groups language, culture, and so on becomes incorporated into another’s

Question 12

cultural relativism

Answer 12

the emotional attitudes that all cultures are equal and pertinent

Question 13

cultural universal

Answer 13

common traits or patterns existing in all cultures. for ex. all cultures deal with death

Question 14

culture

Answer 14

consists of abstract patterns of the rules, ideas, beliefs shared by members of society, including for living and dying, which are learned directly or indirectly

Question 15

culture shock

Answer 15

experience of disorientation, uncertainty, and anxiety when encountering unfamiliar cultural practices

Question 16

customs

Answer 16

social behavior as dictated by the tradition of a people

Question 17

demographic

Answer 17

quantitative data about a people that can be analyzed statistically (ex. race, age, sex, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, etc)

Question 18

diffusion

Answer 18

how a cultural process or concept spreads from group to group or from one society to another

Question 19

direct learning

Answer 19

formal teaching and learning

Question 20

egalitarian

Answer 20

males and females have equal rights, duties, and governing power

Question 21

enculturation / socialization

Answer 21

the method by which the social values are internalized (learned)

Question 22

ethnicity

Answer 22

any of the basic divisions or groups of humankind, distinguished by customs, characteristics, language, and so on

Question 23

ethnocentrism

Answer 23

the emotional attitude that ones own race, nation, group, or culture is superior to all others

Question 24

extended / joint family

Answer 24

membership within household includes father and mother, all their children, and their children’s children

Question 25

family of orientation

Answer 25

the family into which one is born

Question 26

family of procreation

Answer 26

the family established by ones marriage and the production of children

Question 27

folkways

Answer 27

behaviors construed as somewhat less compulsive than mores of the same society, and so not call for a strong reaction from society if violated. does not involve moral foundations

Question 28

funeral

Answer 28

rites with the body present

Question 29

funeral rite

Answer 29

an all inclusive term used to encompass all funerals or memorial services

Question 30

funeralization

Answer 30

a process involving all activities associated with final disposition

Question 31

hospice

Answer 31

a home or facility based palliative care service for the terminally ill

Question 32

humanistic funeral rite

Answer 32

a funeral rite devoid of religious connotation

Question 33

immediate disposition

Answer 33

any disposition of human remains without any form of funeral rite at the time of disposition

Question 34

industrialization

Answer 34

the change from independent, multi talented, self sufficient family units to employment of family members in jobs outside the unit, increasing dependency on outside resources for their total needs

Question 35

laws

Answer 35

formal norms that protect particular social mores and are typically the most strictly enforced in comparison to folkways and other social mores. considered rules of societal conduct of what is right and prohibiting what is wrong

Question 36

matriarchal

Answer 36

the mother rules the family. a woman holding a position analogous to that of a patriarch

Question 37

memorial service

Answer 37

funeral rites with the body not present

Question 38

mobility

Answer 38

the state or quality of being mobile; the ability to move from place to place readily, or to move from class to class, either up or down

Question 39

modern

Answer 39

of or characteristic of the present or recent times. not ancient, and often used to designate certain contemporary tendencies

Question 40

mores

Answer 40

must behaviors, or the social norms that demonstrate the moral and often religious expectations of a group (ex. as related to the treatment of the dead) and call for a strong reaction from society if violated

Question 41

multigenerational household

Answer 41

three or more generations of the same immediate family living in the same house. similar to an extened family, but not necessarily existing in an agricultural environment

Question 42

neo localism

Answer 42

the tendency of offspring to move away from the area in which they were born

Question 43

non traditional funeral rite

Answer 43

a funeral rite that deviates from the normal or prescribed circumstances or established custom

Question 44

norms

Answer 44

a societal belief about how members should behave

Question 45

nuclear family

Answer 45

membership within household that includes one man, one woman, and their children if any

Question 46

patriarchal

Answer 46

the father rules the family and power and property are typically passed to the oldest male child

Question 47

pre literate society

Answer 47

a culture developed before the invention of writing, and hence, leaving no written record

Question 48

primitive funeral rite

Answer 48

a funeral rite that may be construed as being identifiable with a pre literate society

Question 49

religion

Answer 49

a culturally entrenched pattern of behavior made up of: 1. sacred beliefs, 2. emotional feelings accompanying the beliefs, 3. overt conduct presumably implementing the beliefs and feelings

Question 50

rite

Answer 50

any event performed in a solemn and prescribed manner

Question 51

rites of passage

Answer 51

ceremonies centering on transition in life from one status to another (ex. baptism, marriage, funerals)

Question 52

ritual / ceremony

Answer 52

an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite. considered a formal activity conducted for an important occasion

Question 53

rules

Answer 53

specified procedural methods

Question 54

single parent family

Answer 54

membership consists of one adult, either male or female, and their children

Question 55

social function

Answer 55

an event in which people come together to share in that event

Question 56

social stratification

Answer 56

categorization of people by money, prestige, and power. a raking of social status in groups such as upper, middle, and lower class

Question 57

socialization / enculturation

Answer 57

the method by which social values are internalized / learned

Question 58

society

Answer 58

a group of people forming a single community with some interests in common

Question 59

sociology

Answer 59

the science of social groups and human social interactions

Question 60

step family

Answer 60

the family one acquires when one enters a new marriage that already has children, with the parent having been widowed or divorced

Question 61

subculture

Answer 61

a division or smaller identifiable unit of culture connected to that culture by common traits, but also having unique traits to itself (ex. ethnicity, religion, language, geography, etc)

Question 62

symbol

Answer 62

anything such as a tangible object or an act to which socially created meaning is given

Question 63

taboos

Answer 63

must behaviors that dictates that the individual must abstain from certain acts dealing with death

Question 64

traditional funeral rite

Answer 64

a funeral rite that follows a prescribed ritual or ceremony dictated either by religious belief or social custom

Question 65

urbanization

Answer 65

the change from rural to urban in character