The Master List of Sociology Terms

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Master List of Sociology Terms

Fall Semester 2012

Silverman

Unit ONE: Sociological Foundations & Methods

1.

Sociology – the systematic study of human society and social behaviors

2.

Social phenomena – an observable fact or event that involves human society

3.

Sociological perspective – a systematic method of viewing the behavior of groups

4.

Sociological imagination – the ability to see connections between the larger world and our personal lives

5.

Social psychology – the study of the way in which an individual’s behavior and personality are impacted by the social environment

6.

Macro-sociology – an approach to the study of sociology that emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level of social structure

7.

Micro-sociology – an approach to the study of sociology that emphasizes the nature of everyday human social interactions on a small scale

8.

Social Darwinism – a theoretical perspective in which societies evolve toward stability and perfection through survival-ofthe-fittest

9.

Bourgeoisie – owners of the means of production in a capitalist society (i.e. middle class, management)

10.

Proletariat – workers in a capitalist society; sell labor for wages

11.

Function – the consequence that an element of society produces for the maintenance of its social system (i.e. religion as a means of maintaining social order)

12.

Verstehen

– an empathetic understanding of the meaning that others attach to their actions, as discussed by Max Weber

13.

Functionalist perspective – a theoretical perspective that views society as a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable social system

14.

Dysfunction – the negative consequence that an element has for the stability of its social system; creates disruption, not stability (i.e. crime)

15.

Manifest function – the intended and recognized consequence of some element of society

16.

Latent function – the unintended and unrecognized consequence of some element of society

17.

Conflict perspective – a theoretical perspective that focuses on those forces in society that promote competition and change

18.

Interactionist perspective – a theoretical perspective that focuses on how individuals interact with one another in society

19.

Empirical research – research that relies on the use of experience, observation and experimentation to collect data

20.

Independent variable – a variable that causes a change in another variable

21.

Dependent variable – a variable that is changed by an independent variable

22.

Sample – a group of people who are selected from a given population to participate in a scientific study

23.

Motivation – Influences that account for initiation, direction, intensity & persistence of behavior

24.

Social Psychology – the study of the interaction between people, groups and social structures

25.

Social Cognition – the ways in which people store, remember & use information about other individuals in the social world

26.

Attitude – an overall evaluation of your social world; lasting patterns of beliefs & opinions that predispose one’s reactions to objects, people & events

27.

Persuasion – outside efforts to change one’s attitude

28.

Stereotype – fixed & overly-simplistic generalizations in regards to the traits, behaviors & attitudes of a particular group of people

29.

Prejudice – negative attitude in regards to members of a certain group

30.

Attribution – inferences generated to explain the reasons for events, the behavior of others and the behavior of oneself

31.

Conformity – a change in beliefs or actions that results in adherence to group norms

32.

Compliance – a change in behavior prompted by a direct request rather than social norms; obedience

Unit TWO: Culture & Social Structure

33.

Culture – all the shared products of a particular human group; include both physical objects & the beliefs, values and behaviors shared by the group

34.

Material culture – physical objects created by human groups; sociologists and anthropologists use the term artifacts to refer to the physical objects of material culture

35.

Non-material culture – abstract human creations, such as language, ideas, beliefs, rules, skills, family patterns, work practices, and political & economic systems

36.

Society – a group of interdependent people who have organized in such a way as to share common culture and feelings of unity

37.

Language – the organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system

38.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis – the idea that differences in language shape the way its speakers view reality

39.

Values – shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable

40.

Norms – shared rules of conduct that dictate how people should act in certain situations; expectations for behavior

41.

Folkways – norms that describe socially acceptable behavior, without having great moral significance attached to them

(i.e. cover your mouth when you yawn)

42.

Mores – norms that have great moral significance attached to them (i.e. do not rob a bank)

43.

Real culture – the values and standards of behavior that people actually follow

44.

Ideal culture – the values and standards of behavior that people profess to hold

45.

Cultural universals – common features that are found in all human cultures (i.e. dancing, cooking, gift-giving…)

46.

Ethnocentrism – the tendency to view one’s own culture and group as superior to others

47.

Culture relativism – the belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards rather than by applying the standards of another culture

48.

Folk culture – traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation

49.

Pop culture – found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in personal characteristics.

50.

Counterculture – a group that rejects the values, norms and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns

51.

Subculture – a group with its own unique values, norms and behaviors that exists within a larger culture

52.

Culture shock – the disorientation that people feel when they encounter cultures radically different from their own

53.

Globalization – a process by which regional economies, societies and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation and trade

54.

Social structure – the network of interrelated statuses and roles that guide human interaction

55.

Status – socially defined position within a group or society

56.

Role – the behavior expected of someone occupying a particular status

57.

Ascribed status – a status assigned according to the standards that are beyond a person’s control (i.e. age, sex, family heritage, race, etc.)

58.

Achieved status – a status acquired by an individual on the basis of some special skill, knowledge or ability

59.

Social institution – a system of statuses, roles, values and norms that is organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society (i.e. education)

60.

Group – a set of two or more people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who possess some degree of common identity

61.

Preindustrial society – a type of society in which food production – carried out through the use of human and animal labor

– is the main economic activity

62.

Hunting & gathering society – a type of society characterized by the daily collection of wild plants and the hunting of wild animals

63.

Pastoral society – a type of society characterized by a reliance on domesticated herd animals as the main form of subsistence

64.

Horticultural society – a type of society characterized by a reliance on vegetables grown in garden plots as the main form of subsistence

65.

Agricultural society – a type of society characterized by the use of draft animals and plows in the tilling of friends

66.

Industrial society – a type of society in which the mechanized production of goods is the main economic activity

67.

Urbanization – the concentration of population in cities

68.

Postindustrial society – a type of society in which economic activity centers on the production of information and the provision of services

69.

Mechanic solidarity – close-knit social relationships, common in preindustrial societies, that result when a small group of people share the same values and perform the same tasks

70.

Organic solidarity – impersonal social relationships, common in industrial societies, that arise with increased job specialization

Gemeinschaft

– societies in which most members know one another, relationships are close, and activities center on the 71.

72.

family and the community

Gesellschaft

– societies in which social relationships are based on need rather than emotion, relationships are impersonal and temporary, and individual goals are more important than group goals

73.

Formal group – a group in which the structure, goals and activities of the group of clearly defined

74.

Informal group – a group in which there is no official structure or established rules of conflict

75.

Primary group – a small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct and personal basis

76.

Secondary group – a group in which interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature

77.

In-group – a group that an individual belong to and identifies with

78.

Out-group – any group that an individual does not belong to, nor identify with

79.

Instrumental leaders – leaders who are task-oriented

80.

Expressive leaders – leaders who are emotion-oriented

Unit THREE: Socialization & Social Control

81.

Personality – the sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and values that are characteristic of an individual

82.

Sociobiology – the systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior

83.

Id – Sigmund Freud's term for the personality component that includes all of the individual's basic biological needs that demand immediate gratification

84.

Ego – according to Sigmund Freud, the rational, reality-oriented component of personality that imposes restrictions on the innate pleasure-seeking drives of the id

85.

Superego – according to Sigmund Freud, the part of the personality that represents the conscience, formed in early life by internalization o f the standards of parents and other models of behavior

86.

Sensory motor stage – in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, a period between birth and age two during which a child relies on sensory impressions. During this stage children learn through assimilation and accommodation

87.

Preoperational stage – in Piaget's stages of cognitive development, a period between ages two and six during which a child learns to use language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people

88.

Concrete operational stage – in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, a period between ages seven and adolescence during which a child begins to understand concrete logic

89.

Formal operational stage – in Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, a period during which individuals develop an abstract view of the world

90.

Socialization – the interactive process through which people learn the basic skills, values, beliefs and behavioral patterns of society

91.

Self – one’s conscious awareness of possessing a distinct identity that separates you and your environment from other members of society

92.

Looking-glass self – refers to the interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear to others

93.

Role-taking – a theory of socialization in which individuals take on or pretend to take on the roles of others

94.

Peer group – primary group composed of individuals of roughly equal age and social characteristics

95.

Mass media – newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio, films and other forms of communication that reach large audiences without personal contact between the individuals sending the information and those receiving it

96.

Total institution – a setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and subjected to the control of authority

97.

Resocialization – a break with past experiences and the learning of new values and norms

98.

Sanction – rewards or punishments used to enforce conformity to norms

99.

Informal sanction – spontaneous expression of approval or disapproval given by an individual or individuals

100.

Formal sanction – reward or punishment that is given by a formal organization or regulatory body, such as the government, the police, a corporation or a school

101.

Social control – the enforcement of norms through either internalization or sanctions

102.

Deviance – behavior that violates significant social norms

103.

Stigma – a mark of social disgrace that sets a deviant apart from the rest of society

104.

Strain theory – theory of deviant behavior that views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms and structure of society

105.

Control theory – theory of deviant behavior in which deviance is seen as a natural occurrence and conformity is seen as the result of social control

106.

Cultural transmission theory – theory that views deviance as a learned behavior transmitted through interaction with others

107.

Differential association – proportion of associations a person has with deviant versus non-deviant individuals

108.

Techniques of neutralization – the suspending of moral beliefs to commit deviant acts

109.

Labeling theory – theory that focuses on how individuals come to be labeled as deviant

110.

Primary deviance – nonconformity undetected by authority in which the individuals who commit deviant acts do not consider themselves to be deviant, and neither does society

111.

Secondary deviance –nonconformity that results in the individuals who commit acts of secondary deviance being labeled as deviant and accepting that label to be true

112.

White collar crime – crime that is committed by an individual or individuals of high social status in the course of their professional lives

113.

Hate crime – a crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward a member of a gender, racial, religious or social group

Unit FOUR: Social Stratification

114.

Social stratification – the ranking of individuals based on unequal access to scare resources and social rewards

115.

Social inequality – the unequal sharing of social rewards and resources

116.

Exogamy – marriage outside of one’s own social category

117.

Endogamy – marriage within one’s own social category

118.

Caste system – system in which scarce resources and rewards are distributed on the basis of ascribed statuses

119.

Class system – system in which scarce resources and rewards are determined on the basis of achieved statuses

120.

Socioeconomic status – a rating that combines social factors such as level of education, occupational prestige and place of residence with the economic factor of income in order to determine an individual’s relative position in the stratification system

121.

Social mobility – movement between or within social classes or strata

122.

Horizontal mobility – type of social mobility in which the individual moves from one position in a social-class to another position in that same social-class

123.

Vertical mobility – movement between social classes or strata in which the individual moves from one social-class to another

124.

Intergenerational mobility – a form of vertical mobility in which status differs between generations in the same family

125.

Poverty level – minimum annual income needed by a family to survive

126.

Race – category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and who are perceived by others as being a distinct group; social construction

127.

Ethnicity – set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from another group

128.

Ethnic group – individuals who share a common cultural background and a common sense of identity

129.

Minority group – category of people who share physical characteristics or cultural practices that result in the group being denied equal treatment

130.

Discrimination – denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership

131.

Prejudice – unsupported generalizations about a category of people

132.

Stereotype – oversimplified, exaggerated or unfavorable generalization about a category of people

133.

Self-fulfilling prophecy – a prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction come true

134.

Scape-goating – practice of placing blame for one’s troubles on an innocent individual or group

135.

Cultural pluralism – a policy that allows each group within a society to keep its unique cultural identity

136.

Assimilation – the blending of culturally distinct groups into a single group with a common culture and identity

137.

Segregation – physical separation of a minority group from the dominant group

138.

De jure segregation – law-based segregation

139.

De facto segregation – segregation based on informal norms

140.

Subjugation – maintaining control over a group through force

141.

Gender – behavioral and psychological traits considered appropriate for men and women

142.

Gender roles – specific behaviors and attitudes that a society establishes for men and women

143.

Gender identity – the awareness of being masculine or feminine as those traits are defined by culture

144.

Sex – biological/chromosomal traits that determine physical characteristics

145.

Sexism – belief that one sex is by nature superior to the other

146.

Ageism – the belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category

147.

Graying of America – the phenomenon of the growing percentage of elderly Americans as part as the total U.S. population

148.

Baby-boom generation – collective term for the approximately 76 million children born in the United States from 1946 through 1 964

149.

Dependency ratio – the number of workers for each person retrieving Social Security benefits

Unit FIVE: Social Institutions

150.

Nuclear family – family form that consists of one or both parents and their children

151.

Extended family – family form that consists of three or more generations of a family sharing the same residence

152.

Kinship – network of people who are related by marriage, birth or adoption

153.

Monogamy – marriage of one man to one woman

154.

Polygamy – marriage with multiple partners

155.

Polygyny – form of polygamy in which a man is permitted to marry more than one woman at a time

156.

Polyandry – for of polygamy in which a woman is permitted to marry more than one man at a time

157.

Patriarchy – system in which men are dominant over women

158.

Matriarchy –a family in which the mother holds most of the authority

159.

Egalitarian – a family in which the mother and father share power

160.

Homogamy – tendency for individuals to marry people who have social characteristics similar to their own

161.

Heterogamy – tendency for individuals to marry people who have social characteristics different from their own

162.

Sandwich generation – Americans caught between the needs of their children and aging parents

163.

Schooling – instruction by specially trained teachers who follow officially recognized policies

164.

Hidden curriculum – in schools, the transmission of cultural goals that are not openly acknowledged

165.

Tracking – assignment of students to different types of educational programs

166.

Charter schools – alternative schools which are funded by public money but are privately operated

167.

School choice – a broad movement to provide alternatives to public school systems to which parents can choose to send their children

168.

Religion – system of roles and norms organized around the sacred realm that binds people together in social groups

169.

Ritual – an established pattern of behavior through which a group of believers experience the sacred

170.

Animism – a belief system in which spirits are active in influencing human life

171.

Shamanism – a belief system in which spirits communicate only with one person acknowledged as a specialist

172.

Theism – belief in a god or gods

173.

Monotheism – belief in one god

174.

Polytheism – belief in many gods

175.

Ethicalism – a belief system in which moral principles have a sacred quality

176.

Ecclesia – a type of religious organization in which all people in the society are members by virtue of their birth

177.

Denomination – well-established religious organization in which a substantial portion of the population are members

178.

Sect – relatively small religious organization that typically has split off from a denomination because of doctrinal differences

179.

Cult – religious group founded on the revelations of a person believed to have special knowledge

180.

Religiosity – importance of religion in a person’s life

181.

Secular – non-religious

182.

Media convergence – the idea that mass media are merging and are no longer separate entities

183.

Knowledge-gap hypothesis – as new information enters society, wealthy and better educated members acquire it at a faster rate than poor and less-educated people

184.

Digital divide – the gap between those with access to new technologies and those without it

185.

Social capital – social networks and the reciprocal norms associated with these networks that encourage people to do things for each other

186.

Spiral of silence – belief that as more people accept common opinions the people who disagree are less likely to voice their views

187.

Agenda setting – the argument that the media sets boundaries of public debate by deciding which issues will receive coverage and which will not

188.

Gatekeepers – media executives, editors or reporters who can open or close the “gate” on a particular news story

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