Glossary of Basic Sociological Terms
agency: the ability to act upon.
agent of socialization: a source of socializing influence, from media to school to peers.
bureaucracy: a formal organization that is rationally designed according to a set of rules
and hierarchical authority in order to complete tasks efficiently.
culture: a system of values, norms, and symbolic meanings, shared by a collectivity, and
passed incompletely from one generation to the next; provides moral imperatives,
implicit instruction for behaviors, an implicit “logic” for behaviors, and a means of
communication.
definition of situation (a.k.a. Thomas theorem) "If people define situations as real, they are real
in their consequences."--W.I. Thomas
empirical: knowledge derived from experiment or systematic observation of the
physical or social world; capable of being tested or replicated/falsified.
ideology: collective belief about the ideal world; collective conceptual frame that people
use to understand the world and construct moral judgments; also prompts us toward
particular actions.
language: ordered system of audio and visual symbols used to communicate.
myth: a falsity that people hold as true and that influences the contours of society;
involves some discernible reality or kernel of truth, which is then distorted.
naturalization: non problematic understanding of a social practice; when norms and
behaviors become so routine and unreflective that people begin to see them as
inevitable and natural.
norms: collectively held informal and formal rules of proper behavior; behavioral
standards that guide and impede behavior.
public policy (or policy): a course of action or inaction chosen by government
authorities that is intended to achieve societal goals
relativity: the phenomenon of aspects of culture (language, norms, values, social
practices, etc.) emerging from social contexts and varying over time, across space,
and across people.
role: the behaviors and social interactions you expect of yourself and others in each
particular status. In other words, these are your behavioral expectations you hold for
others and yourself.
sanction: audience-based reaction to a perceived violation of a norm or rule that is meant
to ensure that the individual or group complies with the norm or rule; a source of
social control.
social control: concerted efforts to constrain and direct the conduct of people by
inducing conformity and preventing non conformity.
social institution: a system of material resources (buildings, technology, etc.), non
material resources (organizations, laws, norms, values, ideologies, etc.), and social
relationships that meet some particular need of the people.
social movement: collective and deliberate action to bring about specified and enduring
social change.
social structure: the predictable and established patterns of behavior and social
relationships.
socialization: learning of a social structure and culture, as well as identity.
society: a people who share a semi-stable network of social institutions, social structures,
and culture, as well as a geographical region.
social stratification: division of a population into a hierarchical ranking of groups, with
opportunities and resources being disproportionately available at the "high" end.
status: (also called social location or social position): your position or "title" within a
particular social landscape.
status quo: "existing state"; the existing distribution of power within a society
stratification: unequal distribution of a scarce resource, such as money, power,
opportunities and life chances, health care, and prestige.
substructure: the foundational element of society upon which all other social
institutions (superstructure) are built and which is supported by those very social
institutions
symbol: something that represents more than itself; basis of language, ideology, identity,
and abstraction.
system: 1. multiple parts, 2. that work toward some goals or tasks, and 3. are
interdependent.
systemic agency: the influence of social institutions as well as culture on our behaviors,
values, choices, prejudices, desires, etc.; institutional racism and systemic bias are
examples of this.
systemic discrimination (also, systemic bias or institutional discrimination): when the
normal operations of a system lead to unequal effects without the malice intent or action
of any person
theory: broad explanatory model; explanation of how parts of the world relate to other
parts; may or may not include hypothesis testing.
Written by Dr. Casey Welch,  2010