SOC MIDTERM 1

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regulation: the exterior force in society that limits one's otherwise unchecked impulses and passions
moral entrepreneurs: groups that work to have their moral concerns translated into law
society: population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a commmon identity and who member fall under the same political authority
ascribed status: social position acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily later in life
more: highly codified, formal, systematized norm that brings severe punishment when violated
self presentation: an attempt by an actor to convince an audience to accept meanings attributed to her/himself ... the act of presenting a strategic public image of oneself so that others will form beneficial judgments
norm: culturally defined standard or rule of conduct
structural hole: network holes that can be filled by connecting one or more links to link together
altruistic suicide: type of suicide that occurs where ties to the group or community are considered more important than individual identity
comparative method: research technique that compares existing official statistics and historical records across groups to test a theory about some social phenomenon
social institution: stable set of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations--such as education,family, politics, religion, health care, economy--that provides a foundation for behavior in some major area of social life
heteronormative culture: culture in which heterosexuality is accepted as the normal, taken-for-granted mode of sexual expression
subculture: values, behaviors, and artifacts of a group that distinguishes its members from the larger culture
props: items and settings that facilitate or support self-presentations
extended family: family unit consisting of the parent-child nuclear family and other relatives, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
disclaimer: assertion desined to forestall any complaints or negative reactions to a behavior or statement that is about to occur
role: set of expectations--rights, obligations, behaviors, duties--associated with a particular status
institutionalized norm: pattern of behavior within existing social institutions that is widely accepted in a society
collective action: along with deviance, one of the two ways in which people exert an influence on social structure
transsexuals: people who identify with a different sex and sometimes undergo hormone treatment and surgery to change their sex
anomie: condition in which rapid change has disrupted society's ability to adequately regulate and control its members and the old rules that governed people's lives no longer seem to apply (a state of uncertain expectations ... literally "normlessness")
cultural relativism: tendency to judge other cultures using their own standards
sociological imagination: ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives
heteronormativity: the reinforcement of certain viewpoints and actions by social institutions and policies
representative: typical of the whole population being studied
probabilistic: capable of identifying only those forces that have a high likelihood, but not a certainty, of influencing human action
performance team: set of individuals who cooperate in staging a performance that leads an audience to form an impression of one or all team members
organization: large, complex network of positions, created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor
monogamy: marriage of one man and one woman
material culture: artifacts of a society, which represent adaptations to the social and physical environment
generalized other: perspective of the larger society and its constituent values and attitudes
secondary group: relatively impersonal collection of individuals that is established to perform a specific task
quantitative research: sociological research based on the collection of numerical data that uses precise statistical analysis
value: standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes
triad: group consisting of three people
family: two or more persons, including the house-holder, who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and who live together as one household
role strain: tension resulting from conflicting expectations within a single, specific role
empirical research: research that operates from the ideological position that questions about human behavior can be answered only through controlled systematic observations in the real world
anomic suicide: type of suicide that occurs when the structure of society is weakened or disrupted and people feel hopeless and disillusioned
role conflict: frustration people feel when the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clach with the demands of another role
globalization: process through which people's lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally interconnected
play stage: stage in the development of self during which a child develops the ability to take a role but only from the perspective of one person at a time
cooling out: gently persuading someone who has lost face to accept a less desirable but still reasonable alernative identity
preparatory stage (Mead): first stage in the development of self in which the child engages in basic interaction
virtual identity: the social identity one is expected to have
self-fulfilling prophesy: assumption or prediction that in itself causes the expected event to occur, thus seeming to confirm the prophecy's accuracy
incorrigible proposition: unquestioned cultural belief that cannot be proved wrong no matter what happens to dispute it
sanction: social response that punishes or other wise discourages violations of a social norm
culture: language, values,beliefs, rules, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize a society
identity: essential aspect of who we are, consisting of our sense of self, gender, race, ethnicity, and religion
exogamy: marriage outside one's social group
structural-functionalist perspective: theoretical perspective that posits that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society
hypothesis: researchable prediction that specifies the relationship between two or more variables
intersexuals: individuals in whom sexual differentiation is either incomplete or ambiguous
sample: subgroup chosen for a study because its characteristics approximate those of the entire population
feminist perspective: theoretical perspective that focuses on gender as the most important source of conflict and inequality in social life
household: living arrangement composed of one or more people who occupy a housing unit
self (Mead): the active source and passive object of behavior ... also, the "I" and the "Me"
individualistic culture: culture in which presonal accomplishments are a more important component of one's self-concept than group membership
resocialization: process of learning new values, norms, and expectations when an adult leaves an old role and enters a new one
indicator: measurable event, characteristic, or behavior commonly thought to reflect a particular concept
back stage: area of social interaction away from the view of an audience, where people can rehearse and rehash their behavior
impression management: act of presenting a favorable public image of oneself so that others will form positive judgments
anticipatory socialization: process through which people acquire the values and orientations found in statuses they will likely enter in the future
social construction of reality: process through which the members of a society discover, make known reaffirm, and alter a collective version of facts, knowledge, and "truth"
aligning action: action taken to restore an identity that has been damaged
self: unique set of traits, behaviors, and attitudes that distinguishes one person from the next; the active source and passive object of behavior
ethnocentrism: tendency to judge other cultures using one's own as a standard
nonmaterial culture: knowledge, beliefs, customs, values, morals, andn symbols that are shared by members of a society and that distinguish the society from others
folkway: informal norm that is mildly punished when violated
conflict perspective: theoretical perspective that views the structure of society as a source of inequality, which always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups
qualitative research: sociological research based on nonnumberical information (text, written words, phrases, symbols, observations) that describes people, actions, or events in social life
collectivist culture: culture in which personal accomplishments are less important in the formation of identity than group membership
structural cohesion: the minimum number of members necessary to sustain a group
deviance: along with collective action, one of the two ways in which people exert an influence on social structure
primary group: collection of individuals who are together over a relatively long period, whose members have direct contact with and feel emotional attachment to one another
polygamy: marriage of one person to more than one spouse at the same time
role taking: ability to see oneself from the perspective of others and to use that perspective in formulating one's own behavior
self (Goffman): the situated and negotiated product of an interaction
dyad: group consisting of two people
reflexive behavior: behavior in which the person initiating an action is the same as the person toward whom the action is directed
embarrassment: spontaneous feeling that is experienced when the identity someone is presenting is suddenly and unexpectedly discredited in front of others
neolocal residence: living arrangement in which a married couple sets up residence separate from either spouse's family
integration: the exterior force in society that serves to create a sense of membership and belonging
achieved status: social position acquired through our own efforts or accomplishments or taken on voluntarily
status: any named social position that people can occupy
variable: any characteristic, attitude, behavior, or event that can take on two or more values or attributes
individual cohesion: the degree to which actors are connected directly to each other
dependent variable: experimental variable that is assumed to be caused by, or to change as a result of, the independent variable
actual identity: the social identity one actually has
latent function: unintended, obvious consequences of activities that help some part of the social system
egoistic suicide: type of suicide that occurs in settings where the individual is emphasized over group or community connections
account: statement designed to explain unanticipated, embarrassing, or unexpectable behavior after the behavior has occurred
socialization: process through which one learns how to act according to the rules and expectations of a particular culture
independent variable: experimental variable presumed to cause or influence the dependent variable
game stage: stage in the development of self during which a child acquires the ability to take the role of a group or community (the generalized other) and to conform his or her behavior to broad, societal expectations
sexual dichotomy: belief that tow biological sex categories, male and female, are permanent, universal, exhaustive, and mutually exclusive
social structure: framework of society - social institutions, organizations, groups, statuses, and roles, cultural beliefs, and institutionalized norms - which adds order and predictability to our individual lives
total institution: place where individuals are cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period and where together they lead an enclosed, formally administered life
group: set of people who interact more or less regularly and who are conscious of their identity as a unit
stigma: deeply discrediting characteristic that is viewed as an obstacle to competent or marally trustworthy behavior
fashion: form of social relationship that creates a standard for conformity and a norm from which to deviate
looking-glass self: sense of who we are that is defined by incorporating the reflected appraisals of others
dramaturgy: study of social interaction as theater, in which people (actors) project images (play roles) in front of others (audience)
endogamy: marriage within one's social group
social identity: an identity based on a combination of personal attributes and structural position (2 types)
individualistic explanation: tendency to attribute people's achievements and failures to their personal qualities
individual centrality: ties to other actors in a network
interperson tie: an information-carrying connection between people (strong, weak, or absent)
theory: set of statements or propostions that seeks to explain or predict a particular aspect of social life
front stage: area of social interaction where people perform and work to maintain appropriate impressions
coalitioin: subgroup of a triad, formed when two members unite against the third member
definition of the situation: if a situation is perceived as real, then it is real in its consequences
social network: a cluster of people who are linked to one another by virtue of their social bonds or relationship
nuclear family: family unit consisting of at least one parent and one child
symbol: something used to represent or stand for something else
density: the degree to which one's ties know one another
symbolic interactionism: theoretical perspective that explains society and social structure through an examination of the micro-level, personal, day-to-day exchanges of people as individuals, pairs, or groups

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Number of cards 118