Sociology chapters 1-4 key terms
Terms
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- Anomie
- The loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective
- Applied sociology
- Teh use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations
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Basic sociology
(Pure sociology) - Sociological inquiry conducted with the objective of gaining a more profound knowledge of the funamental aspects of social phenomena
- Clinical sociology
- The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of altering social relationships or restructuring social institutions.
- Conflict perspective
- A sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.
- Dramaturgical approach
- A view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers
- Dysfunction
- An element or a process of society that may disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability.
- Feminist view
- A sociological approach that views inequity in gender as central to all behavior and organization.
- Functionalist perspective
- A sociological approach that emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability.
- Ideal type
- A construct or model for evaluatinng specific cases.
- Interactionist perspective
- A sociological approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole.
- Latent function
- Unconscious or unintended function; hidden purpose.
- Macrosociology
- Sociological investigation that concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations.
- Manifest function
- Open, stated and conscious function.
- Microsociology
- Sociologica investigation that stresses study of small groups and often uses laboratory experimental studies.
- Natural science
- The study of the physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change.
- Nonverbal communication
- The sending of messages through the use of posture, facial expressions and gestures.
- Science
- The body of knoledge obtained by methods based on systematic observations.
- Social inequality
- A condition in which members of society have differing amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.
- Social science
- The study of social features of humans and the ways they interact and change
- Sociological imagination
- An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society.
- Sociology
- The systematic study of social behavior and human groups.
- Theory
- In sociology, a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior.
- Verstehen
- Teh German word for "understanding" or "insight"; used to stress the need for sociologists to take into account the subjective meanings people attach to their actions
- Casual logic
- The relationship between a condition or variable and a particular consequence in which one event leads to the other
- Code of ethics
- Teh standards of acceptable behavior developed by and for members of a profession
- Content analysis
- The systematic coding and objective recording of data, guided by some rationale.
- Control group
- The subjects in an experiment who are not introduced to the independent variable by the researcher.
- Control variable
- A factor that is held constant to test the relative impact of an independent variable
- Correlation
- A relationship between two variables in which a change in one coincides with a change in the other.
- Cross-tabulation
- A table that shows the relationship between two or more variables
- Dependent variable
- The variable in a causal relationship that is subject to the influence of another variable
- Ethnography
- The study of an entire social setting through extended systematic observation
- Experiment
- An artificially created situation that allows the reseracher to manipulate variables
- Experimental groups
- The subjects in an experiment who are exposed to an independent variable introduced by a researcher
- Hawthorne effect
- The unintended influence that observers of experiments can have on their subjects
- Hypothesis
- A speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables
- Independent variable
- The variable in a causal relationship that causes or influences a change in a second variable
- Interview
- A face-to-face or telephone questioning of a respondent to obtain desired information
- Mean
- A number calculated by adding a series of values and then dividing by the number of values
- Median
- The midpoint or number that divides a series of values iinto two groups of equal numbers of values
- Mode
- Teh single most common value in a series of scores
- Observation
- A research technique in which an investigator collects information through direct participation and/or closely watching a group or community
- Operational definition
- An explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow a reseracher to assess the concept
- Percentage
- A portion of 100
- Qualitative research
- Research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data
- Quantitative research
- Research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form
- Questionnaire
- A printed or written form used to obtain desired information from a respondent
- Random sample
- A sample for which every member of the entire population has the same chance of being selected.
- Reliability
- The extent to which a measure provides consistent results
- Research design
- A detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically
- Sample
- A selection from a larger population that is statistically representative of that population
- Scientific method
- A systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem
- Secondary analysis
- A variety of research techniques that make use of previously existing and publicly accessible information and data
- Survey
- A study, generally in the form of an interview or questionnaire, that provides researchers with information concerning how people think and act.
- Validity
- The degree to which a scale or measure truly reflects the phenomenon under study
- Value neutrality
- Max Weber's term for objectivity of sociologists in the interpretation of data
- Variable
- A measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions
- Argot
- Specialized language used by members of a group or subculture
- Biligualism
- The use of two or more languages in a particular setting, such as the workplace or schoolroom, treating each language as equally legitimate
- Counterculture
- A subculture that deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture
- Cultural relativism
- The viewing of people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture
- Cultural universal
- A common practice or belief found in every culture
- Culture
- The totality of leraned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior
- Culture lag
- A period of maladjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to new material conditions
- Culture shock
- The feeling of surprise and disorientation that people experience when they encounter cultural practices that are different from their own
- Diffusion
- The process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society
- Discovery
- The process of making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality
- Dominant ideology
- A set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and plitical interests.
- Ethnocentrism
- The tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others
- Folkway
- A norm governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern
- Formal norm
- A norm that has been written down and that specifies strict punishments for violators
- Globalization
- The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exhange of ideas
- Informal norm
- A norm that is generally undertood but is not precisely recorded
- Innovation
- The process of introducing a new idea or object into a culture through discovery or invention
- Invention
- The combination of existing cultural items into a form that did not exist before
- Language
- An abstract system ofword meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture; includes gestures and other nonverbal communication
- Law
- Governmental social control
- Material culture
- The physical or technological aspects of our daily lives
- Mores
- A norm deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society
- Nonmaterial culture
- Ways of using material objects, as well as customs, beliefs, philosophies, governments, and patterns of communication
- Norm
- An established standard of behavior maintained by a society
- Sanction
- A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm
- Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
- A hypothesis concerning the role of language in shaping our interpretation of reality. it holds that language is culturally determined
- Society
- A fairly large number of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside it, and participate in a common culture
- Sociobiology
- The systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior
- Subculture
- A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and valutes that differs from the pattern of the larger society
- Technology
- Information about how to use the material resources of the environment to satisfy human needs and desires
- Value
- A collective conception of what is considered good, desirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and improper-in a culture
- Xenocentrism
- The belief that he products, styles or ideas of one's society are inferior to those that originate elsewhere
- Anticipatory socialization
- Processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships
- Cognitive theory of development
- Jean Piaget's theory that children's thought progresses through four stages of evelopment
- Degradation ceremony
- An aspect of the socialization process eithin some total institutions, in which people are subjected to humilating rituals
- Face-work
- The efforts people make to maintain the proper image and avoid public embarrassment
- Gender role
- Expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of a male or female
- Generalized other
- The attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior
- Impression management
- The altering of the presentation of the self in order to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences
- Looking-glass self
- A concept that emphasizes the self as the product of our social interactions with others
- Personality
- A person's typical patterns of attitudes, needs, characteristics, and behavior
- Resocialization
- The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life
- Rite of passage
- A ritual marking the symbolic transition from one social position to another
- Role taking
- The process of mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that imagined viewpoint
- Self
- A distinct identity that sets us apart from others
- Significant other
- An individual who is most important in the development of the self, such as a parent, friend, or teacher
- Socialization
- Teh lifelong process in which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture
- Symbol
- A gesture, object, or word that forms the basis of human communication
- Total institution
- An institution that regulates all aspects of a person's life under a single authority, such as a prison, the military, a mental hospital, or a convent