A2 Sociology Glossary

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Anomie

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Durkheim's term for a state of moral confusion in society, resulting from an absence of the common shared norms and values that bind a society together. He argued that this was bad for both individuals and for society as a whole. Anomie is a state that is typical of societies undergoing sudden change.

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Bourgeoisie

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Marxist term for the capitalist ruling class. They own the means of production.

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Capitalism

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An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange of commodities. Labour itself becomes a commodity which employers buy for wages. It is associated with free trade and individual enterprise.

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Census

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A government survey of all people within a defined geographical area. The British census is an obligatory survey of the entire population every 10 years. It's an important source of secondary data on the changing characteristics of the British population.

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Class

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A way of stratifying society, on the basis of people's social and economic status. Class is hierarchical - some classes are more privileged than others. The 'class system' is criticised by Marxists.

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Conformity

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Adherence to the norms and values of society. The opposite of deviance.

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Consensus

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Fundamental agreement within a society, especially about that society's basic values. Functionalist theory suggests that, as a result of socialisation, the people in a society all share the same norms and values and this contributes to consensus.

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Correlation

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The association between two variables where changes in one variable are associated with changes in the other variable, but do not necessarily cause them.

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Cult

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A religious group without a fixed set of beliefs. They tend to focus on the inner power of the individual and mysticism. They're often short-lived and don't usually have a hierarchy.

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Culture

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The 'way of life' of a society or group. It is made up of things such as language, customs, knowledge, norms and values. It is passed on by socialisation.

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Desacrilisation

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Religious and spiritual beliefs ceasing to have a place in society.

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Deviance

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Something that goes against society's norms and values. Deviant behaviour is behaviour that society doesn't approve of.

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Durkheim

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The founder of functionalism. He introduced many important sociological concepts, including the 'collective consciousness of society' and 'anomie'. He also wrote extensively on the subject of suicide and on the sociology of religion.

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Ethnocentric

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Centred around the values and interests of one particular ethnic group.

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Ethnography

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Research which studies the culture and way of life of a community. It is usually done by observation, and may also use interviews and case studies. It looks at social relationships, organisations, customs and practices. It is an interpretivist approach to sociological study and so produces qualitative data.

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False Consciousness

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Marxism say that workers are in a state of false consciousness about their place in society. They have learnt values and beliefs that support the interests of the ruling class, and this prevents them from realising how unfair capitalist society is.

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False Needs

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Things people think they need but which don't really satisfy them. Marxists say these have been created by a capitalist culture which encourages consumerism.

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Falsification

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Proving a hypothesis to be wrong.

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Feminism

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A broad movement which believes that social organisations and cultures have been dominated by men to the exclusion of women. Feminists claim that this has devalued and disadvantaged women into a marginalised status. There are many varieties of feminism.

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Functionalism

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An important sociological perspective about how society works. They believe that society is made up of a number of institutions, each of which has a useful function and helps society to run smoothly. These work in harmony because of agreed norms and values, and this is essential for society to survive.

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Gender

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Sociologists say that masculinity and femininity is a social construction. Being male or female is the biological sex you're born with, while masculinity and femininity are identities you're socialised into.

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Hawthorne Effect

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When participants are aware they are taking part in an experiment, it often affects their behaviour.

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Hegemony

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The domination of one group of people over others, or of one set of ideas and values over others. Law, religion, media, art, science, and literature may al be used to make the dominant group or values legitimate and to discredit alternatives.

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Hierarchy

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A system which ranks people according to status. Any system where you have a boss in charge of people is a hierarchy.

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Identity

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An individual's sense of self. This can be influenced by social factors such as class, gender, religion, and ethnicity.

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Ideological State Apparatus

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Institutions like the media, schools, Church and families which can spread the ideology of the state.

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Ideology

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A set of ideas and beliefs about the way things should be - often politically motivated.

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Institutional Racism

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When the policies, attitudes and actions of an institution discriminate against ethnic minorities - sometimes unintentionally.

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Institutions of Society

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Things like the family, the Church, the education system, the health care system etc.

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Interpretivism

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A sociological approach which focuses on the actions and thoughts of individuals. Society is viewed as the product of interaction between individuals.

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Labelling Theory

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This theory says that the labels given to someone affect their behaviour, e.g. someone who is labelled a criminal is more likely to commit criminal acts. Labels also affect how other people treat someone, e.g. teachers might treat a child labelled a 'troublemaker' more strictly.

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Left Realism

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Sociological viewpoint which developed from Marxism. The approach focuses on working within the capitalist framework and aims to direct social policy and help the poor.

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Marxism

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A theory and political ideology that opposes capitalism, and believes that it is based on the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie.

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Master Status

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A quality in an individual that comes to dominate the way that they are treated or viewed, to the extent that all their other qualities are disregarded. This quality then takes on the status of a label.

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Meritocracy

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A system where the best (most talented and hard-working) people rise to the top.

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Metanarratives

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An overarching, all-encompassing story which gives meaning to history and events.

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Moral Panic

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A fear of a moral crisis in society. The mass media have a big role in starting moral panics in modern society.

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Neo-Marxism

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In the 20th century, some of Marx's followers revised and adapted his ideas to make them more relevant to modern society. They often stress the importance of culture in sustaining capitalism, e.g. through hegemony of capitalist ideas.

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New Right

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Movement developed in the 1980s. They believe in the 'moral superiority' of the traditional nuclear family, and tends towards views that sexual tolerance and single mothers are bad for society. Problems like poverty and unemployment are seen to be caused by an over-generous welfare state. They have also claimed that there's been a moral decline in society due to secularisation.

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Norm

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A social rule about what is correct and appropriate behaviour within a particular culture.

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Operationalisation

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Defining a concept and deciding how to measure it.

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Patriarchy

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A society where men are dominant.

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Pluralism

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The belief that society is diverse and reflects the needs and views of everyone via democracy and the free market.

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Positivism

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A theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific method and quantitative data. The view is that human behaviour is determined by external social factors, and so is outside the control of the individuals in society.

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Postmodernism

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Theory which says there is no one objective truth or reality that everyone experiences. It rejects the ideas of modernism, such as positivism and metanarratives.

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Postmodernity

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The world after the modern age - with flexible working, individual responsibility and people constructing their own identity.

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Qualitative Methods of Research

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Methods like unstructured interviews and participant observation that give results which tell a story about individuals' lives.

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Quantitative Methods of Research

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Methods like surveys and structured interviews that give results you can easily put into a graph or table.

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Reflexive Sociology

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Research that accepts that the researcher's opinions have an effect on results, and takes this into account.

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Reliability

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Data is reliable if other sociologists using the same methods on the same group collect the same data. Quantitative data is usually the most reliable.

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Sanctions

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Rewards and punishments that reinforce social norms.

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Secularisation

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When religion loses its influence in society.

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Social Construct

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An idea or belief that's created in society, and doesn't come from a scientific fact.

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Social Policy

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Government decisions which affect society, e.g. raising taxes, changing the benefits system, privatisation.

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Socialisation

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Passing on cultural values and norms from one generation to the next, so that they become internalised, i.e. part of everyone's way of thinking.

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Stereotype

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A generalisation about a social group - often inaccurate and insulting.

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Subculture

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A group who share values and norms which are different from the mainstream culture. A culture within a culture.

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Triangulation

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Combining different research methods and data to get the best results.

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Underclass

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A social group at the bottom of the social hierarchy. New Right sociologists think they're lazy and dependent on welfare. Left wing sociologists think they're disadvantaged by the welfare system.

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Validity

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Data is valid if it gives an accurate picture of what's being measured.

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Value-Free Research

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Research that isn't biased, and isn't influenced by the researcher's beliefs.

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Values

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General beliefs in a society about what is important or what is right and wrong.