Chapter 1

Front 1

Sociology

Back 1

the systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions

Front 2

Society

Back 2

a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from other groups

Front 3

Social Sciences

Back 3

the discipline that uses the scientific method to examine the social world, in contrast to the natural sciences, which examine the physical world

Front 4

sociological perspective

Back 4

a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens

Front 5

beginner's mind

Back 5

approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way

Front 6

culture shock

Back 6

a sense of disorientation that occurs when you enter a radically new social or cultural environment

Front 7

sociological imagination

Back 7

a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces

Front 8

microsociology

Back 8

the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and institutions of society

Front 9

macrosociology

Back 9

the level of analysis that studies larger scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals

Front 10

theories

Back 10

in sociology, abstracts propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future

Front 11

paradigms

Back 11

a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that make up a way of understanding social reality

Front 12

positivism

Back 12

the theory, developed by Auguste Comte, that sense perceptions are the only valid sources of knowledge

Front 13

scientific method

Back 13

a procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting concrete data through observation and experiment

Front 14

social Darwinism

Back 14

the application of the theory of evolution and the notion of "survival of the fittest" to the study of society

Front 15

Structural Functionalism

Back 15

a paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures

Front 16

mechanical solidarity

Back 16

term developed by Emile Durkheim to describe the type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion

Front 17

organic solidarity

Back 17

term developed by Emile Durkheim to describe the type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights

Front 18

anomie

Back 18

"normlessness"; term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that results from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change

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solidarity

Back 19

the degree of integration or unity within a particular society, the extent to which individuals feel connected to other members of the group

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sacred

Back 20

the holy, divine or supernatual

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profane

Back 21

the ordinary, mundane, everyday

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collective effervescence

Back 22

an intense energy in shared events where people feel swept up in something larger themselves

Front 23

collective conscience

Back 23

the shared morals and beliefs that are common to a group and which foster social solidarity

Front 24

empirical

Back 24

based on scientific experimental or observation

Front 25

structure

Back 25

a social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability

Front 26

dysfunction

Back 26

a disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system

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manifest functions

Back 27

the obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system

Front 28

latent functions

Back 28

the less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure

Front 29

conflict theory

Back 29

a paradigm that sees social conflicts as the basis of society conflict as the basis of society and social change, and emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change

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social inequality

Back 30

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of the society

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communism

Back 31

a political system based on the collective ownership of the means of production, opposed to capitalism

Front 32

conflict

Back 32

generated by the competition among different class groups for scarce resources and the source of all social change, according to Karl Marx

Front 33

capitalism

Back 33

an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and characterized by competition, the profit motive. and wage labor

Front 34

Means of Production

Back 34

anything that can create wealth, money, property, factories and other types of businesses, and the infrastructure necessary to run them.

Front 35

proletariat

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workers, those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live

Front 36

bourgeoisie

Back 36

owners, the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage labors

Front 37

alientation

Back 37

the sense of dissatisfaction the modern workers feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else, according to Karl Marx

Front 38

Socialism

Back 38

a political system based on state ownership or control of principal elements of the economy in order to reduce level of social inequality.