Introductory Sociology Part 2

Front 1

_________ can refer either to something as broad as human association, or more narrowly--a group of people living in a certain geographical area who share a common culture.

Back 1

Society. This is known as society.

Front 2

Sociocultural _________ refers to the idea that as time passes, society becomes more complex.

Back 2

Evolution. Most societies have been observed to become more complex over time--this is known as sociocultural evolution

Front 3

_________ societies depend on hunting animals and gathering vegetation for food, and are nomadic--constantly moving around as the local sources of food are used up.

Back 3

Hunting. There are few hunting and gathering societies left in the world--there are a few tribes in Africa and Malaysia who can still be classified as this type of society.

Front 4

_________ societies grow their own food, but their level of technology is very primitive--hand tools are used to farm.

Back 4

Horticultural. Horticultural societies were mobile--they had to move as the land's resources were used up, or water supplies dwindled.

Front 5

_________ societies have dedicated animals as their primary source of food.

Back 5

Pastoral. Pastoral societies pasture animals for food. Some pastoral societies can be seen in Africa, where planting crops are not possible. Pastoral and horticultural societies are primitive, and come after hunting and gathering societies in level of complexity.

Front 6

___________ refers to a shared cultural heritage that defines a group of people.

Back 6

Ethnicity. Ethnicity involves cultural ties--shared cultural practices, perspectives and distinctions. Ethnic differences are learned, they have nothing to do with genetics. Physical differences, many which are inherited and based on genetics, are the basis of race, not ethnicity.

Front 7

_________ societies depend on farming, but use techniques such as irrigation and draft animals to produce a large surplus

Back 7

Agricultural. Agricultural societies are more advanced than horticultural or pastoral societies--mainly because the level of technology they use has advanced. They produce large surpluses of food, so their settlements are more permanent.

Front 8

In an ________ society, machines, many which are fuel-driven, are used to produce goods.

Back 8

Postindustrial. This is known as a postindustrial society. With recent technological advances, especially with the development of computers, postindustrial society revolves around storing, manipulating, and selling information.

Front 9

_________ believed that all societies are marked by class conflict, where the poor are exploited by the rich and powerful

Back 9

Marx. Karl Marx defined two classes--the proletariat, who were the laborers, and the bourgeoisie, who were the ones who exploited the laborers and owned the means of production. He said that someday the proletariat would overthrow the bourgeoisie, and a class-free society would be established.

Front 10

_________ believed that society limits our insatiable desires and gives our lives meaning.

Back 10

Durkheim. Emile Durkheim stated that humans were different from other animals, because we are not satisfied once our biological needs are met, and we need a sense of meaning or purpose. He said that society is the answer to these two things, and therefore is a source of moral and mental life.

Front 11

_________ is a French sociologist who was the first person to systematically apply scientific methods to sociology.

Back 11

Durkheim. Emile Durkheim extensively used statistics in his sociological research and believed that sociologists should only consider observable, or objective evidence only.

Front 12

One of the things Emile Durkheim is famous for is his definition of four types of ___________, including egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic types.

Back 12

Suicide. Emile Durkheim defined four types of suicide. Egoistic suicide results from too little social integration, while altruistic suicide is from too much integration--i.e. voluntary self sacrifice in the military. Anomic suicide results from not having the means to fulfill needs, and fatalistic suicide occurs in those with overregulated, unrewarding lives--i.e. slaves.

Front 13

Max Weber came up with a method which he called _______, which allows sociologists to mentally put themselves into the "other person's shoes" and obtain an "interpretative understanding" of individual behavior.

Back 13

Verstehen. This is known as verstehen, or empathetic understanding.

Front 14

_________ is a person's position in society or a group.

Back 14

Status. Status includes things such as being a computer science major, a wife, a Hispanic-American, etc.. People can have many statuses which they occupy simultaneously.

Front 15

An _________ status is one which the person has, not because he tried to achieve it, but either through birth or some other reason beyond his control.

Back 15

Ascribed. This is known as an ascribed status. Things such as your race, or gender, or the fact that you are a son or daughter, or a widower, are all ascribed statuses.

Front 16

An _________ status is one that a person has because of something he did, or through his efforts.

Back 16

Achieved. This is known as an achieved status, and the person had some degree of control in getting this status. Examples are being a husband, a teacher, a Boy Scout, etc..

Front 17

A ________ status is the most important status a person holds, and is the status that the person is most identified with.

Back 17

Master. This is known as a master status. People typically assume that a person has certain traits associated with their master status.

Front 18

All of the statuses a person occupies are known as his status _____.

Back 18

Set. A status set consists of all of a person's statuses. One man's status might be that he is a father, a husband, an engineer, and a co-worker.

Front 19

All of the statuses a person occupies are known as his status _____.

Back 19

Set. A status set consists of all of a person's statuses. One man's status might be that he is a father, a husband, an engineer, and a co-worker.

Front 20

_____________ theories are theories that attempt to determine patterns in the development of cities.

Back 20

Urbanization. Urbanization theories try to find patterns of urban growth. Some major theories are the multiple nuclei theory, concentric zone theory, and the sector theory.

Front 21

Role ________ is where different and conflicting expectations exist for a particular status.

Back 21

Strain. This is known as role strain. An example is a manager--he may socialize with the subordinates but at the same time maintain a distance as he makes sure they perform as required.

Front 22

Role ________ is where some of a person's statuses conflict with each other.

Back 22

Conflict. This is known as role conflict. For example, a father may find that his job as a security guard conflicts with his responsibilities as a father.

Front 23

Durkheim said that ______________ could result in anomie either in the whole society or some parts of it.

Back 23

Change. Social change was a source of anomie according to Emile Durkheim. Anomie refers to a condition of relative normlessness--social regulations break down, the controlling influence of society on individual propensities is no longer as effective and individuals are left to their own devices.

Front 24

A ________ group is an association of self-selected equals, based on friendship, a sense of belonging, and acceptance.

Back 24

Peer. This is known as a peer group, and competes with the family for the dominant group in a person's life.

Front 25

Charles Horton Cooley defined two types of groups. In a ________ group, the members intimately and warmly interact over a long period of time.

Back 25

Primary. This defines a primary group. Examples are families, friends, neighbors, church members, etc..

Front 26

Per hour worked, women now earn about ______ percent of what men earn

Back 26

75. Women earn about 75% of what men earn. The gap has been steadily closing.

Front 27

Charles Horton Cooley defined two types of groups. In a ________ group, the members do not interact much--the interaction may be anonymous, or for a short duration, and with few emotional ties.

Back 27

Secondary. This defines a secondary group. An example is a stockbroker and his clients.

Front 28

Ferdinand Tonnies defined two types of social groups--gemeinschaft and gesellschaft. ________ refers to small communities consisting largely of primary group relationships.

Back 28

Gemeinschaft. Gemeinschaft, often translated as community, is exemplified by the family or neighborhood.

Front 29

_____________ Racism is racism which has been codified into society's institutions of custom, practice, and law.

Back 29

Institutionalized. Institutionalized Racism is basically discrimination which is built into the social structure--there is no identifiable perpetrator.

Front 30

Ferdinand Tonnies defined two types of social groups--gemeinschaft and gesellschaft. ________ refers to groups where membership is based on contractual relationships--the members have a particular goal they want to achieve.

Back 30

Gesellschaft. Gesellschaft, often translated as society, is a group in which membership is goal-oriented. Examples are a city or state, which are larger than Gemeinschaft societies (family, village, town), and are based on trade and modern industry

Front 31

A ________ is a group consisting of two people.

Back 31

Dyad. A dyad consists of two people. It is the most cohesive of all groups because it has the potential for close and intense interaction. As the size of a group grows, it tends to get less intimate; members participate and cooperate less.

Front 32

A ________ is a group which consists of three people.

Back 32

Triad. A triad consists of three people, and does not tend to be as cohesive and personal as a dyad.

Front 33

________ is a technique developed by J. L. Moreno of figuring out the direction of interaction in a small group.

Back 33

Sociometry. Sociometry is a fancy word for finding out who is interacting with whom. An example of this technique is asking "Who is your best friend in the group?"

Front 34

An _________ is a group which a person belongs to.

Back 34

In-group. This is known as an in-group. We belong to in-groups, and we often feel a sense of competition or opposition to out-groups.

Front 35

A ________ group is a social group we use to provide the standards for how we evaluate ourselves.

Back 35

Reference. This is known as a reference group. For example, if a student thinks he is doing well in school because he is ranked first in his class, his class is the reference group. If he bases his perception on how his family reacts, his family is the reference group.

Front 36

Group _______ is where a person goes along with group goals, doing things they normally would not do, to be accepted

Back 36

Conformity. Group conformity refers to a person's compliance with group goals even when they are in conflict with his own goals.

Front 37

_________ is where members of a group think similarly and conform to each other's views, often at the expense of ignoring reality.

Back 37

Groupthink. This is known as groupthink, and usually results in decisions being made from a narrow point of view. Members with doubts and alternate ideas do not speak out because dissenting opinions are not tolerated.

Front 38

_________ leaders are achievement motivated--they are task-oriented leaders who are interested in achieving the goals.

Back 38

Instrumental. Instrumental leaders often make good managers because they are efficient, but they are not always well-liked by their subordinates.

Front 39

_________ leaders are affiliation motivated--they want to maintain warm, friendly relationships, and make sure that the subordinates are satisfied.

Back 39

Expressive. Expressive leaders often use a cooperative style of management, instead of a directive style used by instrumental leaders.

Front 40

A ________ organization is a secondary group with a goal-directed agenda. It is characterized by formality, ranked positions, and complex division of labor.

Back 40

Formal. Examples of formal organizations include colleges, businesses, political parties, and the military.

Front 41

The population growth rate is calculated by subtracting the _______ rate from the birth rate.

Back 41

Death. Subtract the death rate from the birth rate, and divide by 10. The equation for calculating a population's natural growth rate is (BR-DR) / 10.

Front 42

A formal organization consists of _________ organizations--which are made up by the informal relations among the workers

Back 42

Informal. Informal organizations are made up by the informal relations among the workers. Good informal relations usually improve worker satisfaction and productivity.

Front 43

A ________ is an organization whose goal is to perform complex tasks as efficiently as possible--it is guided by rules and written procedures, and is usually rigid and inflexible.

Back 43

Bureaucracy. A bureaucracy is a very formal type of organization. It has a strict hierarchy of authority, everything is governed by written rules and procedures, and it is composed of highly specialized jobs.

Front 44

_________ Law states that in a bureaucratic organization, "work expands to fill the time available for its completion."

Back 44

Parkinson's. This is known as Parkinson's Law. The idea is that bureaucracies always grow because managers continue to hire people to look busy and expand their "empire." Instead of doing just what needs to be done, managers create more work to fill the available time.

Front 45

___________ is the condition where population growth outpaces industrial growth.

Back 45

Overurbanization. That is one way in which overurbanization is defined. Basically, it is a condition where population increases in urban areas beyond the capacity of the existing structure to cope with them.

Front 46

The ___________ Principle states that employees in a bureaucracy are promoted to their level of incompetence.

Back 46

Peter. This is known as the Peter Principle. The idea is that competent managers are continuously promoted until eventually they reach a position in which they are incompetent. At that point, they don't receive further promotions, they're stuck in that position performing incompetently.

Front 47

Robert Michels came up with the Iron Law of _______, which said that in every organization, a small number of people actually make the decisions.

Back 47

Oligarchy. The Iron Law of Oligarchy stated that a small number of people in any organization end up making the decisions, even if the authority is supposed to belong to the members. The leaders end up growing more powerful than originally intended, and develop values which are at odds with the members.