Sociology

Front 1

Sociological imagination

Back 1

C. Wright Mills

The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions.

Front 2

Social structure

Back 2

The underlying regularities or patterns in how people and their relationships with one another

Front 3

Socialization

Back 3

The social process by which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self.

Front 4

Globalization

Back 4

The development of social and economic relationships stretching world wide.

Front 5

Social facts

Back 5

Emilé Durkheim

The aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Can be studied scientifically.

Front 6

Organic solidarity

Back 6

Emilé Durkheim

The social cohesion that results from various parts of society functioning as an integrated whole.

Front 7

Social constraint

Back 7

Emilé Durkheim

The conditioning influence on our behavior, of the groups, and societies of which we are a member.

Front 8

Division of labor

Back 8

Emilé Durkheim

The specialization of work tasks, by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system.

Front 9

Anomie

Back 9

Emilé Durkheim

A situation where social norms lose their hold over an individual. Related to suicide.

Front 10

Materialist conception of history

Back 10

Karl Marx

Material or economic factors have become a prime role in determining historical change.

Front 11

Capitalism

Back 11

Karl Marx

An economic system based on private ownership of wealth which is invested in order to produce profit

Front 12

Bureaucracy

Back 12

Max Weber

A type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy and authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full time salaried officials

Front 13

Rationalism

Back 13

Max Weber

A concept that refers to the process by which modes of precise calculation and organization, involving abstract rules and procedures, increasingly come to dominate the social world.

Front 14

Symbolic interactionism

Back 14

George Herbert Mead

A theoretical approach to sociology which emphasizes the role of language and symbols as a core element of all human interaction.

Front 15

Symbol

Back 15

One item used to stand for or represent another- as in the case of a flag symbolizing a nation.

Front 16

Functionalism

Back 16

George Herbert Mead

A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can be best explained by the functions they perform ; the contributions they make to the continuity of society.

Front 17

Manifest Functions

Back 17

George Herbert Mead

Part of functionalism. The functions of a type of social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity.

Front 18

Latent Functions

Back 18

George Herbert Mead

Functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur. Ex- rain dance.

Front 19

Power (Marxism)

Back 19

The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further interests they hold. May lead to conflict, power struggles

Front 20

Ideologies

Back 20

Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. Present when inequalities exist in groups.

Front 21

Feminist Theory

Back 21

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world, uniqueness of experiences of women

Front 22

Rational choice approach

Back 22

Broad theory than an individual's behavior is purposive. Deviant behavior is a rational response to a specific social behavior.

Front 23

Postmodernism

Back 23

The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. Highly pluralistic and diverse.

Front 24

Microsociology

Back 24

Sociology - Face to face interactions

Front 25

Microsociology

Back 25

Study of large scale groups and systems.