Sociology Ch. 7-9

Front 1

Anomie

Back 1

Durkheim's term for the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective. (168)

Front 2

Anomie theory of deviance

Back 2

Robert Merton's theory of deviance as an adaptation of socially prescribed goals or of the means governing their attainment, or both. (168)

Front 3

Conformity

Back 3

Going along with peers- individuals of our own status who have no special right to direct our behavior. (159)

Front 4

Control theory

Back 4

A view of conformity and deviance that suggests that our connection to members of society leads us to systematically conform to society's norms. (163)

Front 5

Crime

Back 5

A violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties. (173)

Front 6

Cultural transmission

Back 6

A school of criminology that argues that criminal behavior is learned through social interactions. (169)

Front 7

Deviance

Back 7

Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. (163)

Front 8

Differential association

Back 8

A theory of deviance that holds that violation of rules results from exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts. (170)

Front 9

Differential justice

Back 9

Differences in the way social control is exercised over different groups. (172)

Front 10

Formal social control

Back 10

Social control that is carried out by authorized agents, such as police officers. judges, school administrators, and employers. (161)

Front 11

Index crimes

Back 11

The eight types of crime reported annually by the FBI in the Uniform Crime Reports: murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft. motor vehicle theft, and arson. (174)

Front 12

Informal social control

Back 12

Social control that is carried out casually by ordinary people through such means as laughter, smiles, and ridicule. (160)

Front 13

Labeling theory

Back 13

An approach to deviance that attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while others engaged in the same behavior are not. (171)

Front 14

Law

Back 14

Governmental social control. (161)

Front 15

Obedience

Back 15

Compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure. (159)

Front 16

Organized crime

Back 16

The work of a group that regulates relations among criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities, including prostitution, gambling, and the smuggling an d sale of illegal drugs. (174)

Front 17

Professional criminal

Back 17

A person who peruses crime as a day-to-day occupation, developing skilled techniques and enjoying a certain degree of status among other criminals. (174)

Front 18

Routine activities theory

Back 18

The notion that criminal victimization increases when motivated offenders and suitable targets converge. (170)

Front 19

Sanction

Back 19

A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm. (158)

Front 20

Social constructionist perspective

Back 20

An approach to deviance taht emphasizes the role of culture in the creation of the deviant identity. (171)

Front 21

Social control

Back 21

The techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society. (158)

Front 22

Societal-reaction approach

Back 22

Another name for labeling theory. (171)

Front 23

Stigma

Back 23

A label used to devalue members of a certain social groups. (164)

Front 24

Transnational crime

Back 24

Crime that occurs across multiple national borders. (176)

Front 25

Victimization survey

Back 25

A questionnaire or interview given to a sample of the population to determine whether people have been victims of crime. (178)

Front 26

Victimless crime

Back 26

A term used by sociologists to describe the willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services. (174)

Front 27

White-collar crime

Back 27

Illegal acts committed by affluent, "respectable" individuals in the course of business activities. (175)

Front 28

Absolute poverty

Back 28

A minimum level of subsistence that no family should be expected to live below. (197)

Front 29

Achieved status

Back 29

A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts. (186)

Front 30

Ascribed status

Back 30

A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics. (186)

Front 31

Bourgeoisie

Back 31

Karl Marx's term for the capitalist class, comprising the owners of the means of production. (189)

Front 32

Capitalism

Back 32

An exonomic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits. (189)

Front 33

Caste

Back 33

A hereditary rank, usually religiously dictated, that tends to be fixed and immobile. (187)

Front 34

Class

Back 34

A group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income. (191)

Front 35

Class consciousness

Back 35

In Karl Marx's view, a subjective awareness held by member of a class regarding their common vested interests and need for collective political action to bring about social change. (190)

Front 36

Class system

Back 36

A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. (188)

Front 37

Closed system

Back 37

A social system in which there is little or no possibility of individual social mobility. (201)

Front 38

Corporate welfare

Back 38

Tax breaks, direct payments, and grants that the government makes to corporations. (204)

Front 39

Dominant ideology

Back 39

A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. (193)

Front 40

Estate system

Back 40

A system of stratification under which peasants were required to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services. Also known as feudalism. (188)

Front 41

Esteem

Back 41

The reputation that a specific person has earned within an occupation. (194)

Front 42

False consciousness

Back 42

A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect their objective position. (190)

Front 43

Horizontal mobility

Back 43

The movement of an individual from one social position to another of the same rank. (201)

Front 44

Income

Back 44

Salaries and wages. (186)

Front 45

Intergenerational mobility

Back 45

Changes in social position of children relative to their parents. (201)

Front 46

Intragenerational Mobility

Back 46

Changes in social position within a person's adult life

Front 47

Life Chances

Back 47

The opportunities people have to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences

Front 48

Objective Method

Back 48

A technique for measuring social class that assign individuals to classes on the basis of criteria such as occupation, education, income, and place of residence.

Front 49

Open System

Back 49

A social system in which the position of each individual is influenced by his or her achieved status

Front 50

Power

Back 50

The ability to exercise one's willover others

Front 51

Prestige

Back 51

The respect and admiration that an occupation holds in a society.

Front 52

Proletariat

Back 52

Karl Marx's term for the working class in a capatialist society.

Front 53

Relative Poverty

Back 53

A floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society, whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a whole.

Front 54

Slavery

Back 54

A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people.

Front 55

Social Inequality

Back 55

A condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.

Front 56

Social Mobility

Back 56

Movements of individuals or groups from one position in a society's stratification system to another.

Front 57

Status Group

Back 57

People who have the same prestige or lifestyle, independent of their class positions.

Front 58

Stratification

Back 58

A structured ranking of entire groups of people that prepetuates unequal rewards and power in a society.

Front 59

Underclass

Back 59

The long-term poor who lack training and skills.

Front 60

Vertical Mobility

Back 60

The movement of an individual form one social position to another of a different rank.

Front 61

Wealth

Back 61

An inclusive term encompassing all a person's material assets, including land, stocks, and other types of property.

Front 62

Borderlands

Back 62

The area of common culture along the border between Mexico and the United States.

Front 63

Colonialism

Back 63

The maintenance fo political, social, economic, and culture dominance over poeple by a foreign power for an extended period.

Front 64

Dependency Theory

Back 64

An approach that contends that industrialized nations continue to exploit developing countries for their own gain.

Front 65

Globalization

Back 65

The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and finacial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas.

Front 66

Gross National Product (GNP)

Back 66

The value of the nation's goods and services.

Front 67

Human Rights

Back 67

Universal moral rights possessed by all people because they are human.

Front 68

Modernization

Back 68

The far-reaching process by which periphery nations move from traditional or less develpoed institutions to those characteristic of more developed socities.

Front 69

Modernization Theory

Back 69

A functionalist approach that proposes that modernization and development will gradually improve the lives of people in developing nations.

Front 70

Multinational Corporation

Back 70

A commercial organization that is headquartered in one country but does business throughout the world.

Front 71

Neocolonialism

Back 71

Continuing depence of former colonies on foreign countries.

Front 72

Remittances

Back 72

The monies that immigrants return to their families orgin. Also called migradollars

Front 73

World Systems Analysis

Back 73

A view of the global economic system as one divided between certain industrialization nations that control wealth and developing countries that are exploited.