Sociology Chapters 1-4 Key Terms

Front 1

Anomie

Back 1

The loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective

Front 2

Applied sociology

Back 2

Teh use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations

Front 3

Basic sociology
(Pure sociology)

Back 3

Sociological inquiry conducted with the objective of gaining a more profound knowledge of the funamental aspects of social phenomena

Front 4

Clinical sociology

Back 4

The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of altering social relationships or restructuring social institutions.

Front 5

Conflict perspective

Back 5

A sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.

Front 6

Dramaturgical approach

Back 6

A view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers.

Front 7

Dysfunction

Back 7

An element or a process of society that may disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability.

Front 8

Feminist view

Back 8

A sociological approach that views inequity in gender as central to all behavior and organization.

Front 9

Functionalist perspective

Back 9

A sociological approach that emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability.

Front 10

Ideal type

Back 10

A construct or model for evaluatinng specific cases.

Front 11

Interactionist perspective

Back 11

A sociological approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole.

Front 12

Latent function

Back 12

Unconscious or unintended function; hidden purpose.

Front 13

Macrosociology

Back 13

Sociological investigation that concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations.

Front 14

Manifest function

Back 14

Open, stated and conscious function.

Front 15

Microsociology

Back 15

Sociologica investigation that stresses study of small groups and often uses laboratory experimental studies.

Front 16

Natural science

Back 16

The study of the physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change.

Front 17

Nonverbal communication

Back 17

The sending of messages through the use of posture, facial expressions and gestures.

Front 18

Science

Back 18

The body of knoledge obtained by methods based on systematic observations.

Front 19

Social inequality

Back 19

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

Front 20

Social science

Back 20

The study of social features of humans and the ways they interact and change

Front 21

Sociological imagination

Back 21

An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society.

Front 22

Sociology

Back 22

The systematic study of social behavior and human groups.

Front 23

Theory

Back 23

In sociology, a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior.

Front 24

Verstehen

Back 24

Teh German word for "understanding" or "insight"; used to stress the need for sociologists to take into account the subjective meanings people attach to their actions

Front 25

Casual logic

Back 25

The relationship between a condition or variable and a particular consequence in which one event leads to the other

Front 26

Code of ethics

Back 26

Teh standards of acceptable behavior developed by and for members of a profession

Front 27

Content analysis

Back 27

The systematic coding and objective recording of data, guided by some rationale.

Front 28

Control group

Back 28

The subjects in an experiment who are not introduced to the independent variable by the researcher.

Front 29

Control variable

Back 29

A factor that is held constant to test the relative impact of an independent variable

Front 30

Correlation

Back 30

A relationship between two variables in which a change in one coincides with a change in the other.

Front 31

Cross-tabulation

Back 31

A table that shows the relationship between two or more variables

Front 32

Dependent variable

Back 32

The variable in a causal relationship that is subject to the influence of another variable

Front 33

Ethnography

Back 33

The study of an entire social setting through extended systematic observation

Front 34

Experiment

Back 34

An artificially created situation that allows the reseracher to manipulate variables

Front 35

Experimental groups

Back 35

The subjects in an experiment who are exposed to an independent variable introduced by a researcher

Front 36

Hawthorne effect

Back 36

The unintended influence that observers of experiments can have on their subjects

Front 37

Hypothesis

Back 37

A speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

Front 38

Independent variable

Back 38

The variable in a causal relationship that causes or influences a change in a second variable

Front 39

Interview

Back 39

A face-to-face or telephone questioning of a respondent to obtain desired information

Front 40

Mean

Back 40

A number calculated by adding a series of values and then dividing by the number of values

Front 41

Median

Back 41

The midpoint or number that divides a series of values iinto two groups of equal numbers of values

Front 42

Mode

Back 42

Teh single most common value in a series of scores

Front 43

Observation

Back 43

A research technique in which an investigator collects information through direct participation and/or closely watching a group or community

Front 44

Operational definition

Back 44

An explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow a reseracher to assess the concept

Front 45

Percentage

Back 45

A portion of 100

Front 46

Qualitative research

Back 46

Research that collects and reports datat primarily in numerical form

Front 47

Qualitative research

Back 47

Research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data

Front 48

Quantitative research

Back 48

Research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

Front 49

Questionnaire

Back 49

A printed or written form used to obtain desired information from a respondent

Front 50

Random sample

Back 50

A sample for which every member of the entire population has the same chance of being selected.

Front 51

Reliability

Back 51

The extent to which a measure provides consistent results

Front 52

Research design

Back 52

A detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically

Front 53

Sample

Back 53

A selection from a larger population that is statistically representative of that population

Front 54

Scientific method

Back 54

A systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem

Front 55

Secondary analysis

Back 55

A variety of research techniques that make use of previously existing and publicly accessible information and data

Front 56

Survey

Back 56

A study, generally in the form of an interview or questionnaire, that provides researchers with information concerning how people think and act.

Front 57

Validity

Back 57

The degree to which a scale or measure truly reflects the phenomenon under study

Front 58

Value neutrality

Back 58

Max Weber's term for objectivity of sociologists in the interpretation of data

Front 59

Variable

Back 59

A measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions

Front 60

Argot

Back 60

Specialized language used by members of a group or subculture

Front 61

Biligualism

Back 61

The use of two or more languages in a particular setting, such as the workplace or schoolroom, treating each language as equally legitimate

Front 62

Counterculture

Back 62

A subculture that deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture

Front 63

Cultural relativism

Back 63

The viewing of people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture

Front 64

Cultural universal

Back 64

A common practice or belief found in every culture

Front 65

Culture

Back 65

The totality of leraned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior

Front 66

Culture lag

Back 66

A period of maladjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to new material conditions

Front 67

Culture shock

Back 67

The feeling of surprise and disorientation that people experience when they encounter cultural practices that are different from their own

Front 68

Diffusion

Back 68

The process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society

Front 69

Discovery

Back 69

The process of making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality

Front 70

Dominant ideology

Back 70

A set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and plitical interests.

Front 71

Ethnocentrism

Back 71

The tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others

Front 72

Folkway

Back 72

A norm governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern

Front 73

Formal norm

Back 73

A norm that has been written down and that specifies strict punishments for violators

Front 74

Globalization

Back 74

The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exhange of ideas

Front 75

Informal norm

Back 75

A norm that is generally undertood but is not precisely recorded

Front 76

Innovation

Back 76

The process of introducing a new idea or object into a culture through discovery or invention

Front 77

Invention

Back 77

The combination of existing cultural items into a form that did not exist before

Front 78

Language

Back 78

An abstract system ofword meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture; includes gestures and other nonverbal communication

Front 79

Law

Back 79

Governmental social control

Front 80

Material culture

Back 80

The physical or technological aspects of our daily lives

Front 81

Mores

Back 81

A norm deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society

Front 82

Nonmaterial culture

Back 82

Ways of using material objects, as well as customs, beliefs, philosophies, governments, and patterns of communication

Front 83

Norm

Back 83

An established standard of behavior maintained by a society

Front 84

Sanction

Back 84

A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm

Front 85

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Back 85

A hypothesis concerning the role of language in shaping our interpretation of reality. it holds that language is culturally determined

Front 86

Society

Back 86

A fairly large number of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside it, and participate in a common culture

Front 87

Sociobiology

Back 87

The systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior

Front 88

Subculture

Back 88

A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and valutes that differs from the pattern of the larger society

Front 89

Technology

Back 89

Information about how to use the material resources of the environment to satisfy human needs and desires

Front 90

Value

Back 90

A collective conception of what is considered good, desirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and improper-in a culture

Front 91

Xenocentrism

Back 91

The belief that he products, styles or ideas of one's society are inferior to those that originate elsewhere

Front 92

Anticipatory socialization

Back 92

Processes of socialization in which a person "rehearses" for future positions, occupations, and social relationships

Front 93

Cognitive theory of development

Back 93

Jean Piaget's theory that children's thought progresses through four stages of evelopment

Front 94

Degradation ceremony

Back 94

An aspect of the socialization process eithin some total institutions, in which people are subjected to humilating rituals

Front 95

Dramaturgical approach

Back 95

A view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers

Front 96

Face-work

Back 96

The efforts people make to maintain the proper image and avoid public embarrassment

Front 97

Gender role

Back 97

Expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of a male or female

Front 98

Generalized other

Back 98

Teh attitudes, viewpints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior

Front 99

Generalized other

Back 99

The attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior

Front 100

Impression management

Back 100

The altering of the presentation of the self in order to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences

Front 101

Looking-glass self

Back 101

A concept that emphasizes the self as the product of our social interactions with others

Front 102

Personality

Back 102

A person's typical patterns of attitudes, needs, characteristics, and behavior

Front 103

Resocialization

Back 103

The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life

Front 104

Rite of passage

Back 104

A ritual marking the symbolic transition from one social position to another

Front 105

Role taking

Back 105

The process of mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that imagined viewpoint

Front 106

Self

Back 106

A distinct identity that sets us apart from others

Front 107

Significant other

Back 107

An individual who is most important in the development of the self, such as a parent, friend, or teacher

Front 108

Socialization

Back 108

Teh lifelong process in which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture

Front 109

Symbol

Back 109

A gesture, object, or word that forms the basis of human communication

Front 110

Total institution

Back 110

An institution that regulates all aspects of a person's life under a single authority, such as a prison, the military, a mental hospital, or a convent