Sociology: The Core Michael Hughes 3

Front 1

age norms

Back 1

Rules that define what is appropriate for people to be and to do at various ages.

Front 2

anticipatory socialization

Back 2

The process in which people think about, experiment with, and try on the behaviors associated with a new role.

Front 3

body language

Back 3

Physical motions and gestures that provide social signals.

Front 4

communication

Back 4

The process by which people transmit information, ideas, attitudes, and mental states to one another.

Front 5

conditiong

Back 5

A form of learning in which the consequences of behavior determine the probability of its future occurrence.

Front 6

definition of the situation

Back 6

A concept formulated by William I. Thomas, which refers to the interpretation or meaning people give to their immediate circumstances.

Front 7

dramaturgial approach

Back 7

The sociological perspective associated with Erving Goffman that views the performances staged in a theater as an analytical analogy and tool for depicting social life.

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egocentric bias

Back 8

The tendency to place ourselves at the center of events so that we overperceive ourselves as the victim or target of an action or event that in reality is not directed at us.

Front 9

euthanasia

Back 9

The painless putting to death of an individual who suffers from an incurable and painful disease.

Front 10

generalized other

Back 10

The term George Herbert Mead applied to the social unit that gives individuals their unity of self. The attitude of the generalized other is the attitude of the larger community.

Front 11

hospice

Back 11

A program or mode of care that attempts to make the dying experience less painful and emotionally traumatic for patients and their families.

Front 12

impression management

Back 12

The term Erving Goffman applied to the process whereby we present ourselves to others in ways that will lead them to view us in a favorable light.

Front 13

language acquisition device

Back 13

The view associated with Noam Chomsky that human beings possess an inborn language-generating mechanism. The basic structure of language is seen as biologically channeled, forming a sort of prefabricated filing system to order the words and phrases that make up human languages.

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life course

Back 14

The interweave of age-graded trajectories with the vicissitudes of changing social conditions and future options that characterize the life span from conception through old age and death.

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life events

Back 15

Turning points at which people change some direction in the course of their lives.

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looking-glass self

Back 16

The term that Charles Horton Cooley applied to the process by which we imaginatively assume the stance of other people and view ourselves as we believe they see us.

Front 17

observational learning

Back 17

Learning that occurs when people reproduce the responses they observe in other people, either real or fictional; also referred to as modeling or imitation.

Front 18

paralanguage

Back 18

Nonverbal cues surrounding speech—voice, pitch, volume, pacing of speech, silent pauses, and sighs—that provide a rich source of communicative information.

Front 19

personal efficacy

Back 19

The belief that one can overcome obstacles and achieve goals.

Front 20

proxemics

Back 20

The way we employ social and personal space to transmit messages.

Front 21

puberty rites

Back 21

Initiation ceremonies that symbolize the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Front 22

reflected appraisals

Back 22

Appraisals of ourselves that we see reflected in the behavior of others.

Front 23

reflexive behavior

Back 23

Actions through which people observe, interpret, evaluate, communicate with, and attempt to control themselves.

Front 24

self

Back 24

The set of concepts we use in defining who we are.

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self-conception

Back 25

An overriding view of ourselves; a sense of self through time.

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self-esteem

Back 26

The belief that one is a good and valuable person.

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self-image

Back 27

A mental conception or picture we have of ourselves that is relatively temporary; it changes as we move from one context to another.

Front 28

significant other

Back 28

The term George Herbert Mead applied to a social model, usually an important person in an individual's life.

Front 29

social clock

Back 29

A cultural timetable based on age norms and used by individuals to pace the major events of their lives.

Front 30

social comparisons

Back 30

Comparing one's performance, ability, or characteristics with those of others and rating oneself as positive, neutral, or negative. Social conditions that permit a particular variety of collective behavior to occur.

Front 31

socialization

Back 31

A process of social interaction by which people acquire the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviors essential for effective participation in society.

Front 32

Thomas theorem

Back 32

The notion that our definitions influence our construction of reality; as stated by William I. Thomas and Dorothy S. Thomas: "If [people] define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."