Terms For Exam I

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authority

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the ability to compel others to do things without needing to resort to threat. requires legitimacy

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bourgeoisie

Back 2

the group in a capitalist economy who own businesses and employ people to work for them

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capital

Back 3

a resource that can be used to make investments

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charisma

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derived from a Greek word meaning “gift of grace,” refers to unique individuals who claim special powers or gifts that their followers believe to be true

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civil inattention

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the act of ignoring other people to an appropriate degree even while noticing that other people are present

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code of ethics

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a set of guidelines that outlines what is considered moral and acceptable behavior in some context

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coercion

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the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats

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conflict theory

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a type of social theory that emerged out of dissatisfaction with structural functionalism and held that all societies are characterized by conflicts that arise from the uneven distribution of power and wealth between groups

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correlation

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the existence of a relationship between two variables. a correlation exists when a change in one variable is related to a change in another variable

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dependent variable

Back 10

a variable that fluctuates in relation to other variables. in research, the object of explanation

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digital footprint

Back 11

trail of data you create while using the internet

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division of labor

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the specialization of individuals in any organization or group, or in society as a whole, particularly in relation to work

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double consciousness

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term to describe an individual whose identity is divided into several facets. reveals the psycho-social divisions in american society and allows for a full understanding of those divisions

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empirical evidence

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information acquired by observation or experimentation

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(structural) functionalism

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a theory of society in which individuals, groups, and the institutions of any society are guided by an overarching social system and can be explained by the needs of society to reproduce itself

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game stage

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mead's third stage of development. never truly ends. the stage at which we begin to understand that others have expectations and demands places upon them

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generalization

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forming conclusions about broader society from research on a subgroup or sample of the broader society

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generalized other

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the social control exercised by commonsense understandings of what is appropriate given a specific time and place

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groups

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number of people who identify and interact with one anothe

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identities

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conception, qualities, beliefs, and expressions that make a person (self-identity) or group

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independent variable

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a factor that might help to explain some outcome of interest

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industrialization

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a process of economic change characterized by the decline of farming and the growth of factories and large-scale goods productions

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institutions

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govern the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community. identified with a social purpose, transcending individuals and intentions by meditating the rules that govern living behavior

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interest

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the state of wanting to know or learn about something or someone

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interpretive

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study of society that concentrates on the meanings people associate to their social world

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legal-rational

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form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy and bureaucracy

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legitimacy

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the acceptance of the authority of a ruler and/or system of government

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looking glass self

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the theory that the self develops through a process of reflection, like a mirror

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mechanical solidarity

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refers to the factors that hold primitive societies together, mostly through family and kinship ties and a collective consciousness shared by all the members of the community

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modes of production

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refers to the varied ways that human beings collectively produce the means of subsistence in order to survive and enhance social being

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network analysis

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a research technique that focuses on identifying the connections among individuals, groups and organizations

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norms

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a basic rule of society that helps us know what is and is not appropriate to do in a situation. evolve over time as social attitudes and expectations change, typically very slow

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operationalize

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when researchers define the methods and techniques to be used to assess and define the concepts that are being investigated

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organic solidarity

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as societies become more advanced, they are held together through the mutual dependence and interdependence individuals have with one another

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organizations

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structure of social relations within a group, usually the relations between its subgroups and institutions

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dominant group

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a social group the controls the value system and rewards in a particular society

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paradigm

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theoretical orientation referring to a problem in society

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path dependence

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the process by which historical legacies and outcomes of the past impact actors and organizations in the present, making some choices or outcomes appear logical and others illogical

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persuasion

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influence others to believe specific ideas

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play stage

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mead's second stage of development. occurs about ages 2-4. during this stage, children play roles and begin to take on characteristics of important people in their world

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power

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3 distinct dimensions. 1) power of an individual/group to get another individual/group to do something it wants, could sometimes involve force; 2) power to control agenda of issues that are to be decided; 3) power to persuade others that their interests are the same as those of a powerholder

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proletariat

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individuals in capitalist economies who work in exchange for pay, synonymous with the term "working class"

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racism

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prejudice and/or discrimination against individuals who are members of particular racial or ethnic groups, often drawing negative stereotypes about the group

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reference group

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set of individuals who share similar preferences or social positions and have influence on an individual or members of a group

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role taking

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theory that one of most important factors in facilitating social cognition in children is the growing ability to understand others' feelings and perspectives, an ability that emerges as a result of general cognitive growth

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self-fulfilling prophecy

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which someone is defined in a particular way and then comes to fulfill the expectations of that definition

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significant other

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individuals close enough to us have a strong capacity to motivate our behavior

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social action

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behavior to which human beings attach a specific meaning or set of meanings, also behavior that is guided by or takes account of the behavior of other human beings

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social context

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refers to the immediate physical or social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops, includes the culture that individuals was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact

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social fact

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values, cultural norms, and social structures which transcend the individual and are capable of exercising social control

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social hierarchy

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a society's categorization of people in socioeconomic strata, based upon their occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power

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social interaction

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dynamic sequence of social actions between individuals (or groups) who modify their actions and reactions due to actions by their interactions partner(s)

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social networks

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social structure made up by a set of social actors, sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors

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social structure

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distinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society interact and live together, whether we like it or not

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sociological imagination

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the capacity to think systematically about how many things we experience as personal problems are really social issues that are widely shared by others born in a similar time and social location as us. involves taking into account how our individual lives are impacted by historical and social contexts

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sociology

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study of societies and the social worlds that individuals inhabit within them

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socialization

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process by which individuals come to understand the expectations norms of their groups as well as various roles they transition into over the life course and how to behave in society or in particular social settings

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status group

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any group that forms a common identity and develops ways of distinguishing insiders from outsiders

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stratification system

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the full range of social hierarchies found in any society, which can create inequalities between individuals and groups

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theory

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statements of how and why particular facts about the social world are related

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traditional authority

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type of leadership in which the authority of a ruling regime is largely tied to tradition or custom

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urbanization

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growth of cities

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validity

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the extent to which the measurement a researcher uses accurately measures what it is intended to measure

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value

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a judgement about what is intrinsically important or meaningful