Sociology Terms And Theory Ch. 5

Front 1

social structure

Back 1

The social patterns through which a society is organized; can be horizontal or vertical.

Front 2

social inequality

Back 2

The ways in which a society or group ranks people in a hierarchy.

Front 3

status

Back 3

The position that someone occupies in society.

Front 4

status set

Back 4

All the positions an individual occupies.

Front 5

ascribed status

Back 5

The status that someone is born with and has no control over.

Front 6

achieved status

Back 6

A status achieved at some point after birth, sometimes through one’s own efforts and sometimes because of good or bad luck.

Front 7

master status

Back 7

A status that is so important that it overrides other statuses a person may hold

Front 8

status symbol

Back 8

An object that signifies a particular status that a person holds.

Front 9

role

Back 9

The behavior expected of someone with a certain status.

Front 10

social network

Back 10

The totality of relationships that link us to other people and groups and through them to still other people and groups.

Front 11

social group

Back 11

Two or more people who regularly interact on the basis of mutual expectations and who share a common identity.

Front 12

formal organization

Back 12

A large group that follows explicit rules and procedures to achieve specific goals and tasks.

Front 13

social institution

Back 13

Patterns of beliefs and behavior that help a society meet its basic needs.

Front 14

society

Back 14

A group of people who live within a defined territory and who share a culture.

Front 15

Gemeinschaft

Back 15

A human community, particularly a small society with a strong sense of community and strong group ties.

Front 16

Gesellschaft

Back 16

A large society characterized by weak and impersonal social ties.

Front 17

hunting-and-gathering societies

Back 17

Societies of a few dozen members whose food is obtained from hunting animals and gathering plants and vegetation.

Front 18

horticultural societies

Back 18

Societies that use hoes and other simple tools to raise small amounts of crops.

Front 19

pastoral societies

Back 19

Societies that raise livestock as their primary source of food.

Front 20

agricultural societies

Back 20

Societies that cultivate large amounts of crops with plows and other relatively advanced tools and equipment.

Front 21

industrial societies

Back 21

Large societies that rely on machines and factories as their primary modes of economic production.

Front 22

postindustrial societies

Back 22

Societies in which information technology and service jobs have replaced machines and manufacturing jobs as the primary dimension of the economy.

Front 23

social interaction

Back 23

The ways in which people act with other people and react to how other people are acting.

Front 24

background assumptions

Back 24

Our understanding of the roles expected of people in a given encounter.

Front 25

social construction of reality

Back 25

The process by which individuals understand and create reality through their interaction with other individuals.

Front 26

role conflict

Back 26

The problems arising when a person has to deal with competing demands on two or more roles that the person is expected to play.

Front 27

role strain

Back 27

The problems arising when a person performing a role has to deal with competing demands on that role.

Front 28

dramaturgical approach

Back 28

Erving Goffman’s metaphor that likens social interaction to a performance in a dramatic production.

Front 29

impression management

Back 29

Erving Goffman’s term for the process whereby individuals who are interacting try to convey a favorable impression of themselves.

Front 30

emotions

Back 30

Feelings that begin with a stimulus and that often involve psychological changes and a desire to engage in specific actions.

Front 31

nonverbal communication

Back 31

Ways of communicating that do not involve talking.