Cooperation — interaction that occurs when people work together to achieve shared goals. Reference Group — groups that individuals compare themselves to regularly, either because they identify with the group or aspire to it.
Bureaucracy — a special type of complex organization characterized by explicit rules and hierarchical authority structure, all designed to maximize efficiency. Social Control — consists of the forces and processes that encourage conformity, including self-control, informal control, and formal control.
Deviance — refers to norm violations that exceed the tolerance level of the community and result in negative sanctions. Medicalization — the process through which a condition or behavior becomes defined as a medical problem requiring a medical solution.
White Collar Crime — crimes committed by respectable people of high status in the course of their occupation. Labeling Theory — concerned with the processes by which labels such as deviant come to be attached to specific people and behaviors.
Social Stratification — an institutionalized pattern of inequality in which social statuses are ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources. Caste — rely largely on ascribed statuses as the basis for distributing scarce resources.
Class systems rely largely on achieved statuses as the basis for distributing scarce resources. Socioeconomic Status — measure of social class that ranks individuals on income, education, occupation, or some combination of these. Culture of poverty — a set of values that emphasizes living for the moment rather than thrift, investment in the future, or hard work.
Modernization — sees development as the natural unfolding of an evolutionary process in which societies go from simple to complex economies and institutional structures. World Systems Theory — conflict perspective of the economic relationships between developed and developing countries, the core and peripheral societies. Race — a category of people treated as distinct because of physical characteristics to which social importance has been assigned.
Pluralism — the peaceful coexistence of separate and equal cultures in the same society. Institutional Racism — occurs when the normal operation of apparently neutral processes systematically produces unequal results for majority and minority groups. Gender Roles — refer to the rights and obligations that are normative for men and women in a particular culture. Sexual Harassment — unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Transgender — individuals whose sex or sexual identity is not definitively male or female. Some are hermaphrodites, some are transsexuals. Sexism — belief that men and women have biologically different capacities and that these form a legitimate basis for unequal treatment. Family — group of persons linked together by blood, adoption, marriage, or quasi-marital commitment.
Marriage — an institutionalized social structure that provides an enduring framework for regulating sexual behavior and childbearing. Rite of Passage — formal rituals that mark the end of one age status and the beginning of another.
Hidden Curriculum — the underlying cultural messages taught by schools. Both public and private schools teach young people to accept inequality. Religion — system of beliefs and practices related to sacred things that unites believers into a moral community.
Secularization — the process of transferring things, ideas, or events from the sacred realm to the non-sacred realm. Fundamentalism — Refers to religious movements that stress traditional interpretations of religion and the importance of living in ways that mesh with those traditional interpretations.
Sacred — things and events that we hold in awe and reverence. What we can neither understand nor control. Profane — all that is routine and taken for granted in the everyday world, things that are known and familiar and that we can control, understand, and manipulate.
Protestant Ethic — the belief that work, rationalism, and plain living are moral virtues, whereas idleness and indulgence are sinful. Civil Religion — set of institutionalized rituals, beliefs, and symbols sacred to the US nation.
Democracy — political system that provides regular, constitutional opportunities for a change in leadership according to the will of the majority. Authoritarian Governments — political systems in which the leadership is not selected by the people and legally cannot be changed by them. A large impersonal society in which individual achievement is valued over kinship ties and in which people often feel isolated from one another.
A status we possess that overrides all other statuses and becomes the one by which we are known to others. The institution responsible for defining and treating mental and physical problems among its members. A term used to refer to a pluralistic society in which people who originally come from different societies blend together to form a new society. A system of stratification in which positions are given according to individual merit. The class that consists of people who earn their money by working at professional jobs, also called white-collar jobs.
A political system in which a representative from one family controls the government and power is passed on through that family from generation to generation. A social custom in which married couples move to a new home of their own together. A series of social ties that can be important sources of information, contacts, and assistance for its members. The class that consists of people whose wealth has been around only for a generation or two.
The highest stratum of the estate system of stratification. Members had significant inherited wealth and did little or no discernible work. According to control theory, individuals who encourage people not to stray into deviance. A society that relies on the domestication and breeding of animals for food. A social group in which members are usually the same age and have interests and social position in common.
A society that features an economy based on services and technology, not production. An estimate set by the federal government of the minimum income that a family of four needs to survive. A term coined by C. Wright Mills that refers to his theory that the United States is actually run by a small group representing the most wealthy, powerful, and influential people in business, government, and the military.
According to Lemert, a deviant act that elicits little or no reaction from others. A group in which there is frequent face-to-face contact, little task orientation, and emotional intimacy among members. Props also include manner of dress. The belief that while the physical body dies, the soul of a person is immortal and goes on to be reborn into another body. A set of norms, values, and personality characteristics expected of a person based on the setting he or she is in.
A group in which there is infrequent or short-term contact, little task orientation, and no emotional intimacy among members. The place where interaction takes place. According to Goffman, it is one of the sign vehicles we use to present ourselves to others, along with manner of interacting and appearance. Sign vehicles consist of setting, appearance, and manner of interacting. According to Charles Horton Cooley, a person in our lives whose opinions matter to us and who is in a position to influence our thinking.
A worker who is literate and has experience and expertise in specific areas of production or on specific kinds of machines.
A system of stratification in which one person owns another, usually for economic gain. A theory suggesting that the way in which we present ourselves is shaped by our life experiences, as well as by our interactions with others. The degree to which an individual feels connected to the other people in his or her group or community.
A system under which resources and means of production are owned by the society as a whole, rights to private property are limited, the good of the whole society is stressed more than individual profit, and the government maintains control of the economy. A calculation based on a complex formula that takes into account education, occupation, and income. A system under which resources and means of production are privately owned but closely monitored and regulated by the government.
The collection of all of our different statuses, from every setting in which we are a member. An assumption we make about a person or a group, often on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information. A sociological view of society as a complex unit made up of interrelated parts.
Sociologists who apply this theory study social structure and social function. A group that espouses a way of living that is different from that of the dominant culture. According to Freud, the part of the mind that encourages conformity to societal norms and values.
It is also called the conscience. A sociological framework that views society as a product of the everyday social interactions of individuals. The theory espousing sociologist W. The highest social group, consisting of people with inherited wealth and a recognizable family name. The process by which the majority of a population comes to live within commuting distance of a major city. A culturally approved belief about what is right or wrong, desirable or undesirable.
A group we choose to join, in which members are united by the pursuit of a common goal. A system that features a market-based economy coupled with an extensive social welfare system that includes free health care and education for all citizens. Middle-class workers; so called because of the tendency of middle-class men to wear white shirts to work. Nonviolent crime committed by the capitalist class during the course of their occupations.
The class composed of people who sell their labor to a higher class. They may have had vocational or technical training and have jobs such as electrician or factory worker.
The class composed of people whose work leaves them vulnerable to falling below the poverty level. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Glossary of Terms in Sociology. Please wait while we process your payment. Sign up and get instant access to save the page as your favorite.
Terms Glossary of Terms in Sociology. Absolute monarchy A political system under which a king or queen has complete control of a country. Achieved status A status that we either earn or choose and that is not subject to where or to whom we were born. Agents of socialization People, groups, and experiences that influence our behavior and self-image. Aggregate A collection of people who happen to be at the same place at the same time but have no other connection to one another.
Agricultural or agrarian society A society that raises crops by using animal-drawn plows. Alienation The feeling of workers in a bureaucracy that they are being treated as objects rather than people. American Dream The belief that all Americans, regardless of the conditions of their birth, have an equal chance to achieve success.
Anticipatory socialization The learning of new norms and values in anticipation of a future role. Apartheid A social system in which there is total separation of the races. Appearance The way we look physically to other people. Ascribed status A trait or characteristic people possess as a result of the circumstances of birth. Assimilation The process whereby members of a group give up parts of their own culture in order to blend in to a new culture.
Authoritarianism A political system that does not allow citizens to participate in government. Belief A specific idea that people feel to be true. Blue-collar Another term for the working class. Body language The ways in which we use our bodies consciously and unconsciously to communicate. Bureaucracy According to Weber, a type of formal organization in which a rational approach is used for the handling of large tasks.
Capitalism The economic system in which the means of production are owned privately and individuals are free to keep the profits they make. Capitalist class In industrialized societies, the rich and powerful and the owners of the means of production. Caste system A system of stratification based on ascribed statuses. Category A collection of people who share a particular characteristic but have nothing else in common.
Church A religious group integrated with society. Class system A system of stratification based on achieved statuses. Clergy The middle stratum of the estate system of stratification, composed of Roman Catholic priests. Clique An internal cluster or faction within a group. Colonialism The tendency for a powerful country to invade a weaker country in order to exploit its resources by making it a colony. Commoners The lowest stratum of the estate system of stratification, composed of the masses of people who spent their lives engaged in hard physical labor.
Communism An economic system similar to socialism in which all the means of production would be owned by everyone and all profits would be shared equally by everyone. Conflict view of deviance The view that purports that equality in a capitalist society is an illusion.
Constitutional monarchy A monarchy in which the reigning member of the royal family is the symbolic head of state but elected officials actually do the governing.
Counterculture A way of living that opposes the dominant culture. Crime The violation of a written law. Crime against the person An act of violence either threatened or perpetrated against a person. Crime against property The theft of property or certain forms of damage against the property of another person. Cult A religious group that is outside standard cultural norms. Cultural diffusion The process whereby an aspect of culture spreads throughout a culture or from one culture to another.
Cultural relativism The attitude that in order to understand the traits of another culture, one must view them within the context of that culture. Culture Everything made, learned, and shared by the members of a society. Culture lag The tendency for changes in material culture to occur at a more rapid rate than changes in nonmaterial culture.
Culture of poverty The phrase that Oscar Lewis used to describe the idea that poor people do not learn the norms and values that can help them improve their circumstances and hence get trapped in a repeated pattern of poverty. Culture shock The surprise, disorientation, and fear people can experience upon encountering a different culture. Democracy A political system in which citizens periodically choose officials to run their government.
Deviance The violation of a norm. Deviant subculture A way of living that differs from the dominant culture, in which members share a particular form of deviance. Divine right of kings An ideology developed by the nobility during the Middle Ages that posited that the authority of the nobility came directly from God. Dyad A group composed of two people. Economy The institution responsible for the production and distribution of goods and services. Education The institution responsible for preparing young people for a functional place in adult life and for transmitting culture from one generation to the next.
Ego According to Freud, the part of the mind that resolves conflicts between the id and the superego. Endogamy Marriage between members of the same category, class, or group.
Estate system The three-tiered stratification system used during the Middle Ages. Exogamy Marriage between members of different categories, classes, or groups. Extended family Several generations or branches of a family. Family The institution responsible for the rearing of children.
Feminization of poverty The phrase that describes the increasing number of female-headed households living at or below the poverty level. Folkway A norm followed out of convenience or tradition. Formal organization A secondary group that is organized to achieve specific goals and tends to be large and impersonal.
Gender role A set of behaviors, attitudes, and personality characteristics expected and encouraged of a person based on his or her sex. Gender socialization The tendency for boys and girls to be socialized differently. Global stratification The stratification of nations. Globalization of capitalism The adoption of capitalism by countries around the world. Government The institution responsible for making and enforcing the rules of society and for regulating relations with other societies.
Group Two or more people who interact over time, have a sense of identity or belonging, and have norms that nonmembers do not have. Group dynamics A term that implies that our thoughts and behavior are influenced by the groups of which we are members and, in turn, we influence the thought process and behavior of the group as a whole.
Groupthink A term coined by Irving Janis that refers to the tendency of people in positions of power to follow the opinions of the group, to the point that there is a narrow view of the issue at hand. Halo effect The assumption that a physically attractive person also possesses other good qualities.
Health The well-being of people. Horticultural society A society in which hand tools are used to grow crops. Hunting and gathering society A society in which people acquire food by hunting game and gathering edible plants.
Id According to Freud, the first part of the mind to develop and the part of the self responsible for the satisfaction of physical states. Ideology A set of values that people devise to rationalize a particular social custom.
In-group A group to which one belongs and to which one feels loyalty. Indentured servitude A system of stratification in which an individual agrees to sell his or her body or labor to another for a specified period of time.
Industrial society A society that uses advanced sources of energy, rather than humans and animals, to run large machinery. Industrializing nations Countries that are in the process of becoming industrialized; includes most of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Inner controls According to control theory, the thought processes such as morality or a conscience that reside within people and that can prevent them from committing acts of deviance.
Institution A set of norms surrounding the carrying out of a function necessary for the survival of a society. Institutionalized means Legitimate, socially approved ways that societies offer their members to achieve culturally approved goals. Labeling theory A theory of deviance put forth by Howard Becker that claims that deviance is that which is so labeled. Law A norm that is written down and enforced by an official agency.
Least industrialized nations Primarily agricultural nations that account for half of the land on Earth.
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