| A | B |
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| anthropology | a social science; the comparative study of various aspects of past and present cultures. |
| conflict perspective | theoretical perspective that focuses on those forces in society that promote competition and change. |
| dysfunctional | negative consequence an element has for the stability of the social system. |
| economics | a social science; study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their wants and needs. |
| function | A positive consequence an element of society has fo the maintenance of the social system. |
| functionalist perspective | The Theoretical perspective tht views society as a set of connected parts that work together to produce stability. |
| history | a social science; the study of past events. |
| ideal type | description of the essential characteristics of some aspect of society/ |
| interactionist perspective | A theoretical perspective that focuses on how individuals interact with one another in society. |
| latent function | unintended and unrecognized consequence of an element of society. |
| manifest function | intended and recognized consequence of an element of society. |
| political science | a social science; the study of the organization and operation of governments. |
| psychology | a social science; science that deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms. |
| Social darwinism | Perspective that holds that societies evolve toward stability and perfection. This is often used as a justification of racism and discrimination. |
| social interaction | how people relate to one another and influence each other's behavior. |
| social phenomenea | an observable fact or event that involves the human society. |
| social psychology | a social science; study of how individual's behavior and personality are affected by the social environment. |
| social sciences | related disciplines that study various aspects of human social behavior. |
| sociological imagination | ability to see the connection between the larger world and our personal lives. |
| sociological perspective | viewing the behavior of groups in a systematic way. |
| sociology | social science that studies human society and social behavior. |
| symbol | anything that stands for something else. |
| symbolic interaction | interaction between people that takes place through the use of symbols. |
| theoretical perspective | a general set of assumptions about the nature of a phenomena. In sociology, ithey outline a certain set of assumptions about the nature of social life. |
| theory | systematic explanation for the relations among phenomena. |
| vestehen | empathetic understanding of the meaning others attach to their actions. |
| counterculture | a group that rejects the values, norms and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns. |
| cultural relativism | belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards. |
| cultural universals | common features that are found in all human cultures. |
| culture | shared products of human groups. These products include both physical and non physical items. |
| culture complex | clusters of interrelated cultural traits. |
| culture patterns | combination of a number of culture complexes into an interrelated whole. |
| culture trait | individual tool, act, or belief that is related to a particular situation or need. |
| ethnocentrism | tendency to view one's own culture and group as superior to all other cultures and groups. |
| folkways | norms that do not have great moral significance attached to them-the common customs of every day life. |
| language | organization of written and spoken symbols into a standardized system. |
| laws | written rules of conduct that are enacted and enforced by government. By definition, violation of these norms is a criminal act. |
| material culture | physical objects created by human groups. Sociologist and anthropologists use the term artifacts to refer it. |
| mores | norms that have great moral significance attached |
| non material culture | abstract human creations, such as language, ideas and beliefs. |
| norms | shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations. |
| society | group of mutually interdependent people who have organized in such a way as to share a common culture and have a feeling of unity. |
| subculture | group with its own unique values, norms and behaviors that exist within the larger culture. |
| technology | knowledge and tools used for practical purposes. |
| values | shared beliefs about what is good and bad, right and wrong. |
| cultural lag | situation in which some aspects of the culture change less rapidly, or lag behind, other aspects of the same culture. |
| diffusion | spread of cultural traits from one society to another. |
| formal sanction | reward or punishment given by some formal organization or regulatory body such as the government |
| ideology | system of beliefs or ideas that justifies some social, moral, religious, political or economic interest help by a society or social group. |
| informal sanction | spontaneous expression of approval or disapproval given by one or more individuals. |
| internalization | process by which norms become part of an individual's personality, thereby conditioning the individual to conform to society's expectations. |
| narcissism | extreme self centeredness |
| negative sanction | sanction in the form of punishment or threat of punishment. |
| positive sanction | sanction in the form of a reward |
| reformulation | the process of adapting borrowed cultural traits |
| sanctions | rewards or punishments used to enforce norms. |
| self-fulfillment | commitment to the full development of one's personality, talents and potential. |
| social control | enforcing norms through either internalization or sanctions. |
| social movement | long term conscious effort to promote or prevent social change. |
| technology | knowledge and tools people use for practical purposes. |
| Accommodation | State of balance between cooperation and conflict. |
| Achieved Status | Status acquired by an individual on the basis of some special skill, knowledge or ability. |
| Aggregate | Group of people gathered in the same place at the same time who lack organization or lasting patterns of interaction. |
| Ascribed Status | Status assigned on the basis of characteristics beyond a person's control such as age, sex, ethnicity and race. |
| Barter | Practice of exchanging one good for another. |
| Bureaucracy | Ranked authority structure that operates according to specific rules and procedure. |
| Competition | Interaction that occurs when two or more persons or groups oppose each other to achieve a goal that only one can attain. |
| Conflict | Deliberate attempt to oppose, harm, control by force or resist the will of another person or persons. |
| Cooperation | Interaction that occurs when two or more persons or groups work together to achieve a goal that will benefit many people. |
| Dyad | a group with two members. |
| E-Community | a community of people who interact over the internet or other electronic devices. |
| Exchange | individual, group or societal interaction undertaken in an effort to receive a reward in return for actions. |
| Exchange Theory | Theory that holds that people are motivated by self-interests in their interactions with other people. |
| Expressive Leaders | leaders who are emotion oriented. |
| Formal Group | a group in which the structure, goals and activities of the group are clearly defined. |
| Formal Organization | large, complex secondary group that has been established to achieve specific goals. |
| Group | set of two or more people who interact on the basis of shared expectations and who possess some degree of common identity. |
| In-Group | group that an individual belongs to and identifies with. |
| Informal Group | a group in which there is no official structure or established rules of conduct. |
| Instrumental Leaders | leaders who are task oriented. |
| Iron Law of Oligarchy | tendency of organizations to become increasingly dominated by small groups of people. |
| Leaders | people who influence the attitudes and opinions of others. |
| Master Status | status that plays the greatest role in shaping a person's life and determining his or her social identity. |
| Out-Group | any group that an individual does not belong to or identify with. |
| Primary Group | small group of people who interact over a relatively long period of time on a direct personal basis. |
| Rationality | the process of subjecting every feature of human behavior to calculation, measurement and control. |
| Reciprocal Roles | corresponding roles that define the pattern of interaction between related statuses. |
| Reciprocity | idea that if you do something for someone, they owe you something in return. |
| Reference Group | any group with whom individuals identify and whose attitudes and values they adopt. |
| Role | behavior--the rights and obligations--expected of someone occupying a particular status. |
| Role Conflict | situation that occurs when fulfilling the expectations of one role makes it difficult to fulfill the expectations of another role. |
| Role Expectations | socially determined behaviors expected of a person performing a role. |
| Role Performance | actual behavior of a person performing a role. |
| Role Set | different roles attached to a single status. |
| Role Strain | situation that occurs when a person has difficulty meeting the expectations of a single role. |
| Secondary Group | group in which interaction is impersonal and temporary in nature. |
| Small Group | group with few enough numbers that everyone is able to interact face to face |
| Social Category | group of people who share a common trait or status. |
| Social Institution | system of statuses, roles, values and norms that is organized to satisfy one or more of the basic needs of society. |
| Social Network | web of relationships that is formed by the sum total of an individual's interactions with other people. |
| Social Structure | network of interrelated statuses and roles that guides human interaction. |
| Status | socially defined position in a group or society. |
| Triad | three person group. |
| Urbanization | concentration of population in cities. |
| Voluntary Association | nonprofit association formed to pursue some common interest. |
| adolescence | The period between the onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood. |
| agents of socialization | specific individuals, groups and institutions that provide the situation in which socialization can occur. |
| anticipatory socialization | Learning of the rights, obligations and expectations of a role in preparation for assuming that role at a later date. |
| cluster effect | Social factor that triggers copycat suicides. |
| courting buggy | A horse drawn carriage used by Amish men during their teenage years |
| courtship | a social interaction similar to dating but with the sole purpose of eventual marriage. |
| Crack cocaine | Principle cause of the dramatic increase in gang violence in the 1980's; a chemically altered form of cocaine that is both cheaper and more addictive than regular cocaine. |
| dating | A social behavior that allows individuals to choose their own marriage partners. |
| drug | Any substance that changes mood, behavior or consciousness. |
| Emile Durkheim | Sociologist who has produced the most comprehensive study of suicide. |
| Homogamy | Tendency for individuals to marry people who have social characteristics similar to their own. |
| peers | People in your same age/ social group. They are the greatest source of pressure on teens. |
| puberty | Physical maturing that makes individuals capable of sexual reproduction. |
| puberty rites | Formal ceremonies that mark the entrance of young people into adulthood. |
| social integration | Degree of attachments people have to social groups or to society. |
| socialization | The process of learning the values, norms, and behaviors of a society; learning how to act in society. |
| Willard Waller | Sociologist who studied dating patterns at Pennsylvania State University. |
| Personality | Sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and values that are characteristic of an individual. |
| Heredity | Transmission of genetic characteristics from parents to children. |
| Instinct | Unchanging. biologically inherited behavioral pattern. |
| Sociobiology | Systematic student of the biological basis of all social behavior. |
| Aptitude | Capacity to learn a particular skill or acquire a particular body of knowledge. |
| Feral Children | Wild or untamed children. |
| Socialization | The process by which individuals learn how to act in society. |
| Self | Conscious awareness of possessing a distinct identity that separates us from other members of society. |
| Looking Glass Self | Interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based upon how we imagine others view us. |
| Role Taking | Taking, or pretending to take, the role of others. |
| Significant Others | Specific people, such as parents, siblings and friends, who have a direct influence on our socializtion. |
| Generalized Others | Internalized attitudes, expectations and viewpoints of society that we use to guide our behavior and reinforce our sense of self. |
| I | Unsocialized, spontaneus self interested component of the personality and self identity. |
| Me | Part of the identity that is aware of the expectations and attitudes of society; the socialized self. |
| Agents of Socialization | Specific individuals, groups and institutions that provide situations where socialization can occur. |
| Peer Group | Primary group composed of individuals of roughly equal age and social characteristics. |
| Mass Media | Newspapers, magazines, etc. that reach a large audience without personal contact between individuals sending the information and those receiving it. |
| Total Institution | A setting in which people are isolated from the rest of sciety for a set period of time and subjected to the control of officials of varied ranks. |
| Resocialization | A break with past experiences and learning new values and norms. |
