| A | B |
|---|
| 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. |
