Sociology Key Terms Sociology - The scientific study of human social behavior.

As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities: economic, social, political, and religious. Sociologists study such areas as bureaucracy, community, deviant behavior, family, public opinion, social change, social mobility, social stratification, and such specific problems as crime, divorce, child abuse, and substance adtiction. Sociology tries to determine the laws governing human behavior in social contexts. Culture The totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior Customs traditional rituals, events, anniversaries and ceremonies. E.g weddings Ethnocentrism - The tendency to assume that one's culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others. Norms Established standards of behavior maintained by a society.

Roles We are expected to act in a certain manor, dependant on our role. An example of this is a Doctor. Sanctions Penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm Primary Socialization things you would learn at home Secondary Socialization things you would learn at work or school etc Society A fairly large number of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside it, and participate in a common culture. Ascribed status A social position "assigned" to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics

Achieved Status - A status entered after birth and usually due at least in part to individual behavior. E.g jobs/marriage Subculture A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from the pattern of the larger society. Values Collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and improper-in a culture.

Class Conformity

A term used by Max Weber to refer to a group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income. Going along with one's peers, individuals of a person's own status, who have no special right to direct that person's behavior. Sociological investigation that concentrates on largescale phenomena or entire civilizations. The physical or technological aspects of our daily lives. Sociological investigation that stresses study of small groups and often uses laboratory experimental studies. A subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant or majority group have over theirs. Research that relies on what is seen in the field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data. Research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form. The process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate for individuals as members of a particular culture A set of expectations of people who occupy a given social position or status. The degree to which a scale or measure truly reflects the phenomenon under study.

Macrosociology Material culture Microsociology Minority group

Qualitative research Quantitative research Socialization

Social role Validity

Functionalism Functionalist perspective A sociological approach that emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability

Consensus

Identity

Social Order

Social institutions

Organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs

Social interaction The ways in which people respond to one another. Social structure The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships.

Value Consensus

Marxism Bourgeoisie Capitalism Karl Marx's term for the capitalist class, comprising the owners of the means of production. An economic system in which the means of production are largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits. A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect its

False consciousness

objective position. How the bourgeoisie keep society from rebelling. Ideology

Legitimate

Marxism

Means of Production

Meritocratic if you work hard enough you can succeed and achieve higher status. Marxists argue that it is an idea from ruling classes to stop the workers from realising the reality of being exploited and opperessed. Oppositional Subculture Marxists believe these exist in a capitalist society rejecting the view that Marxism ignores freedom of choice. Proletariat Karl Marx's term for the working class in a capitalist society. Interactionism Interpretations How we make sense of social behaviour, and how we interpret body language and gestures, and how we behave in different environments. i.e classroom Labeling theory Master status An approach to deviance that attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while others engaging in the same behavior are not. A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position within society. The tendency of people to respond to and act on the basis of stereotypes, leading to validation of false definitions.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Self Identity learning by others what is acceptable and non acceptable behaviour, by either being punished or rewarded for the behaviour. Social interaction The ways in which people respond to one another Social Identity The way people see you and label you, i.e an old person. Forgetful and frail Subjective -

Post Modernism

Bureaucracy A component of formal organization in which rules and hierarchical ranking are used to achieve efficiency. Consumption

Idustrialization

Meta narratives

Modernity

Positivism

Postmodernity

Relativity