Clep- Intro to Sociology – Flashcards

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C. Wright Mills
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must be able to view sociology humanistically. (understanding motives & human nature) "the sociological imagination".
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Sociological Imagination
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expresses the humanistic aspect (motives & human nature)
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Auguste Comte (1838)
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3 stages of scientific development and coined the term sociology.
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Theological stage of scientific development
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religious view
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Metaphysical stage of scientific development
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abstract, human nature
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Positive stage of scientific development
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pinnacle of social development, society governed by reliable knowledge and understood by facts. (When people can predict and change their own destinies.)
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Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
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observed English social patterns.
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Karl Marx (1818-1883)
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"the theoretical giant of communist thought: whose prophecies are still hotly debated.
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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
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society follows a natural evolutionary progression toward something better.
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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
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statistical study of suicide
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Max Weber (1864-1920)
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sought to explain the origins of capitalism. And developed the method of verstehen.
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Lester Ward & William Graham Sumner
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caused American sociology to experience a loss of interest in the larger problems of social order and change, focusing on specific problems.
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George Herbert Mead
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originated the field of social psychology.
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Robert Park & Ernest Burgess
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were concentrating on the city and on such social problems as crime, drug addiction, prostitution, and juvenile delinquency.
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Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)
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advocated grand theory.
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Grand theory
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based on aspects of the real world forming a conception of society as a stable system of interrelated parts.
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Robert Merton (1910-2003)
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proposed building middle range theories from a limited number of assumptions from which hypotheses are derived. -also distinguished between intended and unintended consequences of existing elements of social structure which are either functional or dysfunctional.
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Deductive theory
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general ideas used to form logical, testable theories.
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Inductive theory
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using concrete observations to form general conclusions through a process of reasoning.
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Interpretive Sociology
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whereby humans attach meaning to their lives and shape their actions based upon both the real and anticipated responses of others.
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Symbolic interaction
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human beings shape their world and are shaped by social interaction.
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Dramaturgy
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humans play roles to present a certain image of ourselves, manipulate our audience, protect/hide ourselves, and amplify the rules of conduct that circumscribe our daily encounters.
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Conflict paradigm
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views society as being characterized by conflict and inequality. (Whose interests are expressed, and who benefits/suffers from social arrangements).
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Functionalism
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each part of a society serves a function necessary for the survival of the system as a whole.
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Quantitative methods
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use statistical and mathematical techniques of measurement to describe and interpret observations.
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Qualitative methods
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relying on personal observation and description to explain behavior.
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Verstehen
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using empathic understanding to characterize and interpret human behavior.
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Survey method
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subjects are asked about their opinions, beliefs, or behavior, such as how they have behaved in the past or how they intend to behave in the future, in a series of questions.
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Independent variable
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influencer (cause)
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Dependent variable
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influencee (effect)
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Correlational control
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doesn't cause change in another variable, and causal does.
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Systematic sampling
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i.e. every 50th person in the phone book is selected, thus assuring everyone in the in the population is guaranteed the same chance of being selected for study.
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Stratified sampling
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uses the differences that already exist in a population, such as between males and females, as the basis for selecting a sample. (f/m = % in the given population)
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Hawthorne Effect
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the very presence of a researcher affects the subject's behavior.
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Unobtrusive observation
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observation from a distance.
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Participant observation
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aka field research, researcher is part of the group he/she is studying.
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Secondary analysis
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using information gained from past recorded experiments. (like official government statistics)
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Content Analysis
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the study of recorded human communication such as books, paintings, and laws.
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Stages of research
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ID the problem, research, hypothesis, test, conclusion.
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Ethical problems
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harm subjects? Privacy? Right to be informed that they are being studied? Consent? How research is used? When is deception justified?
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Socialization
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process in which we learn to be members of society and develop a personality.
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Primary socialization
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initial socialization that a child receives.
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Secondary socialization
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an additional socialization experience into a new sector of society by an already socialized person.
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Resocialization
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discarding previous behaviors for new ones as part of a transition in life. (becoming a parent, for example)
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Total institution
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a complete break from the past to allow for the rebuilding of personality and the learning of norms and values of a new, unfamiliar social environment. (prisons, mental hospitals & the military)
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Sigmund Freud
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founder of psychoanalysis, and considered biological needs as the human drive; socialization and repression forms personality (ego, superego, id).
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Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1924)
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self-concept, formed in childhood is reevaluated and adjusted every time the person enters a new social situation. See Looking-Glass-Self. also distinguished between promary and secondary groups.
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Looking-Glass-Self
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self-conception based on other's reactions. (Cooley)
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George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)
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theory of the genesis of the mind and self. The outcome of socialization is the ability to anticipate the reactions of others and to adjust our behavior accordingly.
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theory of the genesis of the mind and self
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a single act as a part of a larger social act or communication. "Me"=ID, "I"= ego.
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Erving Goffman (1922-1983)
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the self as a reflection of others. See Role-Distance.
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Role-Distance
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the gap between the ID and the ego.
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Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
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cognitive development: sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage.
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Cognitive Development
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describes the changes that occur over time in the ways children think, understand, and evaluate a situation.
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Sensorimotor stage
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infants are unable to differentiate themselves from their environment.
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Preoperational stage
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the child begins to use language and other symbols, and learn to differentiate reality from fantasy.
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Concrete operational stage
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logic, cause and effect, attaching meaning or significance to an event.
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Formal operation stage
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the child develops the capacity for thinking in highly abstract terms of metaphors and hypotheses which may or may not be based in reality.
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Erik Erikson
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8 stages of psychosocial development: Nurture, shame, initiative, focus shifts from family to school, ID confusion, relationships, social contribution, and lastly finding meaning at the end of one's life.
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Lawrence Kohlberg
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given the proper experience and stimulation, children go through a sequence of six stages of moral reasoning: right & wrong, social order, considerations toward the welfare of the community, the rights of the individual and ethics.
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Carol Gilligan
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women have a different (though essentially the same) set of values and judgments of right and wrong. Men asked whether or not it's wrong to steal to save a life in terms of ultimate ends. Women contemplated how it would affect the entire family, the goal being to find the best solution for everyone involved.
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culture is
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social heritage of beliefs, customs, skills, traditions, and knowledge that members pass on to one another.
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material culture
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consists of things that people attach maning to and use: cars, clothing, books, and burial sites
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Nonmaterial culture
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abstract terms for defining, describing, explaining, clarifying....what they do & how they live (languages, ideas, belief systems, rules, customs, politics).
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Culture includes
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the tools we use, the rules we live by, the ideals to which we are committed, and the ideas we express.
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Norms
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rules whose violation results in some form of punishment.
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Values
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represent things of meaning and the ideas that make such things so important to us.
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Folkways
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are the usual customes and conventions of everyday life. differs from values in the lack of a moral component) antonym: eccentric.
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Mores
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are Norms of such moral & ethical importance as to be punishable by institutionalization.
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Cultural universals
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are the basic elements essential to idevidual and collective survival.
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Cultural Variability
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the variety of things human beings have devised to meet their needs.
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Ethnocentrism
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the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture.
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Cultural Relativism
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refers to scientists' efforts to be objective in their observations by avoiding attaching meaning to observations, only why and how.
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Countercultures
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people/cultures whose values, beliefs, and ways of life do not conform to the norm. Characterized by unconventional or eccentric behavior.
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sociocultural evolution
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refers to the tendency for society as a system to become more complex over time.
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Horticultural and pastoral societies
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use domestic animals and hand tools to cultivate plants for their source of food.
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Agricultural societies
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are more complex than horticultural & pastoral societies in the level of technology used to support crops.
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industrial societies
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uses complex machinery and energy sources are used for production.
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postindustrial
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information is created, processed, and stored.
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Karl Marx (1818-1883)
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coined the term "class" in which people are organized in social ranks.
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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
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Sociology as a separate science on the grounds that it has both an object (patterned reularities as a group distinct from that of individuals) and a substratum (society as a whole).
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social structure
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the way in which people's relatioins in society are arranged to form a network
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Max Weber (1864-1920)
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Verstehen; Protestant Catholicism "produced the spirit of the modern form of industrial capitalism.
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structure
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composed of positions, roles, groups, and institutions.
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ascribed status
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is a label by which a person is identified without choice. (son, widower, american indian...)
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achieved status
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by choice, (husband, rock star, english major...)
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Master Status
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by which a person is most identified. (its the most important)
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Status set
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all the statuses of a person. ie: wife, mother, teacher, coworker)
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roles
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expected behavior for a status.
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role strain
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conflicting expectations exist for a status. (a teacher being friends with students outside the classroom)
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role conflict
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a person with statuses that contradict.
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association
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formed of the basis of common interest or agreement.
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communal relationship
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is formed on the basis that "they belong together"
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peer group
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an association of self-selected equals
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aggregate
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people who happen tho be in the same place at the same time
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social category
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people with certain characteristics in common
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social group
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people interact with one another in an orderly fashion.
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primary group
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direct interaction, with intimate warm and personal relationships.
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Secondary groups
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interaction is anonymous, impersonal, and short-lived.
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Ferdinand Tonnies (1853-1936)
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distinguished between gemeinschaft and gesellschaft.
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gemeinschaft
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(community) small communities characterized by tradition and united by common ancestry or geopgraphic proximity.
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Gesellshcaft
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(society) contractual relationships of a voluntary nature of limited duration and quality, based on rational self-interest, and formed to achieve a particular goal.
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control variable
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held constant
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spurious relationship
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variables appear to be related but are actually related to a third vaiable which explains both of them.
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symbolic interatction
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society is the result of an individual's interactions
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structural structural functionalist perspective
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how society's parts fit together to maintain stability.
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generalized other
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Mead's term for thhe cultural norms and values we use as references when evaluating ourselves.
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informal sanction
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direct social pressure from those around us to conform.
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formal sanction
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pressure to conform that is enforced by a formal institution
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Norms
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rules of behavior
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values
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ideals and goals.
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mechanical solidarity
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Durkheim's term for social bonds that are based on shared moral sentiments.
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organin solidarity
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(durkheim) bonds thatunite members of indestrialized nations.
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rigid endogamy
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marriage within one's only group.
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caste system
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a system of stratification where groups are strictly ranked on the basis of thnic group.
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class system
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based on achievement
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closed systems
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have clear, rigid, and impermeable boundaries between classes.
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Normative theory of prejudice
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states that individuals become prejudiced when such attitudes are so ingrained in their society's norms and values that they get passed on from generation to generation without question.
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power=conflict theory of prejudice
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focuses on the power dynamics between those who are prejudiced and those who are against prejudice.
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authoritarian-personality theory of prejudice
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sees prejudice as stemming from certain personality characteristics.
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gentrificatioin
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a rundown section of a city has been repaired and revitalized and das become attractive to a middle class population.
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suburbonization
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the movement of people to areas surrounding the urban region.
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George Simmel (1858-1918)
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distinguished between dyad & triad
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dyad
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marriage; duo
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triad
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addition to the dyad (mediator: a baby; nonpartisan: a judge)
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J.L. Moreno
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developed sociometry (who is interacting with whom)
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Interaction process
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the ways role partners agree on goals, negociate reaching them & distribute resources.
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reference groups
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include people that provide standards by which we judge ourselves
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group conformity
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individual compliance with group goals.
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group think
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members begin to think simalarly and develop a narrow view
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instrumental leaders
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task-oriented
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expressive leaders
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emotional support
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laissez-faire leadership
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Lazy boss who does nothing.
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organization
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membership is either limited or closed to outsiders.
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formal organization
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characterized by formality, hierarchy, large size, and complex division of labor.
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Bureaucracy
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a rationally designed organizational model whose goal it is to perform complex tasks as efficiently as possible.
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characteristic intitution
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kin/clan/siblings now known as a bureaucracy.
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characteristics of a bureaucracy
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1) paid officials (main income) 2) officials have privileges 3) seniority rights and salary increases 4) degrees or vocational training 5) responsibilities rigidly defined by the organization 6) separation of funds & files from their personal ones.
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self-rationalization
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how an official observes & calculates how he/she must change their personality to meet the 'market's' demand.
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Parkinson's law
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(C. Northcote) given too much time for a job will make the job seem much bigger than it is.
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Peter's Principle
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employee's are promoted until they reach a position in which they cannot work competantly
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Inon law of Oligarchy
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small # of specialists hold sway over the entire organization.
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Deviance
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unexpected behavior.
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stigma
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a mark of social disgrace
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social control
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ensures that people conform to norms.
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Anomic suicide
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norms of society are suddenly altered, resulting in confusion (large structural changes)
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Altruistic suicide
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individual over-identifies with a group & is willing to die for them.
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egoistic suicide
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isolation & weak social ties.
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social stratification
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structured inequality (our place among the ranks)
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polyandry
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one woman marrying more than one man
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polygamy
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one spouce marrying more than one person of the opposite sex.
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exogamy
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marriage outside one's ethnic group.
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polygyny
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one man with multiple wives.
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cultural transmission theory
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crime is learned through cultural norms.
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Strain theory
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crime as the result of structural constraints, blocking means for achievement.
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Labeling theory
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one is labeled & defined as a criminal
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control theory
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everyone deviates.
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sapir-whorf hypothesis
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people think through language.
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negative correlation
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as one increases the other decreases.
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spurious relationship
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explainable by a 3rd variable
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positive correlation
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both variables either go up or down.
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pluralist movement
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minority groups try to maintain their own distinctive cultural features.
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primary deviance
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violates a norm
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secondary deviance
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the social response to primary deviance.
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Cesar Laombroso
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criminals bore a greater resemblance to apes than non-criminals.
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Wiliam Sheldon
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classified people by their body type, psychological state, and criminal behavior.
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the unconscious
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where the unpleasant, or perhaps antisocial memories of experience are stored.
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conformist
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accepts goals and means offered for attainment.
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the innovator
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may continue to accept the goal while seeking new, and illegal revenues for the attainment of these goals.
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the ritualist
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bureauscrat who is more concernedwith following the rules and keeping his job than personal achievement.
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the retreat
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rejects both means and ends by drug use, mental illness, alcoholism and homelessness.
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the rebelious
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reject both by seeking alternatives.
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Edwin Sutherland, theory of diffential association 1939
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criminal behavior is learned through social interaction in primary groups.
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nuclear family
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made up of extended family members.
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patrilineal/matrilineal
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indicates lineage from father or mother.
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serial monogamy
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divorce...rmarriage.
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group marriage
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more than one of each.
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patrilocality
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newlyweds live with the husbands extended family
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matrilocality
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newlyweds live with the wife's extended family.
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neolocality
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newlyweds live in a new or seperate residence.
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leirate
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man must marry his brother's widow or suffer disgrace.
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primogeniture
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property goes to eldest son.
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ultimogeniture
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property goes to youngest.
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primary sector of economy
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involves the extraction of raw materials & resources.
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secondary sector
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involves turning the raw materials into manufactured goods.
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tertiary sector
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provides services in areas such as health, & education.
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traditional authority
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based on sacred customs (blood lines)
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rational-legal authority
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elected officials
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charismatic authority
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elected officials
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charismatic authority
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based on the :extroardinary, uncanny or supernatural powers: or abilities of or associated with a person.
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authoritarian gov
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rulers tolerate little of no opposition to their rule.
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Totalitarian
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rulers have no limits to their power.
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democratic
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authority ultimately lies with the people.
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"The power elite" (1956)
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(Mills) consists of military leaders, politians & business leaders (warlords, corporate chieftans & the political directorate) are responsible to no one but themselves.
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David Riesman's pluralist vision
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the system of rule is made up of sectors fo power that balance each other.
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religion
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linked with ethics, personality, historical condition, & theodicy.
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profane
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objects, persons, & behaviors capable of being understood and altered.
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"The Elementary Forms of Religious life" (durkheim)
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religion as a means of validation the existance of society.
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cult
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small group of followers with a charismatic leader.
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sect
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is a cult minus the charismatic leader.
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church
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voluntary
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social stratification
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structured inequality
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social mobility
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ability of a given individual or group to move through social levels.
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relative mobility
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when the son's education, occupational prestige, and income exceeds that of his father.
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Davis & Moore
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argue that some stratification is necessary. (so that the most able will be in the most demanding positions.)
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collective behavior
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short, spontaneous burst without clear goals or longer lasting with goals. (mass hysteria, panic, craze, fad, fashion, and rumor.)
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masses
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don't have to be in proximity to each other, just have similar goals.
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audiences
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passive crowd
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mob
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easily aggrivated into violence
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riot
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is larger and longer lasting than a mob, but not as spontaneous.
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propaganda
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attempts to change public oppinion
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contagion theory
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Gustave Le Bon; a crowd is made up of numerous anonymous individuals, & therefore frees pople of personal responsibility & social restraints.
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convergence theory
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when a # of like-minded individuals converge, they are likely to generate a collective action.
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emergent-norm theory
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certain individuals construct new norms that are quickly adopted by the collective. (rocks/copycat)
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craze
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wanting something because everyone else has it
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fad
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short-term obsessions with a behavior that is unexpected and widely copied like streaking.
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fashion
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widely held beliefs, styles, and attitudes toward dress, hair, music....
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