question

altruistic suicide

answer

type of suicide that occurs where ties to the group or community are considered more important than individual identity

question

anomic suicide

answer

type of suicide that occurs when the structure of society is weakened or disrupted and people feel hopeless and disillusioned

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comparative method

answer

research technique that compares existing official statistics and historical records across groups to test a theory about some social phenomenon

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egoistic suicide

answer

type of suicide that occurs in settings where the individual is emphasized over group or community connections

question

individualistic explanation

answer

tendency to attribute people's achievements and failures to their personal qualities

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sociological imagination

answer

ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives, ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives

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sociology

answer

the systematic study of human societies

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achieved status

answer

social positionacquired through our own efforts or accomplisments or taken on voluntarily

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ascribed status

answer

social position acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily later in life

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coalition

answer

subgroup of a triad, formed when two members unite against the third member

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conflict perspective

answer

theoretical perspective that views the structure of society as a source of inequality, that always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups

question

culture

answer

language, values, beliefs, rules, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize a society

question

dyad

answer

group consisting of two people

question

feminist perspective

answer

theoretical perspective that focuses on gender as the most important source of conflict and inequality in social life

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globalization

answer

process through which people's lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally interconnected

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group

answer

set of people who interact more or less regularly and who are conscious of their identity

question

latent function

answer

unintended, unrecognized consequences of activities that help some part of the social system

question

macro level

answer

way of examining human life that focuses on the broad social forces and structural features of socety that exist above the level of individual people

question

manifest function

answer

intedned, obvious consequences of activities designed to help some part of the social system

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micro level

answer

way of examining human life that focuseson the immediate, every experiences of individuals

question

norm

answer

culturally defined standard or rule of conduct

question

organization

answer

large, complex network of positions, created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor

question

primary group

answer

collection of individuals, who are together over a relativelylong period, whose members have direct contact with and feel emotional attachment to one another

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role

answer

set of expectations-rights, obligations, behaviors, duties-associated with a particular status

question

role conflict

answer

frustration people feel when the demands of one role the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clash with the demands of another role

question

secondary group

answer

relatively impersonal collection of individuals that is established to perform a specific task

question

social institution

answer

stable set of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations-such as the institution of education, family, politics, religion, health care, or the economy-that provides a foundation for behavior in some major area of social life

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society

answer

population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a common identity and whose members fall under the same politcal authority

question

status

answer

any named social position that people can occupy

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structural functionalist perspective

answer

theoretical perspective that posits that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society

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symbol

answer

something used to represent or stand for something else

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symbolic interactionism

answer

theoretical perspective that explains society and social structure through an examination of the micro-level personal, day-to-day exchanges of people in individuals, pairs, or groups

question

triad

answer

group consisting of three people

question

value

answer

standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes

question

analysis of existing data

answer

type of unobtrusive research that relies on data gathered earlier by someone else for some other purpose

question

content analysis

answer

form of unobtrusive research that studies the content of the recorded messages, such as books, speeches, poems, songs, television shows, web sites, and advertisements

question

dependent variable

answer

variable that is assumed to be caused by, or to change as a result of, the independent variable

question

empirical research

answer

research that operates from the ideological position that questions about human behavior can be answered only through controlled, systematic observations in the real world

question

experiment

answer

research method designed to elicit some sort of behavior, typically conducted under closely controlled laboratory circumstances

question

field research

answer

type of social research in which the researcher observes events as they actually occur

question

historical analysis

answer

form of social research that relies on existing historical documents as a source of data

question

hypothesis

answer

researchable prediction that specifies the relationship between two ore more variables

question

incorrigible proposition

answer

unquestioned cultural belief that cannot be proved wrong no matter what happens to dispute it

question

independent variable

answer

variable presumed to cause or influence the dependent variable

question

indicator

answer

measurable event, characteristic, or behavior community thought to reflect a particular concept

question

moral entrepreneurs

answer

groups that work to have their moral concerns translated into law

question

nonparticipant observation

answer

form of field research in which the researcher observes people without directly interacting with them and without letting them know that they are being observed

question

participant observation

answer

form of field resarch in which the researcher interacts with subjects, sometimes hiding his or her identity

question

probabilistic

answer

capable of identifying only those forces that have a high likelihood, but not a certainty, of influencing human action

question

qualitative research

answer

sociological research based on nonnumerical information (text, written words, phrases, symbols, observations) that describes people, actions, or events in social life

question

quantitative research

answer

sociological research based on the collection of numerical data that uses precise statistical analysis

question

reactivity

answer

a problem associated with certain forms of research in which the very act of intruding into people's lives may influence the phenomenon being studied

question

representative

answer

typical of the whole population being studied

question

sample

answer

subgroup chosen for a study because its characteristics approximate those of the entire population

question

self fulfilling prophecy

answer

assumption or prediction that in itself causes the expected event to occur thus seemin to confirm the prophecy's accuracy

question

social construction of reality

answer

process through which the members of a society discover, make known, reaffirm, and alter a collective version of facts, knowledge, and "truth"

question

spurious relationship

answer

a false association between two variables that is actually due to the effect of some third variable

question

survey

answer

form of social research in which a researcher asks subjects a series of questions, either verbally or on paper

question

theory

answer

set of statements or proposition that seeks to explain or predict a particular aspect of social life

question

unobtrusive research

answer

research techniqus in which the researcher, without direct contact with the the subjects, examines the evidence of social behavios that people create or leave behind

question

variable

answer

any characteristic, attitude, behavior, or event that can take on two or more values or attributes

question

visual sociology

answer

method of studying society that uses photographs, video, and film either as means of gathering data or as sources of data about social life

question

counterculture

answer

group that actively opposes the values and behavior patterns of the dominant culture

question

cultural relativism

answer

the principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture

question

ethnocentrism

answer

tendency to judge other cultures using one's own as a standard

question

folkway

answer

informal norm that is mildly punished when violated

question

heteronormative culture

answer

culture in which heterosexuality is accepted as the normal, taken-for-granted mode of sexual expression

question

institutionalized norm

answer

pattern of behavior within existing social institutions that is widely accepted in a society

question

intersexuals

answer

individuals in whom sexual differentiation is either incomplete or ambiguous

question

material culture

answer

artifacts of a society, which represent adaptations to the social and physical environment

question

more

answer

highly, codified, formal. systematized norm that brings severe punishment when violated

question

nonmaterial culture

answer

knowledge, beliefs, customs, values, morals, and symbols that are shared by members of a society and that distinguish the society from others

question

sanction

answer

social response that punishes or otherwise discourages violations of a social norm

question

sexual dichotomy

answer

belief that two biological sex categories, male and female, are permanent, universal, exhaustive, and mutually exclusive

question

sick role

answer

set of norms governing how one is supposed to behave and what one is entitled to when sick

question

subculture

answer

values, behaviors, and artifacts of a group that distinguish its members form the larger culture

question

transexuals

answer

people who identify with a different sex and sometimes undergo hormone treatment and surgery to change their sex

question

agents of socialization

answer

the various individuals, groups, and organizations who influence the socialization process

question

anticipatory socialization

answer

process through which people acquire the values and orientations found in statuses they will likely enter in the future

question

collectivist culture

answer

culture in which personal accomplishments are less important in the formation of identity than group membership

question

eugenics

answer

the control of mating to ensure that "defective" gens of troublesome individuals will not be passed on to future generation

question

game stage

answer

stage in the development of self during which a child acquires the ability to take the role of a group or community (the generalized other) and to confirm his or her behavior to broad, societal expectations

question

gender

answer

psychological, social, and cultural aspects of maleness and femaleness

question

generalized other

answer

perspective of the larger society and its constituent values and attitudes

question

identity

answer

essential aspect of who we are, consisting of our sense of self, gender, race, ethnicity, and religion

question

individualist culture

answer

culture in which personal accomplishments are a more importnat component of one's self concept than a group membership

question

looking glass self

answer

sense of who we are that is defined by incorporating the reflected appraisals of others

question

play stage

answer

stage in the development of self during which a child develops the ability to take a rold, but only from the perspective of one person at a time

question

reflexive behavior

answer

behavior in which the initiating an action is the same as the person toward whom the action is directed

question

resocialization

answer

process of learning new values, norms, and expectations when an adult leaves an old role and enters a new one

question

role taking

answer

ability to see oneself from the perspective of others and to use that perspective in formulating one's own behavior

question

self

answer

uniqu set of traits, behaviors, and attitudes that distinguishes one person from the next, the active source and passive object of behavior

question

sex

answer

biological maleness or femaleness

question

socialization

answer

process through which one learns how to act according to the rules and expectations of a particular culture

question

total institution

answer

place where individuals are cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period and where together they lead an enclosed, formally administered life

question

tracking

answer

grouping of students into different curricular programs, or tracks, based on an assessment of their academic abilities

question

absolutism

answer

approach to defining deviance that rests on the assumption that all human behavior can be considered either inherently good or inherently bad

question

criminalization

answer

official definition of an act of deviance as a crime

question

deterrence theory

answer

theory of deviance positing that people will be prevented from engaging in deviant acts if they judge the costs of such an act to outweigh the benefits

question

deviance

answer

behavior, ideas, or attributes of an individual or group that some people in society find offensive

question

labeling theory

answer

theory stating that deviance is the consequence of the application of rules and sanctions to an offender; a deviant is an individual to whom the identity "deviant" has been successfully applied

question

medicalization

answer

definition of behavior as a medical problem and mandating the medical profession to provide some kind of treatment for it

question

relativism

answer

approach to defining deviance that rests on the assumption that deviance is socially created by collective human judgments and ideas

Intro to Sociology – Ch 1-5, 8 – Flashcards

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