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Applied sociology

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use of sociology to solve problems- from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution

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bougeoisie

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Karl Marx's term for capitalsts, those who own the means to produce wealth

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class conflict

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Marx's term for the struggle between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (capitalist)

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common sense

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those things that "everyone knows" are true

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conflict theory

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theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources

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functional analysis

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theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society's equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism

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generalization

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statement that goes beyond the individual case and is applied to a broader group or situation

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globalization

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extensive interconnections among nations due to the expansion of capitalism

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globalization of capitalism

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capitalism (investing to make profits within a rational system) becoming the globe's dominant economic system

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macro-level analysis

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examination of large-scale patterns of society

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micro-level analysis

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examination of small-scale patterns of society

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natural sciences

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intellectual and academic disciplines designed to comprehend, explain, and predict events in our natural environments

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non-verbal interaction

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communication without words through gestures, space, silence

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objectivity

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total neutrality

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patterns of behavior

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recurring characteristics or events

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positivism

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application of the scientific approach to the social world

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proletariat

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Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production

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public sociology

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sociology being used for the public good; especially the sociological perspective guiding politicians and policy makers

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pure or basic sociology

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sociological research whose only purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups

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replication

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repeating a study in order to check its findings

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science

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application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by those methods

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scientific method

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use of objective, systematic observations to test theories

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social facts

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Durkheim's term for a group's patterns of behavior.

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social integration

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degree to which people feel a part of social groups

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social interaction

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what people do when they are in one another's presence

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social location

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group memberships that people have because of their location in history and society

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social sciences

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intellectual and academic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by means of controlled and repeated observations

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society

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term used by sociologists to refer to a group of people who share a culture and a territory

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socialogical perspective

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understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context

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sociology

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scientific study of society and human behavior

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subjective meanings

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meanings that people give their own behavior

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symbolic interactionism

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theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another

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theory

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general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another

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value-free

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view that a sociologist's personal values (bias) should not influence social research

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values

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ideas about what a society believes to be good, or worthwhile in life,attitudes about the way the world ought to be.

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Verstehen

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German word used by Weber that is perhaps best understood as "to have insight into someone's situation"

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core values

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values that are central to a group, those around which it builds a common identity

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counterculture

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a group whose values, beliefs and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the values of the broader culture

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cultural diffusion

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spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another

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cultural lag

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William Ogburn's term for human behavior lagging behind technological innovations.

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cultural leveling

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process by which cultures become similar to one another, and especially by which Western industrial culture is imported and diffused into industrializing nations

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cultural relativism

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not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms

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cultural universal

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value, norm, or other cultural trait that is found in every group

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culture

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language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that are passed from one generation to the next

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culture shock

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disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life

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ethnocentrism

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use of one's own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and behaviors

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folkways

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norms that are not strictly enforced

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gestures

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ways in which people use their bodies to communicate with one another

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ideal culture

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a people's ideal values and norms; the goals held out for them

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language

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a system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract thought

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material culture

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material objects that distinguish a group of people, such as their art, buildings, weapons, utensils, machines, hairstyles, clothing, and jewelry

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mores

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norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values

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negative sanction

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expression of disapproval for breaking a norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal reaction such as a prison sentence or an execution

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new technology

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emerging technologies of an era that have a significant impact on social life

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nonmaterial culture

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group's ways of thinking (including its beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) and doing (its common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction)

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norms

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expectations; or rules of behavior; reflect and enforce behavior (values)

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pluralistic society

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society made up of many different groups

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positive sanction

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reward given for following norms, ranging from a smile to a prize

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real culture

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norms and values that people actually follow

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sanctions

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expressions of approval or disapproval given to people for upholding or violating norms

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Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

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Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf hypothesis that language creates ways of thinking and perceiving

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sociobiology

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framework of thought that views human behavior as the result of natural selection and considers biological characteristics to be the fundamental cause of human behavior

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subculture

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values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world.

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taboo

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norm so strong that it often brings revulsion if violated

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technology

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in its narrow sense, tools; its broader sense includes the skills or procedures necessary to make and use those tools

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value cluster

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series of interrelated values that together form a larger whole

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value contradictions

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values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other.

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values

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standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly

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agents of socialization

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individuals or groups that affect our self-concept, attitudes, behaviors, or other orientations toward life

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anticipatory socialization

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process of learning in advance an anticipated future role or status

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degradation ceremony

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term coined by Garfinkle to refer to a ritual whose goal is to strip away someone's position (social status); in doing so, a new social and self-identity is stamped on the individual

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ego

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Freud's term for a balancing force between the id and the demands of society

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feral children

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children assumed to have been raised by animals, in the wilderness, isolated from other humans

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gender

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behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity or femininity

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gender role

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behaviors and attitudes expected of people because they are female or male

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gender socialization

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ways in which society sets children on different paths in life because they are male or female

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generalized other

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the norms, values, attitudes, and expectations of people "in general"; the child's ability to take the role of the generalized other is a significant step in the development of self.

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id

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Freud's term for our inborn basic drives

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latent function

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Functions that are unintended or unnoticed by others

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life course

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the stages of our life as we go from birth to death

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looking-glass self

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An image of yourself based on what you believe others think of you, created by Sociologist named Cooley

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manifest functions

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Intended function. There is a reason why something happens or someone does something.

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