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A Brief Introduction to Sociology - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
44
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
07/06/2011

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Term
achieved status
Definition
a social position that aperson attains largely through his or her efforts
Term
Agrarian society
Definition
the most technologically advanced form of preindsutrial society. members engage primarily in the production of food, but increase their crop yields through technological innovations such as the plow
Term
alienation 
Definition
a condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society.
Term
ascribed status 
Definition
a social position assigned to a person by society with out regard for the person's unque talents or characteristics
Term
bureaucracy
Definition
a component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency
Term
bureaucraztization
Definition
the process by which a group, organization , or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic
Term
classical theory
Definition
an approach to the study of formal organizations that views workers as being motivated almost entirely by economic rewards
Term
coalition
Definition
temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal
Term
formal organization
Definition
a group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficency
Term
gemeinschaft
Definition
a close knit community often found in rural areas, in which strong personal bonds unite members
Term
geseilschaft
Definition
a community often urban that is large and impersonal with little commitment to the group of consensus on values
Term
goal displacement
Definition
overzealous conformity to official regulations of  a bureaucracy
Term
group
Definition
any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis
Term
horticultural society
Definition
a preindustrial society in which people plant seeds and crops rather than merely subsist on available foods.
Term
human relations approach
Definition
an approach to the study of formal organizations that emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy and tends to focus on the informal structure of the organization
Term
hunting and gathering society
Definition
a preindustrial society in which people rely on whatever foods and fibers are readily available in order to survive
Term
ideal type
Definition
a construct or model for evaluating specific cases
Term
industiral society
Definition
a society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services
Term
in-group
Definition
any group or category to which people feel they belong
Term
iron law of oligarchy
Definition
a principle of oranizational life under which even a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few individuals
Term
labor union
Definition
organized workers who share either the same skill or the same employer
Term
master status
Definition
a status that dominates others and therby determines a persons general position in society
Term
mechanical solidarity 
Definition
a collective consiciousness that emphazies group solidarity, characteristic of societies with minimal division of labor
Term
organic solidarity 
Definition
a collective consciousness that rest on mutual interdependence, characteristic of societies with a complex division of labor
Term
out-group
Definition
a group or category to which people fell they do not belong
Term
Peter Principle
Definition
a principle of organizational life according to which every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence
Term
postindustrial society
Definition
a society whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information
Term
postmodern society 
Definition
a techonlogically sophisticated society that is preoccupied with consumer goods and media images
Term
primary group
Definition
a small group characterized by intimate, face to face association and cooperation
Term
reference group
Definition
any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their behavior
Term
role conflict
Definition
the situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person
Term
role exit
Definition
the proces of disengagement from a role that is central to ones self identity in order to establish a new role and identity
Term
role strain
Definition
the difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations
Term
scientific management approace
Definition
another name for the classical theory of formal organizations
Term
secondary group
Definition
a formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding
Term
social institution
Definition
an organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs
Term
social i nteraction
Definition
the ways in which people respond to one another
Term
social network
Definition
a series of social realtionships that links a person directly to others and through them indirectly to still more people
Term
social role
Definition
a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status
Term
social structure
Definition
the way in which a society is ogranized into predicatable relationships
Term
sociocultural evolution
Definition
long term trends in societies resulting from the interplay of continuity innovation adn selecection
Term
status
Definition
a term used by sociologist to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society
Term
technology
Definition
information about how to use the material resources of the environment to satisfy human needs and desires.
Term
trained incapacity
Definition
the tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.
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