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Soc Exam 1
The Forest and the Trees
44
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
02/07/2010

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Term
Ideology
Definition
A set of beliefs, attitudes, and opinions that may or may not be based on scientific evidence.
Ideologies are created by social GROUPS.
Term
Individualism
Definition
explains the world only in terms of what goes on inside individuals.
sees social problems as resulting from flaws in individual character.
Term
Social System
Definition
a collection of ROLES in RELATIONSHIP to one another, forming a coherent whole
Term
Dominant Discourse
Definition
the way that most people think or talk about a particular issue
OR ...
the way that the people in power think or talk about a particular issue.
Term
Culture
Definition
the way we “construct” reality within a social system, using ideas and symbols (esp. language) to assign meaning…
and it’s the way we habitually behave in relationship to the meaning we have constructed.
Term
Beliefs
Definition
what we consider to be true or false
Term
Values
Definition
Beliefs that designate what is good/bad, better/ worse
Term
Norms
Definition
Values that are reinforced with social consequences (rewards, punishments)
Term
Functionalism Norms
Definition
they help society work/succeed
Term
Conflict Norms
Definition
they create and preserve inequalities
Term
Attitudes
Definition
Reactions -- often with emotional content -- based on beliefs, values, norms.
Term
Material Culture
Definition
The physical expression of our beliefs, values, norms, and attitudes.
Term
Ethnocentrism
Definition
the culture you come from is the best and better than any other culture
Term
Cultural Relativity
Definition
Belief that cultures are equally good but different
Term
Social Structures
Definition
The organization of relationships at all levels of society.
Term
Status
Definition
the position one holds in a given social system
Term
Status (Johnson)
Definition
social job title
Term
Status (McGinn)
Definition
the degree of honor that a position or group receives within a social system
Term
Role
Definition
the collection of beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms that apply to a position holder (in relationship to other position holders)
Term
Demography
Definition
the statistical study of human populations, esp. patterns of birth, death, migration
Term
Human Ecology
Definition
the study of the interaction of people, social systems, and the environment.
Term
William James
Definition
What is self?
“An individual’s self is the sum total of all they can call theirs.”
Material Self, Social Self, Spiritual Self
Term
Charles Horton Cooley
Definition
What is the social basis
of the self’s formation?
“The Looking Glass Self”
1.We imagine how we seem to others
2. We imagine how they judge us
3. We experience a visceral reaction
Then we make internal decisions.
Term
George Herbert Mead
Definition
What is the Social Basis of Individual Action?
We perform actions, called “social gestures,” in response to others’ actions, after considering the [socially determined] symbolic meaning
of their actions and ours.
Term
Robert Park
Definition
the self is constituted by the individual’s conception of his roles on the social scene and the status accorded to those roles.
Term
Johnson (on the formation of the self)
Definition
Per Cooley & Mead, we discover ourselves through discovering others and the ideas they have about themselves and us.
Term
generalized other
Definition
known only by their status/role
Term
significant other
Definition
known by their individual behavior
Term
behavior vs action (Johnson, per Mead, on
SELF IN SYSTEMS
Definition
everything we do vs. intended gestures based on social meaning
Term
Johnson, per Goffman
Definition
Our actions are like those of an actor with an audience: we try to create certain impressions.
Term
stratification
Definition
the hierarchical layering of society, results when we play out roles that are privileged or disadvantaged,
based on culture (beliefs, values, etc.)
Term
social inequality
Definition
ritualized patterns that contribute to privileging some groups over others
Term
"I love you"
Definition
The words are “performative” and can alter reality. [This is socially constructed.
Term
Voting
Definition
The system will determine (via paths of least resistance) whether or not it is rational to vote.
Term
Poverty
Definition
Capitalism portrays wealth/poverty as the result of individual action. BUT, poverty cannot be eliminated unless the system is changed.
Term
Systems
Definition
are STRUCTURES (arrangements of statuses) to which CULTURE is attached (beliefs, values, norms, attitudes), creating POPULATION & ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS
Term
Merton
Definition
said deviance is actually a path of least resistance when there is a gap between shared values and the path to those values
Term
Marx
Definition
examined the effects of the industrial / capitalist society (not “preindustrial”) on the family unit
Term
Dramaturgy
Definition
Goffman believes that everyone is always playing a role similar to actors and audiences
Term
anomie
Definition
dissociation between valued goals and legitimate means to those ends;
Term
Weber on status
Definition
the amount of relative prestige
Term
language
Definition
allow us to bridge between others meaning and our meaning
Term
symbolic interaction (and who)
Definition
Broomer (student of Mead)- believes we create social meaning as we interact with one another
Term
agency
Definition
how individuals act
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