Unit 2 Sociology

Terms in this set (61)

Resocialization

The process by which existing social roles radically altered or replaced

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate over the influence of biological versus social influences in socialization

Secondary Socialization

Occurs in later childhood and adolescence when children go to school and come under the influence of non-family members

The process of learning and internalizing the values, beliefs, and norms of our social group, by which we become functioning members of society

The combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person, or the person's natural predispositions

Social Construction of Reality

What people define as real because of their background assumptions and life experiences with others

Primary Socialization

All the ways the newborn is molded into a social being capable of interacting in and meeting the expectations of society.

Total Institution

An institution that controls almost all aspects of its members' lives and all aspects of the individual life is controlled by those in authority in the institution

To the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms

Looking-Glass Self

A theory that explains that our sense of self results from the reflection of who we think we see by observing the treatment and behaviors of others towards us.

Generalized Other

Classes of people with whom a person interacts on the basis of generalized roles rather than individualized characteristics

Significant others

People in our lives whose opinions are important and regularly considered during interactions

When children put themselves in someone else's shoes, understand how he/she feels, and anticipate how he/she will act

Wild or untamed children who grow up without typical adult socialization influences

Represents your conscious experience of having a separate and unique identity andthe sum total of your perceptions and beliefs about yourself. It is the most central aspect of your personality.

Hidden Curriculum

the imparting of social values of society by the schools of that society

people of roughly the same age, similar social identity, and close social proximity

when information is distributed to large groups of people through a variety of methods

Achieved Status

A status attained through one's choices and efforts (college student, movie star, teacher, or athlete)

Social Structure

The complex framework of societal institutions and the social practices that make up a society and that organizes and establishes limits on people's behavior

Ascribed Status

A status present at birth (race, sex, or class)

The expected behavior associated with a particular status position

A condition in which the performance in one status interferes with the performance of a role in another status

Social Marginality

The state of being part insider and part outsider in the social structure

is a series of social relationships that links individuals directly to others and through them indirectly to still more people

Social Solidarity

relates to a group's ability to maintain itself in the face of obstacles

Any physical or social attribute or sign that so devalues a person's social identify that it disqualifies that person from full social acceptance

A status which stands out above our other statuses and which distracts others from really seeing who we are

Material signs that inform other of a person's specific status

A population of people which shares the same geographic territory and culture

All of the statuses that occupy at the same time

Status Inconsistency

When the occupancy of statuses whose levels of various rewards are inconsistent with one another

A specific position that an individual occupies in a group

When conflicting roles can occur within the same status

Social Interaction

The process by which people act toward or respond to other people; it is the foundation for all relationships and groups in society

A set of two or more people who share common identity, interact regularly, and have shared expectations (roles), and function in their mutually agreed upon roles.

A collection of people in the same place at the same time with no sense of interdependence

A number of people who share common characteristics

A small, less specialized group in which members engage in face-to-face, emotion based interactions over an extended period of time

Secondary Group

A larger, more specialized group in which members engage in more impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time.

The smallest type of social group with two people

A group of three people

When two group members pressure the third member into some sort of behavior that is potentially positive or negative

Instrumental leadership

Goal or task oriented leadership

Expressive Leadership

leadership that provides emotional support for members

Authoritarian leaders

Leaders who make all major group decisions and assign tasks to members

Laissez-faire leaders

Leaders who are minimally involved in decisions; encourage group members to make their own decisions

Democratic leaders

leaders who encourage group decision-making through consensus building

the ability of persons or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others

Charismatic Authority

authority that rests solely on the personal qualities of individual leaders and on the receptivity of followers

the power accepted as legitimate by those subjected to it

the exercise of power through force or the threat of force

Authority that is a function of explicit laws or rules that define legitimate uses of power

Traditional Authority

Authority that is rooted in beliefs and practices that have been passed down over time

Utilitarian Organizations

Organizations that people typically join because of some tangible benefit which they expect to receive

Normative Organization

Organizations that people join because they perceive their goals as being socially or morally worthwhile

An organizational model characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules and procedures, and impersonal in personnel matters

An abstract model that describes the recurring characteristics of some phenomenon

Coercive Organizations

Organizations that people typically are forced into against their will

Goal Displacement

A process that occurs in organization when the rules become an end in themselves rather than a means to an end, and organizational survival becomes more important than achievement of goals

Formal Organization

A highly structured group formed for the purpose of completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals

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