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Exam 2
Exam 2 Definitions
63
Sociology
Undergraduate 2
04/02/2014

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Term
Account
Definition
statement designed to explain unanticipated, embarrassing, or unacceptable behavior after the behavior has occurred.
Term
Aligning Action
Definition
Action taken to restore an identity that has been damaged.
Term
Back Stage
Definition
Area of social interaction away from the view of an audience, where people can rehearse and rehash their behavior.
Term
Cooling Out
Definition
Gently persuading someone who has lost face to accept a less desirable but still reasonable alternative identity.
Term
Disclaimer
Definition
Assertion designed to forestall any complaints or negative reactions to a behavior or statement that is about to occur.
Term
Dramaturgy
Definition
Study of social interaction as theater, in which people ("actors") project images ("play roles") in front of others ("the audience").
Term
Embarrassment
Definition
Spontaneous feeling experienced when the identity someone is presenting is suddenly and unexpectedly discredited in front of others.
Term
Front Stage
Definition
Area of social interaction where people perform and work to maintain appropriate impressions.
Term
Impression Formation
Definition
The process by which we define others based on observable cues such as age, ascribed status characteristics such as race and gender, individual attributes such as physical appearance, and verbal and nonverbal expressions.
Term
Impression Management
Definition
Act of presenting a favorable public image of oneself so that others will form positive judgments.
Term
Stigma
Definition
Deeply discrediting characteristic that is viewed as an obstacle to competent or morally trustworthy behavior.
Term
Endogamy
Definition
Marriage within one's social group.
Term
Exogamy
Definition
Marriage outside one's social group.
Term
Extended Family
Definition
Family unit consisting of parent-child nuclear family and other relatives, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Term
Family
Definition
Two or more persons, including the householder, who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption and who live together as one household.
Term
Household
Definition
Living arrangement composed of one or more people who occupy a housing unit.
Term
Monogamy
Definition
The practice of being married to only one person at a time.
Term
Neolocal Residence
Definition
Living arrangement in which a married couple sets up residence separate from either spouse's family.
Term
Nuclear Family
Definition
Family unit consisting of at least one parent and one child.
Term
Polygamy
Definition
Marriage of one person to more than one spouse at the same time.
Term
Absolutism
Definition
Approach to defining deviance that rests on the assumption that all human behavior can be considered either inherently good or inherently bad.
Term
Criminalization
Definition
Official definition of an act of deviance as a crime.
Term
Deterrence Theory
Definition
Theory of deviance positing that people will be prevented from engaging in a deviant act if they judge the costs of such an act to outweigh its benefits.
Term
Deviance
Definition
Behavior, ideas, or attributes of an individual or group that some people in society find offensive.
Term
Labeling Theory
Definition
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.
Term
Medicalization
Definition
Definition of behavior as a medical problem, mandating the medical profession to provide some kind of treatment for it.
Term
Relativism
Definition
Approach to defining deviance that rests on the assumption that deviance is socially created by collective human judgments and ideas.
Term
Bureaucracy
Definition
Large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and regulations and having clearly specified work tasks.
Term
De-Skilling
Definition
Subdivision of low-level jobs into small, highly specific tasks requiring less skilled employees.
Term
Division of Labor
Definition
Specialization of different people or groups in different tasks, characteristic of most bureaucracies.
Term
Free-Rider Problem
Definition
Tendency for people to refrain from contributing to the common good when a resource is available without any personal cost or contribution.
Term
Hierarchy of Authority
Definition
Ranking of people or tasks in a bureaucracy from those at the top, where there is a great deal of power and authority, to those at the bottom, where there is very little power and authority.
Term
McDonaldization
Definition
Process by which the characteristics and principles of the fast food restaurant come to dominate other ares of social life.
Term
Multinational Corporation
Definition
Company that has manufacturing, production, and marketing divisions in multiple countries.
Term
Oligarchy
Definition
System of authority in which many people are ruled by a privileged few.
Term
Social Dilemma
Definition
Potential for a society's long-term ruin because of individuals' tendency to pursue their own short-term interests.
Term
Social Structure
Definition
Framework of society - social institutions, organizations, groups, statuses, and roles, custom beliefs, and institutionalized norms - that adds order and predictability to our private lives.
Term
Tragedy of the Commons
Definition
Situation in which people acting individually and in their own self-interest use up commonly available (but limited) resources, creating disaster for the entire community.
Term
Absolute Poverty
Definition
Inability to afford the minimal requirements for sustaining a reasonably healthy existence.
Term
Authority
Definition
Possession of some status or quality that compels others to obey one's directives or commands.
Term
Caste System
Definition
Stratification system based on heredity, with little movement allowed across strata.
Term
Colonization
Definition
Process of expanding economic markets by invading and establishing control over a weaker country and its people.
Term
Competitive Individualism
Definition
Cultural belief that those who succeed in society are those who work hardest and have the best abilities and that those who suffer don't work hard enough or lack the necessary traits or abilities.
Term
Culture-of-Poverty Thesis
Definition
Belief that poor people, resigned to their position in society, develop a unique value structure to deal with their lack of success.
Term
Estate System (Feudal System)
Definition
Stratification system in which high-status groups own land and have power based on noble birth.
Term
False Consciousness
Definition
Situation in which people in the lower classes come to accept a belief system that harms them; the primary means by which powerful classes in society prevent protest and revolution.
Term
Means of Production
Definition
Land, commercial enterprises, factories, and wealth that form the economic basis of class societies.
Term
Middle Class
Definition
In a society stratified by social class, a group of people who have an intermediate level of wealth, income, and prestige, such as managers, supervisors, executives, small business owners, and professionals.
Term
Near-Poor
Definition
Individuals or families whose earning are between 100% and 125% of the poverty line (see also working poor).
Term
Poor
Definition
In a society stratified by social class, a group of people who work for minimum wage or are chronically unemployed.
Term
Poverty Line
Definition
Amount of yearly income a family requires to meet its basic needs, according to the federal government.
Term
Poverty Rate
Definition
Percentage of people whose income falls below the poverty line.
Term
Power
Definition
Ability to affect decisions in ways that benefit a person or protect his or her interests.
Term
Prestige
Definition
Respect and honor given to some people in society.
Term
Relative Poverty
Definition
Individuals' economic position compared with the living standards of the majority in the society.
Term
Slavery
Definition
Economic form of inequality in which some people are legally the property of others.
Term
Social Class
Definition
Group of people who share a similar economic position in a society, based on their wealth and income.
Term
Social Mobility
Definition
Movement of people or groups from one class to another.
Term
Socioeconomic Status
Definition
Prestige, honor, respect, and lifestyle associated with different positions or groups in society.
Term
Stratification
Definition
Ranking system for groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society.
Term
Upper Class
Definition
In a society stratified by social class, a group of people who have high income and prestige and who own vast amounts of property and other forms of wealth, such as owners of large corporations, top financiers, rich celebrities and politicians, and members of prestigious families.
Term
Working Class
Definition
In a society stratified by social class, a group of people who have a low level of wealth, income, and prestige, such as industrial and factory workers, office workers, clerks, and farm and manual laborers.
Term
Working Poor
Definition
Employed people who consistently earn wages, but do not make enough to survive (see also near-poor).
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