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Social Interaction , Groups, and Social Structure
In this chapter we will study social stucture and its effect on our social interaction.
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Sociology
Undergraduate 1
02/26/2012

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Term
Achieved status
Definition
A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts
Term
Agrarian society
Definition
The most technologically advanced form of preindustrial society. Members are engaged primarily in the production of food but increase their crop yield 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 that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics.
Term
Avatar
Definition
A three-dimensional model, two dimensional icon, or constructed personality that is assumed by the user of an Internet site
Term
Bureaucracy
Definition
A component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency.
Term
Bureaucratization
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
A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal.
Term
Formal organization
Definition
A group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency.
Term
Gemeinschaft
Definition
A close-knit community, often found in rural areas, in which strong personal bonds unite members
Term
Gesellschaft
Definition
A community, often urban, that is large and impersonal, with little commitment to the group or 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
Industrial 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 organizational life under which even a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few individuals.
Term
Master status
Definition
A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person’s general position in society.
Term
McDonaldization
Definition
The process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world.
Term
Mechanical solidarity
Definition
A collective consciousness that emphasizes group solidarity, characteristic of societies with minimal division of labor.
Term
Net neutrality
Definition
The principle that the government shold remain non-selective on neutral toward online content
Term
Organic solidarity
Definition
A collective consciousness that rests on mutual interdependence, characteristic of societies with a complex division of labor.
Term
Out-group
Definition
A group or category to which people feel 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 technologically 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 own 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 process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s 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 approach
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 interaction
Definition
The ways in which people respond to one another.
Term
Social network
Definition
A series of social relationships 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 organized into predictable relationships.
Term
Sociocultural evolution
Definition
Long-term trends in societies resulting from the interplay of continuity, innovation, and selection.
Term
Status
Definition
A term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group or society.
Term
Technology
Definition
Cultural information about the ways in which the material resources of the environment may be used 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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