Lesson 1 Keywords

Question 1

applied sociology

Answer 1

the use of sociology to solve problems-from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution

Question 2

basic (or pure) sociology

Answer 2

sociological research whose purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups

Question 3

class conflict

Answer 3

Marx’s term for the struggle between capitalists and workers

Question 4

conflict theory

Answer 4

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources

Question 5

functional analysis

Answer 5

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism

Question 6

macro-level analysis

Answer 6

an examination of large-scale patterns of society

Question 7

micro-level analysis

Answer 7

an examination of small-scale patterns of society

Question 8

nonverbal interaction

Answer 8

communication without words through gestures, space, silence, and so on

Question 9

population

Answer 9

the target group to be studied

Question 10

positivism

Answer 10

the application of the scientific method to the social world

Question 11

social integration

Answer 11

the degree to which people feel a part of social groups

Question 12

social interaction

Answer 12

what people do when they are in each other’s presence

Question 13

social location

Answer 13

the group memberships that people have because of their location in history and society

Question 14

society

Answer 14

people who share a culture and a territory

Question 15

sociological perspective

Answer 15

understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context

Question 16

sociology

Answer 16

the scientific study of society and human behavior

Question 17

symbolic interactionism

Answer 17

a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with each other

Question 18

theory

Answer 18

a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to each other

Question 19

values

Answer 19

the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly

Question 20

achieved statuses

Answer 20

positions that are earned or accomplished, or that involve at least some effort or activity on the individual’s part)

Question 21

agricultural society

Answer 21

a society able to accumulate a huge food surplus after the invention of the plow

Question 22

ascribed statuses

Answer 22

positions an individual either inherits at birth or receives involuntarily later in life

Question 23

dramaturgy

Answer 23

an approach, pioneered by Erving Goffman, in which social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage; also called dramaturgical analysis

Question 24

ethnomethodology

Answer 24

the study of how people use background assumptions to make sense of life

Question 25

Gemeinshaft

Answer 25

a type of society in which life is intimate; a community in which everyone knows everyone else and people share a sense of togetherness

Question 26

Gesellshaft

Answer 26

a type of society that is dominated by impersonal relationships, individual accomplishments, and self-interest

Question 27

group

Answer 27

people who have something in common and who believe that what they have in common is important; also called a social group

Question 28

horticultural society

Answer 28

a society based on cultivating plants by using tools

Question 29

hunting and gathering society

Answer 29

a human group dependent on hunting and gathering for survival

Question 30

Industrial Revolution

Answer 30

the third social revolution in which machines powered by fuels replaced most animal and human power

Question 31

industrial society

Answer 31

an efficient society with greater surplus and inequality

Question 32

macrosociology

Answer 32

analysis of social life that focuses on broad features of social structure, such as social class and the relationships between groups; an approach typically used by functionalists and conflict theorists

Question 33

master status

Answer 33

a status that cuts across the other statuses that an individual occupies

Question 34

mechanical solidarity

Answer 34

Durkheim's term for the unity (a shared consciousness) that people feel as a result of performing the same or similar tasks

Question 35

microsociology

Answer 35

analysis of social life that focuses on social interaction; an approach usually used by symbolic interactionists

Question 36

organic solidarity

Answer 36

solidarity based on the interdependence that results from the division of labor; people needing others to fulfill their jobs

Question 37

pastoral society

Answer 37

a society based on the pasturing of animals

Question 38

postindustrial society

Answer 38

a new type of society based on information, services, and the latest technology rather than on raw materials and manufacturing

Question 39

role

Answer 39

the behaviors, obligations, and privileges attached to a status

Question 40

role conflict

Answer 40

conflicts that a person feels between roles because the expectations attached to one role are incompatible with the expectations of another role

Question 41

role performance

Answer 41

the particular emphasis or interpretation that you give a role

Question 42

role strain

Answer 42

conflicts that a person feels within a role

Question 43

social class

Answer 43

according to Weber, a large number of people who rank close to each other in wealth, power, and prestige; according to Marx, one of two groups: capitalists who own the means of production or workers who sell their labor

Question 44

social construction of reality

Answer 44

the use of background assumptions and life experiences to define what is real

Question 45

social institution

Answer 45

the organized, usual, or standard ways by which society meets its basic needs

Question 46

social integration

Answer 46

the degree to which members of a society are united by shared values and other social bonds

Question 47

social interaction

Answer 47

what people do when they are in each other's presence

Question 48

social structure

Answer 48

the framework that surrounds you, consisting of the relationship of people and groups to each other, which give direction to and set limits on behavior

Question 49

society

Answer 49

people who share a culture and a territory

Question 50

status

Answer 50

social ranking; the position that a person occupies in society or a social group

Question 51

status inconsistency

Answer 51

a contradiction or mismatch between statuses; a condition in which a person ranks high on some dimensions of social class and low on others

Question 52

status set

Answer 52

all the statuses or positions that an individual occupies

Question 53

status symbols

Answer 53

items used to identify a status