Key Concepts in Sociology

The ways in which people respond to one another.

The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships.

A term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group in society.

<p>A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A social position that is within our power to change.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's self-identity in order to establish a new role and identity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Any group or category to which people feel they belong.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A group or category to which people feel they do not belong.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A series of social relationships that link individuals directly to others, and through them indirectly to still more people.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A person's online representation as a character, whether in the form of a 2-D or 3-D image or simply through text.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A construct or model for evaluating specific cases.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Loss of control over our creative human capacity to produce, separation from the products we make, and isolation from our fellow producers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice potential problems.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A principle of organizational life according to which every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The process by which a group, organization, or social movement increasingly relies on technical-rational decision making in the pursuit of efficiency.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The process by which the principles of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control shape organization and decision making.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An approach to the study of formal organizations that views workers as being motivated almost entirely by economic rewards.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An approach to the study of formal organizations that emphasizes the role of the people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A close-knit community, often found in rural areas, in which strong personal bonds unite members.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A community, often urban, that is large and impersonal with little commitment to the group or consensus on values.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Social cohesion based on shared experiences, knowledge, and skills.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A collective consciousness that rests on mutual interdependence, characteristic of societies with a complex division of labor.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A preindustrial society in which people rely on whatever foods and fibers are available in order to survive.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A preindustrial society in which people plant seeds and crops.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The most technologically advanced form of preindustrial society.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods and services.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A society whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information.</p> Signup and view all the answers