UVM Soc 001 Exam 2 Flashcards

Key Concepts in Social Behavior and Interaction

• Roles: Expected behaviors associated with social positions.
• Status: Social honor or prestige assigned to specific groups within society.
• Social Position: Identity of an individual within a group or society.
• Impression Management: The act of preparing to present one's social role effectively.

Interaction and Communication

• Civil Inattention: Mutual awareness among individuals in a shared space, demonstrated by quick glances.
• Nonverbal Communication: Conveying messages through body language and facial expressions instead of words.
• Response Cries: Involuntary exclamations that signal emotions or reactions.
• Unfocused Interaction: Social engagement among individuals who are not in direct conversation.

Types of Interaction

• Focused Interaction: Direct communication or joint activities between individuals.
• Encounters: In-person meetings that involve face-to-face interaction.

Temporal and Spatial Dynamics

• Time-Space: The context of when and where events occur.
• Regionalization: Segmentation of social life into distinct areas.
• Clock Time: Time measured by hours and minutes, contrasting with natural time cues.

Social Processes

• Social Interaction: The reciprocal actions and reactions among individuals.
• Agency: The capacity for independent thought and actions.
• Personal Space: The physical distance individuals maintain to feel comfortable.

Sociological Approaches

• Ethnomethodology: Examines the methods people use to interpret social interactions.
• Conversation Analysis: Investigates patterns and structures in conversations to understand social organization.

Group Dynamics

• In-groups and Out-groups: Groups that individuals identify with or oppose, respectively.
• Primary Groups: Small, emotionally connected groups with intense personal relationships.
• Secondary Groups: Larger, impersonal groups with brief interactions.

Socialization and Identity

• Agents of Socialization: Influential groups that facilitate social learning, including family and peers.
• Identity: The unique attributes that define an individual or group.
• Self-Identity: Ongoing development of personal identity in relation to the world.

Developmental Stages

• Cognitive Stages: Include sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages, each representing different levels of cognitive abilities in children.

Deviance and Social Norms

• Deviance: Actions that violate the norms of a society.
• Labeling Theory: Proposes that label assignment affects individuals' behaviors, creating deviant identities.
• Control Theory: Views crime as the result of imbalance between societal pressures and regulatory controls.

Crime and Law

• White-Collar Crime: Crimes committed by professionals in their business contexts.
• Corporate Crime: Illegal actions by organizations that harm the public or marketplace.
• Cybercrime: Illegal activities conducted via electronic means or information technology.

Social Change Mechanisms

• Community Policing: Emphasizes crime prevention through community engagement.
• Shaming: A public disapproval method to address deviant behavior without imprisonment.

Norms and Values

• Norms: Behavioral rules that guide social conduct.
• Anomie: A state of normlessness where social norms fail to govern individual behavior.

These notes provide a foundational understanding of sociological concepts related to roles, identities, group dynamics, social interactions, and deviance.