Social Interaction
the ways in which people respond to one another
Social Structure
the way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships
Status
a term used by sociologists to refer to any of the full range of socially defined positions within a large group in society
Ascribed Status
a social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics
Achieved Status
a social position that is within our power to change
Master Status
a status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society
Social Role
a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status
Role conflict
the situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person
Role Strain
the difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations
Role Exit
the process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's self identity in order to establish a new role and identity
Group
any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis
Primary Group
a small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation
Secondary Group
A formal, impersonal group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding
In-Group
any group or catagory to which people feel they belong
Out-group
a group or category to which people feel they do not belong
Reference Group
any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior
Coalition
a temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal
Social Network
a series of social relationships that link individuals directly to others, and through them indirectly to still more people
Avatar
a person's online representation as a character, whether in form of a 2-D or 3-D image or simply through text
Social institution
an organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs
Bureaucracy
a component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency
Ideal type
a construct or model for evaluating specific cases
Alienation
loss of control over our creative human capacity to produce, seperation from the products we make, and isolation from our fellow producers
Trained incapacity
the tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice potential problems
Peter Principle
a principle of organizational life according to which every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence
Bureaucratization
the process by which a group, organization, or social movement increasingly relies on technical-rational decision making in the pursuit of efficency
McDonaldization
the process by which the principles of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control shape organization and decision making, in the United States and around the world
Classical Theory
an approach to the study of formal organizations that views workers as being motivated almost entirely by economic rewards
Human Relations Approach
an appproach to the study of formal organizations that emphasizes the role of the people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy and tends to focus on the informal structure of the organization
gemeinschaft
a close-knit community, often found in rural areas, in which strong personal bond unite members
Gesellschaft
a community, often urban, that is large and impersonal with little commitment to the group or consensus on values
Mechanical solidarity
social cohesion based on shared experiences, knowledge and skills in which things function more or less the way they always have, with minimal change
Organic solidarity
a collective consciousness that rests on mutual interdependence, characteristic of societies with a complex divison of labor
Hunting and gathering society
a preindustrial society in which people rely on whatever foods and fibers are availible in order to survive
Horticultural society
a preindustrial society in which people plant seeds and crops
Agrarian society
Most technologically advanced form of preindustrial society
Industrial Society
depends on mechanization to produce its good and services
Postindustrial Society
whose economic system is engaged primarily in the processing and control of information