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Key Terms Chapter 04: Society and Social Interactions

  • Page ID
    142979
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    Example and Directions
    Words (or words that have the same definition)The definition is case sensitive(Optional) Image to display with the definition [Not displayed in Glossary, only in pop-up on pages](Optional) Caption for Image(Optional) External or Internal Link(Optional) Source for Definition
    (Eg. "Genetic, Hereditary, DNA ...")(Eg. "Relating to genes or heredity")The infamous double helix https://bio.libretexts.org/CC-BY-SA; Delmar Larsen
    Glossary Entries
    Word(s)DefinitionImageCaptionLinkSource
    Achieved Statusthe status a person chooses, such as a level of education or income    
    Agricultural Societiessocieties that rely on farming as a way of life    
    Alienationan individual’s isolation from his society, his work, and his sense of self    
    Anomiea situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness    
    Ascribed Statusthe status outside of an individual’s control, such as sex or race    
    Bourgeoisiethe owners of the means of production in a society    
    Capitalisma way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government    
    Class Consciousnessthe awareness of one’s rank in society    
    Collective Consciencethe communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society    
    False Consciousnessa person’s beliefs and ideology that are in conflict with her best interests    
    Feudal Societiessocieties that operate on a strict hierarchical system of power based around land ownership and protection    
    Habitualizationthe idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed like a habit    
    Horticultural Societiessocieties based around the cultivation of plants    
    Hunter-Gatherer Societiessocieties that depend on hunting wild animals and gathering uncultivated plants for survival    
    Industrial Societiessocieties characterized by a reliance on mechanized labor to create material goods    
    Information Societiessocieties based on the production of nonmaterial goods and services    
    Institutionalizationthe act of implanting a convention or norm into society    
    Iron Cagea situation in which an individual is trapped by social institutions    
    Looking-glass Selfour reflection of how we think we appear to others    
    Mechanical Solidaritya type of social order maintained by the collective consciousness of a culture    
    Organic Solidaritya type of social order based around an acceptance of economic and social differences    
    Pastoral Societiessocieties based around the domestication of animals    
    Proletariatthe laborers in a society    
    Rationalizationa belief that modern society should be built around logic and efficiency rather than morality or tradition    
    Role Conflicta situation when one or more of an individual’s roles clash    
    Role Performancethe expression of a role    
    Role Strainstress that occurs when too much is required of a single role    
    Role-setan array of roles attached to a particular status    
    Rolespatterns of behavior that are representative of a person’s social status    
    Self-fulfilling Prophecyan idea that becomes true when acted upon    
    Social Integrationhow strongly a person is connected to his or her social group    
    Societya group of people who live in a definable community and share the same culture    
    Statusthe responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to his or her rank and role in society    
    Thomas Theoremhow a subjective reality can drive events to develop in accordance with that reality, despite being originally unsupported by objective reality    
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