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4.5: Key Terms

  • Page ID
    172069
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    achieved status
    the status a person chooses, such as a level of education or income
    agricultural societies
    societies that rely on farming as a way of life
    alienation
    an individual’s isolation from his society, his work, and his sense of self
    anomie
    a situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness
    ascribed status
    the status outside of an individual’s control, such as sex or race
    bourgeoisie
    the owners of the means of production in a society
    capitalism
    a 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 consciousness
    the awareness of one’s rank in society
    collective conscience
    the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society
    false consciousness
    a condition in which the beliefs, ideals, or ideology of a person are not in the person’s own best interest
    feudal societies
    societies that operate on a strict hierarchical system of power based around land ownership and protection
    habitualization
    the idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed like a habit
    horticultural societies
    societies based around the cultivation of plants
    hunter-gatherer societies
    societies that depend on hunting wild animals and gathering uncultivated plants for survival
    industrial societies
    societies characterized by a reliance on mechanized labor to create material goods
    information societies
    societies based on the production of nonmaterial goods and services
    institutionalization
    the act of implanting a convention or norm into society
    iron cage
    a situation in which an individual is trapped by social institutions
    looking-glass self
    our reflection of how we think we appear to others
    mechanical solidarity
    a type of social order maintained by the collective consciousness of a culture
    organic solidarity
    a type of social order based around an acceptance of economic and social differences
    pastoral societies
    societies based around the domestication of animals
    proletariat
    the laborers in a society
    rationalization
    a belief that modern society should be built around logic and efficiency rather than morality or tradition
    role conflict
    a situation when one or more of an individual’s roles clash
    role performance
    the expression of a role
    role strain
    stress that occurs when too much is required of a single role
    role-set
    an array of roles attached to a particular status
    roles
    patterns of behavior that are representative of a person’s social status
    self-fulfilling prophecy
    an idea that becomes true when acted upon
    social integration
    how strongly a person is connected to his or her social group
    society
    a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same cultural components
    status
    the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to his or her rank and role in society
    Thomas theorem
    how a subjective reality can drive events to develop in accordance with that reality, despite being originally unsupported by objective reality

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