The following terms are compiled from the larger lists of chapter terms I have put together

through the semester. The terms below are the ones that you should focus on for the exam.
Sociological imagination: the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of
sociological questions. Someone using the sociological imagination thinks himself away from
the familiar routes of daily life.
Explained: Take for example, drinking coffee. Upon first glance, it simply looks like a
person sipping on a good smelling drink. However, if one were to apply a sociological
imagination, things such as;
- the ritual of meeting up with someone for coffee as a means of catching up
and chatting;
- the symbolic nature of drinking coffee as part of the business world, to yield
energy or to fit it;
- the fact that any eating or drinking within any culture promotes social
interaction would be considered.
Structuration: the two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual
actions and by which we are reshaped by society.
Explained: The way we act is shaped by the people we surround ourselves with and in
turn, how we act affects those around us. Therefore, structuration is a circular process in
which we shape society as well as how society shapes us.
Anomie: a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.
Explained: social norms usually affect in some way, how we behavior. However, with
anomie, social norms dont exert as much of hold over how we choose to individually
behave.
Symbolic interactionism: a theory that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core
elements of all human interaction. Developed by George Herbert Mead.
Explained: language is what allows us to analyze the social world and is therefore vital
within sociology.
Symbol: one item used to stand for or represent another as in the case of flag, which
symbolizes a nation.
Functionalism: a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be
explained in terms of the functions they perform that is, the contributions they make to the
continuity of a society. Pioneered by Comte.
Explained: to study social activity, one must evaluate the contribution that this activity
has on a society. A classic example is an analogy to the human body. In order to study the
heart for example, one must analyze how it relates to other parts of the body pumping
blood to every single tissue in the body. Through a sociological lens, religion can be
measured by the way it has continually existed within a society.
Manifest functions: functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by
the individuals involved in the activity.

Latent functions: functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members
of a social system in which they occur.
Explained: Merton uses a good example a rain dance performed by the Hopi tribe. Hopi
believe that this dance will bring rain to their crops (manifest function), however the
rain dance also subconsciously promotes the cohesion of the Hopi society (latent
function). To sum it up, a manifest function is something that you are fully aware is
occurring, whereas a latent function contains some sort of subliminal message that you
are not aware of at the time of performance.
Marxism: body of thought deriving its main elements from Karl Marxs ideas,
Power: the ability of individuals or members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests
they hold. Power is a pervasive element in all human relationships. Many conflicts in society are
struggles over power, because how much power an individual or group is able to obtain governs
how far they are able to put their wishes into practice.
Ideology: shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. Ideologies
are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between
groups. The concept of ideology connects closely with that of power, since ideological systems
serve to legitimize the power that groups hold.
Explained: power is almost always accompanied by the development of ideas
(ideologies), which are used to justify the actions of the powerful.
Feminist theory: sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing
the social world and particularly the experiences of women. There are many strands of feminist
theory, but they all share the intention to explain gender inequalities in society and to work to
overcome them.
Feminism: advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life.
Feminism dates from the late 18th century in Europe, and the feminist movements exist in most
countries today.
Explained: originally, sociology presumed a male point of view. However, with changing
times, feminist sociologists argue that womens lives and experiences are central to the
study of society. Gender relations and gender inequalities are highlighted as important
determinants of social life.
Microsociology: human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction.
Macrosociology: study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems.
Science/empirical investigation: science is the use of systematic methods of empirical
investigation (factual inquiry carried out in any area of sociological study), analysis of data,
theoretical thinking, and the logical assessment of arguments, to develop a body of knowledge
about a particular subject matter.

Ethnography: the firsthand study of people using participant observation or interviewing.

Participant observation: methods of research where the researcher takes part in the activities of
the group or community being studied. Also called fieldwork
Survey: method of sociological research in which questionnaires are administered to the
population being studied.
Pilot study: trial run in research survey.
Experiment: research method where variables can be analyzed systematically, either in an
artificial situation or in naturally occurring settings.
Comparative research: research that compares one set of findings on one society with the same
type of findings on other societies.
Oral history: interview with people about events they witnessed or experienced at some point
earlier in their lives.
Culture: values, norms and material goods characteristic of a given group. Culture is one of the
most distinctive properties of human social association.
Values: ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good and bad. What
individuals value is strongly influenced by the specific culture in which they happen to live.
Example: being faithful within a monogamous relationship
Norms: rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations. A
norm either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it. All human groups follow definite
norms, which are always backed up by sanctions of one kind or another varying from
information disapproval to physical punishment.
Example: it is a norm in our culture that men will not show up to class in skirts or
dresses. If someone went against this social norm and the guy sitting next to you decided
to wear a summer dress, wig and makeup he would be sanctioned. These sanctions that
occur when someone goes against a norm doesnt necessarily need to be a punishment by
law or physical violence. It could be a social sanction. In this example, the male students
sanction would be in the form of being ostracized. Other student would laugh at him,
make fun of him, etc.
Society: a group of people who live in a particular territory, are subject to a common system of
political authority, and are aware of having a distinct identity from other groups.
Subcultures: values and norms distinct from those of the majority, held by a group within a
wider society.
Examples: Goths, computer hackers, hippies, Rastafarians, etc.

Assimilation: the acceptance of a minority group by a majority population, in which the new
group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture.
Multiculturalism: ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political
life.
Ethnocentrism: the tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of ones own culture and
thereby misrepresent them
Explained: judging another culture through your cultures standpoint and therefore
inappropriately portraying the culture in question.
Cultural relativism: the practice of judging a society by its own standards.
Cultural universals: values or modes of behavior shared by all human cultures
Example: language
Language: the primary vehicle of meaning and communication in a society, language is a system
of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts.
Hunting and gathering societies: societies whose mode of subsistence is gained from hunting
animals, fishing, and gathering edible plants.
Pastoral societies: societies whose mode of subsistence derives from the rearing of domesticated
animals.
Agrarian societies: societies whose mode of subsistence is based on agricultural production.
Industrialization: the process of the machine production of goods.
Industrialized societies: strongly developed nation-states in which the majority of the
population work in factories or offices rather than in agriculture, and most people lives in urban
area.
Colonialism: the process whereby Western nations established their rule in parts of the world
away from their home territories.
Developing world: the less-developed societies, in which industrial production is either virtually
nonexistent or only developed to a limited degree. The majority of the worlds population live in
less-developed countries.
Third world: a term used during the Cold War to describe developing nations. Still used today.
First world: the group of nation-states that possesses mature industrialized economies based on
capitalistic production.

Second world: before the 1989 democracy movements, this included the industrialized
communist societies of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
Newly industrializing economies (NIEs): developing countries that over the past two or three
decades have begun to develop a strong industrial base, such as Singapore and Hong Kong.
Nationalism: a set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a national community.
Socialization: the social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms
and values and achieve a distinct sense of self. Although socialization processes are particularly
significant in infancy and childhood, they continue to some degree throughout life. No
individuals are immune from the reactions of others around them, which influence and modify
their behavior at all phases of the life course.
Social reproduction: the process of perpetuating values, norms, and social practices through
socialization, which leads to structural continuity over time.
Social self: the basis of self-consciousness in human individuals, according to the theory of G.H.
Mead. The social self is identity conferred upon an individual by the reactions of other. A person
achieves self-consciousness by becoming aware of this social identity.
Self-consciousness: awareness of ones distinct social identity as a person separate from other.
Human beings are not born with self-consciousness but acquire an awareness of self as a result of
early socialization. The learning of language is of vital importance to the processes by which the
child learns to become a self-conscious being.
Explained: coming to see themselves as others see them
Generalized other: a concept in the theory of G.H. Mead, according to which the individual
takes over the general values of a given group or society during the socialization process
Agents of socialization: groups or social contexts within which processes of socialization take
place.
Peer group: a friendship group composed of individuals of similar age and social status.
Age-grades: the system found in small traditional cultures by which people belonging to a
similar age-group are categorized together and hold similar rights and obligations.
Mass media: forms of communication, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, and television,
designed to reach mass audiences.
Social rules: socially defined expectations of an individual in a given status or social position
Identity: the distinctive characteristics of a persons or groups character that relate to who they
are what is meaningful to them. Some of the main sources of identity include gender, sexual
orientation, nationality or ethnicity, and social class.

Social identity: the characteristics that are attributed to an individual by others.

Self-identity: the ongoing process of self-development and definition of our personal identity
through which we formulate a unique sense of ourselves and our relationship to the world around
us.
Gender socialization: the learning of gender roles through social factors such as schooling, the
media, and family.
Gender roles: social roles assigned to each sex and labeled as masculine or feminine.
Corporate culture: an organizational culture involving rituals, events, or traditions that are
unique to a specific company
Norms: rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations. A
norm either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it. All human groups follow definite
norms, which are always backed by sanctions of one kind or another varying from information
disapproval to physical punishment
Deviance: modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by most members of
a group or society. What is regarded as deviant is as variable as the norms and values that
distinguish different cultures and subcultures from one another. Forms of behavior that are highly
esteemed by one group are regarded negatively by others
Deviant subculture: a subculture whose members hold values that differ substantially from
those of the majority
Sanction: a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior
Law: a rule of behavior established by a political authority and backed by state power
Crime: any action that contravenes the laws established by a political authority. Although we
may think of criminals as a distinct subsection of the population, there are few people who have
not broken the law in one way or another during their lives. While laws are formulated by state
authorities, it is not unknown for those authorities to engage in criminal behaviors in certain
situations.
Psychopath: a specific personality type; such individuals lack the moral sense and concern for
others held by most normal people
Anomie: a concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim, referring to a
situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior

Differentiation association: an interpretation of the development of criminal behavior proposed

by Edwin H. Sutherland, according to whom criminal behavior is learned through association
with others who regularly engage in crime
Control theory: a theory that views crime as the outcome of an imbalance between impulses
toward criminal activity and controls that deter it. Control theorists hold that criminals are
rational beings who will act to maximize their own reward unless they are rendered unable to do
so through either social or physical controls
Conflict theory: argument that deviance is deliberately chosen and often political in nature
New criminology: a branch of criminological thought, prominent in Great Britain in the 1970s,
that regarded deviance as deliberately chosen and often political in nature. The new
criminologists argued that crime and deviance could be understood only in the context of power
and inequality within society
Labeling theory: an approach to the study of deviance that suggests that people become
deviant because certain labels are attached to their behavior by political authorities and others
Primary deviance: according to Edwin Lemert, the actions that cause others to label one as
deviant
Secondary deviance: according to Edwin Lemert, following the act of primary deviance,
secondary deviance occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant and acts accordingly
White-collar crime: criminal activities carried out by those in white-collar, or professional, jobs
Corporate crime: offenses committed by large corporations in society. Examples of corporate
crime include pollution, false advertising, and violations of the health and safety regulations
Organized crime: criminal activities carried out by organizations established as businesses
Community policing: a renewed emphasis on crime prevention rather than law enforcement to
reintegrate policing within the community
Target hardening: practical measures used to limit a criminals ability to commit crime, such as
community policing and use of house alarms
Shaming: a way of punishing criminal and deviant behavior based on rituals of public
disapproval rather than incarceration. The goal of shaming is to maintain the ties of the offender
to the community