Vocabulary
Essay title: Vocabulary
Chapter 1
anomie
Emile Durkheims designation for a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the loss of shared values and of a sense of purpose in society.
conflict perspectives
the sociological approach that views groups in society as engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources.
functionalist perspectives
the sociological approach that views society as a stable, orderly system.
high-income countries
nations with highly industrialized economies; technologically advanced industrial, administrative, and service occupations; and relatively high levels of national and personal income.
industrialization
the process by which societies are transformed from dependence on agriculture and handmade products to an emphasis on manufacturing and related industries.
latent functions
unintended functions that are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants.
low-income countries
nations with little industrialization and low levels of national and personal income.
macrolevel analysis
an approach that examines whole societies, large-scale social structures and social systems.
manifest functions
functions that are intended and/or overtly recognized by the participants in a social unit.
microlevel analysis
sociological theory and research that focus on small groups rather than on large-scale social structures.
middle-income countries
nations with industrializing economies and moderate levels of national and personal income.
positivism
a term describing Auguste Comtes belief that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry.
postmodern perspectives
the sociological approach that attempts to explain social life in modern societies that are characterized by postindustrialization, consumerism, and global communications.
social Darwinism
Herbert Spencers belief that those species of animals, including human beings, best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out.
social facts
Emile Durkheims term for patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but that exert social control over each person.
society
a large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
sociological imagination
C. Wright Millss term for the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society.
sociology
the systematic study of human society and social interaction.
symbolic interactionist perspectives
the sociological approach that views society as the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups.
theory
a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and occasionally predict social events.
urbanization
the process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than in rural areas.
Chapter 2
content analysis
the systematic examination of cultural artifacts or various forms of communication to extract thematic data and draw conclusions about social life.
control group
in an experiment, the group containing the subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable.
correlation
a relationship that exists when two variables are associated more frequently than could be expected by chance.
dependent variable
a variable that is assumed to depend on or be caused by one or more other (independent) variables.
ethnography
a detailed study of the life and activities of a group of people by researchers who may live with that group over a period of years.
experiment
a research method involving a carefully designed situation in which the researcher studies the impact of certain variables on subjects attitudes or behavior.
experimental group
in an experiment, this group contains the subjects who are exposed to an independent variable (the experimental condition) to study its effect on them.
field research
the study of social life in its natural setting: observing and interviewing people where they live,