Sociology

status or social position based on one's accomplishments or activities

term coined by psychologist Hall (1904) to name the years coinciding w/ puberty as a distinct- and perilous- life stage

belief that men must look like Greek gods, w/ perfect chins, thick hair, rippling muscles, and a washboard abdominal muscles

a group of ppl who are born w/in a specific time period and therefore assumed to share both chronological and functional characteristics, as well as life experiences

distinctive cultural values, pursuits, and pasttimes that are culturally prescribed for each age cohort

differential treatment based on age- usually the elderly rather than the young

the ppl, groups, or institutions that teach ppl how to be functioning members of their society

(Durkheim) a state os disorientation and confusion that results from too little social regulation, in which institutional constraints fail to provide a coherent foundation for action

a potentially fatal syndrome characterized by chronic and dangerous starvation dieting and obsessive exercise

status that is assigned to a person and over which he or she has no control

having no sexual desire for anyone

occurs when two groups come into contact and the minority group abandons its traditional culture to embrace the dominant culture

tracing one's ancestry through both parents, rather than only the mother or father

feeling attracted to sexual partners of both sexes

a potentially fatal syndrome characterized by food "binging and purging"

originally derived from the French word 'bureau', or office, a formal organization characterized by a division of labor, a hierarchy of authority, formal rules governing behavior, a logic of rationality, and an impersonality of criteria

a person's age as determined by the actual date of his or her birth

ppl who are in a romantic relationship but not married living in the same residence

the (comparatively recent) idea that ppl should select their own marriage partner based on compatibility and mutual attraction

theoretical approach that stresses the competition for scarce resources and unequal distribution of those resources based on social status (such as class, race, gender)

cultural articles _ideas, artistic expressions, forms of music or literature- that function as resources that ppl in the dominant class can use to justify their dominance

a position that all cultures are equally valid in the experience of their own members

poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies but larger social and cultural factors. Poor children are socialized into believeing that they have nothing to strive for, that there is no point in working to improve their conditions. As adults, they are resigned to a life of poverty, and they socialize their children the same way. Therefore poverty is transmitted from one generation to another

both the material basis for social life and the sets of values and ideals that we understand to define morality, good and evil, appropriate and inappropriate

breaking or refusing to follow a social rule. the rule can be societywide or specific to a particular group or situation

a set of actions based on prejudice and stereotypes

a theory of economic inequality in the labor market between the 'primary' sector, characterized by high wage, high benefits jobs and the 'secondary' market, characterized by low wage, few benefits, and seasonal or marginal employment. A 'gendered' dual labor market indicates that the level of sex segregation in the labor force is high

social category that depends on an assumption of inherent cultural differences to rate and organize social groups

the use of one's own culture as the reference point by which to evaluate other cultures; it often depends on or leads to the belief that one's own culture is superior to others

the insistence that marriage to (or sex w/) members of your family unit is forbidden. This is the incest taboo, which Freud argured was the one single cultural universal

the most common model in the pre-modern era, the family model in which two or three generations lived under the same roof or at least in the same compound: grandparents, parents, unmarried uncles and aunts, married uncles and aunts, sisters, brothers, cousins, and all of their children

a child's biological parents or others who are responsible for his or her upbringing

the family one creates through marriage or cohabitation w/ a romantic partner. today, we consider andy adults living together as a family of procreation even if none of them is actually doing any procreating

the basic unit in society, it traditionally consists of two parents rearing their children but may also be any of various social units

one of the relatively weak and informal norms that are the result of patterns of action. "manners"

a set of observable characteristics and attributes that are used to categorize ppl into different age cohorts

sociological theory that stressed the interconnectedness of social institutions forming stable and orderly social systems

process by which males and females are taught the appropriate behaviors, attitudes, and traits for their biological sex. it begins at birth and continues throughout their lives

the organized rules, judgements, and attitudes of an entire group. if you try to imagine what is expected of you, you are taking on the perspective of the generalized other

scientific study of the biological, psychological, and sociological phenomena associated w/ old age and aging

rare marriage arrangement in which two or more men marry two or more women w/ children born to anyone in the union 'belonging' to all of the partners equally

social process in which members of a group attempt to conform their opinions to what they believe to be the consensus of the group, even if, as individuals, they may consider that opinon wrong or unwise

institutionally based inequalities that may derive from homophobia

a sexual encounter that may or may not include sexual intercourse, usually occurring on only one occasion between two ppl who are strangers or brief acquaintances

violence, lethal or nonlethal, experienced by a spouse, ex-spouce, or cohabiting partner; boyfriend or girlfriend; or ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. It is commonly called 'domestic violence' but b/c some does not occur in the home, IPV is the preferred term

social systems that locate individuals by reference to their families, that is, by common biological ancestry, legal marriage, or adoption

a norm that has been organized and written down. breaking this norm involves the disapproval not only of immediate community members but also of the agents of the state, who are charged w/ punishing such norm-breaking behavior

social arrangements taht ensure men know what children they have produced (women usually know). Families them bear the economic and emotional burden of raising only the children that belong to them

a person's abilities to have access to material goods (food and shelter) and social resources (health care, education) that together control the quality of life

the average number of years a person can expect to live; varies greatly by country and region

the average or the maximum amount of time an organism or object can be expected to live or last

Cooley's term for the process of how identity is formed through social interaction. We imagine how we appear to others and thus develop our sense of self based on the others' reactions, imagined or otherwise

the pursuit of sexual pleasure for its own sake, increased attention to orgasm, increased numvers of sexual partners, interest in sexual experimentation, and seperation of sexual behavior from love.

tracing one's ancestry through the mother, her mother and so on

an interlocking system of control in which each type of inequality reinforces the others, so that the impact of one cannot be fully understood without also considering the others

social system in which the greater the functional importance of the job, the more rewards it brings in salary, perks, power, and prestige

in sociology, a belief in progress that challenged traditoin, religion, and aristocracies as remnants of the past and saw industry, democracy, and science as the wave of the future

the most common arrangement; marriage btwn 2 ppl. most monogamous societies allow men and women to marry each other b/c it takes one of each to make a baby, but same -sex monogamy is surprisingly common

adults of more than one generation sharing a domestic space

a belief that one is insufficiently muscular

sexual relations outside marriage

one of the rules a culture develops that defines how ppl should act and the consequences of failure to act in the specified ways

literally, 'the rule of the fathers'; a name given to the social order in which men hold power over women

tracing one's ancestry through the father, his father, and so on

rare form of polygamy in which one woman marries two or more men

the most common form of polygamy, a marriage between one man and two or more women

a set of beliefs and attitudes that cause us to negatively prejudge ppl based on their social location

one such as friends and family, which comes together for expressive reasons, providing emotional support, love, companionship, and security

social category, still poorly defined, that depends on an assumption of biological distinction to rate and organize social groups

a group toward which one is so strongly committed, or one that commands so much prestige, that we orient our actions around what we perceive that group's pperceptions would be

behavior expected of ppl who have a particular status

popular term for middle-aged adults who are caring for both their young children and their aging parents

the term coined by sociologist Hochschild to describe how working women typically must work both outside the home for wages and inside the home doing domestic management and child care

co-workers, club members, or another group that comes together for instrumental reasons, such as wanting to work together to meet common goals. Secondary groups make less of an emotional claim on one's identity than do primary groups

effectively the globalization of prostitution, a well-organized business whereby the flow of 'consumers' (wealthy men) is directed to the 'commodities' (poor men, women, and children). Like prostitution, there si far less 'choice' on the part of the locals and far more coercion than typically meets the eye. The tourists seem to be men and women who are being friendly and flirtatious, but the locals are usually victims of kidnapping and violence

a biological distinction; the chromosomal, chemical, and anatomical organization of males and females

any behavior that brings sexual pleasure or release

refers to an identity that is organized by the gender of the person (or persons) to whom you are sexually attracted

set of ideas and practices that answer basic questions about sexual identity and practices: whith whom do we have sex? What do we do? How often? Why?

the process by which your sexual scripts begin to cohere into a preference and sexual identity

identiey we construct that is often based on our sexual conduct and often intersects w/ other sources of identity, such as race, class, ethnicity, age, or gender

the sociological idea that gender is something we construct all through our lives, using the cultural materials we find around us. Our gender identities are simultaneously voluntary, based on choices, and coerced by social pressures, sometimes including physical threats, to conform to certain rules

the movement from one class to another, it can occur in two forms: intergenerational- that is, your parents are working class, but you became lower; and intragenerational- that is, you move from working to upper class all w/in your lifetime

the US government program wherein citizens contribute a small portion of their earnings while working and then collect a cash supplement after retirement. The program has been credited w/ preventing tens of millions of elderly from living in poverty and hunger

taken from the geological term for layers of rock, or 'strata', the ranking of ppl into defined layers. exists in all societies and is based on things like wealth, race, and gender

the process by which we become aware of ourselves as part of a group, learn to communicate w/ others, and learn how to behave as expected

the ability to see the connection btwn our individual identities and the social contexts (family, friends, and institution) in which we find ourselves

the study of human behavior in society

generalization about a group that is oversimplified, selective, exaggerated and usually pejorative, which fails to acknowledge the individual differences in the group

an attribute that changes you 'from a whole and usual person to a tainted and discounted one,' discredits a person's claim to be normal

sociological perspective that examines how individuals and groups interact, focusing on the creation of personal identity through interaction w/ others. of particular interest is the relationship between individual action and group pressures

an institution that completely circumscribes your everyday life, cutting you off from life before you entered and seeking to regulate every part of your behavior