Absolute poverty. Poverty as defined in terms of the minimal requirements necessary to afford minimal standards of food, clothing, health care and shelter.

Achieved status. A position attained through personal ability and effort.

Acid rain. The increased acidity of rainfall which is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from power plants and automobiles.

Acquired Immune Deficiency (AIDS). A disease that attacks the immune system of the body that is often passed on through sexual contact.

Acute disease.  A short-term disease (such as influenza or pneumonia) from which a person either dies or recovers.

Adaptation. Refers to the ability of a sociocultural system to change with the demands of a changing physical or social environment. The process by which cultural elements undergo change in form and/or function in response to change in other parts of the system.

Adult socialization. The process of learning new roles in maturity.

Affirmative action. Government programs intended to assure minorities and women of equal hiring or admission opportunities.

Affective action. Part of Weber’s action typology that refers to individual action motivated by emotions.

Age cohort. A group of people born around the same time.

Age discrimination. The differential treatment of people based solely on their age.

Age grades. System found in some traditional cultures which group the population by sex and age. Age grades go through rites of passage, hold similar rights and have similar obligations.

Age-sex structure (Age-sex pyramid). The relative proportions of different age/sex categories in a population.

Ageism. Prejudice against a person on the grounds of age in the belief that the age category is inferior to other age categories and that unequal treatment is therefore justified.

Agencies of socialization. Groups or institutions within which processes of socialization take place. See also: Social reproduction.

Agrarian societies. Societies whose mode of production is based on agriculture (crop-growing) primarily through the use of human and animal energy.  Also referred to as agricultural societies. See also: Traditional states.

Agribusiness. The mass production of agricultural goods through mechanization, and rationalization.

Air pollution. Refers to the contamination of the atmosphere by noxious substances. See also: Depletion; Environment; Pollution.

Alienation. The sense that we have lost control over social institutions that we have created. Often characterized as estrangement from the self and from the society as a whole. Marx believed that general alienation was rooted in the loss of control on the part of workers over the nature of the labor task, and over the products of their labor.

Altruistic suicide. Durkheim's concept for suicide that is performed for the good of a group or for accomplishing a political or social cause.

Americanization. The spread of American cultural elements—products, lifestyles, customs, institutions, and ideologies—around the globe.

Anarchy. Government through the voluntary cooperation of individuals and groups with no one overarching body.

Androgyny. The blending of traditional feminine and masculine traits.

Anomia. A condition of anxiety and confusion that exists in individuals who are not given clear social guidance through social norms.

Anomic suicide. Durkheim's concept for suicide that is performed because the egoistic individual is not given clear guidance from the social order.

Anomie. A structural condition in which social norms are weak or conflicting.

Anomie theory.  Robert K. Merton's theory of deviance which holds that many forms of deviance are caused by a disjunction between society's goals and the approved means to achieve these goals; also called "structural strain theory."

Animism. A type of religion that believes that events in the world are often caused by the activities of spirits.

Anthropology. Anthropology involves the study of human biological and cultural diversity, and the evolution of the human species and sociocultural systems. There are four recognized fields within the anthropology: cultural anthropology, biological/physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics.

Anticipatory socialization. Learning new roles and attitudes in preparation to joining a group.

Anti-Semitism. Prejudice or discrimination against Jews. It defines the Jewish people as inferior and targets them for stereotyping, mistreatment, and acts of hatred.

Apartheid. Until recently, the system of strict racial segregation established in South Africa.

Applied sociology. The use of sociology--both theory and methods--in solving social problems.

Appropriate technology. Technology that is designed with the needs, values, and capabilities of the user in mind.

Aristocracy. A form of government that places control in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class.

Arms race. A competition between nations in which each side attempt to achieve or maintain military superiority.

Arms trade. The international selling of armaments for profit, carried on by governments and by private contractors around the world.

Arranged marriage. Marriage based on the family ties rather than the couple's personal preferences.

Artisans. A skilled manual worker.

Ascribed status. A social position that is given at birth such as race or sex.

Assimilation. A minority group's internalization of the values and norms of the dominant culture, they become socially, economically, and politically absorbed into the wider culture.

Authoritarian personality. A set of distinctive personality traits, including conformity, intolerance, and an inability to accept ambiguity.

Authority. Power that is attached to a position that others perceive as legitimate.

Autocatalytic process. A positive feedback cycle between two variables A and B, so that an increase in A causes an increase in B, which then causes a further increase in A. An example of such a relationship is that between the mode of production and reproduction.

Autocratic rule. Rule by a specific leader, who concentrates power in his own hands.

Automation. The replacement of many workers by machines, as well as the monitoring and coordination of workers by machines with only minimal supervision from human beings.

B

Balance of power. The theory that military conflict can be avoided if both sides have roughly equivalent military power.

Beliefs. Shared ideas held by a collective of people within a sociocultural system.

Bilateral kinship. Tracing descent through both the mother and father (as in present day America).

Bioethics. Ethical questions relating to life and the biological well-being of the planet.

Biological determinism. The view that biology (nature, genetics) determines complex social behavior.

Bioterrorism. The threat or the actual dispersal of biological or chemical agents to cause widespread disease or death in order to further a group’s political, economic, or social agenda.

Blended family. A family consisting of two previously married people plus their children. Also called step family.

Bourgeoisie. Historically they were the merchant class in feudal societies. Today the term is often used as a synonym for middle class.

Bureaucracy. A formal organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority, the existence of written rules of procedure, staffed by full-time salaried officials, and striving for the efficient attainment of organizational goals.

Bureaucratization. Refers to the tendency of bureaucracies to refine their procedures to ever more efficiently attain their goals. More generally, refers to the process of secondary organizations taking over functions performed by primary groups. See also: Intensification; Rationalization.

C

Capital. The name of Karl Marx’s two volume set (often called Das Capital). It is also used as a synonym for capitalism.

Capitalism. An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution in which the goal is to produce profit.

Capitalist class. Those who own companies, or stocks and shares, using these to generate economic returns or profits.

Case study. An intensive analysis of an individual, group, or organization regarding a particular issue over time.

Carrying capacity. The number of a species that a particular ecosystem can support without suffering irreversible deterioration. See also: Ecology.

Cash-crop production. Production of crops for world markets rather than for consumption by the local population.

Cash-nexus. Defining all human relationships in terms of money.

Caste system. A closed form of stratification in which an individual's status is determined by birth and cannot be changed.

Cathedrals of consumption. A term coined by George Ritzer to refer to commercial displays meant to inspire awe, wonder, and enchantment in the consumer—shopping centers, casinos and sports stadiums are examples.

Causation. A “cause and effect” relationship exists wherever a change in one variable (the independent variable) induces change in another (the dependent variable). Causal factors in sociology include individual motivation as well as many external influences on human behavior that often go unrecognized.

Centralization. Power and authority concentrated into a few offices.

Census. A count of the population, often including a detailed profile of that population.

Charisma. A personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular support and enthusiasm.

Charismatic authority. Weber’s term for authority which rests on the extraordinary characteristics of the leader attributed to them by followers. See also: Traditional authority; Rational-legal authority.

Chronic disease. Disease of long duration, often not detected in its early stages, and from which the patient will not recover such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

Church. A body of people belonging to an established religious organization.

Citizen. A member of a state, having both rights and duties associated with that membership.

Civil disorders. Social conflict (such as riots) that the government becomes involved in to restore public order.

Civil religion. Secular forms of ritual and belief similar to those involved in religion--such as political parades or ceremonies.

Civil rights. Legal rights held by all citizens in a given state.

Clan. A broad extended kin group found in many preindustrial societies.

Class. Most sociologists use the term to refer to socioeconomic differences between groups of individuals which create differences in their life chances and power. Marx differentiates class by their relationship to the mode of production (owner/non-owner).

Class consciousness. An objective awareness of the class system, including the common interests of people within your class.

Class system. Stratification is a "multidimensional phenomenon"; that is, populations are ranked along various dimensions such as occupation, education, property, racial-ethnic status, age, and gender. Each of these dimensions is a "class system." According to Gerhard Lenski, class systems are “a hierarchy of classes ranked in terms of a single criterion.” Thus, “African-American” is a particular class within the American racial-ethnic class system, while “working class” is a particular class within the American occupational class system.

Clerical workers. Refers to low-prestige and low-paid white collar workers who perform clerical work of keeping files, checking forms, and other office tasks.

Climate change. The accumulation of gasses in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide and methane, that act like the glass roof of a greenhouse, letting sunlight in but trapping the radiant heat. See also Greenhouse effect; Global warming.

Cognition. Human thought processes including perception, reasoning, and remembering.

Cognitive ability. The ability to think in abstract terms.

Cohabitation. Living together in a sexual relationship of some permanence, without being legally married.

Cohort. All individuals born within a particular time period.

Collective action. Social action undertaken in a relatively spontaneous way by a large number of people.

Collective behavior. Behavior in crowds and mobs that occur when the usual norms are suspended.

Collective conscience. Sometimes translated as “collective conscious.” Common beliefs and values that guide human behavior. Durkheim posited that such a conscience was necessary for maintaining the social order.

Collective violence. Large numbers of people engaging in violent social behavior.

Colonialism. The process whereby nations establish their political and economic rule over less powerful nations.

Color-blind racism. The idea that since overt racism and discrimination has largely been driven underground, race is no longer a major factor in American social life. This view discounts more covert forms of discrimination embedded in a combination or social, economic, or institutional practices.

Coming out. The act of openly declaring one's self as gay.

Commercialization. To organize an activity around making a profit.

Commodification. The exchange of goods and services that were once given through primary group ties through the market economy.

Commodity chains. The raw material, production, and labor network responsible for the fashioning of products. These chains often span the globe, with some countries profiting greatly for their contribution to the chain, and others clearly being exploited.

Commodity riots. Riots in which the focus of violence is the destruction of property.

Communal riots. Riots in which the focus of violence is other groups (usually other race or ethnic groups).

Communication.  The transmission of information from one individual or group to another.

Communication technology. Technology developed to extend the transmission of information between individuals and groups as well as over time. Examples include language, writing, printing, telegraph, telephone, and the Internet. The development of this technology quickens and intensifies the pace of sociocultural change.

Communism. A set of political and economic ideas in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by an authoritarian state with the expressed goal of creating an egalitarian social order. "Communism" as developed by Lenin and institutionalized throughout Eastern Europe (until 1990) and China bears little resemblance to Marx's vision.

Community. A group of people who share a common sense of identity and interact with one another on a sustained basis.

Comparable worth. The evaluation of jobs dominated by women and those traditionally dominated by men on the basis of training, skills, and experience in attempts to equalize wages. The principle is that men and women should be paid equally for similar jobs.

Concept. Any abstract characteristic that can potentially be measured.

Confirmation Bias. A tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions. It is a phenomenon wherein decision makers actively seek out and assign more weight to evidence that confirms their hypothesis, and ignore or assign little weight evidence that could disconfirm their hypothesis. “Facts” are only true if they confirm what they already believe, all else is nonsense, error, or outright lies.

Conflict. A clash of interest (sometimes escalating to active struggle) between individuals, groups or society.

Conflict theory. Sociological theory that emphasizes the role of power, authority, and manipulation in sociocultural change and stability.

Conformity. Human behavior which follows the established norms of a group or society. The bulk of human behavior is of a conforming nature as people accept and internalize the values of their culture or subculture.

Contagion theory. The idea that individuals in crowds are suggestible and take on a single way of acting.

Conglomerates. Large corporations made up of separate companies producing or trading in a variety of different products and services. Conglomerates are usually the result of mergers between companies or a take-over of one firm by another.

Consensus. Agreement on basic social values by the members of a group or society.

Conspicuous consumption. Concept popularized by Thorstein Veblin that many people consume goods and services to publicly display their wealth and taste.

Constitutional government. A govenrment that is constrained by a written document that defines the organizational structure of that government and sets forth the authority and rules of conduct of the various offices within that structure.

Consumerism. The philosophy of seeking happiness through the consumption of goods and services.

Content analysis. The analysis of cultural meanings through artifacts such as books, documents, songs, and other communications.

Contingency work. Temporary, part-time, or "contracted" employment for the duration of the project. Contingency work is one of the fastest growing employment sectors in America as it enables employers to expand and contract their workforce with the vagaries of the market and allows them to avoid costly fringe benefits and other commitments of long-term employment.

Contradiction. Marx's term to refer to mutually antagonistic tendencies within institutions or the broader society such as those between  profit and competition within capitalism.

Contradictory class location. A position in the class structure which shares characteristics of the class positions both above and below them--the classic position would be that of a foreman in a factory or a department chair in academe.

Control theory. A theoretical approach that states that social control is directly affected by the strength of social bonds and that deviance results from a feeling of disconnection from society. Individuals who believe they are a part of society are less likely to commit crimes against it.

Core countries. The advanced industrial societies of America, Western Europe and Japan are often referred to as core countries because of their central position on the world stage. See also: Peripheral countries and Semi-Peripheral countries.

Corporate Crime. Criminal or deviant behavior committed by a corporation.

Corporations. A legally recognized organization set up for profit--the powers and liabilities of the organization are legally separate from the owners or the employees. In the U.S., corporations have the legal status as a person. See also: Citizens United.

Correlations. The relationship between two variables in which they vary together--say a correlation between the income of parents and reading ability among primary school children. Statistical correlation can vary from -1 to 1 (a 0 indicates no correlation between the variables). A positive correlation between two variables exists where a high score on one is associated with a high score on the other. A negative correlation is where a high score on one variable is associated with a low score on the other.

Cost-benefit decision making. A criterion used in deciding on what actions to take. What are the benefits of the action? What are the costs? Pain versus gain.

Counter-culture. A sub-culture that is opposed to the ideas, beliefs, or behaviors of the dominant culture.

Coup d’état. An armed takeover of government by a small group of conspirators--often military officers. See also Rebellion; Revolution.

Craftsman. A skilled worker who practices a trade.

Created environment. Human constructions such as buildings, roads, factories, and private homes.

Credentialism. The tendency for jobs to require more and more formal education, even though the skill or knowledge requirements for the job have not changed.

Cross tabulation (Crosstabs). A table illustrating the relationship between two variable, such as Sex (Male and Female) and Years of Education.

Crime. Any action that violates criminal laws established by political authority.

Criminology. A social science discipline that focuses upon the study of crime and the criminal justice system.

Crisis medicine. Medical treatment that focuses on curing illness (as opposed to preventing the occurrence of disease).

Crude birth-rate. A statistical measure representing the number of births per thousand population within a given year.

Crude death-rate. A statistical measure representing the number of deaths per thousand population that occur annually in a given population.

Cult. A fragmentary religious group which lacks permanent structure.

Cultural Anthropology. A social science that is part of the four fields of anthropology which concentrates (though no longer exclusively) on the study of traditional cultures--particularly hunting and gathering and horticultural societies.

Cultural diffusion. The transmission of cultural elements between sociocultural systems.

Cultural imperialism. Imposing the material and nonmaterial culture of a politically powerful nation on other less powerful countries. Because of its economic, military, and political dominance, the Global North exerts powerful cultural influence in the form of products, media, worldviews, customs, and ideologies over the Global South.

Cultural lag. A dysfunction in the sociocultural system caused by change occurring in one part of the system and the failure of another part of that system to adjust to the change. An example would be married women engaged in outside employment and the continuance of the domestic division of labor.

Cultural materialism. A macro-social theory that attempts to account for the similarities and differences between sociocultural systems by focusing on the environmental constraints to which human action is subject.

Cultural pluralism. The more or less peaceful coexistence of  multiple subcultures within a given society.

Cultural relativism. The idea that a culture item can be judged or understood only in relationship to the entire culture in which it is embedded.

Cultural superstructure. Sociocultural materialism term used to refer to the shared symbolic universe within sociocultural systems.  It includes such components as the art, music, dance, rituals, sports, hobbies and the accumulated knowledge base of the system. See also: Mental superstructure; Superstructure.

Cultural transmission. The socialization process whereby the norms and values of the group are internalized by individuals.

Cultural universals. Values or practices shared by all human cultures.

Culture. The values, norms and material goods shared by a given group. Your instructor prefers to restrict the term to refer to symbolic aspects (values and norms).

Culture of poverty. The view that the poor have a different value system that contributes to their poverty.

Culture shock. The disorientation that may occur when one experiences a new and different culture or when one encounters rapid social change in one's own culture.

Cumulative change. A distinctive kind of change associated with systems composed of multiple, interrelated parts. Within these systems, some parts change while others remain unchanged. Thus, cumulative change is a process that combines elements of continuity with elements of change; many parts of the system are preserved for extended periods while new parts are added and other parts are either replaced or transformed. Evolutionary change tends to be cumulative in nature.

Curative medicine.  Another term for Crisis Medicine--the focus on curing disease rather than its prevention.

Custodial care. Occurs when the focus of health care is on the needs of the institution (convenience, efficiency) rather than on the needs of the patient.

Cyberterrorism. The threat or the actual hacking of computer networks in order to cause widespread disruption to further a group's political, economic, or social agenda.

D

Data. Systematically measured information.

Data analysis. The organization of data to look for patterns and uniformities.

Defensive medicine. The use of widespread medical tests on the part of physicians in order to avoid possible malpractice suits.

Deforestation. The removal of all trees from an area. See also: Depletion; Environment; Desertification.

Deductive reasoning. The process of going from general theory to specific hypotheses.

De facto segregation. The separation of social groups in fact, though not by law. Housing patterns in the U.S. often reflect de facto segregation.

Defensive medicine. The practice of ordering unnecessary medical tests as a precaution against overlooking a condition and thus opening the physician up to a law suit.

Dehumanization. The act of depriving people of their human qualities—treating people like animals or things as if they have no feelings or worth.

Deindustrialization. The loss of manufacturing capacity.

De jure segregation. The separation of social groups by law.

Deinstitutionalization. The movement of mental patients out of hospitals and into the "community."

Democracy. A form of government that recognizes the citizen as having the right to participate in political decision-making, or to elect representatives to government bodies.

Democratic leader. A leadership style based upon consultation and consensus building.

Demographic transition. A stabilization of population level in industrial society once a certain level of economic prosperity has been reached. Population is thought to stabilize because of economic incentives on families to limit the number of children.

Demography. The scientific study of human population--including size, growth, movement, density, and composition.

Density. A measure of human crowding usually expressed as the number of people per square mile.

Dependency theory. The thesis that many Third World countries cannot control major aspects of their economic life because of the dominance of industrialized societies. Because of this dominance, core nations are often able to exploit peripheral nations in economic relationships.

Dependent variable. The variable that you believe will be affected by another. In the posited relationship between education and income, education is the independent variable, income is the dependent variable. See also independent variable.

Depletion. One of the primary constraints of the environment on sociocultural systems.  Refers to the limited supplies of natural resources (although the limits are unknowable, that there are limits can be inferred). These limits can often be stretched through the use of technology See also: Pollution; Intensification.

Desertification. A fertile region that has been made barren by the activities of human societies. See also: Depletion; Pollution.

Detailed division of labor. It breaks the manufacturing of a product down into simple discrete steps, and then assigns each task to an individual workman. Also called the manufacturing division of labor.

Deterrence theory. The prevention of military conflict through the build up of armaments. The basis of deterrence theory is in ensuring that a potential aggressor would suffer too many losses to make the initiation of hostilities worthwhile --M.A.D. or mutually assured destruction was based on this theory.

Deviance. Behaviors which do not conform to significant norms held by most of the members of a group or society. What is regarded as 'deviant' is highly variable across societies.

Deviant behavior. Actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms.

Deviant community. A group specifically organized around a form of social deviance.

Deviant identity. A person’s self-identification as a deviant.

Deviant subculture. A subculture which has values and norms which differ substantially from those of the majority in a society.

Dialectic. An interpretation of change emphasizing the clash of opposing interests and the resulting struggle as the engine of social transformation.

Dictatorship. A form of government in which one person exercises supreme power and authority.

Differential association. Theory of crime and delinquency that holds that deviance is learned as a result of long-term interaction with others.

Differentiation. The development of increasing complexity and division of labor within sociocultural systems.

Diffusion. The spread of cultural traits from one sociocultural system to another.

Discrimination. The denial of equal access to social resources to people on the basis of their group membership.

Disenchantment. The retreat of the mysticism, supernatural belief, and awe from social life to be replaced by secular values, rationality, and scientific understanding.

Disintegration. The weakening of the social bond allowing various groups to fragment and break away from the whole.

Disorganization. The disturbance of a system from a state of order and predictability to chaos and unpredictability.

Division of labor. The specialization of work tasks or occupations and their interrelationship. All societies have some division of labor based on age and sex. But with the development of industrialism the division of labor becomes far more complex which affects many parts of the sociocultural system. The division of labor is perhaps the most underrated concept in sociology. See also: Detailed division of labor; Manufacturing division of labor.

Doing gender. The idea that gender is an internalized social construct that is constantly being accomplished by the individual in everyday interaction with others.

Domestic economy. Marvin Harris’ term that refers to the structural components of sociocultural systems that are organized around basic production, exchange, and consumption within domestic settings (houses, camps, and other family and small community units).

Domestic labor. Unpaid labor carried out around the home.

Domestic violence. Violent behavior directed by one member of a household against another.

Dominant culture. The beliefs and values of the dominant group within a sociocultural system.

Double standard. A code of behavior that is more restrictive on women than on men.

Doubling time. The time it takes for a particular level of population to double in size. A fairly accurate doubling time estimate can be computed by taking the annual growth rate and dividing it by 70. At 2% annual growth world population (5.5 billion in 1996) will double in size (to 11 billion) in about 35 years (2031) assuming the annual growth stays constant. See also: Exponential growth. 

Dramaturgical model. A sociological perspective that sees the social world as a stage, with all the men and women playing to their roles in the social order.

Dual career family. Families in which both spouses are in the outside labor force.

Dual labor market. The hypothesis that men and women have differential earnings because the work in different parts of the labor market. For example, men dominate the field of engineering (high pay, high prestige), women dominate the field of social work (low pay, low prestige).

Dual welfare system. Refers to disguised forms of welfare that go to the middle class and the rich. See also: Wealthfare.

Dyad. A group consisting of two people.

Dysfunction. Refers to an institution's negative impact (or harmful effect) on the sociocultural system.

E

Eclecticism. A conceptual approach that lacks commitment to any single paradigm or theoretical strategy. Eclectics draw upon multiple theories—sometimes contradictory in their assumptions—to explain physical, biological, or social phenomenon.

Ecological-evolutionary theory. Theories of sociocultural systems that stress their origin, maintenance, and change by focusing on the relationships of the system to their social and physical environments.

Ecology. The study of the system of relationships between organisms and their environment.

Economy. The organization of production and distribution of goods and services within a sociocultural system.

Economic interdependence. Comte and Durkheim both refer to the fact that in societies with a high division of labor individuals depend more on others to produce most of the goods they need to sustain their lives.

Ecosystem. A self-sustaining community of plants and animals within a natural environment.

Education. The transmission of knowledge to members of society. The knowledge passed on is in the form of technical and cultural knowledge, technical and social skills, as well as the norms and values of the society.

Education system. The system of formalized transmission of knowledge and values operating within a given society.

Educational deflation. The devaluing of education as a result of the forces of supply and demand.

Egalitarian family. Family arrangement in which power is shared more-or-less equally by both the wife and the husband.

Ego. Freud's posited part of the self that represents reason and common sense.

Egoistic suicide. Durkheim's concept for suicide performed by an individual who has not sufficiently integrated into the social order.

Elderly abuse. Acts of violence (or neglect) directed at the elderly (often by family members).

Elite. Men and women in the highest positions of the dominant institutions of a society and who consequently hold enormous power. See also: Power elite.

Elite crime. Criminal behavior on the part of elites as part of their normal activity--such as tax evasion, hiring illegal aliens as domestics, or engaging in insider trading.

Elitist. One who subscribes to the theory that there is a power elite in American society.

Emigration. The movement of people out of their native land to other countries.

Endogamy. A system in which an individual may only marry within the same social category or group.

Entrepreneur. A person who organizes and manages a business firm.

Empire. A group of states under a single government.

Empirical. Social data or facts that are based on systematic observation or measurement.

Empiricism. The philosophy that knowledge comes from observation and experience.

Enlightenment. Seventeenth and eighteenth century European thought that placed great faith in science and human reason in dealing with social issues.

Entropy. The entropy law or the second law of thermodynamics--energy can only be transformed in one direction, from ordered to disordered. Entropy is also another name for pollution.

Environment. The physical, biological and chemical restraints to which action is subject.

Environmentalism. Refers to a concern with preserving the physical environment in the face of the impact of industrialism.

Epidemiology. The study of biological, social, and economic factors associated with disease and health.

Estate system. A form of stratification established by law in which the ownership of land leads to the monopolization of power.

Ethnic group. A group of common cultural identity, separating them from other groups around them.

Ethnicity. One's ethnic group.

Ethnocentrism. The tendency to judge other cultures by the standards one's own culture; often with the feeling that one's own culture is superior.

Ethnomethodology. A research method that focuses on the activities and beliefs of group members to determine what sense they make of their everyday lives.

Eugenics. A social movement in the early twentieth century that sought to apply genetic selection to “improve” the human race.

Euthanasia. The act of killing a person who is terminally ill (active euthanasia) or allowing such a person to die by withholding treatment (passive euthanasia). Usually the act is claimed to be an act of mercy.

Eutrophication. Oxygen depletion of water due to over-fertilization.

Evaluation research. Social research whose aim is to assess the effectiveness of a particular policy or social program.

Evolution. The change of biological organisms by means of the adaptation to the demands of the physical environment. Organisms that successfully adapt pass on their genes to future generations thereby changing the species itself.

Exchange reciprocity. Rough equality in the exchange of goods and services between groups or between sociocultural systems.

Exogamy. A system in which an individual may only marry outside their social category or group.

Experiment. A research method in which variables can be analyzed under carefully controlled conditions--usually within an artificial situation constructed by the researcher—that can potentially determine whether a given variable affects another independently of other factors.

Exponential growth. A geometric rate of progression which has the potential of producing a very fast rise (or an "explosion") in the numbers of a population experiencing such growth. See also: Doubling time.

Expressive leader. Leadership that is oriented toward sociality, positive morale, and collective well-being.

Expropriation. The confiscation of property or labor from an individual.

Extended family. A family group consisting of more than two generations of the same kinship line living either within the same household or, more usually in the West, very close to one another.

F

Fad. Collective behavior that involves a novel, often frivolous, and usually short lived activity.

False consciousness. Marxian concept that refers to the ideology of the subordinate class which has been largely fashioned by the ideology and control of the elites within a society.

Familism. An ideology that puts the interests of the family over individual interests.

Family. A group of individuals related to one another by blood ties, marriage or adoption. Members of families form an economic unit, the adult members of which are responsible for the upbringing of children. All societies involve some form of family, although the form the family takes is widely variable. In modern industrial societies the main family form is the nuclear family, although a variety of extended family relationships are also found.

Family of orientation. The family into which an individual is born.

Family of procreation. The family we create through marriage.

Fecundity. The number of children which is biologically possible for a woman to produce.

Feedback loop. Sociocultural materialism term referring to the dynamic relationships between the different components of sociocultural systems. While the theory begins with an examination of infrastructural determinism, it recognizes that structure and superstructure can play an independent role in determining the character of the system. See also: Infrastructural determinism.

Fee-for-service medicine. The provision of medical services in return for a monetary fee.

Femininity. The characteristic behaviors expected of women in a given culture.

Feminization of poverty. A process by which increasing proportions of the poor are women and children.

Feminism. Advocacy of the social equality of the sexes.

Fertility. The average number of live born children produced by women of childbearing age in a particular society.

Fetishism. Obsessive attachment or sexual desire directed toward an object.

Feudalism. A social system based on fealty between a Lord and a Vassal. It is characterized by grants of land (fiefs) in return for formal oaths of allegiance and promises of loyal service.

Field research. Research that involves the investigator directly with the people or groups being studied.

First world. A term now rarely used that refers to the group of nation-states that possess advanced industrial economies, usually market based. See also: Second World and Third World.

Flextime. An arrangement that allows employees to set their own schedules (starting and quitting time) whenever possible.

Folkways. Widespread standards of behavior.

Forces of production. Marx uses the term "means of production" to refer to a range of material factors included in the production process.  In addition to these material aspects, the forces of production include labor-power, or the knowledge and skills of those directly involved in the production process as well as the organization of collective labor. .

Fordism. The assembly line system of production pioneered by Henry Ford. It should be pointed out that not all industrial processes are based on the assembly line.

Formal organization. Another name for secondary organization, usually large and consisting of people who interact on the basis of status and role and often organized to accomplish a task.

Formal rationality. The use of zweckrational—goal oriented rational behavior—to achieve a goal without thought to wider social values, traditions, or emotions. A popular name for the phenomenon is technocratic thinking. See also: Substantive rationality.

Forms. The traditional, legal, or accustomed ways of government, respect for office, procedure, law, opposing parties, consultation and open communication within executive agencies and between branches of government.

Functions. The ways in which a sociocultural trait contributes toward the maintenance or adaptation of the entire sociocultural system.

Functional analysis. The use of functionalism in analyzing a sociocultural system or a part of that system.

Functionalism. A theoretical perspective that focuses on the way various parts of the social system contribute to the continuity of society as well as the affect the various parts have on one another.

Fundamentalism. A commitment to, and a belief in, the literal meanings of scriptural texts.

Futurists. Those who attempt to forecast the broad parameters of social life usually from the study of present day trends.

G

Gang. An informal group of individuals that engage in common activities, many of these activities may be outside the law.

Game stage. Childhood stage in which children become capable of taking on the roles of others. See also: Imitation stage; Play stage.

Gemeinschaft. According to Tönnies the term refers to social organization based on  close and personal ties and traditional norms and values.

Gender. Socially defined behavior regarded as appropriate for the members of each sex.

Gender gap. Political term referring to the gap between men and women on political attitudes and behavior.

Gender identity. One's self-definition as a man or a woman.

Gender role.  Prevailing societal norms for behaviors that promote desirable behavior as appropriate to a person’s sex.

Genetic engineering. The genetic manipulation of organisms in an effort to produce desirable characteristics.

Genocide. The systematic, planned annihilation of an ethnic, racial or political group.

Generalization.  A claim that a specific observation will apply to a broader population. See also inductive reasoning.

Generalized other. George Herbert Mead’s concept that in the latter stages of development the child learns the norms, values, and expectations of others through social interaction.

Gentrification. The renovation of poor and working class urban neighborhoods and the displacement of the original residents.

Gesellschaft. According to Tönnies the term refers to social organization based on loose personal ties, self-interest, rationalization, and impersonality.

Ghetto. A section of a city occupied predominantly by members of a single racial or ethnic group, usually because of social or economic pressure.

Government. Formal institutional structures of the nation-state that attempt to regulate internal and external relations.

Glass ceiling. The unspoken/unwritten limit that a woman (or a member of a minority group) may attain within an organization.

Globalization. The development of extensive worldwide patterns of economic, social, or political relationships between nations.

Global North. Countries that have a high level of industrialization.

Global South. Countries in which industrialization remains fairly limited.

Global stratification. Systematic global inequalities between nation states determined by a nation-state's position in the capitalist world-system.

Greenhouse effect. The accumulation of gasses in the atmosphere that act like the glass roof of a greenhouse, letting sunlight in but trapping the radiant heat. Now more often called Climate change.

Green Revolution. The tremendous increase in farming productivity that occurred beginning in the 1950s with the application of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and the development of plant varieties especially bred to respond to these chemical inputs.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The total value of all goods and services produced within the boundaries of a particular country in any given year. In America, for example, this measure includes the value of the production of Japanese firms within the U.S. but not goods produced by U.S. firms on Japanese soil. GDP is now the preferred measure of the wealth of nations.

Gross National Product (GNP). The total value of all goods and services produced by nationals of a particular country in any given year. In America, for example, this measure did not include the value of the production of Japanese firms within the U.S. but did include the value of goods and services produced by U.S. firms on Japanese soil, GDP is now the preferred measure of the wealth of nations, though GNP is often used in historical comparison.

Group. A collection of individuals who communicate and interact on a regular basis, sharing many attitudes and beliefs.

Group size effect. Differing group sizes have differing effects upon the people within the group.

Groupthink. The tendency for groups to reach consensus on most issues brought before it.

Guerilla movement. A non-government military organization that engages in fighting or harassment.

H

Hate crime. Assault or other violent acts aimed at individuals because they are a member of a deviant or a minority group.

Health maintenance organization (HMOs). An organization that provides health care to patients in return for a fixed annual fee.  HMOs therefore have an interest in limiting the cost of treatment per patient. See also Managed Care.

Hegemon. The predominant political, economic, or social influence of a nation-state over others.

Herding societies (Pastoral societies). Societies whose subsistence is based on domesticated animals. See also Traditional states.

Heteronormativity. The belief that gender roles consistent with sexual assignment are natural and “right” and that heterosexuality is the only legitimate form of sexual expression.

Heterosexism. The idea that heterosexuality is the only acceptable form of sexuality. This idea is often institutionalized within a society and consequently internalized by many individuals.

Heterosexuality. An orientation in sexual activity towards people of the opposite sex.

Hidden curriculum. Behavior or attitudes that are learned at school but which are not a part of the formal curriculum. For example, aspects of classism can often be "unintentionally" conveyed in learning materials.

Higher education. Usually refers to education beyond high school level, often in colleges or universities.

High-trust systems. Work settings in which individuals have a great deal of autonomy and control.

Historical materialism. Marx's interpretation that processes of social change are determined primarily (but not exclusively) by economic factors.

Holistic. Perspectives that emphasize the whole system as well as the interdependent nature of the parts of that system.

Holistic medicine. Medical treatment aimed at the whole person--physical, mental, and the social environment.

Homo duplex. Durkheim’s conception of human beings as beings of two natures, the angel and the beast, the beast being the stronger of the two. The first and “lower” part of that nature is that of “will,” an id-like nature that is focused on the individual satisfaction of all wants and desire. The other part of human nature is social in origin, the “collective conscience.” This conscience is a collective moral system, a reality separate from the individual that is made up of ideas and values.

Homogamy. The tendency for individuals to select mates from similar social backgrounds.

Homogenization. To become more uniform, all parts becoming alike.

Homophobia. Fear, hatred or loathing of homosexuals.

Homosexuality. Having sexual preference for persons of the same sex.

Horticultural Society. Societies that came into being with the domestication of crops. They rely upon gardening for the majority of their subsistence. Populations in such societies could run into the hundreds (simple horticulture) to the thousands (advanced horticulture, usually distinguished by the use of metal tools and weapons). 

Household. A census term that refers to all people occupying a houssing unit.

Housework  (Domestic labor) . Unpaid work carried on in and around the home such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Studies show that the bulk of this labor is carried out by women despite the predominance of dua;-income families.

Hospice. Caring for the terminally ill within the home though this function is becoming increasingly institutionalized.

Human ecology.  The study of human and environmental relationships.

Humanitarianism. A person devoted to human welfare and social reform.

Human relations management. The interdisciplinary study of worker relations in the workplace. It attempts to maximize productivity through improving worker-management relations through the promotion of social events and other activities to improve worker morale. Many sociologists (Mills and Braverman especially) consider it simply an exercise in manipulation.

Hunting and gathering societies. Societies whose subsistence is based primarily on hunting animals and gathering edible plants.

Hypothesis. A tentative statement about a given state of affairs that predicts a relationship between the variables, usually put forward as a basis for empirical testing.

Hyper-industrialism. A term that many favor over the term postindustrial society to refer to very advanced industrial societies such as the U.S. It is Industrialism writ large in which “all” social institutions (government, family, education) have adapted to the demands of the industrial economy. The prefix "hyper" denotes "over and above," even to the point of "abnormal excess." To describe contemporary America as "hyper-industrial" is to stress both its continuity with the past and how it is rapidly changing--even to abnormal excess.

Hyper-consumption. The consumption of goods and services to the point of abnormal excess.

I

Iatrogenic. Disease caused by the physician in the course of treating the patient.

Id. Freud's posited part of the self that represents human drives such as sexuality and hunger.

Idealist. One who subscribes to the hypothesis that ideas are prime movers (important causal agents) in sociocultural systems.

Idealism. Pursuing your values and beliefs, often to the exclusion of practical reality.

Ideal type. Weber's construct of a 'pure type', constructed by emphasizing logical or consistent traits of a given social item. The traits are defining ones, not necessarily desirable ones. Ideal types do not exist anywhere in reality; rather they are "measures" that we can use in comparing social phenomena. One example is Weber's ideal type of bureaucratic organization (which are anything but desirable). More widely used (and understood) examples would include "ideal democracy" and "ideal capitalism."

Ideology. Shared ideas or beliefs which serve to justify and support the interests of a particular group or organizations.

Idiographic. Concerned with unique historical events. See also: Nomothetic.

Imitation stage. The first of three stages of childhood socialization described by George Herbert Mead. In the imitation stage the child mimics or copies the behavior of others without much understanding of the social meaning of the behavior. See also: Game stage; Play stage.

Immigration. The settlement of people into a country in which they were not born.

Imperialism. The establishing of colonial empires in which domination is political and/or economic.

Impression management. Selective control of how others perceive us.

Incest taboo. A sociocultural prohibition of sexual relations between closely related persons. Public knowledge of the violation often results in severe sanctions.

Income. Payment of wages usually earned from work or investments. This is usually measured by year.

Independent variable. The variable that you believe affects another. In the posited relationship between education and income, education is the independent variable, income is the dependent variable. See also dependent variable.

Index crime. Street crime such as robbery, rape, and other serious offenses.

Indigenous cultures. Native or the original culture of a particular region.

Individualism. A belief in the centrality and primary importance of the individual and the importance of self-sufficiency and independence.

Inductive reasoning. The process of going from specific observations to general statements.

Industrial democracy. Democratic participation in the workplace.

Industrial production. Economic production carried on through the use of machinery driven by inanimate sources of power.

Industrial reserve army. A concept popularized by Marx that refers to the legions of unemployed within a society dominated by capital. The existence of an industrial reserve army keeps wages down.

Industrial Revolution. Involved the transformation of a technology based on human and animal labor to a technology based on the use of inanimate energy sources. The term is actually an arbitrary construct used by social scientists, journalists, and lay people alike. There is no one event that marks its beginning or ending except as defined by social consensus--it is not a thing but one abstraction that we use to break the continuous world of reality into a piece that we can manipulate.

Industrial Society. Societies that draw most of their wealth from productive activities highly dependent upon inanimate sources of energy (coal, petroleum, hydroelectric, nuclear energy) to power machinery.

Industrialism. A mode of production characterized by the large-scale manufacturing of goods (including agriculture). As with any mode of production, industrialism imposes severe constraints upon the rest of the sociocultural system.

Industrialization. The continual expanding application of sophisticated technology designed to efficiently draw energy and raw materials out of the environment and fashion them for human use.

Industrialization of war. The application of industrial production and bureaucratic organization to warfare.

Infanticide. The intentional killing of infants. One of history’s dirty secrets, according to Malthus and others, is the widespread practice of infanticide as a method of controlling population level throughout human history.

Infant mortality rate. The number of infants who die during the first year of life, per thousand live births. Infant mortality rates have declined dramatically in industrial societies.

Informal relations. Relations in organizations developed on the basis of personal connections. These ties are often used to pursue organizational goals instead of the formally recognized procedures.

Infrastructural determinism. The major principle of sociocultural materialism (borrowed and modified from Harris' cultural materialism). "The mode of production and reproduction (probabilistically) determines primary and secondary group structure, which in turn determines the cultural and mental superstructure." See also: Primacy of the infrastructure.

Infrastructure. The interface between a sociocultural system and its environment.  In sociocultural materialism it contains the principle mechanism by which society regulates the amount and type of energy from the environment.

In-group. A social group an individual belongs to and with whcih they identifies.

Inner city. The areas composing the central neighborhoods of industrial cities which are subject to dilapidation and decay, the more affluent residents having moved to outlying areas.

Innovation. One of Merton’s adaptations in Anomie Theory (or Stress Theory). It is characterized by individuals who have accepted the culturally approved goal, but have not fully internalized the culturally approved means to attain this goal. The individual thereby adopts a different (and often deviant) method for attaining the goal.

Instinct. A genetically fixed pattern of complex behavior (that is, beyond reflex) which appears in all normal animals within a given species. The behavior of humans is not instinctual.

Institution. An established pattern of human social behavior in a given society--such as marriage, family, or government.

Institutional capitalism. A condition that exists when large institutions such as pension plans, banks, and insurance companies hold large shares of capitalistic enterprises.

Institutional discrimination. Accepted social arrangements that place minority groups at a disadvantage.

Institutional racism. Accepted social arrangements that exclude on the basis of race.

Institutionalization. The embodiment of widespread norms, beliefs, and values into social structures, laws, and formal codes of conduct. Also refers to the act of committing a person to a total institution—a nursing home or asylum.

Instrumental leader. Leadership that focuses the group upon the achievement of tasks and mission.

Insurrection. An organized revolt against civil authority in an attempt to replace that authority with another.

Integration. Incorporating disparate parts within the whole. The bringing of people of different ethnic groups into equal association.

Intensification. The application of ever greater amounts of technology and labor techniques to increase productivity. Refers to the growth in the complexity of the mode of production (greater energy expenditures as well as energy produced/consumed), and population over the course of social evolution. See also Bureaucratization and Rationalization.

Intelligence. Level of intellectual ability in an individual.  Also refers to the gathering of information (defensive, offensive, and industrial capabilities) about one nation by another.

Intergenerational mobility. Movement up or down the social hierarchy from one generation to another.

Intermediate organization. Robert Nisbet’s term for primary groups based on religion, family, or community that historically stood between the individual and the state.

Internal colonialism. The economic exploitation of a group within a society whereby their labor is sold cheap and they are made to pay dear for products and services.

Internalization. A process by which members of a group make the ideas, values, and norms of the group their own.

International division of labor. The specialization of work tasks and occupations among nation states. The interdependence of countries which trade on global markets. Products are produced globally; profits go to only to a few.

Interpersonal violence. The use of force between individuals to kill, injure, or abuse.

Interest groups. Groups organized to pursue specific interests in the political arena. The interests of these groups are often economic, but many are organized around moral concerns. The major activity of interest groups is lobbying the members of legislative bodies (Congress as well as state legislators), contributing vast sums to political campaigns, and increasingly running their own propaganda campaigns to affect the legislative process.

Interlocking directorates. Linkages between boards of directors of different companies due to the fact that the same people (often of the same class) sit on several different boards.

Intersectionality. A sociological term referencing the fact that social categories such as race, class, and gender often overlap and compound the discrimination experienced by an individual or group.

Interview. A face-to-face or telephone survey in which the researcher asks questions of a respondent.

Intelligence quotient (IQ). A score attained on tests of symbolic or reasoning abilities. Most social scientists (excluding psychologists) do not put much stock in the validity of IQ tests.

Iron law of oligarchy. Posited by Robert Michels: "He who says organization says oligarchy." As bureaucracy enlarges and centralizes, more and more authority is placed at the top of these huge organizations.

Irrationality factor. The paradox of supremely rational organizations, bureaucracies, acting in very irrational ways for the total society. Because bureaucracies are designed for the efficient attainment of goals set by the top of the organization; and because those at the top of these organizations often have goals that are antithetical to the goals of society as a whole (say profit vs. welfare), the irrationality factor is very much a part of modern life.

J

Jeremiad. Writing that is characterized by a long list of complaints, lament, or prophesies of doom.

Job displacement. The permanent loss of jobs due to shifts in employment patterns. With the transition from agrarian to industrial societies, many agricultural jobs were lost, while new manufacturing and service jobs were created. The shifts continue.