Chapter One Vocabulary

The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions.

The underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave in their relationships with others.

An idea or practice that a group of people agrees exists. It is maintained overtime by people taking its existence for granted.

The social processes in which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self.

The aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. It was believed that social facts could be studied scientifically

The social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole

The conditioning influence on our behavior of the groups and societies of which we are members. Social constraint was regarded by Émile Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts

The specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined with a production system

Referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior

Developed by Marx according to which material or economic factors have a prime role in determining historical change

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth which is invested then reinvested in order to produce profit

A type of organization marked by a clear hierarchy of authority and the existence of written rules of procedure and staffed by full-time, salaried officers

A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements in all human interaction

One item used to stand for or represent another

A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of functions they perform. (the contributions they make to society)