Social Science

• Sociology: study of human groups, their customs and institutions and their development at all times and places

• Enculturation: the process of learning to become a responsible adult member of a society as defined by the norms of that society. It is shown when people talk, act and think is acceptable ways

• Proverbs: a short, well-known saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice
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• Open-class Society: Social status of a person is achieved through their effort not on their family background, ethnicity, gender or religion.

• Folkways: norms for routine or casual interaction.

  • Example: Appropriate greeting and proper dress in different situations. Draw a line between right and rude.
• Values: culturally defined standards held by human individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, beautiful, good or bad that serve as broad guidelines for social life.

• Norms: patterns of beliefs that serve to guide, control and regulate conduct
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• Mores: norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance. Distinguish between right and wrong.

• Deviant act: actions or behaviors that violate social norms

• Diffusion: spread of cultural traits from one sociocultural system to another

• Innovation: human action out of the ordinary/unique/unprecendented

• Invention: unique or novel device, method, composition or process.

• Max Weber: proposed a theory of authority
• Max Weber: proposed a theory of authority

  • Charismatic authority: found in a leader who mission and vision inspire others. Leader of a new social movement and one instilled with divine or supernatural powers such as a religious prophet. Favored by Weber
• Max Weber: proposed a theory of authority

  • Traditional authority: Ability and right to rule is passed down via heredity. It does not change overtime, does not facilitate social change, tends to be irrational and inconsistent.
• Max Weber: proposed a theory of authority

  • Functional authority: the right which is delegated to an individual or department to control specified processes, practices, policies or other matters relating to activities undertaken by persons in other departments.
• Max Weber: proposed a theory of authority

  • Legal authority: fosters belief in competence of the individual discharging statutory obligation

• Endogenous: having internal cause of origin

• Marxist’s Model: socio-economic and political worldview or inquiry based on a materialist interpretation of historical development a dialectical view of social transformation, an analysis of class-relations and conflict within society.
• Major criticism: overemphasis on importance of economic class to explain historical trends

• Sanction: A reward for conformity or a punishment for nonconformity that reinforces socially approved forms of behavior
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• Institution: any structure of mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community
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• Kinship: The network of social relationships which link individuals through common ancestry, marriage or adoption. 

• Subculture: A group within the broader society that has values, norms and lifestyle distinct from those of the majority
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• Community: A group of people who share a common sense of identity and interact with one another on a sustained basis.

• Pepinsky: effective form of social control among Chinese communists is by group manipulation of guilt and shame.

• 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.

• Primary function of religion in human societies: establish orderly relationship between man and surroundings
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• Primary groups: small social group whose members share close, personal, enduring relationships.

• Secondary groups: interact on a less personal level than primary, and relationships are temporary rather than long lasting. Established to perform functions and people’s roles are interchangeable.

• Fascist system: form of radial authoritarian nationalism. Unify nation through totalitarian state that promoted mass mobilization of national community. View political violence, war and imperialism as means to achieve national rejuvenation and asserts that stronger nations have the right to expand their territory by displacing weaker nations.

• Caste system: form of social stratification characterized by hereditary transmission of style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in hierarchy and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution. 

• Class system: people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being upper, middle and lower classes. 

• Stereotypes: A rigid and inflexible image of the characteristics a group.

  • People initially interact with them rather than a true person
• Discovery: initial awareness of existing but unobserved elements of nature
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• Clairvoyance: ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses.

• Psychokinesis: supposed ability to move objects by mental effort alone
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• Precognition: foreknowledge of an event especially as a form of extrasensory perception

• Telepathy: supposed communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses

• Fixation: concept originating from Sigmund Freud. It is the state in which becomes obsessed with an attachment to another person, being or object.