UCSP 3

• Society


  All people, collectively regarded as constituting a community of related, interdependent individuals living in a particular place, following a certain mode of life
• Society


  A population of people that is organized in a cooperative manner to carry out the major function of life including reproduction, sustenance, shelter, and defense
• Society


  A population that occupies the same territory which is subject to the same political authority and participates in a common culture
• Anthropological perspective on society: a group of people sharing a common culture within a territory
• Sociological perspective on society: an association organized by men with a territory
• Culture


  Refers to the individual's taste, inclination, and interest in the "fine arts"
• Culture


  Refers to being civilized
• Culture


  A complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of society
• Anthropological perspective on culture: a unique character of every human society which includes how we think, act, and what we own
• Sociological perspective on culture: the imprint made by people
• Aspects of culture


  • Artifacts
  • Arts and Recreation
  • Clothes
  • Customs and Traditions
  • Food
  • Government
  • Knowledge
  • Language
  • Religion
  • Shelter
  • Tools
  • Values
• Cultural relativism


  Culture only has meaning when taken into context, it is wrong to compare, apply, and/or judge one's own culture from another culture
• Ethnocentrism


  The perception of one's own culture as superior compared to other cultures
• Xenocentrism

  The perception of one's own culture as inferior compared to other cultures
• Socialization

  A lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn the culture
• Enculturation

  The process by which people learn the requirements of their surrounding culture and acquire the values and behaviors appropriate or necessary in that culture
• Goals of Socialization

  • Teaches impulse control and helps individuals develop a conscience
  • Teaches individuals how to prepare for and perform certain social roles
  • Cultivates shared sources of meaning and value
• Self

  A sociological concept that develops through social interactions - a set of situations where individuals learn to assume roles and meet the increasing level of complexity of each situation
• Stages of Development of the Self

  1. Imitation

  2. Play

  3. Game

  4. Generalized Others
• Identity Formation

  The development of an individual's distinct personality, which is regarded as a persisting entity in a particular stage of life by which a person is recognized or known
• Types of Identity

  • Cultural identity
  • Ethnic identity
  • National identity
  • Religious identity
  • Master identity
• Norm

  A rule that guides the behavior of members of a society or group
• Types of Norms

  • Proscriptive norms
  • Prescriptive norms
  • Mores
  • Folkways
• Values

  Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful, and that serve as broad guidelines for social living
• Status

  A social position that a person holds, which can be either ascribed or achieved
• Role

  The behavior of someone who holds a particular status
• Concepts related to Status and Role

  • Status set
  • Ascribed status
  • Achieved status
  • Role set
  • Role strain
  • Role manipulation
  • Impression management
• Deviance


  Behavior that violates expected rules and norms
• Theoretical Interpretations of Deviance

  • Structural Strain Theory
  • Labeling Theory
  • Social Control Theory
• Society has ways and means to assure conformity, providing mechanisms, rules, rewards, and consequences in cases where conformity is lacking or weak