Heads Up Sociology
Page 16
Elite A group of people who have the highest standing in their society, together with the greatest wealth and the most power.
Emotional labour Work that requires employees to manage their feelings as part of the job. For example, to boost a company’s image, a person might be asked to always appear friendly or sympathetic towards members of the public.
Employment The state of being in paid work.
Environment The surroundings in which a person, animal, or plant lives.
Environmental racism Ignoring the environmental rights of minority groups by, for example, exposing people to hazardous chemicals or destroying their natural homelands.
Ethnicity The language, culture, and beliefs that give a group its identity.
Ethnography The study of peoples and their cultures.
Feminism The belief that women and men should have equal social, political, and financial rights.
Focus group A research method often used by sociologists, involving a group of people who come together to talk about a special issue or situation.
Gemeinshaft A German word meaning “community”. The term describes deep bonds and shared values between people.
Gender The social and cultural beliefs about men and women, as well as their biological differences.
Gesellschaft A German word meaning “association”. The term describes the practical, functional, and non-personal relationships between people in a larger organisation or area.
Globalization The process by which societies around the world connect with each other through trade, industry, communications, and cultural exchanges.
Glocalization The mixing of values when globally available consumer goods and services are adapted to suit local tastes and cultures.
Habitus The lifestyle and cultural tastes shared by people who belong to a particular social group.
Hegemony The power or authority that one group uses to control others.
Heterosexual A person who is attracted to people of the opposite sex.
Identity The sense of who we are, and how other people see us in terms of such characteristics as gender, appearance, and personality.
Individualism The idea that each person’s freedom to think and act is the most important thing in a society.
Institutions The rules of organisations that form the building blocks of society, such as religion, education, and the law.
Marxism A social theory developed from the ideas of the 19th-century German thinkers and sociologists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism says there are two main classes in society. One, the ruling class, exploits the other, the working class, for its own profit. Marx believed this unfair system must be overthrown.
Mass society A modern industrialized society mostly made up of groups of people that share a general culture but who are not closely connected to each other.
Media Sometimes known as mass media, the various types of communication that bring information to the public. These include newspapers, radio, television, and the internet.
Mental illness One of a wide range of conditions that can affect a person’s mood, feelings, personality, and behaviour to varying degrees.
Middle class A social group between the elite and the working class. Middle-class people tend to be white-collar workers with relatively secure lifestyles, and intermediate levels of wealth.
Moral duty The responsibility people have to act in ways that society thinks are right.
Norm A generally accepted social rule or standard.
Poverty Lack of basic needs, such as food, housing, and clothing, is called absolute poverty. Relative poverty means lack of the minimum amount of possessions or income acceptable within a society.
Precariat Term combining the words “precarious” (insecure) with “proletariat” (working people) to describe people with no job security or reliable income.
Proletariat A Marxist term describing working-class people.
Racism Unjust treatment of people because of their ethnic origins, and especially because of skin colour. Racism is based on wrong ideas about supposed biological differences.
Rationalization The theory of German economist and sociologist Max Weber that modern society is increasingly organized around the values of reason, logic, and efficiency.
Rehabilitation Restoring to normality. Rehabilitating criminal offenders, commonly through therapy or education, helps them to be accepted back into society.
Religion A system of belief in a god or gods, or other supernatural power. Most religions involve rites and ceremonies of some kind.
Roles The types of behaviour expected of people in society, often related to their gender or age.
Rural Relating to the countryside.
Secularization The change that occurs when religion loses its influence and other cultural values and rules become more important to society.
Semi-structured interview A sociological research method that engages the interviewee in an informal conversation and encourages free expression.
Sexism Prejudice against and unfair treatment of people because they happen to be female or male.
Social class One of the social groups into which people are often placed according to such factors as their wealth, education, and status. (See Elite; Middle class; Working class.)
Social construction An idea that is shaped by a person’s social background rather than based in reality. For example, beliefs about class, gender, sexuality, or race are often social constructions.
Socialization The process by which people, especially children, learn to fit into society and behave as expected.
Social media Websites and phone apps that allow users to communicate online, sharing information, news, and ideas, and making friendships.
Social mobility The movement of people, either as individuals or groups, from one social class to another.
Social structure The social institutions and relationships that make up the framework of a society.
State A general term for a nation or political region with recognized borders and an organized system of government. A state can also be a distinct territory within a nation, for example, as in the USA.
Status A person’s social and professional standing within a society.
Stereotype A widespread and firmly fixed idea about what a person or group of people is like. Stereotyping often gives such a simplified view that it creates an exaggerated or inaccurate image.
Structure Part of a person’s life, such as social class or ethnic origin, that is beyond any individual’s control.
Stigma A strong sense of disgrace or public disapproval that prevents a person from being fully accepted in a society.
Subculture/Subtribe A group of people whose shared interests and behaviours set them apart from mainstream society. Subcultures often identify themselves by wearing distinctive clothes, listening to certain types of music, or giving themselves a collective name.
Surveillance Close observation of people and places to prevent crime. Surveillance may involve technologies such as CCTV cameras and dataveillance, which uses computer software to monitor someone’s personal data.
Survey Often used in sociological research, an information-gathering method consisting of a series of carefully worked out questions. Surveys are designed to find out as much as possible about what people do and think.
Transgender A term that describes a person whose behaviour and sense of identity does not match his or her biological sex. (See also Transsexual)
Transnational corporation (TNC) A large business enterprise comprising a parent company and a network of related companies that operate in many countries round the world. TNCs are sometimes also referred to as multinational corporations.
Transsexual Someone who has a strong desire to become a member of the opposite sex. A transsexual person may seek medical and surgical help to achieve a change of physical appearance. (See also Transgender.)
Urban Relating to a town or city.
Values What people in a society belie
ve to be the right behaviour, aims, and attitudes.
Virtual identity A personal profile created online for social media, which may not be a true picture of the user.
White-collar worker Someone whose job does not involve manual labour, such as an office worker. (See also Blue-collar worker.)
Work ethic A belief in the value of hard work, which is said to improve a person’s worth and character.
Working class The traditional description of people who do a variety of skilled or unskilled jobs but generally have low social status. (See also Blue-collar worker.)
Acknowledgments
Dorling Kindersley would like to thank Dr Megan Todd for writing the Introduction; Hazel Beynon for editing the biographies and proofreading.
The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs:
What is SOCIOLOGY?: Alamy Stock Photo: Image Source. Dreamstime.com: Darrinhenry; Syda Productions; 123RF.com: Igor Zakharevich; Alamy Stock Photo: Phanuwat Nandee; NASA Archive. Dreamstime.com: Ian Allenden; Pawel Szczepanski.
GIRLS and BOYS: Dreamstime.com: Atholpady.
WOMEN and work: Getty Images: Historical.
What’s my TRIBE?: Dreamstime.com: Kristina Afanasyeva.
Does RACE matter?: Dreamstime.com: Yanik Chauvin.
Who do you LOVE?: Dreamstime.com: Olga Besnard.
AGE and society: Getty Images: David Madison.
What does FAMILY mean?: Getty Images: Vstock LLC.
Are we all MIDDLE CLASS now?: Getty Images: Monty Rakusen.
Are INSTITUTIONS a good thing?: Dreamstime.com: Tyler Olson.
Who holds the POWER?: Getty Images: AFP.
What role does RELIGION play in society?: Getty Images: Daily Herald Archive / SSPL.
Does RELIGION still MATTER?: Alamy Stock Photo: Roger Parkes.
RURAL life versus URBAN life: 123RF.com: William Perugini.
A sense of COMMUNITY: Dreamstime.com: Milla74.
WHY do we WORK?: Alamy Stock Photo: OJO Images Ltd.
How is work CHANGING?: University of Birmingham: STRANDS - strands-project.eu.
WATCHING the workers: 123RF.com: Ximagination. Dreamstime.com: Mystock88photo.
White-collar CRIME: 123RF.com: feverpitched.
WHODUNNIT?: Getty Images: Boston Globe.
Not FITTING in: Alamy Stock Photo: Lumi Images.
Why is the world so UNFAIR?: Dreamstime.com: Paura.
Super-RICH!: Alamy Stock Photo: Martin Thomas Photography.
Wealth and STATUS: Getty Images: Image Source RF / Cadalpe.
The POVERTY trap: Getty Images: JGI / Jamie Grill.
Who’s to BLAME?: Dreamstime.com: Chicco7.
Why haven’t developing countries DEVELOPED yet?: Dreamstime.com: Dibrova.
Is GLOBALIZATION a good thing?: Dreamstime.com: Buccaneer.
GLOCALIZATION: 123RF.com: Serghei Starus.
What’s our IMPACT on the PLANET?: Dreamstime.com: Savone.
Modern CULTURE: Dreamstime.com: Hongqi Zhang (aka Michael Zhang).
I SHOP therefore I am?: Dreamstime.com: Ciolca.
What is CULTURE?: Alamy Stock Photo: Peter Jordan_NE.
LEISURE time: Dreamstime.com: Alan Dyck.
We are living in UNCERTAIN times: Getty Images: Maciej Noskowski.
Does the MASS MEDIA affect YOU?: 123RF.com: Tatiana Gladskikh.
Where do you get your NEWS from?: 123RF.com: Daniel Jędzura.
Do you live ONLINE?: 123RF.com: Cathy Yeulet.
All other images © Dorling Kindersley
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First published in Great Britain in 2017
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