SOC100 Midterm
Operationalization
How a concept gets defined and measured in a particular study
Reflexivity
Analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research.
Causality
The notion that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another.
Correlation
When two variables tend to track each other positively or negatively.
Dependent Variable
The outcome the researcher is trying to explain.
Independent Variable
A measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable.
Validity
The extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure.
Reliability
The likelihood of obtaining consistent results using the same measure.
Generalizability
The extent to which we can claim our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied.
Cultural Relativism
Taking into account the differences across cultures without passing judgment or value.
Cultural Scripts
Modes of behavior and understanding that are not universal or natural.
Reflection Theory
The idea that culture is a projection of social structures and relationships into the public sphere, a screen onto which the film of the underlying reality of social structures of a society is projected.
Hegemony
A condition by which a dominant group uses its power to elicit the voluntary “consent” of the masses.
Dominant Culture
The group whose members hold more power relative to other members in society.
Subcultures
A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.
Embeddedness
The degree to which social relationships are reinforced through indirect ties (i.e., friends of friends).
Social Capital
The information, knowledge of people or things, and connections that help individuals enter, gain power in, or otherwise leverage social networks.
Organization
Any social network that is defined by a common purpose and has a boundary between its membership and the rest of the social world.
Isomorphism
A constraining process that forces one unit in a population to resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions.
Primary Group
A constraining process that forces one unit in a population to resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions.
Secondary Group
Groups marked by impersonal, instrumental relationships (those existing as a means to an end).
Organizational Culture
The shared beliefs and behaviors within a social group; often used interchangeably with corporate culture.
Organizational Structure
The ways in which power and authority are distributed within an organization.
Strain Theory
Robert Merton's theory that deviance occurs when a society does not give all of its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals.
Broken Windows Theory of Deviance
Theory explaining how social cues impact whether individuals act deviantly- specifically, whether local, informal social norms allows deviant acts.
Deterrence Theory
Philosophy of criminal justice arising from the notion that crime results from a rational calculation of its costs and benefits.
Mechanical Solidarity
Social cohesion based on sameness.
Organic Solidarity
Social cohesion based on difference and interdependence of the parts.