Final exam
Cultural Convergence
The flow of content across multiple media, and the
accompanying migration of media audiences.
Digital Divide
The relative lack of access to the latest technologies
among low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and the citizens of developing countries
Dominant Ideology
A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to
maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests
Gatekeeping
The process by which a relatively small number of people
in the media industry control what material eventually reaches the audience
Mass Media
Print and electronic means of communication that carry
messages to widespread audiences
Narcotizing Dysfunction
he phenomenon in which the media provide
such massive amounts of coverage that the audience becomes numb and fails to act on the information, regardless of howcompelling the issue.
Netizen
A person who is actively involved in online communities and is committed to the free flow of information, with few outside controls.
Opinion Leader
Someone who influences the opinions and decisions of
others through day-to-day personal contact and communication.
Sterotype
An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group
Adoption
In a legal sense, the transfer of the legal rights,responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood to a new legal parent or parents.
Bilateral Descent
A kinship system in which both sides of a person’s
family are regarded as equally important.
Cohabitation
The practice of living together as a male–female couple
without marrying
Domestic Partnership
Two unrelated adults who share a mutually caring
relationship, reside together, and agree to be jointly responsible for their dependents, basic living expenses, and other common necessities
Egalitarian Family
An authority pattern in which spouses are regarded as
equals
Endogamy
The restriction of mate selection to people within the same group
Exogamy
The requirement that people select a mate outside certain group
Extended Family
A family in which relatives—such as grandparents,
aunts, or uncles—live in the same home as parents and their children
Familism (Familismo)
Pride in the extended family, expressed through
the maintenance of close ties and strong obligations to kinfolk outside the immediate family.
Family
A set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed on relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society
Homogamy
The conscious or unconscious tendency to select a mate
with personal characteristics similar to one’s own.
Incest Taboo
The prohibition of sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relatives
Kinship
The state of being related to others
Machismo
A sense of virility, personal worth, and pride in one’s maleness.
Matriarchy
A society in which women dominate in family decision making.
Matrilineal Descent
A kinship system in which only the mother’s relatives
are significant.
Monogamy
A form of marriage in which one woman and one man are
married only to each other.
Nuclear Family
A married couple and their unmarried children living
together.
Patriarchy
A society in which men dominate in family decision making.
Patrilineal Descent
A kinship system in which only the father’s relatives
are significant.
Charter School
l An experimental school that is developed and managed
by individuals, groups of parents, or an educational management organization.
Correspondence Principle
The tendency of schools to promote the values expected of individuals in each social class and to perpetuate
social class divisions from one generation to the next
Credentialism
An increase in the lowest level of education needed to
enter a field
Denomination
A large, organized religion that is not officially linked to the state or government
Ecclesia
A religious organization that claims to include most or all members of a society and is recognized as the national or official religion
Education
A formal process of learning in which some people consciously teach, while others adopt the social role of learner
Established Sect
A religious group that is the outgrowth of a sect, yet
remains isolated from society
Fundamentalism
An emphasis on doctrinal conformity and the literal
interpretation of sacred texts.
Hidden Curriculum
Standards of behavior that are deemed proper by
society and are taught subtly in schools.
Liberation Theology
Use of a church, primarily Roman Catholic, in a political effort to eliminate poverty, discrimination, and other forms of injustice from a secular society
New Religious Movement (NRM) or Cult
small, secretive religious group that represents either a new religion or a major innovation of an existing faith.
Profane
The ordinary and commonplace elements of life, as distinguished from the sacred.
Protestant Ethic
Max Weber’s term for the disciplined work ethic, this worldly concerns, and rational orientation to life emphasized by John Calvin and his followers.
Quasi-religion
A scholarly category that includes organizations that may see themselves as religious but may be seen by others as “sort of religious.”
Religion
A unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things.
Religious Belief
A statement to which members of a particular religion
adhere
Religious Experience
The feeling or perception of being in direct contact
with the ultimate reality, such as a divine being, or of being overcome with religious emotion
Religious Ritual
A practice required or expected of members of a faith.
Sacred
Elements beyond everyday life that inspire awe, respect, and even fear
Sect
A relatively small religious group that has broken away from some other religious organization to renew what it considers the original vision of the faith.
Secularization
The process through which religion’s influence on other
social institutions diminishes.
Teacher-expectancy Effect
The impact that a teacher’s expectations
about a student’s performance may have on the student’s actual achievements
Tracking
The practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of their test scores and other criteria
Brain Drain
The immigration to the United States and other industrialized nations of skilled workers, professionals, and technicians who are desperately needed in their home countries.
Curanderismo
Latino folk medicine, a form of holistic health care and
healing.
Ecological Modernization
The alignment of environmentally favorable
practices with economic self-interest through constant adaptation and restructuring.
Environmental Justice
A legal strategy based on claims that racial minorities are subjected disproportionately to environmental hazards.
Health
As defined by the World Health Organization, a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.
Holistic Medicine
Therapies in which the health care practitioner considers the person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual characteristics.
Human Ecology
An area of study that is concerned with the interrelationships between people and their environment
Incidence
The number of new cases of a specific disorder that occur within a given population during a stated period.
Infant Mortality Rate
The number of deaths of infants under 1 year old
per 1,000 live births in a given year
McDonaldization
The process through which the principles of the fastfood restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society.
Morbidity Rate
The incidence of disease in a given population.
Mortality Rate
The incidence of death in a given population.
Prevalence
The total number of cases of a specific disorder that exist at a given time
Sick Role
Societal expectations about the attitudes and behavior of a person viewed as being ill.
Social Epidemiology
The study of the distribution of disease, impairment, and general health status across a population.