The systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions.

A group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others.

The disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world.

Sociological perspective

A way of looking at the world through a sociological lens.

Approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things a new way.

A sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment.

Sociological imagination

A quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces.

The level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and structures of society.

The level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals.

Abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future.

A set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality.

The theory that sense perceptions are the only valid source of knowledge.

developed a theory of the progress of human thinking that came to be known as positivism.

a social activist who traveled around the United States and wrote about social changes that were radical for this time period. translated Comte’s work into English, making his ideas accessible to England and America.

primarily responsible for the establishment of sociology in Britain and America. believed that societies evolve through time by adapting to their changing environment.

The application of the theory of evolution and the notion of “survival of the fittest” to the study of society.

Structural functionalism

Paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures.

the central figure in functionalist theory. He studied the social factors that bond and hold people together

The degree of integration or unity within a particular society; the extent to which individuals feel connected to other members of their group.

Mechanical solidarity

The type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion.

The type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights.

“Normlessness”; term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change.

The holy, divine, or supernatural.

The ordinary, mundane, or everyday.

Based on scientific experimentation or observation

A social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of a society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability

A disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system

The obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system.

The less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure.

A paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change.

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

a German political economist who inspired conflict theory, sometimes called “Marxism.”

Anything that can create wealth: money, property, factories, and other types of businesses, and the infrastructure necessary to run them.

Workers; those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live.

Owners; the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers

The sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else.

A denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize that the interests of the ruling class are embedded in the dominant ideology.

The recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed, leading to revolutionary action.

A contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression

The study of the relationship among race, racism, and power.

A theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world.

Social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories.

The application of theory to practical action in an effort to improve aspects of society.

His work drew on the ideas of other macrosociologists, but it forms its own branch of sociology.

The application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns.

A type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication.

Max Weber’s pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization.

Symbolic interactionism

A paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction.

A type of sociology practiced at the University of Chicago in the 1920s and ’30s that centered on urban settings and field research methods.

A perspective that assumes organisms (including humans) make practical adaptations to their environments; humans do this through cognition, interpretation, and interaction.

proposed that both human development and the meanings we assign to everyday objects and events are fundamentally social processes, and that language is the key to development of self and society.

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Sociology 1st Exam

Question	Answer
Sociology	The systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions.
Society	A group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others.
Social sciences	The disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world.
Sociological perspective	A way of looking at the world through a sociological lens.
Beginner's mind	Approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things a new way.
Culture shock	A sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment.
Sociological imagination	A quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces.
Microsociology	The level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and structures of society.
Macrosociology	The level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals.
Theories	Abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future.
Paradigm	A set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality.
Positivism	The theory that sense perceptions are the only valid source of knowledge.
Auguste Comte	developed a theory of the progress of human thinking that came to be known as positivism.
Harriet Martineau	a social activist who traveled around the United States and wrote about social changes that were radical for this time period. translated Comte’s work into English, making his ideas accessible to England and America.
Herbert Spencer	primarily responsible for the establishment of sociology in Britain and America. believed that societies evolve through time by adapting to their changing environment.
Social Darwinism	The application of the theory of evolution and the notion of “survival of the fittest” to the study of society.
Structural functionalism	Paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures.
Émile Durkheim	the central figure in functionalist theory. He studied the social factors that bond and hold people together
Solidarity	The degree of integration or unity within a particular society; the extent to which individuals feel connected to other members of their group.
Mechanical solidarity	The type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion.
Organic solidarity	The type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights.
Anomie	“Normlessness”; term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change.
Sacred	The holy, divine, or supernatural.
Profane	The ordinary, mundane, or everyday.
Empirical	Based on scientific experimentation or observation
Structure	A social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of a society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability
Dysfunction	A disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system
Manifest functions	The obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system.
Latent functions	The less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure.
Conflict theory	A paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change.
Social inequality	The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.
Karl Marx	a German political economist who inspired conflict theory, sometimes called “Marxism.”
Means of production	Anything that can create wealth: money, property, factories, and other types of businesses, and the infrastructure necessary to run them.
Proletariat	Workers; those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live.
Bourgeoisie	Owners; the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers
Alienation	The sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else.
False consciousness	A denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize that the interests of the ruling class are embedded in the dominant ideology.
Class consciousness	The recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed, leading to revolutionary action.
Critical theory	A contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression
Critical race theory	The study of the relationship among race, racism, and power.
Feminist theory	A theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world.
Queer theory	Social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories.
Praxis	The application of theory to practical action in an effort to improve aspects of society.
Max Weber	His work drew on the ideas of other macrosociologists, but it forms its own branch of sociology.
Rationalization	The application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns.
Bureaucracy	A type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication.
Iron cage	Max Weber’s pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization.
Symbolic interactionism	A paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction.
Chicago School	A type of sociology practiced at the University of Chicago in the 1920s and ’30s that centered on urban settings and field research methods.
Pragmatism	A perspective that assumes organisms (including humans) make practical adaptations to their environments; humans do this through cognition, interpretation, and interaction.
George Herbert Mead	proposed that both human development and the meanings we assign to everyday objects and events are fundamentally social processes, and that language is the key to development of self and society.
Herbert Blumer	appealed for researchers to get “down and dirty” with the dynamics of social life. gave the name “symbolic interactionism” to Mead's theory.
W.E.B. Du Bois	did groundbreaking research on the history of the slave trade, post–Civil War Reconstruction, the problems of urban ghetto life, and the nature of Black American society.
Jane Addams	one of the first proponents of applied sociology—addressing the most pressing problems of her day through hands-on work with the people and places that were the subject of her research.
Three Tenets of Symbolic Interactionism	1. We act toward things on the basis of their meanings. 2. Meanings are not inherent; rather, they are negotiated through interaction with others. 3. Meanings can change or be modified through interaction.
Erving Goffman	studied how the self is developed through interactions with others in society.
Dramaturgy	An approach pioneered by Erving Goffman in which social life is analyzed in terms of its similarities to theatrical performance.
Ethnomethodology	The study of “folk methods” and background knowledge that sustain a shared sense of reality in everyday interactions.
Conversation analysis	A sociological approach that looks at how we create meaning in naturally occurring conversation, often by taping conversations and examining their transcripts.
Postmodernism	A paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux.
Modernism	A paradigm that places trust in the power of science and technology to create progress, solve problems, and improve life.
Midrange theory	An approach that integrates empiricism and grand theory. Developed by Robert Merton, is a style of theorization that attempts to strike a balance between micro and macro perspectives in sociology.
Quantitative research	Research that translates the social world into numbers that can be treated mathematically; this type of research often tries to find cause-and-effect relationships.
Qualitative research	Research that works with nonnumerical data such as texts, field notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and tape recordings; this type of research often tries to understand how people make sense of their world.
Scientific method	A procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting data through observation and experiment.
Literature review	A thorough search through previously published studies relevant to a particular topic.
Hypothesis	A theoretical statement explaining the relationship between two or more phenomena.
Variables	Two or more phenomena that a researcher believes are related; these will be examined in the experiment.
Operational definition	A clear and precise definition of a variable that facilitates its measurement.
Replicability	The ability of research to be repeated and, thus, later verified by other researchers.
Correlation	A relationship between variables in which they change together and may or may not be causal.
Causation	A relationship between variables in which a change in one directly produces a change in the other.
Intervening variable	A third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the relationship between two other variables.
Spurious correlation	The appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable.
Deductive approach	An approach whereby the researcher formulates a hypothesis first and then gathers data to test that hypothesis.
Inductive approach	An approach whereby the researcher gathers data first, then formulates a theory to fit the data.
Ethnography	A naturalistic method based on studying people in their own environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities; also, the written work that results from the study.
Participant observation	A methodology associated with ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting.
Rapport	A positive relationship often characterized by mutual trust or sympathy.
Field notes	Detailed notes taken by an ethnographer describing their activities and interactions, which later become the basis of the analysis.
Autoethnography	A form of participant observation in which the feelings and actions of the researcher become a focal point of the ethnographic study.
Thick description	The presentation of detailed data on interactions and meaning within a cultural context, from the perspective of its members.
Reflexivity	How the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on in the field setting.
Grounded theory	An inductive method of generating theory from data by creating categories in which to place data and then looking for relationships among categories.
Representativeness	The degree to which a particular studied group is similar to, or represents, any part of the larger society.
Validity	The accuracy of a question or measurement tool; the degree to which a researcher is measuring what they think they are measuring.
Interviews	Person-to-person conversations for the purpose of gathering information by means of questions posed to respondents.
Respondent	A participant in a study from whom the researcher seeks to gather information.
Target population	The entire group about which a researcher would like to be able to generalize.
Sample	The members of the target population who will actually be studied.
Focus group	A process for interviewing a number of participants together that also allows for interaction among group members.
Informed consent	A safeguard through which the researcher makes sure that respondents are freely participating and understand the nature of the research.
Closed-ended question	A question asked of a respondent that imposes a limit on the possible responses.
Open-ended question	A question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses.
Leading questions	Questions that predispose a respondent to answer in a certain way.
Double-barreled questions	Questions that attempt to get at multiple issues at once, and so tend to receive incomplete or confusing answers.
Life history	An approach to interviewing that asks for a chronological account of the respondent’s entire life or some portion of it.
Surveys	Research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a sample of respondents selected from a target population.
Likert scale	A way of formatting a survey questionnaire so that the respondent can choose an answer along a continuum.
Negative questions	Survey questions that ask respondents what they don’t think instead of what they do think.
Pilot study	A small-scale study carried out to test the feasibility of conducting a study on a larger scale.
Probability sampling	Any sampling procedure that uses randomization.
Simple random sample	A particular type of probability sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
Response rate	The number or percentage of surveys completed by respondents and returned to researchers.
Reliability	The consistency of a question or measurement tool; the degree to which the same questions will produce similar answers.
Existing sources	Materials that have been produced for some other reason but that can be used as data for social research.
Unobtrusive measures	Research methods that rely on existing sources and whereby the researcher does not intrude upon or disturb the social setting or its subjects.
Comparative historical research	Research that uses existing sources to study relationships among elements of society in various regions and time periods.
Content analysis	A method in which researchers identify and study specific variables or themes that appear in a text, image, or media message.
Experiments	Formal tests of specific variables and effects, performed in a setting where all aspects of the situation can be controlled.
Experimental group	The members of a test group who receive the experimental treatment.
Control group	The members of a test group who are allowed to continue without intervention so that they can be compared with the experimental group.
Independent variable	The factor that is predicted to cause change.
Dependent variable	The factor that is changed (or not) by the independent variable.
Basic research	The search for knowledge without an agenda or practical goal in mind.
Applied research	The search for knowledge that can be used to create social change.
Objectivity	Impartiality; the ability to allow the facts to speak for themselves.
Reactivity	The tendency of people and events to react to the process of being studied.
Hawthorne effect	A specific example of reactivity, in which the desired effect is the result not of the independent variable but of the research itself.
Deception	The extent to which the participants in a research project are unaware of the project or its goals.
Confidentiality	The assurance that no one other than the researcher will know the identity of a respondent.
Code of ethics	Ethical guidelines for researchers to consult as they design a project.
Institutional review board	A group of scholars within a university who meet regularly to review and approve the research proposals of their colleagues and make recommendations for how to protect human subjects.
Culture	The entire way of life of a group of people (including both material and symbolic elements) that acts as a lens through which one views the world and that is passed from one generation to the next.
Culture shock	A sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment.
Ethnocentrism	The principle of using one’s own culture as a means or standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than one’s own are abnormal or inferior.
Cultural relativism	The principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging or evaluating according to one’s own culture.
Material culture	The objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork; any physical object to which we give social meaning.
Nonmaterial culture	The ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication).
Signs	Symbols that stand for or convey an idea.
Gestures	The ways in which people use their bodies to communicate without words; actions that have symbolic meaning.
Language	A system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, or written symbols; the basis of nonmaterial culture and the primary means through which we communicate with one another and perpetuate our culture.
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis	The idea that language structures thought, and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language.
Values	Ideas about what is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or worthy in a particular group; they express what the group cherishes and honors.
Norms	Rules or guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a particular culture; these typically emanate from the group’s values.
Laws	Types of norms that are formally codified to provide an explicit statement about what is permissible or forbidden, legal or illegal in a given society.
Folkways	Loosely enforced norms involving common customs, practices, or procedures that ensure smooth social interaction and acceptance.
Mores	Norms that carry great moral significance, are closely related to the core values of a cultural group, and often involve severe repercussions for violators.
Taboo	A norm ingrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust, horror, or revulsion.
Moral holiday	A specified time period during which some norm violations are allowed.
Sanctions	Positive or negative reactions to the ways that people follow or disobey norms, including rewards for conformity and punishments for violations.
Social control	The formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion.
Multiculturalism	A policy that values diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds, and so encourages the retention of cultural differences within the larger society.
Dominant culture	The values, norms, and practices of the group within society that is most powerful (in terms of wealth, prestige, status, influence, etc.).
Hegemony	Term developed by Antonio Gramsci to describe the cultural aspects of social control, whereby the ideas of the dominant group are accepted by all.
Subculture	A group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle.
Counterculture	A group within society that openly rejects or actively opposes society’s values and norms.
Culture wars	Clashes within mainstream society over the values and norms that should be upheld.
Ideal culture	The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that members of a society believe should be observed in principle.
Real culture	The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that actually exist within a society (which may or may not correspond to the society’s ideals).
Technology	Material artifacts and the knowledge and techniques required to use them.
Cultural diffusion	The dissemination of material and nonmaterial culture (tools and technology, beliefs and behavior) from one group to another.
Cultural imperialism	The imposition of one culture’s beliefs and practices on another culture through media and consumer products rather than by military force.
Cultural leveling	The process by which cultures that were once unique and distinct become increasingly similar.
Nature vs. nurture debate	The ongoing discussion of the respective roles of genetics and socialization in determining individual behaviors and traits.
Socialization	The process of learning and internalizing the values, beliefs, and norms of our social group, by which we become functioning members of society.
Feral children	In myths and rare real-world cases, children who have had little human contact and may have lived in social isolation from a young age.
Self	The individual’s conscious, reflexive experience of a personal identity separate and distinct from others.
id	consists of basic inborn drives that are the source of instinctive psychic energy
ego	the realistic aspect of the mind that balances the forces of the id and the superego
superego	has two components (the conscience and the ego-ideal) and represents the internalized demands of society.
Psychosexual stages of development	Four distinct stages of the development of the self between birth and adulthood, according to Freud; personality quirks are a result of being fixated, or stuck, at any stage.
Looking-glass self	The notion that the self develops through our perception of others’ evaluations and appraisals of us.
The looking-glass self forms in three steps:	1. We imagine how our actions appear to others. 2. We imagine other people’s judgment of us. 3. We experience some kind of feeling about ourselves based on our perception of other people’s judgments.
Mead’s Stage Theory of Development	1. Preperatory Stage 2. Play Stage 3. Game Stage
Preparatory stage	The first stage in Mead’s theory of the development of self wherein children mimic or imitate others.
Play stage	the second stage in Mead’s theory of the development of self wherein children pretend to play the role of a particular or significant other.
Particular or significant other	the perspectives and expectations of a particular role that a child learns and internalizes.
Game stage	The third stage in Mead’s theory of the development of self wherein children play organized games and take on the perspective of the generalized other.
Generalized other	The perspectives and expectations of a network of others (or of society in general) that children learn and then take into account when shaping their own behavior.
Dual nature of the self	The idea that we experience the self as both subject and object: the “I” and the “me.”
Thomas theorem	Classic formulation of the way individuals determine reality, whereby “if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
Definition of the situation	An agreement with others about “what is going on” in a given circumstance; this consensus allows us to coordinate our actions with others and realize goals.
Expressions of behavior	Small actions, such as an eye roll or head nod, that serve as an interactional tool to help project our definition of the situation to others.
Expressions given	Expressions that are intentional and usually verbal, such as utterances.
Expressions given off	Observable expressions that can be either intended or unintended and are usually nonverbal.
Impression management	The effort to control the impressions we make on others so that they form a desired view of us and the situation; the use of self- presentation and performance tactics.
Dramaturgy	An approach pioneered by Erving Goffman in which social life is analyzed in terms of its similarities to theatrical performance.
Front	In the dramaturgical perspective, the setting or scene of performances that helps establish the definition of the situation.
Region	The context in which the performance takes place, including location, décor, and props.
Personal front	The performance tactics we use to present ourselves to others, including appearance, costume, and manner.
Backstage	The places where we rehearse and prepare for our performances.
Frontstage	The places where we deliver our performances to an audience of others.
Social construction	The process by which a concept or practice is created and maintained by participants who collectively agree that it exists.
Cooling the mark out	Behaviors that help others save face or avoid embarrassment, often referred to as civility or tact.
Agents of socialization	The social groups, institutions, and individuals that provide structured situations where socialization occurs.
What are the Agents of Socialization	Family Peers School Media
Hidden curriculum	Values or behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling.
Resocialization	The process of replacing previously learned norms and values with new ones as part of a transition in life.
Total institutions	Institutions in which individuals are cut off from the rest of society so that they can be controlled and regulated for the purpose of systematically stripping away previous roles and identities in order to create new ones.
Status	A position in a social hierarchy that carries a particular set of expectations.
Ascribed status	A status that is inborn; usually difficult or impossible to change.
Embodied status	A status generated by physical characteristics.
Achieved status	A status earned through individual effort or imposed by others.
Master status	A status that is always relevant and affects all other statuses we possess.
Stereotyping	Judging others based on preconceived generalizations about groups or categories of people.
Role	The set of behaviors expected of someone because of their status.
Role conflict	Experienced when we occupy two or more roles with contradictory expectations.
Role strain	Experienced when there are contradictory expectations within one role.
Role exit	The process of leaving a role that we will no longer occupy
Role-taking emotions	Emotions such as sympathy, embarrassment, or shame that require that we assume the perspective of another person or group and respond accordingly.
Feeling rules	Norms regarding the expression and display of emotions; expectations about the acceptable or desirable feelings in a given situation.
Emotional labor	The process of evoking, suppressing, or otherwise managing feelings to create a publicly observable display of emotion.
Copresence	Face-to-face interaction or being in the presence of others.
Saturated self	A postmodern idea that the self is now developed by multiple influences chosen from a wide range of media sources.
Agency	The ability of the individual to act freely and independently.
Group	A collection of two or more people who share some attribute, identify with one another, and interact with each other.
Crowd	A temporary gathering of people in a public place; members might interact but do not identify with each other and will not remain in contact.
Aggregates	Collections of people who share a physical location but do not have lasting social relations.
Category	People who share one or more attributes but who lack a sense of common identity or belonging.
Primary groups	Groups composed of the people who are most important to our sense of self; members’ relationships are typically characterized by face-to-face interaction, high levels of cooperation, and intense feelings of belonging.
Secondary groups	Groups that are larger and less intimate than primary groups; members’ relationships are usually organized around a specific goal and are often temporary.
Social network	The web of direct and indirect ties connecting an individual to other people who may also affect the individual.
Social ties	Connections between individuals.
Virtual communities	Social groups whose interactions are mediated through information technologies, particularly the internet.
Group dynamics	The patterns of interaction between groups and individuals.
Dyad	A two-person social group.
Triad	A three-person social group.
In-group	A group that one identifies with and feels loyalty toward.
Out-group	A group toward which an individual feels opposition, rivalry, or hostility.
Rite of passage	A ceremony marking an individual’s transformation from one type of group member to another.
Reference group	A group that provides a standard of comparison against which we evaluate ourselves.
Group cohesion	The sense of solidarity or loyalty that individuals feel toward a group to which they belong.
Groupthink	In very cohesive groups, the tendency to enforce a high degree of conformity among members, creating a demand for unanimous agreement.
Social influence	Group impact on others’ decisions
Compliance	The mildest form of conformity; actions to gain reward or avoid punishment.
Identification	Conformity to establish or maintain a relationship with a person or group.
Internalization	The strongest type of conformity; an individual adopts the beliefs or actions of a group and makes them his or her own.
Social loafing	The phenomenon in which each individual contributes a little less as more individuals are added to a task; a source of inefficiency when working in teams.
Social identity theory	A theory of group formation and maintenance that stresses the need of individual members to feel a sense of belonging
Power	The ability to control the actions of others
Coercive power	Power that is backed by the threat of force
Influential power	Power that is supported by persuasion
Authority	The legitimate right to wield power
Traditional authority	Authority based in custom, birthright, or divine right, and is usually associated with monarchies and dynasties
Legal-rational authority	Authority based in laws, rules, and procedures
Charismatic authority	Authority based in the perception of remarkable personal qualities in a leader.
Instrumental leadership	Leadership that is task- or goal-oriented
Expressive leadership	Leadership concerned with maintaining emotional and relational harmony within the group
Bureaucracy	A type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication
Rationalization	The application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns
McDonaldization	The spread of bureaucratic rationalization and the accompanying increase in both efficiency and dehumanization

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