The Basic of Sociology
(Individual, Society, Culture)
All Basic and Important Terms and their definitions
Culture: Set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterized an institution, organization or
group.
Function of culture: "Groups and societies need collective representations of themselves to inspire sentiments of
unity and mutual support, and culture fulfills this need"
Norms- Generally accepted behavior
Values- Collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and
improper-in a culture.
Folkways- Norms governing everyday social behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern
Law- Governmental social control.
Mores- Norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society.
Ethos- word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a
community, nation, or ideology.
Real Culture- the way people actually behave
Ideal Culture- the values to which a culture aspires
Subculture- is a group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the
larger culture to which they belong.
Counterculture- Describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to
those of the social mainstream of the day.
Cultural Relativism- is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities should be understood by
others in terms of that individual's own culture.
Cultural Integration- The process of one culture gaining ideas, technologies and products of another and so this
means that this culture will seem to be integrating into the other.
Cultural Diversity- is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole
Cultural imperialism- is the domination of one culture over another by a deliberate policy or by economic or
technological superiority.
Ethnocentrism- The tendency to assume that one's culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to
all others.
Group- can be defined as two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and
collectively have a sense of unity.
Primary groups- are small groups with intimate, kinship-based relationships: families.
Secondary groups- in contrast to primary groups, are large groups involving formal and institutional relationships.
In-Group- A group or category to which people feel they belong.
Out-Group- A group or category to which people feel they do not belong.
Reference Groups- are the referring points of the individuals, towards which he is oriented and which influences
his opinion, tendency and behavior.
Status Group- A term used by Max Weber to refer to people who have the same prestige or lifestyle, independent
of their class positions.
Pressure Group-a group in which individuals are similar in political and economical interests, try to influence the
policy of government.
Ethnic Group- A group that is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns.
Racial Group- A group that is set apart from others because of obvious physical differences.
Interest Group- A voluntary association of citizens who attempt to influence public policy
Vested Interest Group- those people or group who will suffer in the event of social change and who have a stake in
maintaining the status quo.
Social status- is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society. one's social position.
Achieved Status- A social position attained by a person largely through his or her own efforts.
Ascribed Status- A social position "assigned" to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents
or characteristics.
Family- A set of people related by blood, marriage (or some other agreed-upon relationship), or adoption who
share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society.
Nuclear Family- A married couple and their unmarried children living together.
Caste- Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated, that tend to be fixed and immobile.
Class- A term used by Max Weber to refer to a group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income.
Sect- A relatively small religious group that has broken away from some other religious organization to renew what
it views as the original vision of the faith.
3 Agha Zuhaib Khan
www.css2012.co.nr
Society: Group of people related to each other by persistent relation satisfying mutual goals. Human societies are
characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals sharing a distinctive culture and
institutions
Socialization- The process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate for individuals as
members of a particular culture.
Social change: refers to an alteration in the social order of a society.
Change: is more likely to be caused over time by a variety of social forces, including environmental and population
pressures, cultural innovation, and technological and cultural diffusion.
Causes of Social Change:
1. Technological and Economic Changes: (Agriculture advancement, industrialization)
2. Modernization: standardizing as towards modern tools (Life Style, Technology)
3. Urbanization: Moving population from ruler areas to urban (Cities) areas.
4. Bureaucratization: Extreme emphasize on rules and regulation, impersonality.
5. Conflict and Competition: War: due to religion, ethnic tensions, competition for resources. Gender and
Women’s Movement: equal pay, property: Today; day care, occupational segregation.
6. Political and Legal Power: Elected Official (Government) & Unelected Officials (Corporative Force)
7. Ideology: Religious Belief, Political or Regional Conviction.
8. Diffusion: Spreading the ones cultural to another culture.
9. Acculturation: the process in which a minority is absorbed into the majority and entirely loses its
distinctiveness.
Social order It refers to a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which conserve,
maintain and enforce "normal" ways of relating and behaving.
Social progress is the idea that societies can or do improve in terms of their social, political, and economic
structures.
Sociocultural evolution is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social evolution, describing how
cultures and societies have changed over time.
Social structure is a term refers to patterned social arrangements which form the society as a whole, which
determines the relationship of definite entities or groups to each other.
Social Control- The techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society.
Stratification- A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and
power in a society.