Ken Browne | Sociology for AS AQA - 3rd Edition

Student Resources - Glossary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W

Words highlighted within entries refer to terms found elsewhere in the glossary.

A

absolute poverty: Poverty defined as lacking the minimum requirements necessary to maintain human health. See also relative poverty.
achieved status: Status which is achieved through an individual’s own efforts. See also ascribed status.
ageism: Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against individuals or groups on the grounds of their age.
ageing population: A population in which the average age is getting higher, with a greater proportion of the population over retirement age, and a smaller proportion of young people.
anti-school subculture: A set of values, attitudes and behaviour in opposition to the main aims of a school.
arranged marriage: A marriage which is arranged by the parents of the marriage partners, with a view to compatibility of background and status. More a union between two families than two people, and romantic love between the marriage partners is not necessarily present.
ascribed status: Status which is given to an individual at birth and usually can’t be changed. See also achieved status.

B

banding: A system of grouping students in schools according to their ability.
‘beanpole’ family: A multi-generation extended family, in a pattern which is long and thin, with few aunts and uncles, reflecting fewer children being born in each generation, but people living longer.
birth rate: The number of live births per 1,000 of the population per year.
bisexuality: A sexual orientation or sexual attraction towards people of both sexes.
bourgeoisie: In Marxist theory (see Marxism), the class of owners of the means of production.

C

capitalists: The social class of owners of the means of production in industrial societies, whose primary purpose is to make profits.
class conflict: The conflict that arises between different social classes. It is generally used to describe the conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat in Marxist views of society (see Marxism).
class consciousness: An awareness in members of a social class of their real interests. See also false consciousness.
classic extended family: A family where several related nuclear families or family members live in the same house, street or area. It may be horizontally extended, where it contains aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., or vertically extended, where it contains more than two generations. See also modified extended family.
communes: Self-contained and self-supporting communities, where all members of the community share property, childcare, household tasks and living accommodation.
communism: An equal society, without social classes or class conflict, in which the means of production are the common property of all.
compensatory education: Extra educational help for those coming from disadvantaged groups to help them overcome the disadvantages they face in the education system and the wider society.
conjugal roles: The roles played by a male and female partner in marriage or in a cohabiting couple.
consumption property: Property for use by the owner which doesn’t produce any income, such as owning your own car. See also productive property.
counter-school subculture: A set of values, attitudes and behaviour in opposition to the main aims of a school.
covert role: Where the researcher in a participant observation study keeps her or his identity as a researcher concealed from the group being studied. See also overt role.
cultural capital: The knowledge, language, attitudes and values, and lifestyle which give middle class and upper class students who possess them an inbuilt advantage in a middle-class controlled education system. Associated with the French Marxist Bourdieu (see Marxism). See also habitus.
cultural deprivation: The idea that some young people fail in education because of supposed deficiencies in their home and family background, such as inadequate socialization, failings in pre-school learning, inadequate language skills and inappropriate attitudes and values.
culture: The language, beliefs, values and norms, customs, roles, knowledge and skills which combine to make up the ‘way of life’ of any society.
culture clash: A difference and conflict between the cultural values of the home and those of educational institutions. See also culture.
culture of hybridity: A culture that is a ‘mix’ of two or more other cultures, creating a new culture (a ‘hybrid’).
culture of poverty: A set of beliefs and values thought to exist among the poor which prevents them escaping from poverty.
customs: Norms which have existed for a long time.
cycle of deprivation: An explanation of how one aspect of poverty, such as poor housing, can lead to further poverty, such as poor health, building up into a cycle which makes it difficult for the poor to escape from poverty.

D

death rate: The number of deaths per 1,000 of the population per year.
demography: The study of the characteristics of human populations, such as their size and structure and how these change over time.
dependency culture: A set of values and beliefs, and a way of life, centred on dependence on others. Normally used by New Right writers in the context of those who depend on welfare state benefits.
determinism: The idea that people’s behaviour is moulded by their social surroundings, and that they have little free will, control or choice over how they behave.
deviance: Failure to conform to social norms.
diaspora: The dispersal of an ethnic population from its original homeland, and its spreading out across the world, while retaining cultural and emotional ties to its area or nation of origin.
disability: A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
disease: A biological or mental condition, which usually involves medically diagnosed symptoms.
division of labour: The division of work or occupations into a large number of specialized tasks, each of which is carried out by one worker or group of workers.
divorce rate: The number of divorces per 1,000 married people per year.
domestic labour: Unpaid housework, including cooking, cleaning, child-care and looking after the sick and elderly.
dominant culture: The main culture in a society, which is shared, or at least accepted without opposition, by the majority of people.
dominant ideology: The set of ideas and beliefs of the most powerful groups in society, which influence the ideas of the rest of society. Usually associated with Marxist ideas (see Marxism) of the ruling class and how the ruling class can impose its own ideas on the rest of society.

E

Education Action Zones: Areas which face a range of social problems, such as poverty and unemployment, in which schools are given extra money and teachers to help children overcome difficulties at school arising from their home backgrounds. In 2005, they became Excellence in Cities Action Zones (EiCAZs).
elaborated code: A form of language use involving careful explanation and detail. The language used by strangers and individuals in some formal context, like a job interview, writing a business letter, or a school lesson or textbook. Associated with the work of Bernstein. See also restricted code.
elite: A small group holding great power and privilege in society.
equality of educational opportunity: The principle that every child, regardless of her or his social class background, ability to pay school fees, ethnic background (see ethnicity), gender or disability, should have an equal chance of doing as well in education as her or his ability will allow.
ethics: Principles or ideas about what is morally right and wrong.
ethnicity: The shared culture of a social group which gives its members a common identity in some ways different from other groups.
ethnocentrism: A view of the world in which other cultures are seen through the eyes of one’s own culture, with a devaluing of the others. For example, school subjects may concentrate on white British society and culture rather than recognizing and taking into account the cultures of different ethnic communities (see ethnicity).
expressive role: The nurturing, caring and emotional role, often linked by functionalists (see functionalism) to women’s biology and seen as women’s ‘natural’ role in the family. See also instrumental role.
extended family: A family grouping including all kin (see kinship). There are two main types of extended family: the classic extended family and the modified extended family. See also ‘beanpole’ family, nuclear family.

F

false consciousness: A failure by members of a social class to recognize their real interests. See also class consciousness.
family: A social institution consisting of a group of people related by kinship – ties of blood, marriage or adoption.
family ideology: A set of dominant beliefs and values about what the family and family life should be like.
feminism: The view that examines the world from the point of view of women, coupled with the belief that women are disadvantaged and their interests ignored or devalued in society. See also liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, radical feminism.
fertility rate: The number of live births per 1000 women of child-bearing age (15-44) per year.
folk culture: The culture created by local communities that is rooted in the experiences, customs and beliefs of the everyday life of ordinary people.
functional prerequisites: The basic needs that must be met if society is to survive.
functionalism: A sociological perspective which sees society as made up of parts which work together to maintain society as an integrated whole. Society is seen as fundamentally harmonious and stable, due to the value consensus established through socialization. See also Marxism, structuralism.
fundamentalism: A return to the literal meaning of religious texts and associated behaviour.

G

gate-keeping: The power of some people, groups or organizations to limit access to something valuable or useful. For example, doctors act as gate-keepers as they have the power to allow or refuse entry to the sick role.
gender: The culturally created differences between men and women which are learnt through socialization.
gender role: The pattern of behaviour which is expected from individuals of either sex. gender identity How people see themselves, and how others see them, in terms of their gender roles and biological sex.
global culture: The similarity of cultures in different countries of the world, sharing increasingly similar consumer products and ways of life. This has arisen as globalization has undermined national and local cultures.
globalization: The growing interdependence of societies across the world, with the spread of the same culture, consumer goods and economic interests across the globe.

H

habitus: The cultural framework (see culture) and set of ideas possessed by each social class, into which people are socialized (see socialization) and which influences their tastes in music, newspapers, films and so on. Bourdieu, a French Marxist (see Marxism), argued the dominant class has the power to impose its own habitus in the education system, giving those from upper class and middle class backgrounds an inbuilt advantage over those from working class backgrounds.
halo effect: When pupils become favourably stereotyped (see stereotype) on the basis of earlier impressions by the teacher, and are rewarded and favoured in future teacher–student encounters.
Hawthorne effect: When the presence of the researcher, or a group’s knowledge that it has been specially selected for research, changes the behaviour of the group, raising problems of the validity of social research.
health: Being able to function normally within a usual everyday routine.
hegemony: The acceptance of the dominant ideology by the working class, as a result of the power of the ruling class to persuade others to accept and consent to its ideas.
hegemonic identity: An identity that is so dominant that it makes it difficult for individuals to assert alternative identities.
heterosexuality: A sexual orientation towards people of the opposite sex.
hidden curriculum: Attitudes and behaviour which are taught through the school’s organization and teachers’ attitudes but which are not part of the formal timetable.
high culture: Cultural products (see culture), mainly media based, seen as of lasting artistic or literary value, aimed at small, intellectual, predominantly upper classand middle classaudiences, interested in new ideas, critical discussion and analysis. See also low culture, mass culture.
homophobia: An irrational fear of or aversion to homosexuals (see homosexuality).
homosexuality: A sexual orientation towards people of the same sex, with lesbian women attracted to other women, and gay men attracted to other men.
household: An individual or group living at the same address and sharing facilities.
hybrid identity: An identity formed from a ‘mix’ of two or more other identities.
hypothesis: An idea which a researcher guesses might be true, but which has not yet been tested against the evidence.

I

iatrogenesis: Any harmful mental or physical condition induced in a patient through the effects of treatment by a doctor or surgeon.
identity: How individuals see and define themselves and how other people see and define them.
ideological state apparatuses: Agencies of the state which serve to spread the dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class.
ideology: A set of ideas, values and beliefs that represent the outlook, and justify the interests, of a social group.
illness: The subjective feeling of being unwell or unhealthy (see health) – a person’s own recognition and definition of a lack of well-being.
impairment: Some abnormal functioning of the body or mind, either that one is born with or arising from injury or disease.
imposition problem: When asking questions in interviews or postal questionnaires, the risk that the researcher might be imposing their own views or framework on the people being researched, rather than getting at what they really think.
impression management: The way individuals try to convince others of the identity they wish to assert by giving particular impressions of themselves to other people..
income: A flow of money which people obtain from work, from their investments, or from the state. See also wealth.
infant mortality rate: The number of deaths of babies in the first year of life per 1,000 live births per year.
instrumental role: The provider/breadwinner role in the family, often associated by functionalists (see functionalism) with men’s role in family life. See also expressive role.
integrated conjugal roles: Roles in marriage or in a cohabiting couple where male and female partners share domestic tasks, childcare, decision-making and income earning.
interpretivism: A sociological perspective that suggests that to understand society it is necessary to understand the meanings people give to their behaviour, and how this is influenced by the behaviour and interpretations of others. The focus of research is therefore on individuals or small groups rather than on society as a whole. See also positivism, social action theory.
interviewer bias: The answers given in an interview being influenced or distorted in some way by the presence or behaviour of the interviewer.
inverse care law: In relation to the welfare state and health care, the suggestion that those whose need is least get the most resources, while those in the greatest need get the fewest resources.
Islamophobia: An irrational fear and/or hatred of/or aversion to Islam, Muslims or Islamic culture

K

kibbutz: A community established in Israel, with the emphasis on equality, collective ownership of property, and collective childrearing.
kinship: Relations of blood, marriage or adoption.

L

labelling: Defining a person or group in a certain way – as a particular ‘type’ of person or group.
labour power: People’s capacity to work. In Marxist theory (see Marxism), people sell their labour power to the employer in return for a wage, and the employer buys only their labour power, not the whole person.
laws: Official legal rules, formally enforced by the police, courts and prison, involving legal punishment if the rules are broken.
liberal feminism: A feminist approach (see feminism) which seeks to research the inequalities facing women, and enable women to achieve equal opportunities with men, without challenging the system as a whole. See also Marxist feminism, radical feminism.
life chances: The chances of obtaining those things defined as desirable and of avoiding those things defined as undesirable in a society.
life expectancy: An estimate of how long people can be expected to live from a certain age.
low culture: see mass culture

M

macro approach: A focus on the large-scale structure of society as a whole, rather than on individuals.
marginalization: The process whereby some people are pushed to the margins or edges of society by poverty, lack of education, disability, racism and so on. See also social exclusion.
marketization: The process whereby services, like education or health, that were previously controlled and run by the state, have government or local council control reduced, and become subject to the free market forces of supply and demand, based on competition and consumer choice.
market situation: The rewards that people are able to obtain when they sell their skills in the labour market, depending on the scarcity of the skills they have and the power they have to obtain high rewards.
Marxism: A structural theory of society which sees society divided by conflict between two main opposing social classes, due to the private ownership of the means of production and the exploitation of the non-owners by the owners. See also functionalism, structuralism.
Marxist feminism: A Marxist approach (see Marxism) to the study of women, emphasizing the way they are exploited both as workers and as women. See also feminism, liberal feminism, r adical feminism.
mass culture (popular or low culture): Cultural products (see culture), mainly media based, produced as entertainment for sale to the mass of ordinary people. These involve mass-produced, standardized, short-lived products of no lasting value, which are seen to demand little critical thought, analysis or discussion. See also high culture.
matriarchy: Power and authority held by women. See also patriarchy.
means of production: The key resources necessary for producing society’s goods, such as factories and land.
meritocracy: A society where social positions are achieved by individual merit, such as educational qualifications, talent and skill.
metanarrative: A broad all-embracing ‘big theory’ or explanation for how societies operate.
methodological pluralism: The use of a variety of methods in a single piece of research.
micro approach: A focus on small groups or individuals, rather than on the structure of society as a whole.
middle class: Those in non-manual work – jobs which don’t involve heavy physical effort, are usually performed in offices and involve paperwork or computer work of various kinds. See also social class, upper class, working class.
minority ethnic group: A social group which shares a cultural identity (see culture) which is different in some respects from that of the majority population of a society.
modified extended family: A family type where related nuclear families, although living apart geographically, nevertheless maintain regular contact and mutual support through visiting, the phone, e-mail and letters. See also classic extended family.
monogamy: A form of marriage in which a person can only be legally married to one partner at a time. See also polyandry, polygamy, polygyny, serial monogamy.
moral panic: A wave of public concern about some exaggerated or imaginary threat to society, stirred up by exaggerated and sensationalized reporting in the mass media.
morbidity: The extent of disease in a population, including either the total number of cases or the number of new cases of a disease in a particular population at a particular time.
mortality: The number of deaths in a population, usually measured as a rate per 1000 of a population group, such as the number of deaths per thousand of the population each year. See also death rate, infant mortality rate
mortification: A process whereby a person’s own identity is replaced by one defined by an institution, such as a hospital or prison.
multicultural education: Education which involves teaching about the culture of other ethnic groups (see ethnicity) besides that of the majority culture.

N

nation: A particular geographical area with which a group of people identify, and share among themselves a sense of belonging based on a common sense of culture, history and usually language.
nationalism: A sense of pride and commitment to a nation, and a very strong sense of national identity.
nationality: Having citizenship of a nationstate, including things like voting rights, a passport, and the right of residence.
nation state: A nation which has its own independent government controlling a geographical area.
negative sanctions: Punishments of various kinds imposed on those who fail to conform to social norms. See also positive sanctions, sanction.
New Right: A political philosophy found in the work of some sociologists, but mainly associated with the years of Conservative government in Britain between 1979 and 1997. This approach stresses individual freedom, self-help and self-reliance, reduction of the power and spending of the state, the free market and free competition between private companies, schools and other institutions, and the importance of traditional institutions and values.
norms: Social rules which define correct and approved behaviour in a society or group.
nuclear family: A family with two generations, of parents and children, living together in one household. See also extended family.

O

objectivity: Approaching topics with an open mind, avoiding bias, and being prepared to submit research evidence to scrutiny by other researchers.
overt role: Where the researcher in a participant observation study reveals her or his identity as a researcher to the group being studied. See also covert role.

P

particularistic values: Rules and values that give a priority to personal relationships. See also universalistic values.
patriarchy: Power and authority held by males. See also matriarchy.
peer group: A group of people of similar age and status, with whom a person often mixes socially.
perspective: A way of looking at something. A sociological perspective involves a set of theories which influences what is looked at when studying society.
pilot survey: A small-scale practice survey carried out before the final survey to check for any possible problems.
polyandry: A form of marriage in which a woman may have two or more husbands at the same time. See also monogamy, serial monogamy.
polygamy: A form of marriage in which a member of one sex can be married to two or more members of the opposite sex at the same time. See also monogamy, serial monogamy.
polygyny: A form of marriage in which a man may have two or more wives at the same time. See also monogamy, serial monogamy.
popular culture: See mass culture.
positive discrimination: Giving disadvantaged groups more favourable treatment than others to make up for the disadvantages they face.
positive sanctions: Rewards of various kinds to encourage people to conform to social norms. See also negative sanctions, sanction.
positivism: An approach in sociology that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used in the natural sciences, such as physics, chemistry and biology. See also interpretivism.
postmodernism: The belief that society is changing so rapidly and constantly that it is marked by chaos and uncertainty, and social structures are being replaced by a whole range of different and constantly changing social relationships. Societies can no longer be understood through the application of general theories like Marxism or functionalism, which seek to explain society as a whole, as it has become fragmented into many different groups, interests and lifestyles. Society and social structures cease to exist, to be replaced by a mass of individuals who are transformed into consumers making individual choices about their lifestyles.
poverty line: The dividing point between those who are poor and those who are not. The poverty line used in Britain today, and by the European Union, is 60 per cent of average income.
pressure groups: Organizations which try to put pressure on those with power in society to implement policies they favour.
primary data: Information which sociologists have collected themselves. See also secondary data.
primary deviance: Deviant behaviour which is not publicly labelled (see labelling) as deviant. See also secondary deviance.
primary socialization: The early forms of socialization in the family and close community. See also secondary socialization.
privatization: The process whereby households and families become isolated and separated from the community and from wider kin (see kinship), with people spending more time together in home-centred activities.
privatized nuclear family: A self-contained, self-reliant and home-centred family unit that is separated and isolated from its extended kin, neighbours and local community life.
productive property: Property which provides an unearned income for its owner, such as factories, land and stocks and shares. See also consumption property.
proletariat: The social class of workers who have to work for wages as they do not own the means of production.

Q

qualitative data: Information concerned with the meanings and interpretations people have about some issue or event.
quantitative data: Information that can be expressed in statistical or number form.

R

racial prejudice: A set of assumptions about an ethnic group (see ethnicity) which people are reluctant to change even when they receive information which undermines those assumptions.
racism: Believing or acting as though an individual or group is superior or inferior on the grounds of their racial or ethnic (see ethnicity) origins.
radical feminism: A feminist approach (see feminism) which focuses on the problem of patriarchy. For radical feminists, the main focus of research is on the problem of men and male-dominated society. See also Marxist feminism, liberal feminism.
reconstituted family: A family where one or both partners have been previously married, and bring with them children of the previous marriage.
relative poverty: Poverty defined in relation to a generally accepted standard of living in a specific society at a particular time. See also absolute poverty.
reliability: Whether another researcher, if repeating or replicating research using the same method for the same research on the same group, would achieve the same results.
replication: see reliability.
representative sample: A smaller group drawn from the survey population, of which it contains a good cross-section. The information obtained from a representative sample should provide roughly the same results as if the whole survey population had been surveyed.
restricted code: A form of language use which takes for granted shared understandings between people. Colloquial, everyday language used between friends, with limited explanation and use of vocabulary. See also elaborated code.
role conflict: The conflict between the successful performances of two or more roles at the same time, such as worker, student and mother.
role models: Patterns of behaviour which others copy and model their own behaviour on.
roles: The patterns of behaviour which are expected from individuals in society.
ruling class: The social class of owners of the means of production, whose control over the economy gives them power over all aspects of society, enabling them to rule over society.
ruling class ideology: The set of ideas and beliefs of the ruling class.

S

sample: A small representative group drawn from the survey population for questioning or interviewing.
sampling frame: A list of names of all those in the survey population from which a representative sample is selected.
sampling methods: The techniques sociologists use to select representative individuals to study from the survey population.
sanction: A reward or punishment to encourage social conformity. See also negative sanctions, positive sanctions.
scapegoats: Individuals or groups blamed for something which is not their fault.
secondary data: Data which already exist and which the researcher hasn’t collected herself or himself. See also primary data.
secondary deviance: Deviant behaviour which is labelled (see labelling) as such by others. See also primary deviance.
secondary socialization: Socialization which takes place beyond the family and close community, such as through the education system, the mass media and the workplace. See also primary socialization.
secularization: The process whereby religious thinking, practice and institutions lose social significance.
segregated conjugal role: A clear division and separation between the roles of male and female partners in a marriage or in a cohabiting couple.
self-fulfilling prophecy: People acting in response to predictions of their behaviour, thereby making the prediction come true. Often applied to the effects of streaming in schools.
serial monogamy: A form of marriage where a person keeps marrying and divorcing a series of different partners, but is only married to one person at a time. See also monogamy, polyandry, polygamy, polygyny.
sex: The biological divergences between men and women.
sexism: Prejudice or discrimination against people (especially women) because of their sex.
sexual division of labour: The division of work into ‘men’s jobs’ and ‘women’s jobs’.
sexual orientation: The type of people that individuals are either physically or romantically attracted to, such as those of the same or opposite sex.
sexuality: People’s sexual characteristics and their sexual behaviour.
sick role: The pattern of behaviour which is expected from someone who is classified as ill.
social action theory: A perspective which emphasizes the creative action which people can take, and that people are not simply the passive victims of social forces outside them. Social action theory suggests it is important to understand the motives and meanings people give to their behaviour. See also interpretivism, structuralism.
social capital: The social networks of influence and support that people have.
social class: A broad group of people who share a similar economic situation, such as occupation, income and ownership of wealth. See also middle class, upper class, working class.
social construction: The way something is created through the individual, social and cultural (see culture) interpretations, perceptions and actions of people. Official statistics, notions of health and illness, deviance and suicide are all examples of social phenomena that only exist because people have constructed them and given these phenomena particular labels.
social control: The process of persuading or forcing individuals to conform to values and norms.
social exclusion: The situation where people are marginalized (see marginalization) or excluded from full participation in education, work, community life and access to services and other aspects of life seen as part of being a full and participating member of mainstream society. Those who lack the necessary resources are excluded from the opportunity to fully participate in society, and are denied the opportunities most people take for granted.
social facts: Social phenomena which exist outside individuals but act upon them in ways which constrain or mould their behaviour. Such phenomena include social institutions such as the family, the law, the education system and the workplace.
social institutions: The organized social arrangements which are found in all societies, such as the family and the education systems.
social mobility: Movement of groups or individuals up or down the social hierarchy.
social policy: The packages of plans and actions adopted by national and local government or various voluntary agencies to solve social problems or achieve other goals that are seen as important.
social problem: Something that is seen as harmful to society in some way, and needs something doing to sort it out.
social solidarity: The integration of people into society through shared values, a common culture, shared understandings, and social ties that bind them together.
social structure: The network of social institutions and social relationships that form the ‘building blocks’ of society.
socialization: The process of learning the culture of any society. See also primary socialization, secondary socialization.
sociological perspective: A set of theories which influence what is looked at when studying society.
sociological problem: Any social issue that needs explaining.
status: The amount of prestige or social importance a person has in the eyes of other members of a group or society. See also achieved status, ascribed status.
status frustration: A sense of frustration arising in individuals or groups because they are denied status in society.
stereotype: A generalized, oversimplified view of the features of a social group, allowing for few individual divergences between members of the group.
stigma: Any undesirable physical or social characteristic that is seen as abnormal or unusual in some way, that is seen as demeaning, and stops an individual being fully accepted by society.
stigmatized identity: An identity that is in some way undesirable or demeaning, and stops an individual being fully accepted by society.
streaming: A system of grouping students in schools by ability for all subjects.
structural differentiation: The way new, more specialized social institutions emerge to take over functions that were once performed by a single institution. An example is the way some functions of the family have been transferred to the education system and the welfare state.
structuralism: A perspective which is concerned with the overall structure of society, and sees individual behaviour moulded by social institutions like the family, the education system, the mass media and work. See also functionalism, Marxism.
structuration: A perspective between structuralism and social action theory which suggests that, while people are constrained by social institutions, they can at the same time take action to support or change those institutions.
subculture: A smaller culture held by a group of people within the main culture of a society, in some ways different from the main culture, but with many aspects in common.
surplus value: The extra value added by workers to the products they produce, after allowing for the payment of their wages, and which goes to the employer in the form of profit.
survey: A means of collecting primary data from large numbers of people, usually in a standardized statistical form.
survey population: The section of the population which is of interest in a survey.
symbolic interactionism: A sociological perspective which is concerned with understanding human behaviour in face-to-face situations, and how individuals and situations come to be defined in particular ways through their encounters with other people.
symmetrical family: A family where the roles of husband and wife or cohabiting partners have become more alike (symmetrical) and equal.

T

triangulation: The use of two, or usually more, research methods in a single piece of research to check the reliability and validity of research evidence.

U

underachievement: The failure of individuals or groups to fulfil their potential – they do not do as well in education (or other areas) as their talents and abilities suggest they should.
underclass: A social group right at the bottom of the social class hierarchy, who are in some ways cut off or excluded from the rest of society.
universalistic values: Rules and values that apply equally to all members of society, regardless of who they are. See also particularistic values.
upper class: A small social class who are the main owners of society’s wealth. It includes wealthy industrialists, landowners and the traditional aristocracy. See also middle class, working class.

V

validity: This is concerned with notions of truth – how far the findings of research actually provide a true, genuine or authentic picture of what is being studied.
value consensus: A general agreement around the main values of society.
value freedom: The idea that the beliefs and prejudices of the sociologist should not be allowed to influence the way research is carried out and evidence interpreted.
values: General beliefs about what is right or wrong, and about the important standards which are worth maintaining and achieving in any society.
verstehen: The idea of understanding human behaviour by putting yourself in the position of those being studied, and trying to see things from their point of view.
victim survey: A survey which asks people if they have been victims of crime, whether or not they reported it to the police.

W

wealth: Property in the form of assets which can be sold and turned into cash for the benefit of the owner. See also income.
welfare pluralism: The range of welfare provision, including informal provision by the family and community, the welfare state, the voluntary sector and the private sector.
working class: Those working in manual jobs – jobs involving physical work and, literally, work with their hands, like factory or labouring work. See also middle class, social class, upper class.

Ken Browne — Sociology for AS and AQA, 3rd Edition

Ken Browne - Sociology for AS AQA

Student Resources - Glossary

A

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K

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