Sociology Final Social Interaction— The shared experiences through which people relate to one another. Social Structure— The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships. Status— The social positions we occupy relative to others. Ascribed Status— A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics. Achieved Status— A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts. Master status— A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person’s general position is society. Social role— A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status. Role Conflict— The situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social statuses held by the same person. Role Strain— The difficulty that arises when the same social status imposes conflicting demands and expectations. Role Exit— The process of engagement from a role that is central to one’s self­identity in order to establish a new role and identity. Social Control— The techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society. Formal Socail control— Formal social control that is carried out by authorized agents, such as police offers, judges, school administrators, and employers. Crime— A violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties. Deviance— Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group of society. Stigma— A label used to devalue members of a certain social group.

White­colloar crime— Illegal acts committed by affluent, “respectable” individuals in the course of business activities. Organized­crime— The work of a group that regulates relations among criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities, including prostitution, gambling, and the smuggling and sale of illegal drugs. Michel Foucault— French philosopher, the birth of biopolitics, denoting social and political power over life. (regulation of crime) Education— A formal process of instruction in which some people conciously teach while others adopt the social role of learner. Credentialism— An increase in the lowest level of education required to enter a field. Charismatic Authority— Power made legitimate by a leader’s exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her followers. Power— The ability to exercise one’s will over others even if they resist. Authority— Institutionalized power that is recognized by the people over whom it is exercised. Capitalism— An economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits. Communism— As an ideal type, an economic system under which all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people’s ability to produce. Mixed Economy— An economic system that combines elements of both capitalism and socialism. Informal Economy— Transfers of money, goods, or services that are not reported to the government. Politics— In Harold Lasswell’s words, “who gets what, when, and how.” Totalitarianism— Virtually complete government control and surveillance over all aspects of a society’s social and political life. Representative Democracy— A form of government in which certain individuals are selected to speak for people.

Mill’s Power structure— military, corporate, and political elements of society and suggests that the ordinary