What term refers to the process by which people creatively shape their world?

Q: Which concept refers to a status that has special importance for social identity often shaping a persons entire life?

The term master status is defined as a status that has exceptional importance for social identity, often shaping a persons entire life. Master status can be ascribed or achieved.

Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociology’s subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the state, from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social stability to radical change in whole societies. Unifying the study of these diverse subjects of study is sociology’s purpose of understanding how human action and consciousness both shape and are shaped by surrounding cultural and social structures.

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What is the term for the process by which a society creatively shapes its own reality through social interaction?
Which of the following concepts refers to social position that reflects a lot of personal ability and effort?
Which is the term for the process by which people disengage from important social roles?
Which concept refers to a status that has special importance for social identity often shaping a persons entire life?

Sociology is an exciting and illuminating field of study that analyzes and explains important matters in our personal lives, our communities, and the world. At the personal level, sociology investigates the social causes and consequences of such things as romantic love, racial and gender identity, family conflict, deviant behavior, aging, and religious faith. At the societal level, sociology examines and explains matters like crime and law, poverty and wealth, prejudice and discrimination, schools and education, business firms, urban community, and social movements. At the global level, sociology studies such phenomena as population growth and migration, war and peace, and economic development.

Sociologists emphasize the careful gathering and analysis of evidence about social life to develop and enrich our understanding of key social processes. The research methods sociologists use are varied. Sociologists observe the everyday life of groups, conduct large-scale surveys, interpret historical documents, analyze census data, study video-taped interactions, interview participants of groups, and conduct laboratory experiments. The research methods and theories of sociology yield powerful insights into the social processes shaping human lives and social problems and prospects in the contemporary world. By better understanding those social processes, we also come to understand more clearly the forces shaping the personal experiences and outcomes of our own lives. The ability to see and understand this connection between broad social forces and personal experiences — what C. Wright Mills called “the sociological imagination” — is extremely valuable academic preparation for living effective and rewarding personal and professional lives in a changing and complex society.

Students who have been well trained in sociology know how to think critically about human social life, and how to ask important research questions. They know how to design good social research projects, carefully collect and analyze empirical data, and formulate and present their research findings. Students trained in sociology also know how to help others understand the way the social world works and how it might be changed for the better. Most generally, they have learned how to think, evaluate, and communicate clearly, creatively, and effectively. These are all abilities of tremendous value in a wide variety of vocational callings and professions.

Sociology offers a distinctive and enlightening way of seeing and understanding the social world in which we live and which shapes our lives. Sociology looks beyond normal, taken-for-granted views of reality, to provide deeper, more illuminating and challenging understandings of social life. Through its particular analytical perspective, social theories, and research methods, sociology is a discipline that expands our awareness and analysis of the human social relationships, cultures, and institutions that profoundly shape both our lives and human history.

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vocabulary

Question	Answer
sociology	the systematic study of human society
manifest functions	the recognized and intended consequences of a social structure or institution in society
latent functions	the unrecognized and unintended consequences of a social structure or institution in society
social dysfunction	any social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society
variable	a concept whose value changes from case to case
correlation	a relationship in which two or more variables changes together
cause and effect	a relationship in which change in one variable (the independent variable cause change in another (the dependent variable)
culture	the way of thinking, the way of acting, and the material objects that together form a people's way of life
society	people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture
values	culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living
beliefs	specific statements that people hold to be true
norms	rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members
mores	norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance
folkways	norms for routine or casual interaction
technology	knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surroundings
socialization	the lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learns culture
personality	a person's fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking, and feeling
id	Freud's term for the human being's basic drives
ego	Freud's term for a person's conscious efforts to balance innate pleasure-seeking drives with the demands of society
superego	Freud's term for cultural values and norms internalized by an individual
sensorimotor stage	Piaget's term for the level of human development at which individuals experience the world only through their senses
preoperational stage	Piaget's term for the level of human development at which individuals first use language and other symbols
concrete operational stage	Piaget's term for the level of of human development at which individuals first see causal connections in their surroundings
formal operational stage	Piaget's term for the level of human development at which individuals think abstractly and critically
self	George Herbert Mead's term for the part of an individual's personality composed of self-awareness and self-image
looking-glass self	Charles Horton Cooley's term of self-image based on how we think other sees us
significant others	people, such as parents, who have special importance for socialization
generalized other	Mead's term for widespread cultural norms and values we use as reference in evaluating ourselves
peer group	the social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in common
total institution	a setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society and manipulated by administrative staff
resocialization	radically changing an inmate's personality by carefully controlling their environment
social interaction	the process by which people act and react in relation to others
status	a social position that a person a holds
status set	all the statuses a person hold at a given time
ascribed status	a social position a person receives at birth or takes on involuntary later in life
achieved status	a social position a person takes on voluntary that reflects personal ability and effort
master status	a status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life
role	behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status
role set	a number of roles attached to a single status
role conflict	conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses
role strain	tension among the roles connected to a single status
social construction of reality	the process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction
Thomas theorem	W.I. Thomas' statement that situations define as real are real in their consequences
personal space	the surrounding area over which a person makes some claim to privacy
social group	two or more people who identify and interact with one another
primary group	small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships
secondary group	a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity
dyad	a social group with two members
formal organization	a large secondary group organized to achieve its goals efficiently
organizational environment	factors outside an organization that affect its operation
bureaucratic ritualism	a focus on rules and regulations to the point of interfering with an organization's goals
sex	the biological distinction between females and males
primary sex characteristics	the genitals, organs used for reproduction
secondary sex characteristics	bodily development, apart from the genitals, that distinguishes biologically mature females and males
sexual orientation	a person' romantic and emotional attraction to another person
pornography	sexually explicit material intended to cause sexual arousal
deviance	the recognized violation of cultural norms
crime	the violation of society's formally enacted criminal law
social control	attempt by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior
criminal justice system	a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law
labeling theory	the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much form what people do as form how others respond to those actions
stigma	a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity
crimes against the person	(violent crimes) crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others
retribution	an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime
deterrance	the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment
rehabilitation	a program for reforming the offender to prent later offenses
societal protection	rendering an offender incapable of further offense temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution
criminal recidivism	later offenses by people previously convicted of crimes

Social construction of reality. The process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction. Thomas theorem. The Thomas theorem says that the reality people construct in their interaction has real consequences for the future. (situations defined as real are real in their consequences.)

Achieved status A social position (status) obtained through an individual's own talents and efforts.

Socialization occurs as people engage and disengage in a series of roles throughout life.

The term master status is defined as "a status that has exceptional importance for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life." Master status can be ascribed or achieved.