Glossary of Sociological terms authored by David Bown with help from Janis Griffiths

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11-Plus Exam	Examination introduced with the 1944 Education Act, sat by all pupils in the state sector at the age of 11. If they passed they went to the selective Grammar School, or if they failed to the Secondary Modern School. This exam still exists in some counties such as Kent and also in Northern Ireland.
12-Plus Exam	Exam made available only to a minority of 'high-flyers' in Secondary Modern schools, offering a late chance to go to Grammar School at the age of 12.
'30-30-40 society'	A term associated with Will Hutton to describe an increasingly insecure and polarised society. The bottom 30 per cent is socially excluded by poverty from the rest of society. The next 30 per cent live in fear and insecurity of falling into poverty. Only the top 40 per cent feel secure and confident.
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abortion	The 1967 Abortion Act permitted termination of pregnancy by a registered practitioner subject to certain conditions and was introduced in 1968. Currently around one-third of conceptions outside marriage are terminated in an abortion.
Abortion Act (1967)	Effectively introduced 'abortion on demand' for women outside marriage, providing two doctors agreed the physical or mental health of the mother would be affected by the pregnancy.
absolute mobility	The measured movement from one social location to another, whether 'upwards' or 'downwards'.
absolute poverty	Traditional definition of poverty associated with an absence of basic human needs, such as food, shelter, warmth and clothing. It is often associated with the concept of a poverty line. Those below this line are in absolute poverty.
abuse	This can be physical, sexual and verbal. Associated with children but partners can be abused too.
access	A means of acquiring something. In sociological terms, this is related to notions of inequality because people from different social groups have differing chances of succeeding, or gaining entry to social institutions.
acculturation	Acculturation is the process whereby through contact between different cultures, a complex process of cultural adaptation and change occurs.
achieved status	Social prestige or ranking that has been earned through effort, such as educational success, employment position, etc.
action theory	A theoretical approach that sees action as something purposively shaped by individuals within a context to which they have given meaning.
action zones	A Labour government initiative whereby failing schools 'named and shamed' by Ofsted inspectors are run by a partnership between the school, local councils and local businesses.
activity theory	The view that ageing process is delayed and quality of life is enhanced when old people remain socially active.
actor	Sociological term for people engaging in roles or social interaction with others in the pursuit of meanings.
actuarialism	Linked to control theory of crime, it refers to the practice of risk assessment which identifies who and where in society poses the greatest risk of crime and deviance. They are then targeted and acted against. It is associated with Feeley and Simon.
adaptive upgrading	Term used by Talcott Parsons to explain why social change occurs. Drawing on the work of Charles Darwin, he viewed change as evolutionary and driven by functional need to adapt and respond to wider changes in the social environment (social structure).
administrative criminology	Term coined by Lea and Young to describe Home Office inspired policies that stress that crime can be tackled through a series of administrative measures, designed to deter crime by removing opportunities. Responsibility for crime is placed on people to look after their property.
advanced schools	These are self-managed privately-sponsored schools within the state sector.
aetiology	Aetiology is the study of causes, commonly applied in the topic areas of health and deviance in sociology.
affluent workers	Term given by Goldthorpe et al to the skilled manual workers they studied in Luton.
age stratification	When people of different ages experience inequality in the distribution of privileges or power.
ageism	Prejudice and discrimination against people on the basis of age.
agencies of socialisation	Agencies of socialisation are social institutions which form part of the process of passing on to people the norms and values of their society. It is from agencies of socialisation that we learn how to act in the way that others expect of us.
agency	Self-motivated behaviour. This is in contrast to behaviour shaped by wider structures we belong to and which act to influence how we behave.
agenda setting	Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw used the term agenda setting to discuss the way in which the media can decide for people which things they should worry about by reporting some stories more than others
agents of social control	Agencies of social control are social institutions which pass on to people the rules by which we all must live.
aggressive masculinity	When men behave in a violent and anti-social manner, often as new way of asserting their masculinity when traditional forms, such as breadwinning and provision, are not available.
Alexander, Jeffrey (1947-),	American sociologist associated with attempts to revive functionalism in the 1980s as 'neofunctionalism', although he has since distanced himself from this project. He is a strong supporter for the principle of synthesising structure with action.
Althusser, Louis (1918-1990),	French social philosopher who is associated with the influence of ideologies, from the institutions in society, making people conform through a false class consciousness. He referred to these institutions as the 'ideological state apparatuses' (ISAs).
androcentric	A view which is dominated by the concerns of men and which marginalizes or obscures the interests of women.
anomic paradigm	Name given to Robert Merton's model whereby he adapts Durkheim's concept of Anomie to explain crime in terms of not having the means to achieve society's goals.
anomie	When individuals no longer feel regulated by or integrated into a society where norms and values guiding conduct have broken down.
anthropology	Academic study of all the cultures and societies within the world. Traditionally, anthropologists focused on non-Western cultures; today they can equally study cultural life in industrial and urban locations.
anti-essentialism	A stance taken (e.g. by third wave feminists or postmodernists) that recognizes difference and individuality within groups, rather than assuming everyone within a group is homogenous and has experiences and meanings in common.
anti-school subculture	Some pupils in schools form friendship groups that reject the aims and values of the school as a whole.
aristocracy	Another term for the upper-class, but referring specifically to those associated with inherited wealth and nobility. Aristocracy is thus associated with titles, ancestral homes, and the landed gentry. Today the upper-class also includes rich entrepreneurs and, to some extent, celebrity 'jet set'.
Aristotle (384-322 bc)	Although he was not a sociologist, his belief that the parts of society, whilst contributing to the whole, remained independent of it, reflects elements of later sociological thinking.
arranged marriages	When marital partners are chosen by parents, although the right to veto or to choose partners with parental agreement is now common. Typically associated with Muslim, Hindu and Sikh religions of the South Asian community, but equally a feature of upper class family practice.
asbo	An Anti-Social Behaviour Order. ASBOs are a controversial element of New Labour policy to counteract criminal and anti-social behaviour. Neighbours complaining about individuals are able to apply for an ASBO to control their actions.
ascribed status	Social standing over which the individual has no control, such as prestige associated with factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, etc.
assimilation	The process whereby minorities adopt and blend into the dominant culture of the host nation.
asymmetry	Not equal or balanced. Opposite of symmetrical which when applied to the family means equality.
atavism	The idea prominent in the nineteenth century that criminal types stemmed from less-developed humans. It is associated with Cesare Lombroso.
attenuated extended family	Families whereby the meaning and quality of contact with extended kin is restricted by geographical distance, described by Peter Willmott
audiences	The people who buy or consume a media product
authority	An expression of power exercised through the acceptance by the less powerful of the legitimacy of those in dominant positions.
autonomic nervous system (ans)	The unconscious part of the nervous system connecting the brain to our internal organs, senses, skin and muscles.
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Back to Basics	Policy of the John Major Conservative government (1990-1997) to return to strong family values, including support for the traditional family. Too many scandals involving Conservative MPs cheating on their families reduced the policy to mockery (NB. John Major even had an affair with Edwina Curry).
backlash	Term used to describe the (New Right) reaction against feminism in the 1980s and 1990s.
basic needs poverty	Adaptation of absolute poverty associated with particularly Amartya Sen. It defines poverty in terms of the absence of common social social needs.
battered partners	Most victims of domestic violence are women, although men can be battered by female partners or homosexual male partners. There appears to be very little recorded violence between lesbians.
Baudrillard, Jean (1929-)	French postmodernist, but he does not share the view that people as liberated by choice and diversity, but rather reduced to a state of stupor by the banality of a world dominated by media trivia and distortion, to the point that we can no longer differentiate between fiction and reality: a state he calls 'hyperreality' and 'simulacra'.
Bauman, Zygmunt (1935-)	He recognises the importance of consumption as a source of identity. He sees consumption having replaced occupation and class as a new form of stratification. Those with a means to join in enjoy a lifestyle of 'consumption fetishism' with those lacking the means being reduced to the status of outsiders as 'flawed consumers'.
Beacon schools	Schools and colleges deemed centres of excellence. They are held up as models to be emulated and the teaching staff are expected to share their good practice with neighbouring schools and colleges.
beanpole family	As people have fewer children, but are at the same time living longer, family trees are becoming longer and thinner - sometimes extending to four generations.
Beck, Ulrich (1944-)	German sociologist who sees society as having undergone a fundamental change in the second half of the twentieth century linked to an awareness of the possibility of catastrophic change from nuclear disaster, war or environmental pollution. The response has been to develop what he refers to as the 'risk society'.
Becker, Howard (1928-)	American sociologist particularly associated with developing labelling theory. He became a leading figure in the Symbolic Interactionist movement of the 1950s and 1960s particularly through his contributions to the topics of Deviance and Education, and his support for participant observation as a research method.
bias	Putting a slant on something so that it reflects your prejudices and views and it is not a true image of the world.
biological determinism (also known as evolutionary psychology)	The notion that biological features have an impact on behaviour that is largely beyond an individual's control.
bio-medical model of illness	This suggests that the basis of disease, including mental illness, is physical in origin.
birth rate	Typically expressed as the number of live births per 1000 women of child bearing age.
black economy	Sometimes known as the 'irregular economy' where work is done in exchange for money but is not officially declared, particularly to the tax authorities.
black feminism	Argues any feminism which fails to fully examine and theorize racism is flawed. To eliminate women's oppression, racism plus capitalism and patriarchy need to be challenged.
black matrifocal family	Term for the common African-Caribbean family headed by a lone female mother.
Black Papers	Series of five New Right inspired papers written in the 1970s by Cox and Boyson that condemned the failing nature of the comprehensive system.
blasphemy	Crime of taking God’s name in vain. Laws in UK only apply to the Christian God
Blumer, Herbert (1900-1987),	A student of Mead, he coined the term 'symbolic interactionism' and further developed the concept of self through a recognition of the importance of choice as people think through alternative courses of action.
bossism	Term associated with Robert Merton to refer to political racketeering. Merton saw the ‘corrupt political machine’ as providing avenues of social mobility, not just for individuals, but also for some deprived subgroups.
bourgeoisie	The name Karl Marx gave to the dominant class who own the means of production in capitalism.
British Crime Survey	Victim study of 11,000 citizens undertaken now annually by the Home Office as another indication of amounts and trends in crime to compare with the official crime statistics.
broken window thesis	Theory of James Q. Wilson, similar to A.H. Bottoms' concept of 'tipping' whereby informal social controls of law-abiding citizens keep areas respectable and largely crime-free. But if incivilities become common then areas soon decay into anti-social behaviour and more serious crimes.
budget standard approach	A 'modest but adequate budget' based on a combination of items considered essential by at least half the population and expert judgement.
Butler, Judith (1956-),	A post-structuralist feminist who challenges the assumption that women's experiences are either all the same or equally oppressed. Adopting an anti-essentialist position she rejects the collective term 'women' and advocates a celebration of the differing experiences and attitudes amongst women.
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canalisation	The giving of gender-specific toys, books, games to boys and girls.
canteen culture	A form of 'occupational culture' reflecting the attitudes, values and behaviour developed by the police. This culture is seen to promote both sexism and racism.
capitalism	Economic system seen by Marxists as centred on the oppression of the working class, through their exploited position of creating all the wealth, but since they do not own the means of production, they receive only a fraction of its value as wages.
carceral	The process of locking people up, as with prison, borstal, detention centres and secure psychiatric hospitals.
care in the community	Term that stems from the Thatcherite 1980s/1990s when mental health institutions were closed on humane grounds of eradicating Victorian asylums and relocating the mentally ill back with families or hostels within the community. Cynics argue the policy was primarily to save money.
case study	The study of one person or incident and drawing conclusions from that study that can be applied more widely.
caste	System of rigid layering of society associated with the Hindu religion.
Castells, Manuel (1942-)	Spanish social theorist who argues the defining transformation of society has been the recent communication revolution and its global impact, creating a 'network society'.
catharsis	Essentially a Freudian based psychological idea, particularly associated with Feshbach (1961), who argues that on-screen violence may actually diminish real life violence. A similar argument is made by some feminists about pornography
causal relationship	When there is a clear and identifiable relationship between two factors: one causes the other (see also next item).
cause and effect relationship	The ultimate goal of positivists who believe that society is governed by laws and that in a matter of time these will be discovered allowing predictions to be made.
CCTV	Closed circuit television.
censorship	Many countries do not allow certain subjects to be shown or discussed in the media, most commonly, sex and violence. Censorship is when the blocking of certain topics is official in some way.
cereal-packet family	Term associated with Edmund Leach to describe the romantic image of the traditional two-parent family featured on the back of corn flake packets in the 1960s.
changing roles theory	The assumption that there is a gradual movement towards equality in conjugal roles. Perhaps the most famous exponent of this theory is the work of Willmott and Young and their view that roles are moving towards symmetry.
chaperonage	Parental supervision or observation of where their children are, who they are with and when they are expected home.
Chicago School	Sociological department at the University of Chicago where the perspective of Symbolic Interactionism was developed. In the 1920s and 1930s they established a link between the environment, deprivation and juvenile crime.
Child Support Agency	Government funded agency set up to make absent parents (usually fathers, but exclusively) more financially responsible for their children whom they no longer live with.
church	A building in which people worship. Sociologically, a church refers to an organisation of people who share a certain system of beliefs.
citizenship	Belonging to, being a member of a nationality.
class deal	Term used by Pat Carlen to describe the expectation imposed on women to accept a wage for work.
class formation	The process whereby social class becomes an identifiable phenomenon in both an objective and subjective sense. It involves elements of class consciousness and action.
classic extended family	Term associated with Talcott Parsons to describe in his view the structure of the typical pre-industrial family
closed questions	Questions with a determined set of fixed answers, often in the form of multiple choice.
closed society	Opposite of an open society. In a closed society these is limited or no opportunity for social mobility.
closed system	A situation (such as a science laboratory) where all variables can be controlled.
cognitive consonance	The idea that media messages have a greater impact if the audience agrees with the media message beforehand.
cognitive dissonance	The idea that people are unreceptive to media messages they do not agree with.
cohabitation,	Living together in a sexual relationship without having undergone a wedding ceremony.
collection code	Term associated with Basil Bernstein to reflect strong classification of subjects with differentiation and specialization. It is particularly associated with traditional subjects and approaches to education that historically favoured the old middle class.
collective conscience	Term associated with Emile Durkheim to mean shared moral values derived from religion - or it could also stem from the education system. Today it may be associated with the mass media?
collective culture	Term associated with Emile Durkheim to reflect shared social values.
communal economy	Term associated with Gershuny and Pahl applying to work done outside the household but without money exchanging hands. This includes voluntary work, but also covers kinship and neighbourhood-based networks providing reciprocal services.
communes	Collective body of people who share living accommodation to varying degrees.
community	A form of social organisation that gives people a sense of belonging in some form to a larger group either geographically or as an identity.
community policing	A consensus model of the police which sees the police force operating in a manner that reflects the will and values of the population, upholding law and order through a good relationship with the community.
commuting class	Term that reflects the middle class who bought houses in the suburbs of towns and cities and commute to work.
companionate	Term used to describe the jointness of couples, not only in terms of the tasks they perform, but equally in their leisure activities too.
comparative method	A systematic comparison between societies or groups within a society. In this way relationships or correlations may be observed, with comparisons serving to explain whether there might be causal explanations involved.
complicit masculinity	Term associated with Bob Connell that refers to how men (even if they do not manifest 'hegemonic masculinity) still benefit from what he calls 'the patriarchal dividend' of cultural ideas that reflect the interests of men.
compulsory heterosexuality	Feminist term, associated with Judith Butler, to describe the cultural pressures that exist in most societies to conform to heterosexual practices. As feminists they feel lesbian expression, which many women feel, is suppressed.
Comte, Auguste (1798-1857),	A French social-philosopher who coined the name 'sociology' and developed the subject as a response to the Enlightenment. Comte argued the case for determinate laws - history necessarily moves through a succession of stages culminating in the scientific epoch of 'positivism'.
concentric zones	The circles identified by Shaw and McKay of the Chicago School whereby crime levels decreased the further areas of Chicago were away from the 'zone of transition'.
confidentiality,	Keeping secrets so that people can speak freely about things that concern them, without fear of ridicule or embarrassment.
conflict	Competing for power and domination between social groups. This social perspective is associated with Marxism and feminisim.
conflict theories.	Theories which suggest that society is composed of groups of people in competition for resources and power.
conformity	A term within Robert Merton's anomic paradigm describing the typical law-abiding citizen who continues to accept the goals and the means set by society, even though 'failure' is the likely outcome.
consensus	A commonly agreed position or set of values. Consensus is a key concept associated with the functionalist perspective.
conspiracy theory	Notion that a powerful minority conspire to promote their mutual self-interests over the majority.
constraints on the media.	Things that control what the media may and may not report.
contestable	When an idea, concept or theory is open to criticism and challenge.
control	The ability to exert power over other people.
control theory	Theory of crime that is not interested in why people break the rules of society, but asks what makes people conform in the first place.
convergence theory,	This suggests that different social classes are becoming more alike in norms, values and culture.
Cooley, Charles (1864-1929)	One of the first generation of American sociologists who is perhaps most famous for his phrase 'looking-glass self' a term that show how we build up a picture of our own identity form the reaction of others.
cooling out	Process whereby educational failure is not connected to unfair and unequal structural factors, but internalised by individuals in terms of personal inadequacy or failure.
corporate crime	Criminal actions carried out by companies that ignore laws such as those relating to health and safety or which commit other illegal acts. . Marxists argue how both the size and significance of this is played down. Hazel Croall argues how corporate crime is 'softened' through the use of terms like 'cons', 'rip-offs' and 'fiddles'.
correlations	Apparent links between two variables, such as female and higher performance in the education system. Note a correlation is a link not a determinant so being female does not guarantee educational success.
covert	When the subject matter of the researcher is unaware that research is being carried out.
crime	An act punishable by law, as being forbidden by statute or injurious to the public welfare.
criminalisation	The way in which certain acts can become illegal as a result of changes in the law
critical criminology	Another name for the neo-Marxist inspired Radical Criminology, characterised by the work of Taylor, Walton and Young with their New Criminology.
crowther report (1959)	This report highlighted the considerable wastage of working class talent in Britain. Along with the subsequent Robbins (1963) it found correlations between measured ability, socio-economic status and educational achievement.
cuffing	Police slang for dishonest recording of crime to reduce the official rate, also known as 'Spanish practices'.
cult	Rarely used sociologically, a cult is a new religious movement.
cultivation analysis	Term, particularly associated with George Gerbner, to highlight how the media can generate a distorted sense of reality that bears no relation to their actual personal experiences.
cultural capital	Term associated with Pierre Bourdieu that describes both the inherited value system and consumption practices of the higher social classes that helps them to 'get on' especially through the education system. The valued knowledge of a culture.
cultural deficits,	Some people experience a culture which lacks the social skills needed for success.
cultural deprivation,	Some people do not have access to cultural capital and do not gain the social knowledge relevant for success.
cultural diversity	The differences between cultures.
cultural effects theory	This suggests that the media influence us through the steady repetition of ideas and images in the form of a drip-feed of ideas. It is associated with Greg Philo of the Glasgow Media Unit.
cultural imperialism	Term associated with Jeremy Tunstall to describe how Western (typically US) media organizations create a new kind of post-colonial empire over Third World centred on ideas.
cultural penetration	The imposition of Western cultural values on the assumption they are superior to non-western values.
cultural relativity	Your sense of right and wrong depends on the values of your culture.
cultural reproduction	The reinforcement of consensus norms, values and attitudes, including hegemonic ideology. Marxist critics see the mass media as a powerful institution of cultural reproduction.
cultural transmission	The way in which a culture is passed on from one generation to the next.
cultural transmission (criminal)	When certain crimes become the cultural norm, e.g. vandalism in urban areas. These deviant values are transmitted within and across generations over time.
cultural turn	Term given to reflect the renewed interest in all aspects of culture and identity in the 1980s and 1990s. This interest has to be seen as occurring at a time of the development of other crucial thinking, such as ideas on postmodernist society, globalization and environmentalism.
culture	'The web of meanings and values that individuals live their life within' (Mooney et al., 2000). The rules of your society
culture of poverty	Term associated with Oscar Lewis who from his study in the 1950s of shanty towns concluded that fatalistic attitudes were socialised into children making them adopt subcultural attitudes of complacency. They thus became resigned to living in poverty and lacked any motivation to free themselves from poverty.
culture of resistance	Term associated with Paul Gilroy to reflect how ethnic minorities have developed a culture that resists racial oppression. Gilroy sees crime as part of an 'anti-colonial struggle' a political rather than a criminal act.
curfew	Deadline by which people no longer have access to the public space and must be in their homes.
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dark figure of crime	This is also known as the hidden figure of crime and refers to unreported and unrecorded crime about which little is known.
dark side of crime statistics	Name given to the invisible unreported and unrecorded crime that exists but is not known. It represents the difference between the official crime rate and the real crime rate.
'dark-side' of the family	Term used to challenge the romantic view of the family by perspectives such as feminists and Radical Psychiatrists. They highlight the extent of conflict and violence in families.
death rate	Typically expressed as the number of deaths per 1000 women of child-bearing age.
deceit	Dishonesty.
decile group	The division of the population into tenths.
decision making	The right to decide how others should act.
decoding	The messages interpreted from a media 'text' by the audience. Note: these may be different from the author's encoded messages.
demeanour	Broad concept about the how a person 'comes across' in terms of appearance, attitude and manner.
democracy	System of government where people participate.
demographic changes	Key changes to the population which impact on the family. For example, declining fertility rate, ageing population and delayed pregnancy.
denomination	An organised religious grouping with many members, it is not linked to the state and may be an off-shoot of another religion or church.
dependency	Dependency refers to a state of relying of someone else for your needs. In sociology, dependency culture is used to refer to people who rely on benefits to live instead of getting paid work.
Descartes, René (1596-1650)	French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, considered to be the father of modern philosophy and the famous phrase 'Cogito ergo sum' ('I think, therefore I am'). He developed a dualistic system in which he distinguished between mind and matter.
desensitisation	Occurs when exposure to screen violence renders children less sensitive to the shock and horror of such violence.
deskilling	Term particularly associated with the neo-Marxist Harry Braverman who argues that not only the working class, but professionals like teachers and nurses are being deskilled in the workplace. This concept is linked to proletarianisation.
determinism	The belief that one thing directly causes another . The theoretical idea that people have limited (if any) free will and that their lives are shaped by structures external to them and beyond their control (see Structuralism below).
development	The degree of industrialisation, health, welfare and education of a nation
deviance	Failure to conform to culturally expected norms of behaviour. Breaking social rules
deviancy amplification	Term originally developed by Leslie Wilkens, it refers to the unintended outcome of moral panics or social policies whereby the media, in particular, exaggerate the social problem out of proportion. The concept was clearly illustrated by Stan Cohen with his study of mods and rockers.
deviant career	Term associated with Howard Becker to illustrate how deviant behaviour may result in social reaction/consequences that are self-perpetuating.
deviant sub-cultures	Deviance can also include groups as well as individuals.
devolution	This is the opposite of centralisation of power. Government rights and responsibilities have been devolved (given back) to regions of the UK.
diaspora	Word derived from the Greek meaning "scattering of seeds". As a result of global movement of people, it reflects how immigrants bring elements of their culture to their new countries. Paul Gilroy explicitly talks of 'Black Atlantic' to describe elements of African culture in the black communities across the globe.
differential association	When deviance is learnt and transmitted by the proximity of deviant people around, especially those who are proximate such as family and friends who viewed as role models.
differential attainment,	The differences between the educational achievements of certain social groups
differential consumption	Term associated with Christine Delphy who argued that men spend considerably more on their own personal items of consumption than women.
differentiation	The social differences in status and power between various social groups
disability	A physical or mental inability to do something that most other people would consider normal.
discourse	Concept of Michel Foucault to illustrate how language shapes our thinking. Foucault believed there is no such thing as absolute truth, but at any one moment in time a dominant 'way of seeing' exists shaping our understanding. Over time this discourse may well be replaced by another.
discrimination	Ability to act on a prejudice
disease	An illness or a sickness that has recognisable symptoms
disenchantment	A sense of being at odds with things or feeling cynical about something.
Disneyization	Term coined by Alan Bryman, which has some parallels with George Ritzer's McDonaldization, which describes the Disney Corporation’s approach to consumers: themes, dedifferentiation of consumption, merchandising and emotional labour.
disorganized capitalism	Term associated with Lash and Urry to describe how the post-1945 Keynesian demand-managed capitalism has been replaced by a more global multinational capital and a growth in the service class as manufacturing shifts to the Third World.
dispersed extended family (Peter Willmott)	Families that maintain significant contact with extended kin despite geographical distance.
dissociation	Term associated with David Downes to describe the limited aspirations of his working class adolescents who were more engaged in 'leisure values'.
diversity	Variety of cultural forms
divorce	The legal termination of marriage.
Divorce Reform Act, 1971	Introduced the concept of 'no-fault' divorce. There was a significant growth in divorce after this Act became effective in 1971.
documentary method	Term used in ethnomethodology to refer to how we make sense of each event we interpret as seeing it as an example, or 'document' of a general type familiar to us in our commonsense.
domestic labour.	Domestic labour is unpaid work carried out in the home, housework
domestication of women	Women were seen by many feminists (such as Ann Oakley) to be equal to men and free from domestic responsibilities (undertaken by children) in pre-industrial society. Subsequently the factory system resulted in women and children excluded from the workplace, and women's primary role became that of being responsible for domestic roles.
dramaturgy	Role theory associated with Erving Goffman, closely aligned to Symbolic Interactionism that uses the analogy of the theatre to describe the way people behave like 'actors' in their 'roles' on the 'stage' of life.
drift	Term associated with David Matza referring to the common experience of most youth whereby they experience a period of deviance which then passes as they gain adult responsibilities. Deviance cannot therefore be subcultural since most people 'drift'.
dual labour market theory	Theory associated with Barron and Norris that sees the labour market divided between secure well-paid jobs in the primary labour market and those in insecure low-paid jobs in the secondary labour market.
dual-income households	Common family situation as women increasingly take on the role as secondary breadwinner.
dual-systems theory	Associated with especially Christine Delphy, it is a feminist theory that recognizes the impact of both the public world and the domestic world as impacting on the oppression of women. Married women, in their oppression, have so much in common they constitute a sex class. Also known as Socialist feminism.
Durkheim, Emile (1858-1917),	French sociologist, who along with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is known as one of the so-called 'founders' of sociology. His preoccupation with value-consensus, social solidarity and integration as characteristics of a healthy society (in contrast to anomie) has led to his association structural functionalism. However, it is doubtful if Durkheim would have shared the right-wing politics of American functionalists, being associated with and encouraging socialists in his contemporary France.
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eco-feminism	Reflects a desire to regenerate the wisdom of women as a means to liberate women and nature from patriarchal destruction.
Ecological theory	Associated with Chicago School. Saw origins of crime located in the environment that people were located in.
edgework	Term associated with Lyng referring to the activities of young males seeking thrills and excitement, such as goping to the edge of acceptable behaviour and flirting with danger (e.g. joy-riding or drug-taking).
education	Term that embraces formal, informal, non-formal learning.
Education Reform Act (E.R.A.) 1988	The most significant education Act since the 1944 Education Act. Introduced the concept of market forces and competition into educational provision.
Educational Priority Area (EPA)	Developed in response to the Plowden Report in the 1960s as a form of compensatory education. Schools designated of EPA status were given extra resources.
egalitarian	Another word for equality. When used with reference to the family it implies support for the changing roles theory of a movement towards symmetry in roles, status and division of labour of the conjugal couple.
electra complex	Term associated with Sigmund Freud that small girls, suffering from penis envy, are sexually attracted to their father.
electronic colonialism	Term associated with Thomas McPhail to describe the imposition of Western cultural ideas more insidious and as dominant as the military and mercantile colonialism of the past.
elementary family	Term Graham Allan gives to the inner or 'elementary' nuclear family consisting of wives, husbands, their children, brothers and sisters.
elementary schools	Schools set up following industrialisation to educate the masses primarily in the basic skills of numeracy and literacy, together with moral education.
elite theory	It is believed that a small group of very wealthy and powerful people control society
embourgeoisement	The notion that the working-class are adopting the values, attitudes and behaviours of the middle-class. Supporters of this concept see society as moving increasingly to a homogenous classless society. It is worth noting that Goldthorpe et al found convergence between the classes but reject embourgeoisement in their Luton study.
empirical	When social phenomena can be measured and tested in an objective manner with the production of supporting data.
empiricism	The belief in science as the only way to understand society.
employment-aggregate' model of class	Deriving an object classification of social class from large amounts of occupational data. Such an approach is criticized by interpretivists for ignoring the meanings that lie behind class identity.
empty nesters	Families when children have grown up and left home.
empty-shell marriages	Term given to marriage where love and romance have long-gone and couples stay together either because divorce is not an option (say for religious reasons) or they simply cannot make the effort to separate.
encoding	The messages put into a media 'text' by the author. Note: these may be different from the audience's decoded messages.
endogamy	Marriage between people of the same social category.
Enlightenment, The	Period between the first and fourth quarters of the eighteenth century when enlightened intellectual thinking replaced the 'Dark Age'. The old model of the world that had been shaped by the Roman Catholic church for the past thousand years was increasingly challenged by new rational thinking and explanations. In short the Enlightenment is the period of history where 'reason replaced faith' and paved the way for the Modernisation of society.
entrepreneurs	Literally a term meaning ‘risk-takers’, it generally refers to those who invest in money-making projects. The upper-class is primarily made up these days of ‘new’ money (self-made, rather than inherited) with entrepreneurs outnumbering the old money of the aristocracy.
environmental movement	People whose primary concern is the state of the planet.
Equal Pay Act (1970)	Important law that made it illegal for men and women to be paid different wage-rates for the same job.
equality	People have same chances of access to power and wealth.
equality of opportunity	The equal ability to access the benefits of social institutions such as government and education
essentialism	The way in which groups become defined as homogenous on the basis of predefined characteristics or dispositions.
ethics	The study of right and wrong. In sociology, it is essential that studies do not harm the people who participate in them. There is a code of ethics organised by the British Sociological Association which should be followed in any social research
ethnicity	Your sense of the culture or nationality to which you belong.
ethnography	This is the study of ordinary people. The term was coined by Garfinkel and an ethnographic study usually suggests that an observation has been carried out.
Ethnomethodology	Interpretative theoretical perspective developed by Harold Garfinkel that argues the case that people make sense of the social world by applying commonsense reasoning.
eugenics	Belief that those with poor quality genes should be restricted from reproduction. Through interbreeding these defective and dangerous people pose a threat to the genetic purity of the healthy.
evolutionary Theory	Theory (supported by both functionalists and Marxists) that the process of industrialisation caused the family to evolve from extended to nuclear. This is sometimes referred to as the 'theory of fit'.
exclusion.	Not to be allowed access to something. This can be in school, where children are excluded as a punishment. More importantly, exclusion is seen as a form of poverty where people cannot participate fully in normal life because they cannot afford it.
exogamy	Marriage between people from different social categories.
experimentation	Set up scientific systems of studying behaviour.
experimenter effect	When the participant in an experiment behaves unnaturally because of unnatural aspects of location, being monitored, etc.
expressive roles	Term used by Talcott Parsons to describe the domestic role of women in which they are expected to emotionally support their husbands and children.
extended transition	The increasingly common experience of young people to stay longer living with their parents, thus extending their dependency and prolonging the period of 'youth'.
external reliability	Reliability of research means if repeated the same results would be achieved. External reliability can be tested by repeating the research at subsequent intervals.
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F.I.T.T. women	Financially independent women in their twenties and thirties.
false consciousness	Marxist concept where the proletariat remain ignorant (because of ideology) of their true oppressed class position and actually support the economic system of capitalism that is exploiting them.
falsification	Term associated especially with Karl Popper who argued it was the duty of all scientists to constantly try and disprove their hypotheses.
'families we live with'	Term associated with John Gillis to describe our daily experiences of family life, in contrast to 'families we live by' that refers to ideals we sometimes assume or wish our family life to be.
familism	Term associated with Barrett and McIntosh to reflect how all alternatives to the traditional family are viewed as inferior and dysfunctional.
family	Two or more generations of people tied together through blood, marriage or adoption. Anthony Giddens adds how adult members are assumed to have a responsibility for caring for children.
family as a 'safe haven'	This was a 19th century, idea prominent first in the middle-classes, who saw the home as a private refuge of safety in contrast to the violent public world. It is ironic that women and children were seen as the main beneficiaries, but are most likely to be the victims of domestic violence.
family diversity	A term used to describe the differing forms of family organisation typical of modern Britain
'family paths'	Term associated with Jon Bernardes to illustrate the highly varied and individual experiences people have within families according to age, gender, etc.
fascination of crime	The attraction and fascination of crime as reflected by the popularity of stories and representations of crime and detectives in the mass media.
fear of crime:	People are frightened of being the victim of a crime, sometimes more than is necessary given their realistic chances of being a victim.
feckless	Term favoured by the New Right to describe individuals, parents, lone mothers etc. who are carefree in their attitude and fail to take seriously their actions and responsibilities.
feckless parents	Term associated in particular with the New Right. Fecklessness is a failure to address personal responsibilities, such as promiscuity, welfare dependency, violence, lack of discipline, etc.
federalism	A group of states join together to form one larger government with a degree of power over them all
female infanticide	The practice of killing female babies purely because of their sex. In many societies, including Britain, there is a cultural importance associated with males, historically linked to continuing the family line, but in a sense simply stating the view that 'boys are better'.
feminine	Characteristics reflecting cultural assumptions and roles associated with being female.
femininity	A social construction of behaviour and identity that serves as a standard for being female.
feminism	Theoretical perspectives (note the plural). They see (to varying degrees) the education system as patriarchal (male-dominated). Recent improvement in female performance is seen in spite of, rather than because of, the education system.
feminist Marxists	Similar to Marxist feminists but they place less emphasis upon the determinism of the economic system and more emphasis upon familial ideology.
feral children	Children who have been brought up either primarily or exclusively in the company of animals and/or have had minimal or no contact with adults for a lengthy period. Such children have no social skills because they have not had the learning process of human socialisation.
fertility rate	Typically expressed as the number of live births per 1000 women of child-bearing age.
financial management	Jan Pahl studied how financial management was often unequal with men typically controlling finances. She did note a growth in equality, such as joint bank accounts.
first wave feminism	Applies to feminists active around the turn of the last century and particularly associated with campaign for votes for women.
'fit', Theory of	Another name for evolutionary theory suggesting that the family changed from extended to nuclear to provide a functional fit to the new industrial society that benefited from smaller more mobile families.
focal concerns	A distinctive set of subcultural values which Walter B. Miller believes the lower working class are socialised into from an early age: Toughness; Physical; Smartness; Excitement; Fate; and Autonomy.
folk culture	Pre-industrial music, dancing, tales, festivals, carnivals, remedies and restoratives.
folk devils	A term associated with Stan Cohen to refer to deviant groups at the centre of 'moral panics'. Often their negativity is exaggerated by the media, and they are viewed generally as a threat to social order.
foraging	Activities that range from fishing, gathering nuts and berries, through to refuse gleaning and even shoplifting and other forms of pilfering and theft.
forced marriages	When individuals are made to marry someone against their will. In 2001 there was a media debate about the extent to which 'arranged marriages' were 'forced marriages'.
Fordism	Term associated with the mass production society typified by Henry Ford's production of the Model T Ford. This corporate organization pursued by Henry Ford between 1900 and 1920 became entrenched across entire economies after 1945. Mass production requires mass consumption. The Fordist period declined around the 1970s, replaced by Post-Fordism.
formal curriculum	The curriculum which is taught in schools. The formal curriculum is the stated knowledge which children are expected to acquire.
formal economy	Where monetary reward for work is officially recognized through the payment of taxation and workers are protected by employment law and health and safety regulations.
formal socialisation	Some socialisation is deliberate and structured within society, through institutions such as schools.
four Stages of the family	Willmott and Young describe how the family evolves over four distinct stages through human history. Stage 1: pre-industrial family; Stage 2: family of industrialisation; Stage 3: symmetrical family; Stage 4: family of the future ('a return to asymmetry').
fragmented	Term associated with Postmodernism, seeing society increasingly diverse and individualistic. People and component parts of society are less homogenous than they used to be. However, with diversity invariably comes uncertainty.
free market	The economic ideological stance of the political right that there should be minimal government intervention in any market. The inspiration for this view is often cited as Adam Smith who argued markets will efficiently allocate resources as if by an 'invisible hand'.
fresh Start	Discredited scheme whereby failing schools were reopened with new management and 'Super Heads'. Now failing schools are to be taken over by private sponsors.
fully social theory of deviance	Approach of Radical Criminologists who attempted to develop a theory of criminology that explained crime both in terms of structure and agency.
functional fit	Term associated with macro-theories such as functionalism (but also Marxism) to reflect the interrelationship between society and key social institutions like the family.
Functionalism	Conservative sociology perspective that dominated sociological thinking until the 1960s. It stresses the importance of the 'functional fit' of the institutions that make up society and the importance of socialisation of society's norms and values in order to promote a consensus. Functionalism has much in common with the values of the New Right, but there are some major differences.
functions	The purpose of a thing.
fundamentalism	The desire to return to a ‘pure’ form of religious belief often associated with conservativism and a desire to return to the values of the past.
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Garfinkel, Harold (1917-),	American sociologist most famous for founding the micro-sociological approach of ethnomethodology.
gated communities	Housing estates surrounded by high walls or fences and only residents and their guests are admitted through gates, CCTV and security guards.
gender	A cultural term reflecting social attributes associated with being male or female.
gender deal	Term used by Pat Carlen to describe the expectation imposed on women to take on feminine behaviour and accept the ideology of the family.
gender regimes	Term associated with Sylvia Walby to refer to the idea of how continuing patriarchy affects women in a differential way.
generalisability	Ideas of a study that can be applied to wider society.
generalised other	Term associated with George Herbert Mead to refer to the process of the development of self from the 'I' to the 'Me'. The generalised other' stage refers to the organised attitudes of the whole community. Once children appreciate these values then the self, located within the social world, is complete.
generalization	The ease with which the findings of one setting are likely to apply to similar settings.
genetic determinism	The notion that genes have an impact on behaviour that is largely beyond an individual's control.
Giddens, Anthony (1938-)	A British sociologist whose work includes critiques of major social theory, but he is particularly associated with the concept of structuration: which embraces elements of both structure and action. Giddens questions whether we live in a Postmodern society, preferring the term 'late modernity' instead.
glass ceiling	Imaginary barrier of horizontal segregation whereby top jobs are visible but certain groups (women and ethnic minorities) cannot penetrate this barrier of prejudice and discrimination.
global crime	Crime that takes place across a number of countries, for instance drug smuggling
global culture	When icons and products are recognised across the world such as the olden arches of McDonalds or the Coca Cola logo. A global culture is closely related to globalisation.
globalization	Term applied to the process of increasing global interconnectedness, whereby goods and services, capital flows, workers increasingly move around the world encouraged by trade and revolutions in communications and technology.
Goffman, Erving (1922-1982),	American Interactionist sociologist who developed the perspective further through his dramaturgical theory whereby he applies the analogy of the theatre to social life: actors, roles, front and back stages, etc.
golden age	Period following the Second World War when for twenty years or so there was full employment, very low divorce rate and a Welfare State that supported people 'from the cradle to the grave'. Despite the austerity immediately following the War, the 1950s and 1960s became known as the 'affluent society'.
gradational	Basis of Weberian/neo-Weberian class formation, whereby fragmentation and differentiation is recognized within each class. This contrasts with the relational view of class held by Marxists.
grammar Schools	Selective Schools in the state sector (although some private schools use the name too) where entry was gained through passing the 11-Plus examination.
Gramsci, Antonio (1891-1937)	Italian neo-Marxist sociologist whose work is a deliberate attempt to unify social theory and political practice. He is particularly associated with the concept of hegemony, which is recognition that the capitalist class cannot be secured by economic factors alone but requires political force in the form of dominant ideas.
Great Debate	Prime Minister James Callaghan in a famous speech at Ruskin College, Oxford (1976) blamed unemployment on the education system (sic), seeing the comprehensive system as failing to provide school-leavers with skills needed by industry. He called for a 'Great Debate' to critically review education in Britain.
grey panthers	The minority of old people who retire without financial worries due to significant savings and good pension provision. They enjoy high levels of consumption and are active participants in expensive leisure pursuits such as indulgent shopping, golf, foreign travel, etc. This lifestyle is in marked contrast with most old people who become increasingly impoverished as savings disappear and surviving on the meagre state pension becomes increasingly difficult.
grounded theory	Where theory is generated during and from the methodological research process.
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Habermas, Jurgen (1929-),	German sociologist, influenced by his work with key members of the Frankfurt School, but critical of neo-Marxists generally for their over-mechanical interpretation of Marx's work. The main theme of Habermas' theory is that valid knowledge can only emerge from a situation of open, free and uninterrupted dialogue.
habitus	Concept associated with Pierre Bourdieu that embraces both structure and agency. Everyday assumptions that people hold about their social environment (structure) affects their motivations and behaviour (agency). Applied to the world of education habitus is recognising a 'feel for the game', that is, a recognition by the working class that the basic rules of the game of life are stacked against them so they are unlikely to succeed.
hate crime	Criminal offence against people on the basis of prejudice against them for example racially-motivated attacks.
haven in heartless world	Term used by neo-Marxist Christopher Lasch and black feminists to highlight that where people feel oppressed in society they may see the family very positively as an escapist and welcoming institution to return to. Black feminists adopt a similar view of the family.
Hawthorne Effect	So-called observer effect discovered by Elton Mayo in his experiments at the GEC; Hawthorne plant in USA. By deteriorating the working conditions he found output went up, but only because the workers were aware of being studied.
health,	A state of physical and mental well-being.
hegemonic masculinity	Term Bob Connell gives to emphasize the traditional patriarchal power that men generally enjoy over women. Even if they do not exercise patriarchy in an aggressive way themselves, all men, he argues, derive benefit from cultural assumptions of male domination.
hegemony	Concept associated with Antonio Gramsci to explain how the upper-class maintain power through the subtle use of ideas to win the consent of subordinated groups. Ordinary people are led to believe that the prevailing existing order is somehow natural and normal.
heresy	Crime of proclaiming doctrines other than Christianity.
hermaphrodites	People of ambiguous sexual identity, may have sexual organs of both sexes.
hermeneutics	Derived from the Greek word hermeneuein meaning 'to interpret', hermeneutics is the science of interpretation of texts, but is generally used as another term for the interpretive or phenomenological methodological approach.
hidden curriculum	The ideas and values informally learnt in education that are not part of the academic curriculum. To functionalists this is respect for authority and society's values, to Marxist it is blind obedience to authority figures, to feminists it is submission to males.
hidden economy	Another name used by Gershuny and Pahl to refer to the 'black economy'.
high culture	Used to be described as "dead white male" culture since it revolved so much around composers, artists, dramatists, etc. who were male, white and lived some time ago e.g. Mozart, Monet, Shakespeare, etc. It is often assumed that high culture is intrinsically good, and artistically superior to popular culture.
historical Materialism	This refers to Karl Marx's view of human evolution through a series of stages or 'epochs': primitive communism; Ancient society; Feudal Society; Capitalism and Communism.
Hobbes, Thomas (1588-1679)	British philosopher and political theorist who was a key influence in the Enlightenment. He is generally regarded as a pioneer of the concept of utilitarianism, modern political science, and rationalism.
home	Once defined as a a place of fixed or permanent residence for family or household, it is increasingly recognized as less fixed, more of a symbolic habitat, in a society of increased mobility and movement.
Home Office	Government department in charge of 'law and order' and the policing of Britain. The Home Secretary is held responsible for the criminal justice matters.
homogenity	All the same. No differentiation. Opposite of heterogeneity.
homophobia	Literally means fear of men, but in practice reflects prejudice and discrimination against homosexuals.
homosexuality	Sexual attraction between two people of the same sex.
homosociality	Cultural acceptance of homosexuality, as homophobia (fear of homosexuals) declines as society becomes more tolerant and open.
horizontal segregation	The division of the employment market into 'men's work' and 'women's work'. The origins are usually historical, but even today there is usually a pay and status differential between jobs done primarily by men and jobs done primarily by women.
household	Single person or group of people who share the same self-contained accommodation. Thus, although many households are families, the term also includes people living alone, couples or groups of unrelated people like students.
households	People who share living accommodation.
Hume, David (1711-1776),	A Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist, he was a major influence upon Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant. Hume was also important in leading Auguste Comte to positivism.
hybrid identities	This is said to occur when ethnic cultures borrow styles, behaviours and fashions from one another, as the boundaries between different ethnic groups are subject to shift and blurring over time.
hyperghettoization	Term associated with Wacquant from his work on inner-city Chicago. He observed the process of 'undeveloping' of an inner-city areas in a short space of time, owing to a complex of factors including the removal of manufacturing industry leaving (often ethnic minority) labour with either no employment or dead-end employment.
hyperreality	Term associated with the postmodernist Jean Baudrillard to illustrate how the powerful media can create an image of reality more real than reality itself.
hypodermic syringe model,	A belief that the mass media act as a drug so that people cannot feel the pain of existence.
hypothesis	A suggested causal relationship that can form the basis and purpose of research in an attempt to prove or disprove this.
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iatrogenesis,	Any sickness or physical disability caused by the actions of a doctor.
idealism	Philosophical concept that argues behaviour is shaped primarily by the active ideas that exist in people's heads. This is the opposite of 'materialism' which sees behaviour shaped by the material world people live in.
identity	Sense of self.
ideological state apparatus	Term associated with Louis Althusser for socialising agencies that perpetuate ideas that promote false consciousness amongst the proletariat. ISAs include the family, education, religion, mass media, etc., which act as diversionary institutions or justification for the system.
ideology	In its simplest meaning this describes a 'set of ideas' or a b elief structure, but in practice ideologies reflect the thinking and interests of dominant groups in society. Hence feminists talk of 'patriarchal ideology' and Marxists talk of 'bourgeois ideology'.
illegitimacy	Being born out of wedlock. Used to be a source of stigmatization, but currently 40 per cent of babies are officially 'illegitimate' so it has become normalized.
illegitimate opportunity structure	Term associated with Cloward and Ohlin to describe the existence of an alternative deviant opportunity structure that exists in areas where legitimate means (good education, employment prospects and social mobility) are not readily available.
illness	Lack of a sense of health and well-being
illness iceberg	The amount of physical and mental ill-health in a community which is not reported and not known about
imposition problem	Where researchers (often subconsciously) impose their values upon the research they are directing.
incest	Sexual activity between close kin.
incivilities	Minor acts of deviance, of an offensive or irritating nature.
income	Source of money, usually expressed as an annual amount, that is either earned from employment or unearned from assets of wealth such as shares, land or financial capital that receives interest.
indexicality	Key term associated with ethnomethodology that refers to the idea that there can be no clear definition of a word since meaning derives from its use with other words and the context in which it is used.
indicators of development	Data which allows researchers to compare rates of welfare, health and education between nations. Note that these indicators may vary between countries.
indirect taxation	Taxes paid by an intermediary to the government. The most common forms are VAT and Excise duties. These are paid by shops on behalf of customers.
individualism,	This is a political philosophy which promotes the rights and well-being of the individual. It opposes state intervention for social well-being.
individualistic theories	Essentially biogenic or psychological theories that see criminal behaviour stemming from genetics or personal experiences, especially in childhood.
industrial revolution	Occurred in mid-eighteenth century to mid- nineteenth century (1740-1850) in Europe, transforming society from rural agricultural to urban industrial. This transformation is referred to as the period of modernisation.
industrialisation	The process of a culture or a region becoming more economically dependent on manufacturing than on farming.
industrialization	Process by which societies move from agricultural to factory/manufacturing employment. It is paralleled by the process of urbanisation.
industrialization and the elderly	Many see the process of industrialisation as dysfunctional to the elderly, resulting in them become increasingly isolated and lonely.
inequality	Differences in levels of access to wealth and power between social groups
infant mortality rate	Typically expressed as the number of deaths of infants in their first year of life per 1000 population.
inflow	Considers where people currently in a social class come from. In other words, how far are classes self-recruiting?
informal economy	This involves work effort but does not always lead to monetary reward or official recognition as work. This includes the 'black economy' and work done in the home.
informed consent.	Participants in research give their permission for research to be conducted on them in full knowledge of what it is that they are agreeing to.
'infotainment'	Term associated with Neil Postman meaning the combination of 'information' and 'entertainment' to reflect how so-called serious programmes like the news are increasingly centred on entertainment.
infrastructure	Marxist term to describe the economic base which is the foundation to capitalism, and the class relationship that is based upon the relations of production.
inheritance tax	Formerly known as 'Death Duties', it is tax payable on death by the estate of the deceased. There is a tax-free threshold of around £270,000. Inheritance tax is one of the few taxes on wealth in the UK.
innovation	Response within Robert Merton's anomic paradigm when a person accepts the goals set by society, but rejects the socially-acceptable means of achieving them.
instrumental role	Term used by Talcott Parsons to describe the breadwinner role of men in which they are expected to be primary providers for their families.
integrated code	Term associated with Basil Bernstein to reflect negative classification of subjects. It is commonly associated with the growth of new subjects, and the decline of traditional subjects.
Interactionism	Micro sociological perspective based on meanings that lie behind actions and how people relate to each other
internal reliability	Refers to whether responses from respondents have been internally consistent. This can be checked by randomly splitting the answers and checking whether there common sentiments expressed in each.
interpretive approach	Important theoretical approach closely associated with phenomenology and the sociological perspective of interactionism that explains social life through the interpretation of the meanings that lie behind the behaviour of individuals.
interpretivism	A social research style that emphasises understanding how people act in relation to others around them
interview	A research method that involves asking people questions. These can be structured where all the questions are written down in advance, or unstructured, where the interview is like a conversation.
invasion of privacy	Any research which reveals personal details without regard to the fundamental right of an individual not to reveal personal details
invisible policing	Term associated with American Marxist J. Anyon. The 'policing' is achieved through the curriculum being presented as politically neutral, but this only adds to its effectiveness and ensures that alternative interpretations can be excluded on the grounds of extremism or bias.
IQ tests	Developed in 1905 by French psychologist Binet. The German psychologist Stern developed the measure known as Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Cyril Burt promoted the idea for testing for innate intelligence in England through the 11-Plus exam.
Islington Crime Survey	Important victim study undertaken in 1986 and 1995 on a demographically representative sample of 1,600 people living in Islington, London. Identified new information on how people feared crime.
Isolated nuclear family	Term associated with Talcott Parsons to describe in his view the structure of the typical industrial family.
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Jet set	Controversial new component of the upper-class made up of celebrities who have made not only lots of money, but have become accepted through the honours system, and who mix with aristocracy and royalty (e.g. Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger).
Jobless growth	Term associated with Ralph Dahrendorf for economic growth accompanied by zero or even falling demand for labour.
Joint roles	Jointness refers to a move towards equality or symmetry in terms of conjugal roles. Willmott and Young claimed to observe this trend in couples who had moved to 'Greenleigh'.
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Karl Marx (1818 – 1883)	Conflict theorist, analyses capitalism and class. Primary thinker and writer influencing the politics and social analysis of twentieth century capitalism
Kentucky Fried Schooling	Term coined by David Hargreaves to describe the education market effectively like a system of franchises through the growth of sponsorship in schools.
Keynes, John Maynard	Economist who shaped the economic policies of the 'golden age' of full-employment that existed in the 1950s and 1960s. In particular he advocated 'demand management' policies whereby governments should make-up any shortfall in spending to ensure demand equals supply at full employment level of the economy.
Keynesian economics	Named after John Maynard Keynes whose economics of demand-led full-employment resulted in a period of unparalleled growth and sustained affluence through the 1950s to the end of the 1960s.
kibbutz	Type of communes in Israel where children are brought up separately to parents in dormitories with housekeepers. The biological family unit is still, however, recognised with daily 'family time'.
kitsch	German word for popular culture, but popularly used as a term of abuse, implying cultural artefacts that are mindless and worthless.
knowledge society	Term associated with Daniel Bell to refer to the importance of those who produce and control knowledge (typically professionals) in securing a position of cultural advantage for themselves in post-industrial society.
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labelling theory	Associated with Howard Becker. Theory of deviance that argues that acts in themselves are not deviant, but rather the social reaction which subsequently labels such acts as 'deviant'. Hence also known as 'social reaction theory'.
laddette	Females are adopting macho characteristics in terms of their behaviour towards sex, drinking and girl gangs.
late modernity	A view promoted by, for example, Anthony Giddens, which is an alternative to Postmodernity. Instead of seeing society as having progressed to a distinctly new type, it argues we are simply in a mature state of modernity.
latent functions	Latent functions are associated with the functionalist Robert Merton; these are the consequences of manifest functions of which participants are unaware.
LEA	Local Education Authority. These are local councils, either for cities (e.g. Southampton) or County Councils (e.g. Hampshire).
league tables	Publication of school exam performance inn tables so parents are encouraged to apply a consumerist approach to choosing schools.
left idealism	Term, given in hindsight, by Jock Young to the Radical Criminology work he helped to author. The overtly political nature of this work he subsequently regarded as naive.
left realism	Criminal perspective associated with Lea and Young that through the ' Square of Crime' attempted to provide an accurate and realistic explanation of crime that embrace offenders, victims, the State and informal controls. Sees offenders as young, male, working class and disproportionately black.
legal definition of crime	Behaviour that contravenes formal rules (laws) of a society.
leisure values	Term used by David Downes to describe the search for a 'good time' by the adolescents in his study.
liberal feminism	Most moderate of the feminists. They see society as patriarchal, but men and their behaviour as misguided and ignorant rather than bad. They argue with reform and education that gender equality can be achieved.
life-chances	A Weberian concept that reflects probability of success (or failure) over one's life in terms of education, occupation, health, housing, etc.
'local extended family'	Families with much contact with extended kin reinforced by local proximity of such kin (term is associated with Peter Willmott).
locality	A geographical region.
Locke, John (1632-1704),	A major initiator of the Enlight

Glossary of Sociological Terms