A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

(a)  

Sometimes called semiotics this is the sociological study of signs and symbols, Use to study the content of media.

(a)  

When we interpret the actions of others, we apply meaning to that actions and respond accordingly.

(a)  

The idea that people come to identify and behave in ways that reflect how more powerful others label or stereotype them.

(a)  

This involves the application of a false definition or label to a person which makes a prediction about future behavior. This labeling results in new behavior which confirms the initial label or prophecy.

(a)  

The way we present ourselves in any given social situation to create specific impressions in the mind of others.

(a)  

The conscious or subconscious process in which people attempt to influence other people about a person, object, or event.

(a)  

A sociological theory which explains social order and stability as a consequence of negotiated exchanges between social actors. Interaction involves transactions between individuals that result in mutual value being exchanged.

(a)  

The collective value of all social networks (the value of knowing influential people) and the obligations that arise from these networks to do things for each other.

(a)  

The social, intellectual and cultural assets of a person that contribute to their educational success or social mobility.

(a)  

The action of practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.

(a)  

The idea that people's day-to-day lives can be understood as resembling performers in action on a theater stage.

(a)  

Term used by social action theories to describe people or individuals who freely enter into interaction with others.

(a)  

A stage in a society's development when the service sector of the economy generates more wealth that the industrial or manufacturing sector of the economy

(a)  

Consumers spending money on commodities/goods

(a)  

The preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods.

(a)  

Expenditure on, and consumption of, luxuries on a lavish scale in an attempt to enhance one's prestige.

(a)  

A sovereign state of which most of the citizens or subjects are united by factors which define a nations, such as language, possession of a territory with borders, and/or common descent

(a)  

Grand theories which aim to explain society and human behavior

(a)  

The view that there is no such thing as absolute truth and that all opinions and experiences have validity.

(a)  

A situation in which expert opinion and facts are less influential in shaping public attitudes than emotions, faith, and personal belief.

(a)  

Being free from external pressures such as tradition and duty and being able to pursue one's own interests (sometimes at the expense of others)

(a)  

Extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one's own talents and a carving for admiration.

(a)  

A type pf religion which aims to help people find spiritual fulfillment through practices such as meditation, healing and self-discovery.

(a)  

New Age religions which claim to improve self.

(a)  

A state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a very small number of producers of sellers.

(a)  

The exclusive possession or control of the supply of, or trade in, a commodity or service.

(a)  

A term used by Marxists to describe the later stages of modern capitalist society, especially capitalism's ability to exploit new global markets and to create new forms of labor in order to generate profit

(a)  

The state of being able to examine one's own feelings, reactions, and motives for acting and being able to adjust one's behavior or identity accordingly.

(a)  

A term used by Gidden's to describe the later stages of modern society, which he claims is characterized by globalization and reflexivity.

(a)  

A term used by Bauman to describe the later stages of modernity, which he sees as characterized by uncertainty.

(a)  

Beck's idea that technology used by capitalist societies has many negative consequences for humankind in terms of pollution, new diseases, and environmental destruction

(a)  

A social feature of late or postmodernity which encourages members of society to put the interests of themselves before the interests of themselves before the interests of the wider social group. Encourages selfishness rather than selflessness.

(a)  

The risks produced by consumer demand for more consumer goods and the inability of capitalism to manufacture goods without risking the environment

(a)  

The later stages of modern societies identified by Beck, associated with manufactured risks to the ecology of the planet and high levels of individualization

(a)  

Political movements, which are often radical, global in reach and disproportionately supported by young people and coordinated online.

(a)