Category: Sociology Dictionary
-
Micro sociology and Macro sociology – Explanation
Sociology can be understood as the study of the social structures, their functioning, and development in society. Micro sociology and macro sociology are its two levels of analysis in studying society. The branch of sociology which is concerned with the study of small scale processes going on in the society like social interaction between humans…
-
Theory of Linguistic Relativity
The theory of linguistic relativity consists of the hypothesis that the structure of a language and the way it is formed expresses a lot about the manner the speakers view and understand the world. In other words, a language’s structure affects its speaker’s worldview or cognition. The numerous cultural concepts intrinsic in any language affect…
-
Malthusian Theory of Population
The Malthusian theory of population growth was propounded by the English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus. It was a pessimistic theory where he argued that human population tends to grow at a faster rate than the rate at which the means of human subsistence, especially food, and agricultural products along with clothing, grow. The uncontrollable…
-
Mores (strongest social norms) in sociology and Examples
The term, mores, introduced by the US Sociologist William Graham Sumner, can be understood as the norms which are very strictly enforced due to their importance in maintaining the well being of the group. They are considered essential to the core values of the society, so widely observed and have great moral significance. As they…
-
What is Leninism in simple terms?
Vladimir I. Lenin expounded the principles of Leninism, based on the political ideas of Marxism. Just like Marx and other communists, Lenin felt the necessity of the unification of and thereby a socialist revolution by the proletariat or the working class. He was aware of the fact that for the revolution to be successful, strong…
-
Cooley’s “The looking glass self” Theory and Examples
Charles Horton Cooley, in his work, Human nature and the Order, introduced the concept of “the looking glass self” in 1902. It can be explained as the reflection of what we think we appear in front of others or how we are viewed and conceived by others. Cooley used the term to explain the process…
-
Manifest and Latent Functions – Differences and Examples
The function can be explained as the result or consequence of people’s action. These consequences can be either latent function or manifest function in any social institution. The distinction is explained by Robert K. Merton in his book, Social Theory and Social Structure, in 1949. Latent functions are those functions which are unintended or unrecognized…