Sociology key terms

Access - how to get in touch with the target population or a sample of the target population.

Achieved status - a status which someone works for and earns.

Affective neutrality - the attitude whereaby someone will not let personal views or interests affect the way they carry out their professional duties.

Ageing population - a population where an increasing population is over 65.

Agency - a tern used by Marxists to refer to the dissatsfaction experienced by workes.

Anti-social behaviour - a New Labour concept to describe behaviour which causes a disturbance to others.

Ascribed status - a status which someone is born into or inherits.

Binary oppposition - seeing the world in terms of two opposing positions, e.g. East versus West.

Chronic illness - illness that continues for a long time.

Chronological - by order of date.

Code switching - the way in which some ethnic groups behave differently with family and with their peer groups; also described as wearing a white mask.

Cohabitation - couples in a relationship living together without being married.

Collective conscience - a collective set of norms, values and morals.

Common culture - sharing of culture in societies, shared norms and values.

Conflict - disagreement; Marxists and feminities are conflict theorists.

Consenus - agreement; functionalists are consensus theorists.

Consumer culture - a culture based on what we buy and consume, often based on spending and material goods.

Cult - a religious group to which individuals are loosley affiliated. The features of a cult correspond closely to word-affirming movements discussed by Wallis.

Cultural capital - refers to the cultural advantages held by the upper and middle classes.

Cultural diversity - a society with culturally - embedded differences.

Culture - a concept with many definitions, commonly thought as a 'way of life'.