Sociological theories

Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or portraying a third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other than their sex assigned at birth. Most cultures have a strict gender binary, in which gender is divided into two categories, and people are considered part of one or the other; those who are outside these groups may fall under the umbrella term non-binary. Some societies have third genders (and fourth genders, etc.) such as the hijras of South Asia an

Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology).

thumb|right|upright=1|Auguste Comte, the founder of modern positivism

Structuralism is an intellectual current and methodological approach, primarily in the social sciences, that interprets elements of human culture by way of their relationship to a broader system. It works to uncover the structural patterns that underlie all things that humans do, think, perceive, and feel.

theoretical concept in sociology

school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory

biological concepts of natural selection & survival fitness re-imagined socio-politically

thumb|René Descartes, in De homine (1662), claimed that non-human animals could be explained reductively as automata; meaning essentially as more mechanically complex versions of this [[Digesting Duck.]]

In sociology, anomie or anomy () is a social condition defined by an uprooting or breakdown of any moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow. Anomie is believed to possibly evolve from conflict of belief systems and causes breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community (both economic and primary socialization).

action or behavior that violates social norms

study of how the physical environment predisposes societies and states towards particular development trajectories

society driven by the use of technology to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour

Ethnomethodology is the study of how social order is produced in and through processes of social interaction. It generally seeks to provide an alternative to mainstream sociological approaches. It can be seen as posing a challenge to the social sciences as a whole, as it re-specifies the assumed phenomena of those sciences as being themselves social achievements. Its early investigations led to the founding of conversation analysis, which has found its own place as an accepted discipline within the academy. According to Psathas, it is possible to distinguish five major approaches within the et

extension of feminism into theoretical and philosophical discourse with the aim of understanding gender inequality

multidisciplinary, macro-scale approach to world history and social change that stresses that the world-system should be the primary unit of social analysis

value important in sociology and anthropology

analytical framework, or paradigm, that is used to study and interpret social phenomena

evolution of societies

theory within social science

a sociological theory focused on cultural symbols exchanged during interpersonal interactions

theory of inter-connectedness of all people

a sociological theory arguing that the stability of society is determined by functional institutions and individuals having a specific role

Political theory claiming that all organizations will eventually become oligarchic

perspectives in sociology and social psychology that emphasize a materialist interpretation of history, dialectical method of analysis, a critical stance toward existing social arrangements, and political program of revolution or, at least, reform

theory that shared understandings of the world create shared assumptions about reality

theory of the state

explanation for the process of modernization within societies

a school of sociological thought that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s at the University of Chicago and was a key influence on the development of qualitative sociological research

psychological state in which a person feels at ease and in control of their environment

In social science, antipositivism (also interpretivism, negativism or antinaturalism) is a theoretical stance which proposes that the social realm cannot be studied with the methods of investigation utilized within the natural sciences, and that investigation of the social realm requires a different epistemology. Fundamental to that antipositivist epistemology is the belief that the concepts and language researchers use in their research shape their perceptions of the social world they are investigating and seeking to define.

cognitive theory of human motivation and personality

human right to personal autonomy, self-ownership, and self-determination

theory advanced by social scientists to explain facts about the social world

sociological theory stating that "if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences"

concept in political and social sciences

persuasive technique where the opposite of a desired reaction is suggested

social-theologic concept

view of problems related to human disability as caused by a societal failure to accommodate disabilities

recently invented cultural practice perceived as old

social-science theory for understanding human activities as systemic and socially situated phenomena based on research by Sergei Rubinstein in the 1930s

theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them

A theory to explain mass communication

hypothesis that Proto-Indo-European society had 3 castes—priests, warriors, commoners—corresponding to the 3 functions of the sacral, the martial and the economic

theory that focuses on a person's desire to get an accurate self-evaluation

sociological conception; type of domination, control, and exploitation of a territory and its people by a centre in unified state accompanied by an active cultural exchange between the metropolis and the colony without a clear boundary between them

replacement of traditions, values, and emotions as motivators for behaviour with rational, calculated ones

generalization Theory

Performativity is the concept that language can function as a form of social action and have the effect of change. The concept has multiple applications in diverse fields such as anthropology, social and cultural geography, economics, gender studies (social construction of gender), law, linguistics, performance studies, history, management studies and philosophy.

adjective to worldliness, as opposed to sacredness

society based on custom and habit

sociological view of institutions

theory that most people form opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by mass media

capacity of an agent to act in a world and make own decisions

body of Marxist thought that emerged following the death of Karl Marx which became the official philosophy of the socialist movement

theories about how desirable change in society is best achieved

social theory of the creation and reproduction of social systems

In micro-sociology, interactionism is a theoretical perspective that sees social behavior as an interactive product of the individual and the situation. In other words, it derives social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from social interaction, whereby subjectively held meanings are integral to explaining or understanding social behavior.

thumb|Monument of Peter the Great in [[Saint Petersburg]] thumb|Coronation of the Hero of Virtue () by Peter Paul Rubens thumb| Great Wall of China

perceived increase in the rate of technological change throughout history

In sociology, postmaterialism is the transformation of individual values from materalist, physical, and economic to new individual values of autonomy and self-expression. The term was popularized by the political scientist Ronald Inglehart in his 1977 book The Silent Revolution, in which he discovered that the formative affluence experienced by the post-war generations was leading some of them to take their material security for granted and instead place greater importance on non-material goals such as self-expression, autonomy, freedom of speech, gender equality, and environmentalism. Ingleha