Gender, race, ethnicity, and social class are the most commonly used categories in sociology. They represent the major social statuses that determine the life chances of individuals in heterogeneous societies, and together they form a hierarchy of access to property, power, and prestige. Gender is the division of people into two categories, “men” and “women.”
The meaning of a term is determined by a definition. Definitions are, therefore, conventions of a language. Terms are words that describe, for example, objects, processes, characteristics of objects or persons, or notional content of our imagination. The language that we learn forms the foundation for every definition. Terms are attributed to phenomena, which science
Sociology is a form of social inquiry that takes wide ranging forms. As is the case with many disciplines, it is contested and there is no generally accepted definition of what constitutes sociology. But we should not draw the conclusion that the contested and diverse nature of sociology amounts to the absence of any sense
The term hypnosis is often shrouded in misconception, myth, and apprehension because most views about hypnosis are influenced by entertainment stage shows. These shows often highlight participants’ engaging in strange and often embarrassing behaviors. However, hypnosis is consistently reported to be an effective and reliable technique in many domains (including medicine, dentistry, and psychology) for
Biological organisms cannot repeat a movement exactly the same way across practice trials or attempts. In other words, there is an inherent amount of imprecision in the motor systems of animals, including humans. This variability can be considered a source of error. Second, in any attempt to solve a new motor problem, whether a young
Fatigue is an overwhelming sustained feeling of exhaustion and decreased capacity to complete physical and mental work. It is multidimensional with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive components. Feelings of fatigue are associated not only with disease states but also with healthy functioning. Approximately 20% of adults worldwide report current fatigue. When examined in terms of physical
Cognitive psychologists argue that over time, task-related knowledge is organized into information-rich representations or chunks, a process termed chunking. Dechunking refers to when well developed chunks are broken down into a number of smaller chunks or bits of information. Chunking is a fundamental building block of human memory and underlies the learning of perceptual and
The concept of identity has been defined as an internalized psychic system that integrates an individual’s inner self and the outer social world into a congruent whole. The integration of a personal self and social outer world has been viewed as a developmental process and one that, according to Erik Erikson, requires the individual to
Disgust has been described as an evolutionarily important emotion. According to Darwin, the function of disgust is to prevent orally ingesting contaminants or other biologically harmful substances. There are characteristic reactions associated with disgust, including physical (such as nausea), psychophysiological (muscle tension around the nose and mouth, reduction of vascular tension), and behavioral (typically avoidance).
Bullying, also referred to as peer harassment or victimization, is defined within the context of peer relationships in childhood and adolescence and involves the frequent, persistent, and intentional use of physical harm or intimidation by one child or a group of children to victimize another child. Most definitions of bullying also emphasize a power differential
Professional counseling is a skilled activity that involves assisting others in managing and resolving psychological, emotional, behavioral, developmental, relational, vocational, and other personal challenges (chronic or acute) in order to facilitate adjustment to changing life circumstances; promote personal growth, needs attainment, and overall wellness throughout the life span; and prevent the development of more serious
Self-doubt has been defined as uncertainty about one’s abilities, potential for success, or competence in performance situations. As self-doubt concerning personal abilities increases, global self-esteem tends to decrease because self-doubt presents the threat to global evaluations of oneself. Hence, self-doubt can lead to both self-handicapping (i.e., creating or claiming obstacles that reduce the probability of
A self-schema is a cognitive structure involving some aspect of the self that is considered important to the individual, such as exercising or participating in a sport. It is derived from generalizations based on past experience. Self-schemas are not only an important part of our overall self-concept (i.e., how we think of ourselves) but they
Contemporary definitions of self-criticism are typically characterized by negative evaluations of the self, often as a result of failing to meet expectations and standards. Individuals who are self-critical typically demonstrate greater depressive symptoms. However, historically self-criticism was not attached to a notion of vice and negative functioning but rather conceptualized as adaptive and essential to