back stage where people rest from their performances, discuss their presentations, and plan future performances

background assumptions deeply embedded common understandings, or basic roles, concerning our view of the world and of how people ought to act

barter the direct exchange of one item for another

basic demographic equation growth rate = births – deaths + net migration

basic sociology see pure or basic sociology

beliefs specific statements that people hold to be true

bilateral (system of descent) a system of reckoning descent that counts both the mother’s and the father’s side

bilateral descent a system tracing kinship through both men and women

bisexuality sexual attraction to people of both sexes

blended family a family whose members were once part of other families

blue-collar occupation lower-prestige work that involves mostly manual labour

bourgeoisie Karl Marx’s term for capitalists, those who own the means to produce wealth

bureaucracy a formal organization with a hierarchy of authority; a clear division of labour; emphasis on written rules, communications, and records; and impersonality of positions

bureaucratic inertia the tendency of bureaucratic organizations to perpetuate themselves

bureaucratic ritualism a preoccupation with rules and regulations to the point of thwarting an organization’s goals