id Freud’s term for the human being’s basic drives

ideal culture (as opposed to real culture) social patterns mandated by cultural values and norms

ideal type Weber's term for a composite of characteristics based on many specific examples (“ideal” in this case means a description of the abstracted characteristics, not what one desires to exist)

ideology cultural beliefs that serve to justify social stratification

illegitimate opportunity structures opportunities for crime that are woven into the texture of life

imperialism a nation’s attempt to create an empire; its pursuit of unlimited geographical expansion

impression management the term used by Erving Goffman to describe people’s efforts to control the impressions others receive of them

incest taboo a cultural norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives

incest sexual relations between specified relatives, such as brothers and sisters or parents and children

income occupational wages or salaries and earnings from investments

indentured service a contractual system in which someone sells his or her body (services) for a specified period of time in an arrangement very close to slavery, except that it is voluntarily entered into

independent variable a factor that causes a change in another variable, called the dependent variable

individual discrimination the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that person’s perceived characteristics

inductive logical thought reasoning that transforms specific observations into general theory

industrialism technology that powers sophisticated machinery with advanced sources of energy

industry the production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery

infant mortality rate the number of deaths among infants under one year of age for each 1000 live births in a given year

inflation an increase in prices

ingroup a social group commanding a member’s esteem and loyalty

institutional completeness the complexity of community organizations that meet the needs of members

institutional prejudice or discrimination negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society’s institutions; also called systemic discrimination

institutionalized means approved ways of reaching cultural goals

instrumental leader an individual who tries to keep the group moving toward its goals; also known as a task-oriented leader

instrumental leadership group leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks

intentional family people who declare themselves a family and treat one another as members of the same family; originated in the late twentieth century in response to the need for intimacy not met due to distance, divorce, and death

intergenerational social mobility the change that family members make in social class from one generation to the next

interlocking directorates the same people serving on the board of directors of several companies

internal colonialism the policy of economically exploiting minority groups

interpretive sociology the study of society that focuses on the meanings people attach to their social world

intersexed person a human being with some combination of female and male genitalia

interview a series of questions a researcher administers personally to respondents

intragenerational social mobility a change in social position occurring during a person’s lifetime

invasion-succession cycle the process of one group of people displacing a group whose racial-ethnic or social class characteristics differ from their own

invention the combination of existing elements and materials to form new ones; identified by William Ogburn as the first of three processes of social change

iron law of oligarchy Robert Michels’ phrase for the tendency of formal organizations to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite