Some Terms from Human Geography and Social Science

Just a few terms from the Dictionary of Human Geography and the Online Dictionary of Social Sciences. Words in all caps indicate terms that are found elsewhere in that particular dictionary. References are not provided here for work cited in the dictionary's entry (e.g., Giddens, Thrift, Cooley, Meade).

Abduction: A form of reasoning that takes accepted knowledge and infers the 'best available' explanations for what is observed. Whereas DEDUCTION formally infers the consequences of a cause-and-effect relationship (if a, then b), and INDUCTION infers a conclusion from a number of observations (of the same pattern, for example), abductive reasoning infers relationships from observations rather than asserting them. It thus presents a 'provisional' account for what has been observed (for why a is related to b), either inviting further empirical investigation that might sustain the 'explanation' or encouraging deductive work that might put the putative causal chain on a former footing. (from Dictionary of Human Geography, 5th ed.)

Locale: A setting or context for social interaction, typically involving co-present actors. In STRUCTURATION THEORY (Giddens, 1979, 1984), locales provide the resources on which actors draw. Different kinds of collectives are associated with characteristic locales (Giddens, 1981, p. 39): the locale of the school is the classroom; that of the army, the barracks; and so on. Despite his emphasis on co-presence, Giddens (1984, p. 118) also suggests that locales may range 'from a room in a house... to the territorially demarcated areas occupied by nation states': as Thrift (1983) emphasizes, 'a locale does not have to be local'. (from Dictionary of Human Geography, 5th ed.)

Looking Glass Self:  Developed by C.H. Cooley (1864-1929) to describe the social nature of the self and the link between society and individual. In this formulation social interaction is like a mirror, it allows us to see ourselves as others see us. This was an early formulation of symbolic interactionism but less influential than that of George Herbert Mead. (from Online Dictionary of Social Sciences)

Pluralism: Has three principal meanings in the social sciences. First, it is a model of politics where power is assumed to be widely dispersed to different individuals and interest groups within a society thus ensuring that political processes will be relatively open and democratic and will reflect a spectrum of social interests rather than the domination of particular groups. Second, it describes a society where individual and group differences are present and are celebrated as enriching the social fabric. Canada's policy of multiculturalism reflects pluralist values. Third, it is a view of the causation of social phenomena, especially of social change, that examines the interaction of a variety of factors rather than relying on a single explanatory cause. For example, Max Weber in stressing the importance of cultural as well as material forces in creating change within a society offers a more pluralistic framework for explanation than the more exclusively materialist approach of Marx. (from Online Dictionary of Social Sciences)

Symbolic Interactionism: A sociological perspective that stresses the way societies are created through the interactions of individuals. Unlike both the consensus (structural functionalist) and conflict perspectives, it does not stress the idea of a social system possessing structure and regularity, but focuses on the way that individuals, through their interpretations of social situations and behavioural negotiation with others, give meaning to social interaction. George H. Mead (1863-1931), a founder of symbolic interactionism, saw interaction as creating and recreating the patterns and structures that bring society to life, but more recently there has been a tendency to argue that society has no objective reality aside from individual interaction. This latter view has been criticized for ignoring the role of culture and social structure in giving shape, direction and meaning to social interaction. (from Online Dictionary of Social Sciences).