Table of Contents
Definition of Social Category
(noun) A group of people, places, and things that have commonalities.
Examples of Social Category
- university graduates
- men and women
Social Category Pronunciation
Syllabification: so·cial cat·e·go·ry
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sOH-shuhl kAt-uh-gaw-ree/
- British English – /sOH-shuhl kAt-iguh-ree/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈsoʊʃəl ˈkætəˌgɔri/
- British English – /ˈsəʊʃəl ˈkætɪgəri/
Usage Notes
- Plural: social categories
- The terms “social category” and “category” are used interchangeably in a sociological context.
Related Video
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “category” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Baldamus, W. 1966. The Category of Pragmatic Knowledge in Sociological Analysis. Birmingham, England: University of Birmingham, Faculty of Commerce and Social Science.
- Crisp, Richard J., and Miles Hewstone, eds. 2006. Multiple Social Categorization: Processes, Models, and Applications. Hove, England: Psychology Press.
Related Terms
Contributor: C. E. Seaman
Works Consulted
Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
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Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Marsh, Ian, and Mike Keating, eds. 2006. Sociology: Making Sense of Society. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.
Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Social Category
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Seaman, C. E. 2015. “social category.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary, edited by Kenton Bell. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/social-category/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
Seaman, C. E. (2015). social category. In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/social-category/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Seaman, C. E. 2015. “social category.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary, edited by Kenton Bell. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/social-category/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
Seaman, C. E. “social category.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/social-category/>.