ideal type

(adjective)

An ideal type is not a particular person or thing that exists in the world, but an extreme form of a concept used by sociologists in theories. For example, although there is not a perfectly "modern" society, the term "modern" is used as an ideal type in certain theories to make large-scale points.

Related Terms

Examples of ideal type in the following topics:

  • Factions

    • Most real populations do not look like this, but the "ideal type" of complete connection within and complete disconnection between sub-groups is a useful reference point for assessing the degree of "factionalization" in a population.
    • If we took all the members of each "faction" in this ideal-typical society, and put their rows and columns together in an adjacency matrix (i.e. permuted the matrix), we would see a distinctive pattern of "1-blocks" and "0-blocks."
    • Network>Subgroups>Factions is an algorithm that finds the optimal arrangement of actors into factions to maximize similarity to the ideal type, and measures how well the data actually fit the ideal type.
    • This count (27 in this case) is the sum of the number of zeros within factions (where all the ties are supposed to be present in the ideal type) plus the number of ones in the non-diagonal blocks (ties between members of different factions, which are supposed to be absent in the ideal type).

  • Sect

    • Before describing these different religions, it is important for the reader to understand that these classifications are a good example of what sociologists refer to as ideal types.
    • Ideal types are pure examples of the categories.
    • Because there is significant variation in each religion, how closely an individual religion actually adheres to their ideal type classification will vary.

  • Weber's Model for Bureaucracy

    • In his 1922 masterpiece, Economy and Society, Weber described many ideal types of public administration and governance.
    • Weber's ideal bureaucracy is characterized by the following:
    • The majority of modern bureaucratic officials and political leaders represent this type of authority.
    • Describe Weber's ideal type of bureaucracy and his concept of te "iron cage"

  • Defining Full Employment

    • Full employment is often seen as an "ideal" unemployment rate.
    • Ideal unemployment excludes types of unemployment where labor-market inefficiency is reflected.
    • Ideal unemployment promotes the efficiency of the economy.
    • Full employment is defined as "ideal" unemployment.

  • Constant Pressure

    • ., pressure), gases can expand or contract; depending on the type of constraint, the final state of the gas may change.
    • For example, an ideal gas that expands while its temperature is kept constant (called isothermal process) will exist in a different state than a gas that expands while pressure stays constant (called isobaric process).
    • For an ideal gas, this means the volume of a gas is proportional to its temperature (historically, this is called Charles' law).
    • Using the ideal gas law PV=NkT (P=const),
    • (Eq. 3; for the details on internal energy, see our Atom on "Internal Energy of an Ideal Gas").

  • Ideal vs. Real Culture

    • In America, ideal values include marriage and monogamy based on romantic love.
    • But such marriages are not universal, despite our value ideals.
    • Ideal values are absolute; they bear no exceptions.
    • The difference between these two types of systems can be seen when people state that they hold one value system, yet in practice deviate from it, thus holding a different value system.
    • Compare the idea of an idealized and a realized value system

  • Perceptual Mapping

    • Many perceptual maps also display consumers' ideal points.
    • Areas without ideal points are sometimes referred to as demand voids.
    • It also shows two ideal vectors.
    • The value of this type of map is questionable, as they often just give the appearance of credibility to management's preconceptions.
    • Ideal points maps reflect ideal combinations of two product characteristics as seen by a consumer.

  • The Effect of Intermolecular Forces

    • At high pressures and low temperatures, intermolecular forces between gas particles can cause significant deviation from ideal behavior.
    • The Ideal Gas Law is a convenient approximation for predicting the behavior of gases at low pressures and high temperatures.
    • The Ideal Gas Law does not account for these interactions.
    • To correct for intermolecular forces between gas particles, J.D. van der Waals introduced a new term into the Ideal Gas Equation in 1873.
    • Ideal gases are assumed to interact via perfectly elastic collisions in which no energy is lost.

  • Enlightenment Ideals

  • The Soul of a Republic

    • The Country Party relied heavily on the classical republicanism of Roman heritage and celebrated the ideals of duty and virtuous citizenship in a republic.
    • Revolutionary republicanism was centered on the ideal of limiting corruption and greed.
    • A popular opinion of the time was that republics required cultivation of specific political beliefs, interests, and habits among their citizens, and that if those habits were not cultivated, they were in danger of falling back into some type of authoritarian rule, such as a monarchy.
    • Republicanism idealized those who owned enough property to be both independently wealthy and staunchly committed to liberty and property rights.
    • Widely held republican ideals led American revolutionaries to found institutions such as the Society of the Cincinnati, which was founded to preserve the ideals and camaraderie of officers who served in the American Revolution.