Sociology

As your progress, however, you will acquire a more precise understanding of ________ as the scientific study of social structure, which actually refers to patterns of social relationships.

Microsociology

___________ is concerned with the study of people as they interact in daily life.

Macrosociology

______________ focuses on groups without regard to interaction of the people within. We use the term ______________ in referring to the study of societies as a whole as well as to the relationships between social structures within societies.

Sociological imagination

–the set of mind that enables individuals to see the relationship between events and their personal lives and events in their society. The __ ___ invites us to examine the intersection between personal biography social influences.

Humanist Sociology
Liberation Sociology

______________, which places human needs and goals at the center and __________, whose objectives to replace human oppression with greater democracy and social justice

clinical sociology (sociological practice)

involves using sociological theories, principles, and research to diagnose and measure social intervention.

positivism

the use of scientific observation and experimentation in the study of social behavior

when Comte wrote that sociology should rely on positivism, he meant that sociology should be a science based on knowledge of which we can be "positive," or sure.

social statics

the study of social stability and order

social dynamics

the study of social change

this distinction between social stability and social change remains at the center of modern sociology.

bourgeoisie
proletariat

Marx predicted that ultimately all industrial societies would contain only 2 social classes: the __________, those who owned the means for producing wealth in industrial society and the __________, those who labored at subsistence wages for the bourgeoisie.

class conflict

conflict between those controlling the means for producing wealth and those laboring for them

economic determinism

According to the principle of __________ __________(an idea often associated with Marx) the nature of a society is based on society's economy.

A society's economic structure determines its other systems: legal, religious, cultural, and political.

mechanical solidarity

A consensus is especially characteristic of preindustrial, nonliterate, simple societies based on _______ _______- social unity that comes from a consensus of values and beliefs, strong social pressures for conformity, and dependence on tradition and family.

organic solidarity

social unity based on a complex of highly specialized roles. these roles render society dependent on one another for goods and services.

verstehen (italics)

Understanding the subjective intentions of human social behavior could be accomplished through what Weber called the method of _______ understanding social behavior by putting oneself in the place of others

value-free research

research in which personal biases are not allowed to affect the research process and its outcome.

rationalization

the use of knowledge, reason, planning and objectivity-in industrial society marked a change from the tradition, emotion, superstition, and personal relationships of preindustrial society

functionalism

________ emphasizes the contributions (functions) performed by each part of society.

ie: family, economy, and religion are all parts of a society.

dynamic equilibrium

the idea that society changes yet maintains most of its original structure over time is referred to as _______ _______ a constantly changing balance among the parts

manifest functions
latent functions

_______ _______ are intended and recognized at the time; _______ ______are unintended and unrecognized until later.

dysfunction

Not all elements of a society make a positive contribution. Those that have negative consequences result in _______

conflict theory

_______ ______ emphasizes conflict, competition, change, and constraint within a society

power

those with the most ______, the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their own will-get the largest share of whatever is considered valuable in a society

symbol

A _______ is something chosen to represent something else

symbolic interactionism

the importance of shared symbols is reflected in the formal definition of ______ ______: the theoretical perspective that focuses on interaction among people- interaction based on mutually understood symbols

dramaturgy

an approach that depicts human interactions as theatrical performance

presentation of self

Like actors on stage, people (the performers) present themselves -by their dress, gestures, one of voice- in such a way as to enhance their performance and create in others a favorable evaluation. Goffman labels this effort ______ _ _____

liberal feminism

Advocates of ____ _____ focus on equal opportunity for women and heightened public awareness of women's rights

radical feminism

dictionary version: the feminist social theory that traces oppression of women to the fact that societies are dominated by men

modernism

is the culmination of the European Enlightenment characterized by a belief that humans are autonomous beings, that legitimate world views can be formed through reason, and that objective truth is knowable.

post modernism

challenging these assumptions, ____ _____ assumes that individuals are not autonomous, that reason is an unreliable way to interpret the world, and that we cannot discover ultimate truth.
dictionary-the theory that rejects the idea that individuals are autonomous beings, that reason is reliable way to interpret the world, and that a discoverable reality exists.

post industrial society

knowledge (information) and service organization dislodge the production of goods as the major source of power and the prime mover of social life.

globalization

is the process by which increasingly permeable geographical boundaries lead different societies to share in common some economic, political, and social arrangements

begin of chap 2
objectivity

scientists are expected to prevent their personal biases from influencing the the interpretation of their results.

verifiability

means that a study can be repeated by other scientists. this is possible because scientists report in detail on their research methods.

hypotheses

tentative, testable statements of relationships among variables. These variables must be defined precisely enough to be measurable.

operational definition

Scientist measure variables through the use of _____ _______- definitions of abstract concepts in terms of simpler, observable procedures.

population

consists of all those people with characteristics a researcher wants to study

sample

is a limited number of cases drawn from the larger population

causation

events occur in predictable, nonrandom ways, and one event leads to another

multiple causation

a political scientist once wrote, "if an explanation replies on a single cause, it is surely wrong." Events in physical or social world are generally too complex to be explained by any single factor. For this reason, scientist rely on the principle of _____ ______

variable

is a characteristic (age, education, social class) that is subject to change

quantitative variable

a variable that can be measured and given a numerical value

qualitative variable

consists of a variation in kind rather than number

independent variable

variables that cause something to occur

dependent variables

variables in which a change or effect can be measured

intervening variable

influences the relationship between an independent and dependent variable

correlation

exists when a change in one variable is associated with a change in the other

positive correlation

exists if both the independent variable and dependent variable change in the same direction

negative correlation

exists when variables change in opposite direction

spurious variable

an apparent relationship between two variables, which is actually produced by a third variable that affects both the original 2 variables

experiment

takes place in a lab; by ruling out all extraneous factors, a researcher can determine the effects if any, of an independent variable and a dependent variable

experimental group

the group exposed to the experimental variable

control group

the group not exposed to the experimental variable

matching

participants in an experiment are matched in pairs according to all factors

randomization

which is preferable to matching, subjects are assigned to the experimental or control group on a random (chance) basis

stratified random sample

for great precision desired, A ____ _____ ______ population is divided into categories such as sex, race, or age

questionnaire

a written set of questions that survey participants answer by themselves

interview

a trained interviewer asks questions and records answers

close-ended questions

those for which a limited predetermined set of answers is possible

open ended questions

ask the respondent to answer in his or her own words

secondary analysis

the use of previously collected information is a well respected method of obtaining data

field research

investigates aspects of social life that cannot be measured quantitatively and that are best understood within a natural setting

case study

the most popular approach to field research is the ____ ____

ethnography

an approach to field work developed by social anthropologists, attempts a detailed and accurate description of a groups way of life

participant observation

a researcher becomes a temporary member of the group being studied

subjective approach

a prominent example of the _____ ______ is ethnomethodology, a development in microsociology that attempts to uncover taken-for-granted social routines

reliability

a measurement technique must yield consistent results on repeated applications

replication

the duplication of the same study to ascertain its accuracy- is closely linked to both reliability and validity in the reliability and validity problems unknown to original researchers are likely to be revealed as subsequent social scientists.

begin chap 3
culture

is a peoples way of life that is passes from generation to generation

society

is a group of people living in a defined territory and participating in a common culture

norms

are rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior

folkways

rules that cover customary ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving but lack moral overtones are called

mores (pronounced MOR-ays)

are norms of great moral significance. they are thought to to be vital to the well-being of a society

laws

the third type of norm, are norms that are formally defined and enforced by officials. FOLKWAYS AND MORES emerge slowly and often unconsciously created, but ____ are consciously created and enforced

taboo

a ____ is a mos so important that is violation is considered repugnant. although definitions of incest vary from society to society, the incest ____ is generally regarded as the only _____ existing in all societies

sanctions

_____ are rewards and punishments used to encourage conformity to NORMS. they can be formal or informal

formal sanctions

_____ _____ are SANCTIONS that may be given only by officially designated persons, such as judges and college professors.

informal sanctions

are sanctions that can be applied by most members of a group, they can also be positive or negative

values

are broad culture principles that most people in a society consider desirable

cognition

is the process of thinking, knowing, or processing information

beliefs

the most important part of cognitive dimension of culture is BELIEFS -ideas concerning the nature of reality

nonmaterial culture

Both the normative and cognitive dimensions are part of _____ _____- the norms, values, and beliefs of a group of people

material culture

consists of the concrete, tangible objects within a culture- automobiles, basketballs, chairs, highways, birth control pills, art, jeans.

ideal culture

refers to cultural guidelines publicly embraced by members of society; these are guidelines we claim to accept

real culture

refers to the actual behavior patterns

symbols

things that stand for, or represent, something else- can range from physical objects to words, sounds, smells, and tastes.

gestures

Symbolic culture is not limited to vocal, written, or material symbols. ______, whether in the form of facial expression, body movement, or posture, also carry culturally defined and shared symbolic meanings

hypothesis of linguistic relativity

language is our guide to reality, our view of the world depends on our particular language. our perception of reality is at the mercy of the words and grammatical rules of our language. and because our perceptions are different, our worlds are different. This is known as the _______ _ _____ ______

social category

is a group of persons who share a social characteristic such as age, sex or religion

subculture

is a group that is a part of the dominant culture but differs from from it in some important respects

multiculturalism

this movement, known as _______ accents the viewpoints, experiences, and contributions of minorities (women as well as ethnic and racial minorities)

counterculture

is a subculture that deliberately and consciously opposes certain central aspects of the dominant culture

terrorism

is the illegal use of violence or threats of violence to intimidate a government, a group, or an individual in pursuit of a political, religious, economic, or social goal

ethnocentrism

people who spend most of their lives with others culturally similar to themselves- who hardly ever deal with people different from themselves-will almost inevitably use their own cultural standards to judge others. this tendency to judge others in relation to one's own standards is referred to as ________

culture shock

the psychological and social stress we may experience when confronted with a radically different cultural environment- is one such negative consequence

cultural relativism

according to this perspective, we may not view values, norms, beliefs, and attitudes as correct or incorrect, desirable or undesirable; we should view them within the total cultural framework of a people and evaluate them in relation to their place within the larger cultural context of which they are a part rather than according to some alleged universal standard standard that applies across all cultures

ethical relativism

morality (right and wrong) depends on the norms of the group of society in which they exist. an ethical relativists sees no moral absolutes

cultural universals

general cultural traits thought to exist in all cultures. these universals included athletic sports, cooking, courtship, division of labor, education, etiquette, funeral rites, family, goverment, hospitality, housing, incest taboos, inheritance rules, joking, language, law, medicine, marraige, mourning, music, obstetrics, property rights, and tool making

cultural particulars

cultures develop different ways of demonstrating the same universal trait

sociobiology

the study of biological basis of human behavior

begin with powerpoint slides
AUGUST COMTE 1789-1857

*founder/father of Sociology
*coined the term sociology in 1838
*positivism
*social static
*social dynamics
*the principle of Cerebral Hygiene

HERBERT SPENCER 1820-1903

*Social Darwinist
*survival of the fittest
*analogy of the living organism
*social question
*1st textbook in sociology

KARL MARX 1818-1883

*class conflict
*bourgeoisie
*proletariat
*economic determinism

EMILE DURKHEIM 1858-1917

*what holds a society together?
*mechanical solidarity-dependence on tradition & family
*organic solidarity-specialized roles/contacts

MAX WEBER 1864-1920

*Verstehen
*value-free
*protestant work ethic

HARRIET MARTINEAU 1802-1876

*Translated Comte's writings from French to English
*Research on women who worked in factories

JANE ADAMS 1860-1935

*Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
*Hull House
*Queen of Social work

W.E.B. DUBOIS 1868-1963

*Harvard PhD
*wrote about race
*published each year
*editor of the NAACP's journal "Crisis