Ch. 2: Examining the Social World

Industrial Revolution

(mid 1700s in Europe) Rapid change: the move from more rural areas to urban settings; Advances in natural sciences demonstrated value of scientific method

August Comte

coined the term “sociology”; social statics and social dynamics; gather data to improve

Social Statics

what holds sociology together

Social Dynamics

what promotes change

Theory

statements or explanations regarding how and why two or more facts are related to each other and the connections between these facts

Symbolic interactionism

micro-level theory studying humans as active agents who create shared meanings of symbols and events, and then interact on the basis of those meanings

Rational Choice (exchange) Theory

micro-level theory studying humans as fundamentally concerned with self-interests, making rational decisions based on weighing costs and rewards of outcomes of action (weighing costs)

Structural Functionalism

Assumes all parts of the social structure, the culture, and social processes work together to make the entire society run smoothly and harmoniously

Emile Durkheim

developed Collective Conscience

Collective Conscience

Shared beliefs in the values of a group so there is an emphasis on social consensus, which gives rise to stability

Robert Merton

focused on two functions: manifest & latent

Manifest Functions

the planned outcomes of interactions, social organizations, or institutions

Latent Functions

unplanned or unintended consequences of actions or of social structures (functional or dysfunctional)

Conflict Theory

conflict is the driving force in society; Those with more fight to protect, those with less fight for more

Karl Marx

originated modern Conflict Theory

bourgeoisie

owners of means of production

Harriet Martineau

critical of US treatment of women

W.E.B. Du Bois

noted for documentation of marginalized status of Black Americans and known for the push to use sociology to create a more human social world

Ralf Dahrendorf

conflict and division not always based on battles over ownership or economics, but among any number of interest groups (people who share a common situation or interest); potential for conflict is always inherent as those without power form realize common interest

Max Weber

More micro: verstehen (interpretations and meanings individuals give to their social experiences

More macro: commonly recognized for work on rationality and bureaucracy

Rationality

attempting to reach maximum efficiency with rules that are rationally designed to accomplish goals

Feminist theory

Critiques the power structures that disadvantage women and other minorities

Intersectionality

multiple axes of oppression and disadvantage (e.g. racial minority, female, and disabled

Research Methods

uses scientific methods to objectively determine data

Objectivity

Taking steps to remove personal opinions and biases as much as possible in data collection and analysis

Quantitative

numbers based and can be analyzed with statistical analysis (macro & meso) through surveys, census, and experiments

Qualitative

verbal data, like interviews or content analysis (micro) through sampling, interviews, and field research

Correlation

relationship between variables (does not always = causation)

Spurious relationship

no causal relationship between indicators another third variable is driving the association with both

Indirect relationship

negative relationship that corresponds in opposite ways

Direct relationship

positive relationship that corresponds in the same way

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

human subject review boards that ensure no human subjects will be harmed