SOCI 101 - MidTerm (i)

Simplified Version

Emilie Durkheim

Studied suicide, social conditions and guided by social facts

Karl Marx

Studied Economy, power struggles between classes

Max Weber

Studied individuals and cultural influences, and believed in bureaucracy

Jane Addam

Studied poverty and dependence, founder of social work

WEB DuBois

Studied structural racism and white power

Structural Functionalism

A macro theory that looks at how all structures work together to create society

Conflict Theory

Conflict and power struggles in how society operates; disruptions make life better for people

Symbolic Interaction

A micro theory how the small interactions create a society

Sociology

The study of how societies are organized and how it influences behavior

Sociological Theory

How society works based on patterns

Social Structure

How groups influence the way people live

Forms Of Social Structure

People, groups, status, networks, and institutions

Resources

Things individuals have or acquire

Types of Resources

Money, education, status, and knowledge

Rules

Informal and formal expectations for behaving

Status

A person’s spot in society

Ascribed Status

involuntary status

Achieved Status

voluntary status, result of effort

Roles

Expectations for people who have a social status

Roles Strain

One role requires too much

Role Conflict

Two or more roles conflict each other

Network

Social relationships that link a person directly or indirectly to others

Social Groups

Two or more people who interact with similar values and expectations

Primary Groups

Close relationships

Secondary Groups

Impersonal relationships

Institutions

Domains that guide behavior and meet social needs

Socialization

Learn to adhere to unwritten rules of life

Agents of socialization

Individuals or places that influence the sense of self

Anomie

A lack of morals to guide behavior

Norms

Expectation for behavior

Solidarity

Patterns of connection between people and society

Relational Sociology

Individuals are defined by their relationships

Sociological Imagination

Our personal experience is connected to a bigger social force that influences our lives

Human Behavior

Stable patterns of social relation and structures

4 Agents of socialization

Family, school, peers, media

Agency

A person’s ability to have will, freedom, and choice

Looking Glass Self

How others see us affects how we see ourselves

Generalized Others

Values and norms around us that change people’s actions

Reference Group

A group people look up to and use to guide their own values and beliefs

Dramaturgy

My life is the performance, the world is the audience

Impression management

Control how others see me

Face

An image I want the world to see

Front Stage

The life I show others

Back Stage

The life I see

Feeling rules

Social norms that shape emotions in a situation

Emotional Management

People change how they feel or look based on norms

Emotional Labour

How people manage emotions during their job

Ghosting

Ending a relationship by cutting all communication

Methods

Rules and procedures to conduct research

Research Ethics

Must be voluntary, risks must be justified by benefits, must end if harm is done

Quantitative Research

Analysis based on numbers

Qualitative Research

Analysis not based on numbers

Experiment

In a controlled environment

Strength of Experiment

Establish cause and effect

Weakness of Experiment

Cannot be studied ethically

Natural Experiment

Naturally occurring control and exposure group (observing)

Strength of Natural Experiment

Able to see natural phenomenon

Weakness of Natural Experiment

Cannot replicate

Survey

Close-ended, pre-determined questions

Strength of Survey

Fast, Inexpensive

Weakness of Survey

Low response rates, wording affects response

Participant Observation

Directly observes and participates

Strength of Participant Observation

Can gather details on how people act in a particular context

Weakness of Participant Observation

Time-consuming and expensive

Qualitative interviews

Open-ended questions to understand complex themes

Strength of Qualitative interviews

Explores complex themes

Weakness of Qualitative interviews

Time-consuming and small sample size

Historical and Content Analysis

Old, pre-existing sources: historical data

Strength of Historical and Content Analysis

Can study cultural patterns

Weakness of Historical and Content Analysis

Limited data

Other Existing Data

Contemporary, pre-existing sources

Strength of Other Existing Data

Can compare and use other people’s data

Weakness of Other Existing Data

Limited data and data quality

Variable

Observable characteristics

Independent Variable

Causes change in the dependent variable

Dependent Variable

Relies on the Independent variable

Hypothesis

Statement of what you believe will happen

Operationalization

How we measure what we want to study

Population

The universe of units you want to study

Census

The majority of the population

Sample Frame

Generalize the population, a list

Random

Every member has a chance of being chosen

Non-Random

Not everyone has a chance of being chosen

Researcher Bias

Hearing what you want to hear, ignoring what you don’t

Systematic Bias

The error in the system of the research

Non-response Bias

People who don’t want to respond skew the sample

Coverage Bias

Sampling frame error; the difference between the sampling frame and population

Confirmation Bias

People say what they think the researcher wants to hear

Resistance to change

People don’t want to change pre-existing beliefs even with evidence

Illogical Reasoning

Must be cautious of not jumping to conclusions

Correlation

Two variables are not related together, just a measure of relationship

Causation

One variable affects another variable

Spurious Relationship

A relationship appears to have cause and effect but they are connected, something else is the cause

Reliability

The measure is consistent

Validity

A measure is accurate

Misinformation

Sharing information but not realizing its wrong

Disinformation

Deliberately creating or sharing false information