Comprehensive Sociology Key Concepts: Theories, Researchers, and Methods

Who was Auguste Comte

credited as the founder of sociology. He introduced positivism, the idea of applying the scientific method to the social world, and was interested in how the French Revolution changed Western civilization.

What is Functionalism

, is associated with Emile Durkheim. It views society as a unified whole that functions because its separate structures contribute to society. It depends on consensus, cooperation, and interdependence.

What is Conflict Theory

is associated with Karl Marx and Max Weber. It argues that society is characterized by inequality and conflict that create social change, especially between those who control the means of production and those who work for wages.

What is Symbolic Interactionism

is associated with George Herbert Mead. It focuses on symbolic social relationships and how shared symbols and meanings help people interact, define situations, and construct reality.

What is Comte's 3 Stage Theory

1. Theological Stage: people explained the natural world through religion, fear, and superstition. 2. Metaphysical Stage: people developed greater understanding of the natural world and abstract thought. 3. Positivistic Stage: the natural world is understood through empirical research and applied science.

Who was Herbert Spencer

was an influential English sociologist sometimes called the second founder of sociology. He is associated with Social Darwinism and believed societies evolve over time.

What is Social Darwinism

is associated with Herbert Spencer. It suggests that society is evolutionary and that the fittest societies survive while unfit societies become extinct. Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest."

What historical event most influenced Comte

The French Revolution. Comte was interested in how it changed Western civilization.

What is the Division of Labor

is the level of specialization found within a social structure.

Who was Emile Durkheim

is associated with Functionalism, which views society as a unified whole whose separate structures work together.

Who was Karl Marx

is associated with Conflict Theory. His ideas focused on inequality and conflict between those who control industry, the bourgeoisie, and those who labor, the proletariat.

What is the Protestant Ethic

Weber studied the relationship between Protestant beliefs and the rise of modern capitalism. Puritans believed financial success could be a sign of salvation, encouraging frugal living and reinvesting surplus money.

Who was Max Weber

studied the relationship between Protestant beliefs and the rise of modern capitalism. He also believed sociologists should remain objective and not allow personal values to affect their research.

What is the Spirit of Capitalism

is Weber's term for the Puritan readiness to live frugally and reinvest profits, which allowed them to make more money.

What does Weber mean by Total Neutrality

It means objectivity. Weber believed sociologists should never allow their personal values to affect their social research.

What does Weber mean by Verstehen

Verstehen means understanding or grasping by insight based on someone who has been there. Sociologists should consider social facts along with emotions, behaviors, and human nature.

What are Manifest Functions

are the intended outcomes of a social structure.

What are Latent Functions

are the unintended outcomes of a social structure.

What is the Sociological Imagination

is the ability to connect personal experiences and problems to larger social forces and issues in society.

Who was C. Wright Mills

was an American sociologist who developed the concept of the Sociological Imagination. He believed people should understand how their personal lives are connected to society and historical events.

What is true about research theories

are explanations used to understand and predict social behavior. They can be tested through research and may be supported, changed, or rejected based on evidence.

What is Macro-level Sociology

focuses on large-scale social structures and society as a whole, such as governments, economies, social classes, and institutions.

What is Micro-level Sociology

focuses on small-scale, everyday interactions between individuals and small groups.

What is Social Integration

is the degree to which people are connected to and involved with their society or social groups.

What are the seven steps of the Research Method

1. Select a Topic. 2. Review the Literature. 3. Formulate a Hypothesis. 4. Create a Research Design. 5. Collection of the Data. 6. Analysis of the Data. 7. Drawing Conclusions.

What is Validity

means making sure operational definitions measure what they were intended to measure.

What is the Hawthorne Effect

occurs when a subject's behavior changes because they know they are being observed or evaluated.

What is Reliability

is the process of ensuring that research findings are consistent if the study is replicated by other scientists.

What is the Independent Variable

is the cause variable. It is manipulated by researchers to determine its influence on another variable.

What is the Dependent Variable

is the effect variable. It is the outcome of manipulated variables that researchers measure.

What is Causation

occurs when one variable influences the outcome of a second variable.

What is Qualitative Analysis

is the process of gathering more specific and detailed information from the sample being studied.

What is Quantitative Analysis

s is the process of reducing general research data into numbers.

What is Secondary Analysis

examines information that has already been collected by someone else.

What is a Hypothesis

is a prediction about the outcome of manipulated variables.

What is a Correlation

is an established statistical relationship between particular variables.

What is a Spurious Correlation

occurs when two variables appear statistically related but the relationship is not logically acceptable; another variable is responsible for the apparent relationship.

What is Empirical Analysis

is research based solely on scientific observation and evaluation.

What are Variables

Variables are characteristics that can change across time, space, individuals, or groups.

What is an Operational Definition

describes exactly what variables mean and how they are measured within the context of a study.

What is a Sample

is a portion of the population used to generalize the attitudes of society as a whole.

What is a Random Sample

is designed to ensure that each subject has an equal chance of being selected into a research study.

What is Temporal Priority

means organizing variables to ensure that the cause happens before the effect.

What is a Longitudinal Study

is research conducted over an extended period of time, often using follow-up studies.

What is a Positive Correlation

occurs when one variable increases and a second variable increases with it.

What is a Negative Correlation

occurs when one variable increases and a second variable decreases.

What is the Mean

is found by adding all numerical values and dividing by the total number of responses.

What is the Median

is the midpoint or 50th percentile in a given list of data.

What is the Mode

is the number that occurs most frequently in a given set of data.

What is Culture

is a design for living. It includes material and non-material elements that help people make sense of their world and is recreated with each generation through socialization.

What is a Culture War

is political conflict based on conflicting cultural values, usually between values considered traditional or conservative and those considered progressive or liberal.

What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

argues that language influences what a person should think, act, or talk about.

What is Material Culture

includes the physical and tangible elements associated with a culture, such as food, clothing, building materials, and technology.

What is Non-Material Culture

includes the customs and traditions of a people that provide an emotional interpretation of the world.

What is Culture Shock

is a feeling of anxiety and disorientation caused by contact with a different culture.

What is Future Shock

occurs when a person realizes that their values and technologies have become outdated.

What are Norms

are unwritten rules or conventional behaviors people are expected to follow that are governed by society.

What are Values

are concepts considered desirable, good, and correct.

What is Real Culture

refers to the values, norms, and behaviors most people actually embrace or exhibit.

What is Ideal Culture

refers to the values, norms, and behaviors many people profess to embrace.

What are Folkways

are everyday habits and conventions people are expected to obey without much thought. Violations usually raise little concern.

What are Mores

are norm expectations considered vital to the well-being of society. Violations can produce a strong response or outrage.

What are Taboos1

are extreme violations of norms considered by almost everyone to be unspeakable and inhuman.

What is Cultural Diffusion

is the process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society.

What is Ethnocentrism

is the belief that one's own culture or values are better or superior to other groups.

What is Cultural Relativism

is the belief that all cultures must be understood on their own terms.

What is Cultural Lag

occurs when some cultures adjust slowly or cannot keep pace with technological changes and innovations.

What is Cultural Leveling

occurs when a culture keeps pace with the innovations and technologies of other societies.

What is a Positive Sanction

is a reward received for following appropriate norms.

What is a Negative Sanction

is an expression of disapproval for breaking a norm.

What is a Subculture

is a part of society that shares distinctive customs, rules, and traditions that differ from the larger society.

What is a Counterculture

deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture and wants society to embrace its worldview.

What are Symbols

are anything that stands for something else and has a particular meaning for people who share a culture.

What are Cultural Universals

are specific behavior practices maintained in all cultures in every known society.

Chapter 4 — Socialization

What is Socialization

is the process in which people internalize their culture and become participants in society. It is a lifelong process.

Who was Kingsley Davis

was a sociologist who studied Anna and Isabelle, two children raised in near isolation. His research emphasized that people need interaction and socialization to learn how to function properly.

Who was Charles Horton Cooley

developed the Looking-Glass Self, which argues that a person's perception of themselves is based on how others respond to them.

What is the Nature-Nurture Debate

is a disagreement about human development. Nature focuses on heredity, while nurture focuses on learning, socialization, culture, and environment.

Who was George Herbert Mead

made major contributions to explaining socialization. His central concept was the self, which he believed develops through social experience rather than biology.

Who were Harry and Margaret Harlow

were psychologists who studied Rhesus monkeys. They concluded that primates needed socialization by other monkeys for proper behavioral development.

Who was Sigmund Freud

was the father of modern psychoanalysis. He argued that personality was strongly influenced by biological forces and divided personality into the id, superego, and ego.

What is the Id

represents basic human drives that often demand immediate gratification.

What is the Superego

is the conscience that helps measure right and wrong.

What is the Ego

is external behavior that balances pleasure-seeking drives with the demands of society.

Who was Jean Piaget

focused on cognition and affective development and described four stages of human development.

What are Piaget's four stages

1. Sensorimotor: birth to 2 years. 2. Preoperational: 2 to 7 years. 3. Concrete Operational: 7 to 11 years. 4. Formal Operational: about age 12 through adulthood.

What are Cognitive Skills

are the intellectual abilities of reasoning, thinking, and using language.

What is Affective Development

is learning how to control one's emotions and feelings in given situations.

What are the Agents of Socialization

in the notes are Family, Education, Peer Groups, and Mass Media.

Why is Family an important Agent of Socialization

. It teaches individuals about their culture and how to exist and interact within it.

How does Education act as an Agent of Socialization

transmits knowledge from one generation to another and prepares individuals for societal expectations.

How do Peer Groups act as Agents of Socialization

consist of friends around the same age who often share similar relationships to authority and influence one another.

How does Mass Media act as an Agent of Socialization

can develop attitudes and beliefs by presenting images of right and wrong and what is desirable or undesirable.

What is Anticipatory Socialization

is the process of preparing for a future career or role by completing the necessary coursework or certification to reach that goal.

What are two important roles of Adulthood

are work or career responsibilities and family responsibilities. Adults often take on occupational roles as well as responsibilities involving marriage, parenting, or caring for family.

What is Resocialization

is the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors that replace previously learned ones, usually when entering a new environment or social role.