Sociology Midterm

Sociology

scientific and systematic study of groups and their interactions with others, from small to large populations

Society

group of people in defined geographical area with common culture

Micro Level

study of small-scale interactions and relationships among individuals and groups within society.

Macro level

study of large scale interactions and trends between people

Sociological Imagination

C Wright Mills, relationship between persons experience of culture and its influence on others/relations/culture

Cultural patterns

Social forces and influences which make people choose one choice over another

Social Fact

the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and cultural rules that govern social life

Figuration

Norbert Elias, Simultaneous analysis of individuals behavior and the society which shapes such behaviors

Social Institution

Religion, Government, family, Healthcare, Economy, Education, etc established, organized systems of norms, values, and roles designed to meet fundamental societal needs and maintain social order

Positivism

Auguste Comte, scientific study of social patterns

Auguste Comte

Reintroduced sociology and coined the term postivism, believed that society functioned under natural laws

Harreit Martinue

Women who introduce Comte’s idea of sociology to the english

Karl Marx

Communist Manifesto, rejected positivism, thought that social class struggle changed societies

Herbert Spencer

First book with term sociology, Market force controlled capitalism

Georg Simmel

anti-positivism stance and addressed topics such as social conflict, the function of money, individual identity in city life, and the European fear of outsiders, Micro level theories

Emile Durkheim

Established sociology as a real academic path and though that there could be an objective view. on societies being healthy or pathalogical

Mac Weber

verstehen - humans can not be undertsood through an objective way and must be thought about deeply, wanted subjectivity and thus antipositivism

WEB Dubois

NAACP, empirical evidence into sociologyTH

Thorstein Veblan

Studied Unemployed, institutional economics

Jane Addams

Femimnist and Hull House

Charles Horton Cooley

looking glass self, individuals compare themselves to others in order to check themselves against social standards and remain part of the grou

George Herbert Mead

mind and the self were developed as a result of social processes, Found that there were significant others and generalized others

Robert E Park

founder of social ecology

Hypothesis

Testable Proposition

Social Solidarity

social ties within a group or social glue

Grand theories

Attempt to explain the large scale relationships and answer the fundamnetal questions of the working concepts of society

Paradigms

Broad Prospective theories that explain aspects of social life

Functionalism

The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the functioning of the whole.How each organ works to keep your body healthy (or not.)

function

the part a recurrent activity plays in the social life as a whole and the contribution it makes to structural continuity

Dynamic Equilibrium

All parts working together to mantain stability

Manifest functions

the consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated

Latent Functions

unsought consequences of a social process

Dysfunctions

Social processes that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society

Conflict Theory

looks at society as a competition for limited resources

Critical Theory

elaboration on Marxist principles. Critical theory is an expansion of conflict theory and is broader than just sociology, incorporating other social sciences and philosophy.

Symbolic Interactionist Theory

Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory that focuses on the relationships among individuals within a

society. Communication—the exchange of meaning through language and symbols—is believed to be the way in

which people make sense of their social worlds. 

Dramaturgical Analysis

a technique sociologists use in which they view society through the metaphor of

theatrical performance

Constructivism

is an extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans

cognitively construct it to be

The Clarks

BROWN V BOARD experiment showing that children preferred to play with dolls of same color and features.

Scientific Method

interpretative framework to increase understanding

of societies and social interactions.

Empirical Evidence

Direct evidence

Scientific Method

Ask, Research Hypothesis, Design and Conduct Study, Conclusion, Results

Lit Review

Reviewing other papers related to such topic

IV

Thing you manipulate

DV

Result of manipulating IV

Reliability

how likely research results are to be

replicated if the study is reproduced

Accuracy

being free from error

Validity

how well the study measures what it was designed to

measureO

Operational Definition

define each concept, or variable, in terms of the physical or concrete steps it takes to objectively measure it

Interpretive Framework

seeks to understand social worlds from the point of view of participants,

which leads to in-depth knowledge or understanding about the human experience.

Critical sociology 

focuses on deconstruction of existing sociological research and theory

primary source

firsthandse

secondary source

non first hand acocuntq

survey

collects data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about

behaviors and opinions

Population, sample, random sample, open and close ended questions, quantitive v qualititive

Field Research

the act of getting primary data

Correlation

Relation between two variables

participant observation

researchers join people and

participate in a group’s routine activities for the purpose of observing them within that context.

Ethnography

the immersion of the researcher in the natural setting of an entire social community to

observe and experience their everyday life and culture.

Case Study

Follow one or few people

Experiment

investigate

relationships to test a hypothesis—a scientific approach.

Experiminetal group and control group

IV and none

Hawthorne effect

people change their behavior because they know they are being watched as part of a study

Secondary Data Analysis

are the already completed work of other researchers or data collected by an agency or

organization

Nonreactive research

it does not involve direct contact with subjects and will not alter or

influence people’s behaviors.

Content Analysis

applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as they relate to

the study at hand

value neutrality

impartiallity

Code of Ethics

1. Maintain objectivity and integrity in research

2. Respect subjects’ rights to privacy and dignity

3. Protect subject from personal harm

4. Preserve confidentiality

5. Seek informed consent

6. Acknowledge collaboration and assistance

7. Disclose sources of financial support

Culture

shared beliefs, values, and practices

Nonmaterial culture

consists of the ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a

society

Material Culture

Tangible objects or people

Cultural universals

patterns or traits that are

globally common to all societies.

Ethnocentrism

thinking form the view point of your own culture

Cultural imperialism

deliberate imposition of

one’s own cultural values on another culture

culture shock

disorientation as a result of exposure to new culture

Cultural Relativism

practice of assessing a culture by its own standards rather than viewing it through the lens of one’s own

culture

Xenocentrism

the belief that another culture is superior to one’s own

Values

ideals, or principles and standards members of a culture hold in

high regard

Beliefs

tenets or convictions that people hold

to be true

Ideal Culture

he standards society would like to embrace and live up to

Real Culture

The current situation of a culture

social control

ways to encourage conformity to cultural norms or ruless

sanctions

reward or punishment used to encourage people to follow social norms

Norms

visible and invisible rules

of conduct through which societies are structured

Mores

norms that embody the

moral views and principles of a group

folkways

norms without any moral underpinningsLan

Language

system that symbols to communicate with others and to transmit culture

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

People exprience their culture through words and langauge

high culture

pattern of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in the highest or elite

class segments of a society

 low culture

pattern of

cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in the lowest class segments of a society

popular culture

pattern of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in mainstream

society

subculture

a smaller cultural group within a larger culture

countercultures

reject some of the larger culture’s norms

and values

innovation

an object or concept’s initial appearance in society

diffusion

to spread out

 culture lag

time that passes between the

introduction of a new item of material culture and its social acceptance. Culture lag can also cause tangible

problems

globalization

promotion and increase of interactions between

different regions and populations around the globe resulting in the integration of markets and

interdependence of nations fostered through trade

Achieved Status

The status a person chooses, such as a level of education or income.

Agricultural Societies

Societies that rely on farming as a way of life.

Alienation

An individual’s isolation from his society, his work, and his sense of self.