sociology first exam

Social structure

Patterns of social relationships and institutions that organize society.

Social construction

The idea that society creates meanings and categories through interaction.

Agency

People’s ability to act independently and make choices.

The Sociological Imagination

Connecting personal experiences to larger social forces and historical contexts.

Auguste Comte

A founder of sociology who argued society could be studied scientifically.

Social facts

External social forces, norms, and structures that influence individuals.

Mechanical solidarity

Social unity based on similarity and shared beliefs in traditional societies.

Organic solidarity

Social unity based on interdependence and specialized roles in modern societies.

Anomie

A state of normlessness caused by weakened social regulation.

Functionalism

A theory viewing society as interconnected parts that maintain stability.

Dysfunctions

Social patterns that disrupt or harm society’s stability.

Manifest functions

Intended and recognized consequences of a social institution or practice.

Latent functions

Unintended or unrecognized consequences of a social institution or practice.

Materialist conception of history

The idea that material and economic conditions shape society and historical change.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership and profit-driven production.

Conflict theory

A theory emphasizing inequality, competition, and struggles over scarce resources.

Ideology

marx justifies the interest of the ruling class and helps the social elites maintain their power by keeping people oppressed

False consciousness

When exploited people accept beliefs that hide or justify their exploitation.

Class struggle

Conflict between social classes over wealth, power, and control of production.

Symbolic interactionism

A theory focusing on meanings created through symbols and everyday social interaction.

Neglected founders

Important sociological thinkers historically overlooked, often women and people of color.

Microsociology

The study of small-scale interactions and everyday social life.

Macrosociology

The study of large-scale social structures, institutions, and social patterns.

Science

A systematic way of gaining knowledge through observation and evidence.

Theory

A set of connected ideas used to explain social phenomena.

Hypothesis

A testable statement predicting a relationship between variables.

Ethnography

Detailed study of a group or culture through direct observation and research.

Participant observation

Researcher observes while participating in the group being studied.

Surveys

Research using standardized questions to collect information from people.

Experiments

Research testing cause and effect by controlling variables.

Historical research

Studying past events and records to understand social patterns over time.

Comparative research

Comparing societies, groups, or historical periods to identify patterns.

Quantitative method

Research using numerical data and statistical analysis.

Qualitative method

Research using nonnumeric data to understand meanings and experiences.

Population

The entire group a researcher wants to study.

Sample

A smaller group selected from a population for research.

Sampling

The process of selecting people or cases for a study.

Random sampling

Selecting members so each population member has an equal chance of selection.

Research process

Question, review research, hypothesis, collect data, analyze, and conclude.

Stanford prison experiment

Zimbardo’s study examining how assigned social roles and situations affected behavior.

Culture

Shared values, norms, beliefs, language, knowledge, and material objects.

Cultural universals

Features found in every known human society, though they vary in form.

Values

Shared ideas about what is desirable, important, or morally right.

Norms

Shared rules and expectations for behavior.

Material culture

Physical objects and technology created and used by a society.

Nonmaterial culture

Ideas, values, beliefs, language, and norms of a society.

Multiculturalism

Recognition and acceptance of multiple cultures within a society.

Assimilation

The process of adopting another culture and often losing parts of one’s original culture.

Subculture

A group with distinctive values or practices within a larger culture.

Counterculture

A group whose values and practices deliberately oppose dominant culture.

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture using the standards of your own culture.

Cultural relativism

Understanding a culture according to its own values and context.

Linguistic relativity hypothesis

The idea that language influences how people perceive and understand the world.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

The idea that language influences thought and perception.

Variables

Characteristics that can have different values or levels.

Reflexivity

Researchers examining how their own position may affect their research.

Verstehen

Understanding social behavior from the perspective of the people involved.

Definition of the situation

People’s definition of a situation influences how they act within it.

the definition of the situation (Thomas Theorem)

if men define situations as real, they are real even if they arent actually real

Mills, “The Promise”

Personal troubles are often connected to larger public issues and social structures.

Berger, “Invitation to Sociology”

Sociology challenges familiar assumptions by revealing hidden social patterns.

Berger: seeing the general in the particular

Recognizing broader social patterns in individual behaviors and experiences.

Babbie, “Human Inquiry and Science”

Scientific inquiry uses systematic methods to study and understand society.

Miner, “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”

Uses an outsider perspective to expose ethnocentrism and cultural assumptions.

Nacirema

“American” spelled backwards; Miner uses Americans as an unfamiliar culture.

Horkheimer and Adorno, “The Culture Industry”

Mass-produced culture promotes conformity and can reinforce existing social systems.

Culture industry

Commercial production of entertainment that turns culture into standardized commodities.

Durkheim, “The Functions of Crime”

Crime is normal and can reinforce social norms and solidarity.

Crime and social change

Challenging existing norms can sometimes lead society to develop new norms.

Marx and Engels, “Communist Manifesto”

History is shaped by class conflict, especially between bourgeoisie and proletariat.

Bourgeoisie

The capitalist class that owns the means of production.

Proletariat

The working class that sells its labor to survive.

Capitalism and class conflict

Owners profit from workers’ labor, creating opposing class interests.