SOCIOLOGY QUIZ 1

sociology definition

systematic study of ways in which people are affected by and affect the social structures and processes associated with groups, organizations, cultures, societies, and the world in which they exist.

fact

knowledge that can be scientifically proven

opinion

perspective of individual or group based on feelings/beliefs

The Sociological Imagination

Relationship private and public issues, personal troubles compared to private issues, “everyday social life is a product of complex interplay between societal forces and personal characteristics”

Micro level

Agency, personal level

Macro

Structure, social processes

The Social Construct of Reality

Processes through which the members of a society discover, make known, reaffirm, and alter a collective version of facts, knowledge, truth

Social Structures

the underlying regularities (macro) in how people behave and interrelate (micro), long-term social arrangements

Social Processes

dynamic and changing aspects of the social world

Society

A population'; A complex pattern of social relationships bound by space and persisting over time

Globalization

Increasingly fluid global flows and structures that expedite and impede flows, 4 types: 1. economic 2. political 3. environmental 4. Cultural (internet age)

Mcdonaldization

food consumption as example of how systems are changing, rationalizing, four qualities: 1. Efficiency (cultural goal) 2. Calculability (capitalism) 3. Control (processes and products *tech and automation) 4. Predictability (+ uniformity, streamlined)

Mediated Interaction

Online Communication, implications of technology

Favorable Alternatives

options or resources an individual finds more attractive than their current situation/and or in dating world, desirable traits

Theories

Sets of interrelated ideas with wide-ranged applications, deal with centrally important issues, and stand the test of time (continuously applicable with the changing social world, and withstand challenges from others who accept other theories)

Auguste Comte

Developed term “sociology” and general theory of social world and social sciences

Harriet Martineau

Developed scientific and general theory, woman-centered study

Herbert Spencer

Developed general scientific theory of sociology

Karl Marx

macro theorist, studied structure of capitalist society, proletariat revolution theory

Capitalism

Economic system based on fact that capitalists own production needs and proletariat own little to none but sell capacity for work/labor

Exploitation

capitalists exploit proletariat, leaving the proletariat alienated

Class conciousness

Marx hypothesis, proletariat could develop class consciousness and then revolt when they recognize exploitation

Max Weber

macro theorist, historical-comparative study of religion in societies globally, relationship between economy and religion, Protestant Ethic: Charactertized by frugalness and hardwork, how it created rise of capitalism in West

Rationalization

Social structures characterized by the most direct and efficient means to their end, more common bc of economy and capitalism

Emile Durkheim

macro-theorist, more positive/optimistic, Social facts: phenomena that stand apart from people and impose themselves on people, eg social structures, cultural norms, values *necessary and highly desirable

Collective Conscience

Set of beliefs shared by people in society *desirable

Mechanical solidarity/organic solidarity?

doing similar kinds of work with increased divisions of labor

Geor Simmel

micro theorist, looked at forms of social interaction/relationships

WEB DuBois

researcher and theorist, central ideas of Race and color line, Double conciousness

Double Conciousness

Black Americans have sense of 2-ness (American and Black), with broader applicability

Structural Functionalism

Stable ordered system made up of interrelated parts or structure, each structure has a function and society needs it to remain stable, macro-order and consensus, “inequality is acceptable”, dysfunctions as temporary

Functions (structural-functionalism)

observable, positive consequences of a structure that help it survive, adapt, adjust

Dysfunctions (structural-functionalism)

observable negative consequences that affect ability of system to survive, adapt, adjust

Manifest Functions (Structural-functionalism)

positive consequences brought purposely/conciously

Latent functions (structural-functionalism)

unintended positive consequences

Conflict Theory

looks at negative aspects of society, society held together by coercion, every present possibility of change, finds dissension and conflicts of society, macro, inequality and oppression, conflict as central to workings of society as engine of social change

Culture industry

rationalized and bureaucratized structures

Mass culture

elements administered by organizations, lack spontaneity, and are phony (falseness and repressiveness)

Feminist theory

general critique of patriarchy, better everyone’s situation

Queer Theory

no fixed and stable identities that determine who we are

Post-modern theory

reaction against modern theory, expressed in non-rational ways

Symbolic Interactionism

Interaction of two or more people through use of symbols (words, gestures, internet, objects, etc.) *micro level, contributes to social order, meanings attached to everyday phenomena

Epiricism

Gather information and evidence using senses (eyes and ears)

Paradigm

General model of the world accepted by most practitioners in the field, when research doesn’t support it, possibility for scientific revolution

Qualitative research

studies done in natural settings to produce in-depth, descriptive information about social world, observable research

Quantitative Research

Analysis of numerical data, usually derived from surveys and experiments

Participant observation

researcher plays role in group/setting observed

Nonparticipant observation

little to no role played by researcher

Ethnography

detailed account of what a group of people do and how they live

Netnography

account of online communication/engagement

Key informant

in interviews, someone with intimate knowledge of a group studied

survey research

collection of information from a population/representative group of a population, using interviews and questionaires

Experiment

manipulation of one or more characteristics to examine the effect of the manipulation

lab experiments v natural experiments

conducted specifically in lab v observed in natural environment

field experiments

can control who participates and what happens in experiment to some degree

Secondary data analysis

re-analysis of data collected by others

Historical-comparative research

contrasting how different historical events/conditions in various societies led to different social outcomes, *more general than historians

Ideal Type

“one-sided accentuation” of social reality, not accurate depiction of reality but a measuring rod to understand social reality

Content analysis

Systematic and objective analysis of content of cultural artifacts in print/visual/audio/and/or digital media

Reliability

degree to which given question/measure produces same results time after time

Validity

degree to which question/measure gets accurate response

ethics

issue of right/wrong, choices people make, how they justify choices

objective/value-free sociology

(extreme) preventing all personal values from affecting work

Emperical research

conducted in the social world (real world), all socioogical research, also probabilistic (likelihood v proof), phenomena can be correlated or related