Hawkes Soc 1-4

Antipositivism

The view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they work to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values

Belief

A tenet or conviction that people hold to be true

Constructivism

An extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be

Culture

Shared beliefs, values, and practices

Dramaturgical Analysis

A sociological technique for viewing society through the metaphor of theatrical performance

Dynamic Equilibrium

A stable state in which all parts of a healthy society work together properly

Dysfunction

A social pattern that has undesirable consequences for the operation of society

Figuration

The process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of an individual and the society that shapes the behavior

Function

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

Generalized Other

The organized and generalized attitude of a social group

Group

any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency and share some sense of aligned identity

Hypothesis

A testable educated guess about predicted outcomes between two or more variables

Language

A symbolic system of communication

Latent Function

The unrecognized or unintended consequence of a social process

Manifest Function

A sought after consequence of a social process

Meritocracy

An ideal system in which personal effort—or merit—determines social standing

Paradigm

A philosophical and theoretical framework used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them

Positivism

The scientific study of social patterns

Qualitative Data

Information that is not necessarily empirical and is often based on what is observed in a natural setting

Quantitative Data

Research collected in numerical form that can be counted

Reification

The error of treating an abstract concept as though it has a real, material existence

Self

A person's distinct sense of identity as developed through social interaction

Significant Other

A specific individual that impacts a person's life

Social Facts

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

Social Institution

A pattern of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting a social need

Social Solidarity

The social ties that bind a group of people together

Society

People who live in a definable community and share a culture

Sociology

The systematic study of society and social interaction

Symbol

A gesture or object with an associated meaning that is recognized by people who share a culture

Theory

A proposed explanation about social interactions or society

Values

A culture's standard for discerning what is good and just in society

Verstehen

A German word that means "to understand in a deep way"

Case Study

In depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual

Code of Ethics

A set of guidelines that the American Sociological Association has established to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology

Content Analysis

Applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to the study at hand

Correlation

When a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable but does not necessarily indicate causation

Dependent Variable

A variable that is changed by another variable

Empirical Evidence

Evidence that comes from direct experience, scientifically gathered data, or experimentation

Ethnography

Observing a complete social setting and all that it entails

Experiment

The testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions

Field Research

Gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or survey

Hawthorne Effect

When study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher

Hypothesis

A testable educated guess about predicted outcomes between two or more variables

Independent Variable

A variable that causes changes in a dependent variable

Interpretive Framework

A sociological research approach that seeks in

Interview

A one on one conversation between the researcher and the subject

Literature Review

A scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research

Meta analysis

A technique in which the results of virtually all previous studies on a specific subject are evaluated together

Mores

The moral views and principles of a group

Nonreactive Research

The use of secondary data, which does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people's behaviors

Operational Definition

A specific explanation of an abstract concept that a researcher plans to study

Participant Observation

When a researcher immerses themselves in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an insider perspective

Population

A defined group serving as the subject of a study

Primary Data

Data that are collected directly from firsthand experience

Qualitative Data

Information that is not necessarily empirical and is often based on what is observed in a natural setting

Quantitative Data

Research collected in numerical form that can be counted

Random Sample

Study participants that were randomly selected to represent a larger population

Reliability

A measure of a study's consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced

Sample

A small, manageable number of subjects that represent a population

Scientific Method

An established scholarly research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions

Secondary Data Analysis

Using data collected by others but applying new interpretations

Subculture

A group that shares a specific identification apart from a society's majority, even as the members exist within a larger society

Survey

A way to collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire

Validity

The degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study

Value Neutrality

A practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment, during the course of a study and in publishing results

Belief

A tenet or conviction that people hold to be true

Counterculture

A group that rejects and opposes society's widely accepted cultural patterns

Cultural Imperialism

The deliberate imposition of one's own cultural values on another culture

Cultural Relativism

The practice of assessing a culture by its own standards and not in comparison to another culture

Cultural Universal

A pattern or trait that is globally common to all societies

Culture

Shared beliefs, values, and practices

Culture Lag

The gap of time between the introduction of material culture and nonmaterial culture's acceptance of it

Culture Shock

An experience of personal disorientation when confronted with an unfamiliar way of life

Diffusion

The spread of material and nonmaterial culture from one culture to another

Discovery

A thing or idea found from what already exists

Ethnocentrism

The practice of evaluating another culture according to the standards of one's own culture

Folkway

Direct, appropriate behavior in the day to day practices and expressions of a culture

Formal Norms

Established, written rules

Globalization

The process of integrating governments, cultures, and financial markets through international trade into a single world market

High Culture

The cultural patterns of a society's elite

Ideal Culture

The standards a society would like to embrace and live up to

Informal Norms

Casual behaviors that are generally and widely conformed to

Innovation

A new object or idea introduced to culture for the first time

Invention

The combination of existing realities into new forms

Language

A symbolic system of communication

Material Culture

The objects or belongings of a group of people

McDonaldization

The increasing presence of the fast food business model in common social institutions

Mores

The moral views and principles of a group

Nonmaterial Culture

The ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society

Norms

The visible and invisible rules of conduct through which societies are structured

Popular Culture

Mainstream, widespread patterns among a society's population

Real Culture

The way society really is based on what actually occurs and exists

Sanction

A way to authorize or disapprove of certain behaviors

Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

The way that people understand the world based on their form of language

Social Control

The regulation and enforcement of norms

Socialization

The process by which people come to understand societal norms and expectations, accept society's beliefs, and be aware of societal values

Society

People who live in a definable community and share a culture

Subculture

A group that shares a specific identification apart from a society's majority, even as the members exist within a larger society

Symbol

A gesture or object with an associated meaning that is recognized by people who share a culture

Values

A culture's standard for discerning what is good and just in society