Sociology Quiz One Study Guide Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts, theoretical perspectives, research methodologies, cultural elements, and socialization processes from Sociology Quiz One.

Sociology

The study of society, groups, institutions, and social forces, contrasted with psychology's focus on individual mental processes and behavior.

Anomie

A social condition in which norms or expectations become weak, unclear, or disrupted, often during periods of rapid social change.

Auguste Comte

Often recognized as a founder or father of sociology who advocated for positivism and studying society scientifically.

Herbert Spencer

Sociologist associated with Social Darwinism and the phrase 'survival of the fittest,' who favored limited government interference in society.

Émile Durkheim

Sociologist associated with structural functionalism, social integration, and solidarity who conducted seminal research on suicide and anomie.

Max Weber

Sociologist who studied bureaucracy and emphasized value-free sociology, where researchers keep personal values from influencing their findings.

Karl Marx

Sociologist who focused on class conflict, power, and inequality between owners (bourgeoisie) and workers (proletariat).

False Consciousness

A state in which disadvantaged people accept beliefs that hide or justify their exploitation and work against their own class interests.

Structural Functionalism

A theoretical perspective focused on how parts of society work together to maintain stability, social order, and institutions.

Conflict Theory

A theoretical perspective focused on competition over power, wealth, and resources, as well as structural inequality.

Symbolic Interactionism

A theoretical perspective focused on how people create meaning through everyday face-to-face interactions, labels, and symbols.

Three Major Theoretical Perspectives

A comparative overview of Structural Functionalism (order and stability), Conflict Theory (power and inequality), and Symbolic Interactionism (meaning and symbols).

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between two or more variables.

Independent Variable

The variable believed to influence, predict, or cause changes in another variable.

Dependent Variable

The outcome variable being measured in research, which is expected to depend on the independent variable.

Population

The entire target group that a researcher wants to understand.

Sample

The smaller subgroup selected from the target population that is actually studied.

Quantitative Research

Research based primarily on numerical, measurable data such as statistics, percentages, and closed survey responses.

Qualitative Research

Research focused on detailed experiences, descriptions, meanings, interviews, and observations.

Talley's Corner

An ethnographic study by Elliot Liebow of Black men in low-income Washington, D.C., serving as an example of qualitative field research.

Culture

The shared beliefs, values, behaviors, norms, language, and physical objects of a group.

Material Culture

Tangible, physical objects created or used by a culture, such as phones, clothing, and buildings.

Nonmaterial Culture

Nonphysical components of culture, including values, beliefs, language, traditions, and norms.

Folkways

Everyday, less serious norms whose violation does not carry severe moral consequences.

Mores

Strong norms tied to core moral principles, whose violation is considered serious.

Laws

Formal, written rules of behavior that are enforced by governmental institutions.

Culture Shock

Disorientation, confusion, or discomfort experienced when entering an unfamiliar culture with different customs.

Subculture

A group within a larger society that maintains distinctive values, interests, or behaviors.

Counterculture

A group that actively rejects or directly challenges the central values and norms of the dominant culture.

Ethnocentrism

Evaluating or judging another culture based on the standards of one's own culture, often assuming one's own culture is superior.

Cultural Relativism

Understanding and evaluating a culture within its own context rather than through the lens of external cultural standards.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which individuals learn culture, norms, values, roles, and expected behaviors.

Gender Socialization

The process of learning societal expectations and roles related to gender through agents like family, peers, school, and media.

Anticipatory Socialization

The process of practicing or preparing for the behaviors and expectations of a future social role.

Harry Harlow's Study

Primate experiments demonstrating that infant rhesus monkeys prioritize contact comfort and attachment over food.

Oxana Malaya

A case study of extreme childhood neglect and exposure to dogs, illustrating the critical necessity of early human interaction for social development.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate surrounding whether human behavior and traits are shaped primarily by biology/genetics (nature) or social environment (nurture).

Id

In Freud's theory of personality, the component driven by basic instincts, impulses, and immediate gratification ('I want it now').

Superego

In Freud's theory of personality, the component representing internalized morality, conscience, and social rules ('I should or should not do that').

Ego

In Freud's theory of personality, the realistic component that balances the conflicting demands of the id, superego, and reality.

Looking-Glass Self

Charles Horton Cooley's concept asserting that self-concept is formed by imagining how others view and judge us.

Agents of Socialization

Individuals and social structures—such as family, school, peers, media, religion, and workplace—that teach culture and behavioral norms.

Resocialization

The process of discarding former values, routines, and behaviors to adopt entirely new social norms and identity.

Total Institution

A setting isolated from wider society where daily life is strictly controlled and supervised, facilitating intense resocialization.

Quick Recognition Sheet

A reference table listing key descriptive triggers and their corresponding sociological thinkers, methods, and core concepts.