Sociology 202 Exam 1 Study Guide

(Key Terms)

individualistic explanation

Tendency to attribute people’s achievements and failures to their personal qualities

macrolevel

Way of examining human life that focuses on the broad social forces and structural features of society that exist above the level of individual people

microlevel

Way of examining human life that focuses on the immediate, everyday experiences of individuals

sociological imagination

Ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives

sociology

The systematic study of human societies

achieved status

Social position acquired through our own efforts or accomplishments or taken on voluntarily

ascribed status

Social position acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily later in life

conflict perspective

Theoretical perspective that views the structure of society as a source of inequality that always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups

culture

Language, values, beliefs, rules, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize a society

feminist perspective

Theoretical perspective that focuses on gender as the most important source of conflict and inequality in social life

globalization

Process through which people’s lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally interconnected

group

Set of people who interact more or less regularly and who are conscious of their identity as a unit

in-groups

The groups to which we belong and toward which we feel a sense of loyalty

latent function

Unintended, unrecognized consequences of activities that help some part of the social system

manifest functions

Intended, obvious consequences of activities designed to help some part of the social system

norm

Culturally defined standard or rule of conduct

organization

Large, complex network of positions created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor

out-groups

The groups to which we don’t belong and toward which we feel a certain amount of antagonism

primary group

Collection of individuals who are together for a relatively long period, whose members have direct contact with and feel emotional attachment to one another

role

Set of expectations—rights, obligations, behaviors, duties—associated with a particular status

role conflict

Frustration people feel when the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clash with the demands of another role

role strain

Situations in which people lack the necessary resources to fulfill the demands of a particular role

secondary group

Relatively impersonal collection of individuals that is established to perform a specific task

social institution

Stable set of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations—such as the institution of education, family, politics, religion, health care, or the economy—that provides a foundation for behavior in some major area of social life

society

A population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a common identity and whose members are subject to the same political authority

status

Any named social position that people can occupy

structural-functionalist perspective

Theoretical perspective that posits that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society

symbol

Something used to represent or stand for something else

symbolic interactionism

Theoretical perspective that explains society and social structure through an examination of the microlevel, personal, day-to-day exchanges of people as individuals, pairs, or groups

value

Standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes

analysis of existing data

Type of unobtrusive research that relies on data gathered earlier by someone else for some other purpose

content analysis

Form of unobtrusive research that studies the content of recorded messages, such as books, speeches, poems, songs, television shows, websites, and advertisements

dependent variable

Variable that is assumed to be caused by, or to change as a result of, the independent variable

empirical research

Research that operates from the ideological position that questions about human behavior can be answered only through controlled, systematic observations in the real world

experiment

Research method designed to elicit some sort of behavior, typically conducted under closely controlled laboratory circumstances

field research

Type of social research in which the researcher observes events as they actually occur

historical analysis

Form of social research that relies on existing historical documents as a source of data

hypothesis

Researchable prediction that specifies the relationship between two or more variables

incorrigible proposition

Unquestioned cultural belief that cannot be proved wrong no matter what happens to dispute it

independent variable

Variable presumed to cause or influence the dependent variable

indicator

Measurable event, characteristic, or behavior commonly thought to reflect a particular concept

nonparticipant observation

Form of field research in which the researcher observes people without directly interacting with them and without letting them know that they are being observed

participant observation

Form of field research in which the researcher interacts with subjects, sometimes hiding his or her identity

probabilistic

Capable only of identifying those forces that have a high likelihood, but not a certainty, of influencing human action

qualitative research

Sociological research based on nonnumeric information (text, written words, phrases, symbols, observations) that describes people, actions, or events in social life

quantitative research

Sociological research based on the collection of numeric data that uses precise statistical analysis

reactivity

A problem associated with certain forms of research in which the very act of intruding into people’s lives may influence the phenomenon being studied

representative

Typical of the whole population being studied

sample

Subgroup chosen for a study because its characteristics approximate those of the entire population

self-fulfilling prophecy

Assumption or prediction that in itself causes the expected event to occur, thus seeming to confirm the prophecy’s accuracy

social construction of reality

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

spurious relationship

A false association between two variables that is actually due to the effect of some third variable

survey

Form of social research in which the researcher asks subjects a series of questions verbally, online, or on paper

theory

Set of statements or propositions that seeks to explain or predict a particular aspect of social life

unobtrusive research

Research technique in which the researcher, without direct contact with the subjects, examines the evidence of social behavior that people create or leave behind

variable

Any characteristic, attitude, behavior, or event that can take on two or more values or attributes