Sociology Exam 1

Empirical inquiry

a form of investigation that involves looking to the world for evidence

research questions

queries about the world that can be answered empirically

Research Methods

approaches that social scientists use for investigating the answers to questions

Qualitative Research

tools of sociological inquiry that involve careful consideration and discussion of the meaning of nonnumerical data

Quantitative Research

tools of sociological inquiry that involve examining numerical data with mathematics

human subjects research

research involving data collected from people

research ethics

the set of moral principles that guide empirical inquiry

informed consent

a clear understanding on behalf of a research subject of what their participation in a research study entails

confidentiality

a guarantee that a research subject's participation in and contributions to a research study will be known only to the researchers

Vulnerable Populations

groups that are at a relatively high risk of being harmed if they are included as research subjects

institutional review boards

panels of professionals at colleges that evaluate research proposals to ensure they comply with the moral principles outlined in codes of ethics

professional ethics

a set of moral principles that guide sociologists' everyday activities

correlations- spurious vs causal

Spurious is a statistical relationship between two variables that appears because both correlate with a third variable; causal is the opposite.

Why mixed methods?

Sociologists use a wide range of methods because no one method can answer every type of research question. Each method has its advantages and its limitations.

triangulate

The strategy of seeking an answer to a question from multiple angles

Example of a study using multiple methods to "triangulate"

A research study on how hooking up had become common among college students. First, ethnography was used when 72 students immersed themselves in a college party to gather observations of hooking up. Then, 2 sociologists used in-depth interviews to ask 87 students about hooking up. Lastly, sociologists used surveys of 20,000 students and asked questions about hooking up and well-being.

Academic literature

the empirical and theoretical writing that scholars have previously produced

Peer Review

a step in the publication process in which editors solicit feedback on a scholar's work from other researchers with related expertise

Personal Troubles vs Social Issues

personal troubles are private problems that connect to social issues which are issues that negatively impact a large population.

Give examples of how personal troubles and social issues are connected in your own life.

In college, personal troubles are tuition, making friends, and time management. These connect to social issues of tuition being higher, tax funding being lower, wages falling and social media.

The Sociological Imagination as connection between History and Biography

the ability to see how an individual's personal life (biography) is shaped by larger social and historical forces (history). Shifts blame away from individual failure and toward societal structures.

The Sociological Imagination as connection between History and Biography (pt.2, quote)

"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise."

Connect the sociological imagination with the concept of intersectionality

Personal life and societal history cannot be understood without one another. Intersectionality identifies which specific structural lines (like race crossing with sexism) shape individuals' place in history.

CW Mills sociological definition of "freedom"

Freedom is not just doing what you please or picking from an elite-approved menu of options. True freedom requires the ability to participate in shaping the social conditions that affect your life.

How "freedom" entails the use of the sociological imagination and collective action

In order to experience true freedom, we have to use the sociological imagination to acknowledge that some things are beyond our control. Then use collective action with others to change what choices are given to us and choose our own options.

Premodern thought

a belief in supernatural sources of truth and a commitment to traditional practices (supernatural, traditional, pre-given)

modern thought

a belief in science as the sole source of truth and the idea that humans can rationally organize societies and improve human life (scientific, rational-legal, discoverable)

postmodern thought

a rejection of absolute truth (whether supernatural or scientific) in favor of countless partial truths, and a denunciation of the narrative of progress (personal experience, no ultimate authority, always in flux)

rationalization

the process of embracing reason and using it to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of human activities

comparative sociology

a research method that involves collecting and analyzing data about two or more cases that can be usefully compared and contrasted

case

an individual about whom or which we have data

social organization

the order established in social groups at any level

division of labor

complicated tasks broken down into smaller parts and distributed to individuals who specialize in narrow roles

how bureaucracies represent changes in forms of authority

Authority went from "this is how we've always done things" to "this is the best way to do things"

social institutions

widespread and enduring patterns of interaction with which we respond to categories of human need

ideology

shared ideas about how human life should be organized

social structure

the entire set of interlocking social institutions in which we live

Structural position

the features of our lives that determine our mix of opportunities and constraints

How structural position shapes our experience of Social stratification

-Structural positions determine a person's access to resources, determining factors like health and wealth, and where they stand in the social stratification system.

-Ex. Capitalism causes poverty, but the people in poverty steal and affect those at the top of capitalism; it all works together.

Social Stratification

a persistent sorting of social groups into enduring hierarchies

institutional discrimination

widespread and enduring practices that persistently disadvantage some kinds of people while advantaging others

Examples of social research methods applied to understanding the role of interlocking boards in creating a "corporate community"

1) Historical Sociology- got data through public information

2) Social Network Analysis- found that banks are at the center of corporate boards

3) In-Depth Interviews- asked qualitative questions on why banks are at the center.

How do changes in the social structure of the corporate community reflect changes, or lack thereof, in social stratification and institutional discrimination?

-even when women are at the center of corporate networks and are on multiple boards, they still get paid less

-most company directors are men and white

Microsociology example of research

Mead introduced the idea that humans have the capacity to be both the subject and object of thinking, or to be an "I" that contemplates a "me."

Macrosociology example of research

Marianne Weber's criticism of the systematic oppression of women

distinction

active efforts to affirm identity categories and place ourselves and others into their subcategories

in-group bias

preferential treatment of members of our own group and mistreatment of others

social identity theory

People are inclined to form social groups, incorporate group membership into their identity, take steps to enforce group boundaries, and maximize positive distinction and in-group success.

5 steps of social construction

1) Invent

2) Divide

3) Stereotype

4) Perform

5) Rank

sexual minorities

groups of people whose sexual orientation or gender identity differs from that of the majority of the population

Race vs. Ethnicity

Race is physical, like skin color, ethnicity is cultural, like how one dresses

One-drop vs blood quantum as reflection of power and construction of race

-One drop: limited the number of people who could be considered white (1 drop of black means black)

-Blood quantum: expanded the number of people who could be considered white (limits american indians)

sex vs gender

sex is a physical difference in the body, gender is the traits and interests of males and females

intersex vs non-binary

intersex is people with both male and female parts at birth, while non-binary refers to people who identify as both genders or neither at all.

Cisgender vs transgender

cisgender is identifying with your assigned sex at birth, while transgender is not identifying with your assigned sex at birth.

stereotype

clusters of ideas attached by social convention to people with specific social identities.

conspicuous consumption

spending elaborately on items and services with the sole purpose of displaying one's wealth

stigma

a personal attribute that is widely devalued by members of one's society

implicit vs explicit prejudice

Explicit attitudes are beliefs that we choose to have, or at least know we have. Implicit attitudes are beliefs we have that we're mostly unaware of, ones that our brains retrieve without our conscious participation.

interpersonal discrimination and how it differs from prejudice

Prejudicial behavior displayed by individuals. Prejudice is more ones attitude; discrimination is more the action one takes.

status vs status elite

high or low esteem or honor or respect vs. people who carry multiple positively regarded identities.

status beliefs

collectively shared ideas about which social groups are more or less deserving of esteem

Intersectionality and examples of how this concept shapes experience

The recognition that our lives are shaped by multiple interacting identities. (ex. study of white vs. black men and jobs, or study of men vs. women who are arab in jobs)

content analysis

Counting and describing patterns of themes in media

meta-analyses

a method of statistically joining a pool of studies to aggregate their results to produce a more conclusive finding.

computational sociology

Using computers to perform tasks that cannot—or cannot without great difficulty—be performed by humans

achieved vs ascribed status

An achieved status is an earned status, while an ascribed status is an inherited status.

insitituions

widespread and enduring patterns of interaction with which we respond to categories of human need

Hunting and Gathering Societies

societies whose mode of subsistence is gained from hunting animals, fishing, and gathering edible plants

Horticultural Societies

societies based around the cultivation of plants

agricultural societies

societies that rely on farming as a way of life

Industrial Societies

societies characterized by a reliance on mechanized labor to create material goods

Post-Industrial Societies

Societies where technology supports a service- and information-based economy

How changes between the different societies affect identity and hierarchy

Fatness used to be desired, and now it is frowned upon because it is easily accessible. At one point, only the rich were fat.

Social interaction

moments we share with other people

folkways

-loosely enforce norms

-separate right from rude

mores

-tightly enforced norms

-separate right from wrong

taboos

social prohibitions so strong that the thought of violating them can be sickening

laws vs policies

Rules that are made and enforced by cities, states, or federal governments. vs. Rules that are made and enforced by organizations

Social sanctions: positive and negative

reactions by others aimed at promoting conformity

ex. waving, flipping someone off

accounts

an excuse that explains our rule breaking but also affirms that the rule is good and right

Face- losing, saving

A version of ourselves that we want to project in a specific setting. Losing is breaking character, and saving is protecting yourself with the character you put on.

dramaturgy

the practice of looking at social life as a series of performances in which we're actors on metaphorical stages

Impression Management

efforts to control how we're perceived by others

Front Stage vs. Back Stage

A space in which we are aware of having an audience vs. spaces in which we can relax or rehearse.

Marked vs unmarked identities

marked- different than the "norm"- almost as if to say "less than". (women, asian america, gay marriage, disabaled people)

unmarked- more of the norm (man, white people, cisgender, able-bodied)

Ethnomethodology

a type of research aimed at revealing the underlying shared logic that is the foundation for social interaction.

Breaching experiments

purposefully breaking a social rule in order to test how others respond

Field Experiments

a test of a hypothesis outside the laboratory.

deviance

behaviors and beliefs that violate social expectations and attract negative sanctions

deviance social vs criminal

violation of norms, mores, folkways, and taboos, vs. breaking the law.

stigmatization

is a process by which physical traits or social conditions become widely devalued

criminalization

involves collectively defining a trait or condition as criminal.

medicalization

involves collectively defining physical traits or social conditions as an illness

strain theory

the idea that deviance is caused by a tension between widely valued goals and people's ability to attain them

conformity

believing that hard work will eventually bring you to your goals

innovation

involves accepting the valued goals but doing something deviant to attain them (usually crime)

ritualism

accept the failure to achieve your goal.

retreatism

the rejection of valued goals and a decision to opt out of trying to attain them

rebellion

also reject valued goals, but instead of simply opting out of society altogether, rebellion involves working to change societies by replacing the existing social goals with different ones.