intro to sociology ch 1

Define sociology and understand what it means to adopt the sociological perspective.

sociology can be defined as the scientific study of human social behavior and social organization. At the heart of sociology is the sociological perspective, the view that our social backgrounds influence our attitudes, behavior, life choices, and life chances. In this regard, we are not just individuals, but rather social beings deeply enmeshed in society.

Explain social location and provide examples of the impact of social location on opportunities and outcomes.

social location- the social and physical traits of an individual, such as gender, race, social class and religion, deemed to be important by their society. in society, which includes our social and physical traits, such as our gender, race, social class, religion, and so forth, deemed to be important by our society. Thus, society as a whole and our own social backgrounds affect our attitudes and behaviors.

Distinguish between explanations for social problems that blame the system versus blame the victim.

As this example suggests, a blaming-the-victim approach points to solutions to social problems such as poverty and illiteracy that are very different from those suggested by a more structural approach that “blames the system.” If we blame the victim, we will spend our limited dollars to address the personal failings of individuals who suffer from poverty, illiteracy, poor health, eating disorders and other difficulties. If instead we blame the system, we would focus our attention on the various social conditions (deteriorating schools, cultural standards of female beauty, etc.) that account for these difficulties

Explain the parts of the social structure and know the key characteristics for each form of society.

Similarly, social structure, the building blocks or social patterns through which a society is organized, including status, social groups, social institutions and form of society, influences our opportunities and outcomes.

Outline the 3 major theoretical perspectives and be able to apply the perspectives to social issues.

Functional perspective, conflict perspective, and symbolic interaction perspective. Functional-industrial revolution. Macrosocial. system of interrelated parts that interact in a harmonious way to maintain social stability. Conflict- Macrosocial, views society as characterized by pervasive inequality based on social class, gender, and other factors due to competition over society’s scarce resources. Symbolic interaction- Microsocial, focuses on the way that people construct their roles as they interact.