Intro to Sociology Chap. 1

Conflict theory

a theory that looks at society as a competition for limited resources

Constructivism

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

Culture

a group’s shared practices, values, and beliefs

Dramaturgical analysis

a technique sociologists use in which they view society through the metaphor of theatrical performance

Function

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

Functionalism

a theoretical approach that sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of individuals

Generalized others

the organized and generalized attitude of a social group

Hypothesis

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

Latent functions

Unintended or unrecognized functions of a social process .

Manifest functions

Sought or anticipated consequences of any social pattern .

Qualitative sociology

n-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources (books, magazines, journals, TV shows, and social media) as data sources

Quantitative sociology

statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants

Significant others

Specific individuals who impact a person’s life.

Social facts

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

Social institutions

patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs

Social solidarity

the social ties that bind a group together such as kinship, shared location, and religion

Society

a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same culture

Sociological imagination

the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures

Symbolic interactionism

a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication

Theory

a proposed explanation about social interactions or society