Introduction to Sociology - Chapter 1 Flashcards

Fill-in-the-blank practice flashcards covering Chapter 1: Introduction to Sociology, key founders, levels of analysis, and core theoretical paradigms.

Sociology is defined as the systematic or scientific study of __________ and social behavior.

human society

A __________ is defined as a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others.

society

The level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect larger patterns of society is called __________.

microsociology

The level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals is known as __________.

macrosociology

Sociologist Howard Becker defined sociology as the study of people __________.

"doing things together"

Disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world are collectively known as the __________.

social sciences

In the hierarchy of the sciences pyramid, __________ lies at the base, representing maximum generality.

Mathematics

Compared to history, sociology is more likely to focus on __________ society.

contemporary

Unlike economics and political science which examine a single institution, sociology looks at a __________ of social institutions.

range

Bernard McGrane developed the concept of the __________, which involves approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way.

beginner's mind

According to Bernard McGrane, "Discovery is not the seeing of a new thing—but rather a __________."

new way of seeing things

C. Wright Mills coined the term __________, defined as a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between individual circumstances and larger social forces.

sociological imagination

C. Wright Mills stated that to understand social life, we must understand the intersection between __________.

biography and history

In Structural Functionalism, Robert Merton defined __________ as the obvious, intended functions of a social structure.

manifest functions

In Structural Functionalism, Robert Merton defined __________ as the less obvious, unintended functions of a social structure.

latent functions

According to Karl Marx, the __________ are the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers.

bourgeoisie

According to Karl Marx, the __________ are workers who have no means of production of their own and are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live.

proletariat

In Conflict Theory, __________ is defined as the sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods owned and controlled by someone else.

alienation

A denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize that the ruling class's interests are embedded in dominant ideology is called __________.

false consciousness

The recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed that leads to revolutionary action is called __________.

class consciousness

Karl Marx contributed the idea of __________, which argues that intellectuals should act on what they believe.

praxis

Max Weber used the term __________ to describe empathic understanding or understanding human action in a deep way.

verstehen

__________ is a micro-level paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes meanings are created through interaction.

Symbolic interactionism

Erving Goffman used the theatrical metaphor of __________ to describe the ways in which we engage in a strategic presentation of ourselves to others.

dramaturgy

In the theoretical paradigms comparison, Conflict Theory examines society at the __________ level of analysis.

Macro