soc exam 1

What is Sociology?

scientific study of social behavior and human groups

focuses on:

• social relationships

• how relationships influence behavior

• how societies develop / change

What is the Sociological Imagination ( Mills)?

awareness of relationship btw individual & wider society (today & in past)

allows individuals to view personal problems (like divorce / being unhoused) as broad public issues that affect society as a whole

What is Science?

body of knowledge from systematic observation

What is Natural Science?

study of physical features of NATURE

study of ways they interact and change

What is Social Science?

study of social features of HUMANS

study of ways they interact and change

What was Durkheim famous for?

1897 study on Suicide

• seemingly individual, personal act = heavily influenced by social factors

What did Mills popularize?

concept of sociological imagination

• bridge gap btw personal troubles / public issues.

What is the Structural-Functionalist Perspective?

society = complex system whose parts work together

• promotes solidarity and stability

• emphasizes consensus and order

What is the Conflict Perspective?

social behavior = best understood in terms of tension between groups over:

• power

• resources

• allocation of status

What is the Symbolic-Interactionist Perspective?

Generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole

• focuses on symbols, meanings, and face-to-type interactions.

What is the Feminist Perspective?

macro & micro-level inequalities rooted in gender

highlights how gender systems shape lives / social structures.

What is the Queer Perspective?

critical analysis of:

• heteronormativity

• gender

• sexual identity binaries

first step of the Scientific Method

Define the problem

Clearly state what you want to investigate.

second step of the Scientific Method

Review literature

Read existing scholarly studies on topic.

third step of the Scientific Method

hypothesis

Propose testable relationship between variables.

fourth step of the Scientific Method

research design / collect data:

Choose method (survey, observation, experiment) and gather data.

fifth step of the Scientific Method

conclusion:

Analyze data to support / reject hypothesis.

Variables

Measurable traits / characteristics that can change / vary under different conditions

Correlation

a change in one variable coincides with a change in another.

causation

a change in one variable directly causes a change in another

Research Design & Data Collection methods

• surveys

• observation

• experiments

• existing source analysis (secondary analysis).

What is an Experimental Group?

Exposed to the independent variable (the treatment or intervention).

What is a Control Group?

Not exposed to the independent variable, used as a baseline for comparison.

Polarization of Labor Market

macroeconomic shift

employment opportunities concentrate at high-skill, high-wage end & low-skill, low-wage end of the job market

hollows out middle-class jobs.

What does the video theme What is Sociology? emphasize?

Stepping out of individual biases and common-sense assumptions to study how social structures shape human behavior.

What does the Research Methods video theme demonstrate?

How sociologists collect objective, empirical data through the scientific method rather than relying solely on everyday opinions or common sense.

What does Miller's research examine?

Race

mass incarceration

the "afterlife" of punishment

how the carceral state reshapes urban poverty, family life, and social citizenship among marginalized populations.

Culture

totality of learned, socially transmitted customs

knowledge

material objects

behavior.

ncludes the ideas, values, and artifacts

Cultural Transmission

process of culture being passed down from one generation to the next

often through socialization

Cultural Diffusion

cultural item

belief

practice

spreads from group to group or society to society

Symbols

Anything that carries a specific meaning recognized by people who share a culture (e.g., gestures, objects, sounds, flags).

Language

abstract system of word meanings / symbols for all aspects of culture

foundation of every culture

shapes how we communicate.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (Linguistic Relativity)

words describe our world AND shape how we perceive it.

Material Culture

physical, tangible objects produced, used, and shared by members of a society

Non-Material Culture

intangible / abstract human creations of a society that influence behavior

Values

Collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, proper or bad, undesirable, improper—in a culture.

Beliefs

Specific statements that people hold to be true

Norms

Established standards of behavior maintained by society.

Formal Norms

Norms = written down / specify strict punishments for violations

Informal Norms

Norms = generally understood / rarely recorded in writing

Sanctions

Penalties / rewards for conduct concerning a social norm.

Positive Sanctions

Reward approved behavior

Negative Sanctions

Punish rule-breaking behavior

High Culture

Cultural patterns that distinguish a society's elite or upper class

Popular Culture

Cultural patterns that are widespread and mainstream among a society's population

Subculture

segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from the pattern of the larger society

Counterculture

subculture that deliberately opposes certain key aspects of the larger, mainstream culture

Ethnocentrism

assuming your own culture and way of life represent the norm / are superior

Cultural Relativism

Viewing people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture.

not judging

try to understand unfamiliar practices within proper cultural context.

Dominant Ideology

set of cultural beliefs / practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.

usually serves to justify the status quo / inequalities within a society.

Socialization

lifelong process

people learn attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture.

the Self

distinct identity that sets us apart from others

continually developing sense of personal identity / awareness of who we are.

Personality

person's typical patterns of:

• attitudes

• needs

• characteristics

• behavior.

Sigmund Freud’s Personality Model

personality = influenced by biological drives / shaped by social experiences.

three parts of Sigmund Freud’s Personality Model

Id, Superego, and Ego.

Id

biological, instinctual drives / immediate desires

the "pleasure principle

Superego

internalized norms, values, / moral standards of society

our conscience

Ego

The conscious, rational mediator

balances demands of the id / constraints of the superego

Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory

how children learn to think / process info through distinct developmental stages

sensorimotor

preoperational

concrete operational

formal operational

What did George Herbert Mead argue about the self?

self develops through:

• social interaction

• taking the role of the other.

preparatory Stage

Children imitate people around them.

Play Stage

Children pretend to be other people

Game Stage

Children grasp own social positions & positions of others around them

understand rules / expectations of society

What is Charles Horton Cooley’s Looking-Glass Self?

The concept that our self-image is shaped by how we think others perceive us.

What are the three steps of the Looking-Glass Self?

We imagine how we look to others; We imagine how others evaluate what we think we look like; We develop a self-concept (such as pride or mortification) based on these perceived judgments.

What is Erik Erikson’s 8 Stages of Development?

A lifespan model proposing that people pass through eight psychosocial crises from infancy to old age, where each stage presents a developmental challenge or conflict to resolve (e.g., trust vs. mistrust, identity vs. role confusion).

What is Erving Goffman’s Dramaturgical Approach?

Views social interaction through the metaphor of theatrical performance.

What is Impression Management?

The effort to control how we are perceived by others.

What is Front Stage?

Where the performance is given to an audience.

What is Back Stage?

Where individuals can relax and step out of character.

What is Face-work?

Efforts people make to maintain a proper, positive image and avoid embarrassment.

What are Agents of Socialization?

The forces and groups that impart our social culture and values.

What is the role of Family as an agent of socialization?

Usually the primary and most influential agent during childhood.

What is the role of School as an agent of socialization?

Teaches both academic knowledge and hidden curriculum (rules, obedience, teamwork).

What is the role of Peer Groups as agents of socialization?

Provide a sense of belonging and independence from parents.

What is the role of Mass Media & Technology as agents of socialization?

Deliver widespread cultural values, news, and behavioral models.

What is the role of the Workplace as an agent of socialization?

Socializes adults into occupational norms and professional identities.

What is the role of Religion and State as agents of socialization?

Instill shared moral codes, civic duties, and legal boundaries.

What is Anticipatory Socialization?

Processes of socialization in which a person rehearses for future positions, occupations, and social relationships (e.g., an intern learning corporate etiquette).

What is Resocialization?

The process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life (often occurring when entering a new environment).

What are Total Institutions?

Settings where people are isolated from the rest of society and are under the strict control of administrative staff (e.g., prisons, military boot camps, mental hospitals, monasteries).

What are Degradation Ceremonies?

Rituals or initiation rites within total institutions designed to strip away an individual's personal identity and build a new, institutionalized identity (e.g., shaving heads, issuing standard uniforms, assigning serial numbers).

What is Social Interaction?

The ways in which people respond to one another and communicate, whether face-to-face or via technology.

What is Social Structure?

The way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships and patterns of social behavior.

What is Status?

A socially defined position in a group or society, which carries certain expectations, rights, and duties.

What is Ascribed Status?

Assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics (e.g., race, age, sex, royal lineage).

What is Achieved Status?

A status that a person attains largely through their own personal efforts, choices, or abilities (e.g., college graduate, doctor, criminal, spouse).

What is Master Status?

A status that dominates others and greatly determines a person's general social position (e.g., being unhoused, a celebrity, or living with a severe disability).

What is Status Set?

All the statuses a person holds at a given time.

What is Role?

A set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status.

What is Role Strain?

Incompatibility or tension among roles connected to a single status (e.g., a professor struggling to balance being a rigorous grader and a supportive mentor for the same class).

What is Role Conflict?

Incompatibility or tension caused when demands from two or more different statuses clash (e.g., a parent who is also a manager having to choose between attending their child's recital or an urgent late-night work meeting).

What is Mechanical Solidarity?

Social cohesion based on shared traditions, beliefs, and experiences; typical of traditional, pre-industrial societies where people do similar tasks.

What is Organic Solidarity?

Social cohesion based on mutual interdependence; typical of modern, industrial societies where individuals perform specialized roles and rely on each other to function.

What is Gemeinschaft (Community)?

A close-knit, rural community where personal relationships are based on shared values, family, and tradition.

What is Gesellschaft (Society)?

An impersonal, urban society characterized by short-term relationships, individualism, and bureaucratic structures.

What is Lenski’s Sociocultural Evolution?

Views human societies as undergoing change over time based on technological advances, moving through stages: hunting-and-gathering, horticultural, agrarian, industrial, and post-industrial/information societies.

What is Social Construction of Reality?

The theory that our perception of reality is shaped largely by subjective social interaction, shared meanings, and cultural definitions rather than objective truth alone.

What is the Thomas Theorem?

States that "if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." In other words, our behavior is determined by how we interpret situations, even if our interpretation is factually incorrect.

What is a Group?

Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who regularly and consciously interact with one another.