soc quiz 1

antipositivism

view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they worked to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values

conflict theory

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

constructivism

extension of symbolic interaction theory which porposes reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be

culture

shared beliefs, values, and practices

dramaturgical analysis

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

dynamic equilibrium

stable state in which all parts of a healthy society work together properly

dysfunctions

social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society

figurations

the process of simultaneously analyzing behavior of an individual and the soceity that shapes the behavior

function

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

functionalism

theoretical approach that sees society as a structure w interrelated parts designed to meet biological and social needs of ppl that make up that society

generalized others

organized and generalized attitude of a social group

grand theories

attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change

hypothesis

testable proposition

latent functions

are the unsought consequences of a social process

macro-level

a wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a society

manifest functions

sought consequences of a social process

micro-level theories

study of specific relationships between individuals or small groups

paradigms

philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiements performed in support of them

positivism

scientific study of social patterns

qualitative sociology

in-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources as source of its data

quantitative sociology

statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants

reification

an error of treating an abstract concept as though it has a real, material existence

significant others

specific individuals that 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

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

society

a group of ppl who live in a defined geographical area who interact w one another and who share a common culture

sociological imagination

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

sociology

systematic study of society and social interaction

symbolic interactionism

theoretical perspective thru which schoalrs examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)

theory

proposed explanation ab social interactions or society

Verstehn

german word meaning to understand in a deep way

accuracy

using a tool makes the measuring more precise

case study

in-depth analysis of a single event, situation or individual

code of ethics

set of guidelines that American Sociological Association has estbalished to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology

content analysis

applying systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to study at hand

correlation

when a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable, but doesnt necessarily indicate causation

debunking

looking beyond the obvi to expose falseness by examining merit, logic, and evidence

dependent variable

variable changed by other variables

empirical evidence

evidence that comes from direct observations, scientifically gathered data, or experimentation

ethnography

participating and observing thinking and behavior in a social setting

experiment

testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions

field research

gathering data from a natural environment without doing lab experiment or a survey

hawthorne effect

when a study subjects behave in certain manner due to awareness of being observed by researcher

independent variables

variables that cause changes in dependent variables

interpretive framework

sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject thru observation or interaction; this approach is not based on hypothesis testing

interview

one-on-one convo btwn researcher and subject

literature review

scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a bias for new research

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nonreactive data

using secondary data, does not include direct contact w research subjects and doesnt alter or influence ppl‘s behaviors

operational definitions

specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study

participant observation

when a researcher immerses herself in a group or social setting in order to make observations from “insider” perspective

population

defined group serving as subject of a study

primary data

data that are collected from firsthand experience

random sample

a study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as representation of a larger population

reliability

a measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced

samples

small, manageable number of subjects that **represent the population**

scientific method

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**an established scholarly research that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing a data collection method, gathering data, and drawing conclusions**

secondary data analysis

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**using data collected by others and applying new interpretations**

surveys

collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about thinking, behaviors, and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire

validity

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**the degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study**

value neutrality

a practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment during the course of a study and in publishing results

achieved status

**the status a person chooses, such as a level of education or income**

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agricultural societies

societies that rely on farming as a way of life

alienation

refers to the condition in which the individual is isolated and divorced from his or her society, work, or the sense of self.

anomie

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**a situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness**

ascribed status

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the status outside of an individual’s control, such as sex or race

bourgeoisie

the owners of the means of production in a society

capitalism

a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government

class consciousness

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**the awareness of one’s rank in society**

collective conscience

the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society

false consciousness

a condition in which the beliefs, ideals, or ideology of a person are not in the person’s own best interest

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feudal societies

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**societies that operate on a strict hierarchical system of power based around land ownership and protection**

habitualization

the idea that society is constructed by us and those before us, and it is followed like a habit

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horticultural societies

societies based around the cultivation of plants

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hunter-gatherer societies

**societies that depend on hunting wild animals and gathering uncultivated plants for survival**

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industrial societies

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

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information societies

**societies based on the production of nonmaterial goods and services**

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institutionalization

the act of implanting a convention or norm into society

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iron cage

a situation in which an individual is trapped by social institutions

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looking-glass self

our reflection of how we think we appear to others

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mechanical solidarity

**a type of social order maintained by the collective consciousness of a culture**

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organic solidarity

**a type of social order based around an acceptance of economic and social differences**

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pastoral societies

**societies based around the domestication of animals**

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proletariat

**the laborers in a society**

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rationalization

**a belief that modern society should be built around logic and efficiency rather than morality or tradition**

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role conflict

a situation when one or more of an individual’s roles clash

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role performance

the expression of a role

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role strain

stress that occurs when too much is required of a single role

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role set

an array of roles attached to a particular status

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roles

**patterns of behavior that are representative of a person’s social status**

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self fulfilling prophecy

an idea that becomes true when acted upon

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social integration

**how strongly a person is connected to his or her social group**

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status

**the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to his or her rank and role in society**

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**Thomas Theorem**

**how a subjective reality can drive events to develop in accordance with that reality, despite being originally unsupported by objective reality**

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anticipatory socialization

**the way we prepare for future life roles**

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degradation ceremony

**the process by which new members of a total institution lose aspects of their old identities and are given new ones**

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generalized other

**the common behavioral expectations of general society**

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hidden curriculum

the informal teaching done in schools that socializes children to societal norms

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moral development

**the way people learn what is “good” and “bad” in society**

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nature

the influence of our genetic makeup on self-development

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