Sociology Chapter 1 + 2

Sociology and the Real World

Sociology is

the scientific study of society and social behavior

Examples of social sciences

Economics, anthropology, psychology, political science

Auguste Comte

positivism

positivism

the idea that we can only know things through observations, facts, and scientific evidence, not opinions or beliefs.

Herbert Spencer

Social darwinism or “survival of the fittest”

Harriet Martineau

full citizenship for women and black people

Macrosociological Theory

the study of grand social behavior, such as social order, social change, and social inequality

Thomas has a degree in engineering, just like his father and grandfather. His grandfather was able to get a job straight out of college and stay with the same company until he retired. But after searching for over a year, Thomas was only able to find contracted, hourly engineering work. He has decided to pursue a graduate degree with the hopes of finding full-time employment when he graduates. Using a sociological imagination, how might we better understand this change?

Thomas is part of a different economy and workforce than his grandfather, so his experiences are different.

Structural Functionalism

society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures (Emile Durkheim)

conflict theory

society is characterized by patterns of inequality and dominance

symbolic interactionism

meanings are created and interpreted through interaction (ex: dramaturgy)

postmodernism

social reality is diverse and best explored via mini-narratives

society

A group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and
patterned ways that distinguish their group from others.

According to Howard Becker:

• sociology is the study of people “doing things together” because neither the individual nor society exists independently of one another

• our survival in contingent on the fact that we live in various groups (families, neighborhoods, dorms).

• our sense of self derives from our membership in society

social science

the disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world

practical knowledge

knowing how to do things

scientific knowledge

knowing why things happen

Who discovers “beginner’s mind”?

Bernard McGrane

beginner’s mind

approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things a new way (clear mind of stereotypes, expectations, and opinions so that we can explore the social world).

sociologoical imagination

being able to see how your personal life is connected to bigger social issues around you.

Who came up with “sociological imagination”

C. Wright Mills

microsociology

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

Macrosociology

The level of analysis that studies large-scale social
structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and
individuals.

Order of macro-micro continuum

society, culture, social institutions (economics, politics, religion), social inequality (race, class, gender), groups, roles, socialization, interaction

What did W.E.B. Du Bois do?

• Groundbreaking research on the history of slave trade, post-civil war reconstruction, life in urban ghettos, Black American society

• Later studies about race and inequality in America are based on or influenced by his work.

Dramaturgy, a term describing the strategic presentation of ourselves to others, is related to which school of thought?

symbolic functionalism

example of dramaturgy

In a job interview you “perform” professionalism by speaking politely and dressing formally

True or False: The sociological imagination gives us a way to look at the world beyond our own personal experience.

B. false

True

Abstract propositions that both explain the social world and make predictions about future events are known as
A. theories.
B. social inequalities.
C. ideas.
D. social assumptions.
E. means of production.

A

What are paradigms?
A. specific research methods
B. broad theoretical perspectives
C. dominant sociological applications
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

B

Which of these sociological paradigms has proved to be the most influential of the
twentieth century?
A. structural functionalism
B. conflict theory
C. symbolic interactionism
D. world-systems theory
E. critical race theory

C

Christopher researches the changes in rates of homeownership in the state of
Washington over the past ten years to better understand the state-wide impact of the
recent economic downturn. What type of research methods is Christopher using?

quantitative

To better understand the experiences of the homeless community near her office, Lydia

visited the local homeless shelter over the course of a month and spoke with the people

who stayed there nightly. What type of research method did Lydia use?

Ethnography

The __________ variable is the factor that is predicted to cause change in a

behavior that is being researched.

independent

A closed-ended question allows for a wide variety of responses.

A. true

B. false

False

It can be argued that reality television cannot be real or authentic because the

people being watched are aware of the cameras and camera crews that are

routinely present. What term do sociologists use to explain this?

A. objectivity

B. sincerity

C. viewer awareness

D. reactivity

Reactivity

When a researcher opts to use data originally collected by a different researcher,

most often to answer a different research question, the researcher is using

A. existing sources.

B. pilot studies.

C. connected analysis.

D. reliable data.

existing sources

Replicability

The ability of research to be repeated and, thus, later verified by other researchers

Deductive Approach

An approach whereby the researcher formulates a

hypothesis first and then gathers data to test that hypothesis.

Inductive Approach

An approach whereby the researcher gathers data first,

then formulates a theory to fit the data.

Ethnography

A naturalistic method based on studying
people in their own environment in order to
understand the meanings they attribute to their
activities; also, the written work that results from the
study.

Participant Observation

A methodology associated

with ethnography whereby the researcher both

observes and becomes a member in a social setting.

Autoethnography

A form of participant observation in which the feelings

and actions of the researcher become a focal point of the ethnographic study.

Thick description

The presentation of detailed data on interactions and

meaning within a cultural context, from the perspective of its members.

Reflexivity

How the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on in the field setting.

Grounded theory

An inductive method of generating theory from data by creating categories in which to place data and then looking for relationships among categories.

Representativeness

The degree to which a particular studied group is similar to, or represents, any part of the larger society.

Validity

The accuracy of a question or measurement tool; the degree to which a researcher is measuring what they think they are measuring.

Sample

The members of the target population who will actually be studied.

Negative Questions

Survey questions that ask respondents what they don’t think instead of what they do think.

Pilot study

A small-scale study carried out to test the feasibility of conducting a study on a larger scale.

If researchers conducted a study that required them to analyze income per

household and the average age of people living in the house, they likely did what

kind of research?

A. quantitative

B. qualitative

C. participant observation

D. ethnography

quantitative

If researchers wanted to do a study that required them to determine the quality

of life in a residential campus dorm, they would likely do what kind of research?

A. quantitative

B. qualitative

qualitative

Network analysis depends on mapping ties between places.

A. true

B. false

True

The U.S. Census is best described as

A. a survey.

B. an interview.

C. field notes.

D. participant observation.

a survey

What should a sociologist obtain before asking informants questions related to

research?

A. an alternative operational definition in case the first one doesn’t work

B. a random sample

C. informed consent

informed consent