Sociology Chapters 1–5: Social Facts, Culture, Identity, Interaction & Deviance

What is sociology?

The science of society that studies social facts using data.

Define a social fact.

Products of human interaction that have persuasive or coercive power and exist outside any one individual.

Give examples of social facts in U.S. society.

Money, laws, holidays, dress codes, language.

What is a research question in sociology?

A question about the world that can be answered empirically (with evidence).

What are qualitative research methods?

Methods that study the meaning of nonnumerical data (words, stories, observations).

What are quantitative research methods?

Methods that examine numerical data using math.

What is sociological sympathy?

Understanding others as they understand themselves.

What is research ethics?

The moral principles that guide empirical inquiry.

What is sociological theory?

Evidence-based explanations and predictions about relationships between social facts.

What are social patterns?

Explainable, foreseeable similarities and differences among people, shaped by their social conditions.

What is the sociological imagination?

The ability to see how people's lives are shaped by the social facts around them.

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative = meaning, words, nonnumerical; Quantitative = numbers and math.

What is the looking-glass self according to Cooley?

We see ourselves the way we think others see us, leading to feelings of pride or shame.

What is the 'I' and 'me' in Mead's theory?

The 'I' is the spontaneous part of you; the 'me' is how you see yourself as an object based on society's expectations.

What is a self-narrative?

The story we tell about where our self came from and where it is likely going.

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

What people believe is true becomes true, even if it wasn't true at first.

What is an in-depth interview?

An intimate conversation between researcher and research subject.

What is coding in research?

Sorting segments of text into relevant categories.

What is the difference between an experimental group and a control group?

Experimental group receives the treatment; control group does not.

What are causal claims?

Claims that say the independent variable directly causes a change in the dependent variable.

What are correlational claims?

Claims that say two variables change together, but do not prove one causes the other.

What is culture in sociology?

Differences in groups' shared ideas, plus the objects, practices, and bodies that reflect those ideas.

What is socialization?

The lifelong learning process by which we become members of our cultures.

What does it mean to be culturally competent?

Able to understand and navigate our cultures with ease.

What is a social construct?

An influential, shared interpretation of reality that varies across time and place.

What is social construction?

The process of layering objects with ideas and connecting them.

What are subcultures?

Subgroups within a society with distinct ideas, objects, practices, and bodies.

What are beliefs in sociology?

Ideas about what is true or false.

What are values in sociology?

Ideas about what is right or wrong.

Define beliefs in the context of socialization.

Ideas about what is true or false.

What do values represent?

Ideas about what is right or wrong.

What are norms?

Shared expectations for behavior.

What is interpersonal socialization?

The process where others help us become culturally competent.

What is self-socialization?

The active effort to become culturally competent on our own.

What are social ties?

Our connections to other people.

Define social networks.

Webs of ties linking us to others, including those connected through someone else.

What is homophily?

The tendency to connect with people similar to ourselves.

What is mass media?

Communication meant to reach many people.

Define media socialization.

Learning to be culturally competent through exposure to media.

What does embodied mean in socialization?

Cultural expressions that are physically present and detectable in the body.

What is the culture-as-value thesis?

The idea that we are socialized into culture-specific moralities that guide our feelings about right and wrong.

Define ethnocentrism.

Assuming your own culture is superior to others.

What is cultural relativism?

Noting differences between cultures without passing judgment.

What is social identity theory?

The theory that people form groups and make membership part of their identity.

What is positive distinction?

Claiming that one's own group is superior to others.

What is the minimal group paradigm?

The concept that people form groups based on trivial reasons.

What are the five steps of social construction?

1. Inventing, 2. Dividing, 3. Stereotyping, 4. Performing, 5. Ranking.

What does the term 'doing identity' refer to?

Actively performing our social identities.

Define stigma in the context of identity.

A personal attribute widely devalued in society.

What is conspicuous consumption?

Spending lavishly to show off wealth.

What are controlling images?

Widespread negative stereotypes that justify or uphold inequality.

What is status in social identity?

High or low esteem assigned to individuals based on their identities.

What are status beliefs?

Shared ideas about which groups deserve more or less esteem.

What does intersectionality remind us about identities?

That identities overlap and can intersect in complex ways.

What does 'status elite' refer to?

People who carry many positively regarded identities.

What is the memory hook for the five steps of ability and disability?

'I Don't Stop Playing Roles' = Inventing, Dividing, Stereotyping, Performing, Ranking.

What is ableism?

Prejudice and discrimination against people perceived to have disabilities.

Define intersectionality.

The concept that our lives are shaped by multiple, interacting identities at once.

What is content analysis?

A research method that counts and describes patterns or themes in media.

What is computational sociology?

Using computers to perform tasks humans can't do easily, like analyzing millions of posts.

Differentiate between sex and gender.

Sex refers to physical/reproductive traits; gender refers to societal ideas and traits associated with them.

What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

Race is based on artificial distinctions from imagined biology; ethnicity is based on shared history and culture.

Define prejudice and stereotype.

A stereotype is a cluster of ideas about a group; prejudice is a negative attitude toward that group.

What is in-group bias?

Treating people differently based on their group membership.

What is social interaction?

Moments we share with other people.

Define social rules.

Culturally specific norms, policies, and laws that guide behavior.

What are folkways?

Loosely enforced norms, such as not cutting in line.

What are mores?

Tightly enforced norms with moral significance, like not stealing.

What are taboos?

Prohibitions so strong that the thought of breaking them is sickening, such as cannibalism.

What are policies?

Rules made and enforced by organizations.

What are laws?

Rules made and enforced by city, state, or federal governments.

What are social sanctions?

Reactions from others that push us toward conformity.

What is an account in social interaction?

An excuse that explains why a rule was broken while affirming the rule's validity.

Define symbolic interactionism.

The theory that social interaction depends on the social construction of reality.

What is dramaturgy according to Erving Goffman?

Viewing social life as a series of performances where individuals act on metaphorical stages.

What is impression management?

Efforts to control how others perceive us.

What is the difference between front stage and back stage?

Front stage is public spaces with an audience; back stage is private spaces where we relax or rehearse.

What are microaggressions?

Brief, often ambiguous exchanges that put someone down due to their social identities.

What is ethnomethodology?

Research that reveals the shared, underlying logic behind social interactions.

What is breaching in sociology?

Purposely breaking a social rule to observe how others react.

Define deviance.

Behaviors and beliefs that violate social expectations and attract negative sanctions.

What does it mean that deviance is a social construct?

That what counts as deviant behavior changes over time and place.

What is strain theory?

The theory that deviance arises from tension between widely valued goals and people's ability to achieve them legitimately.

What is differential association theory?

The theory that deviant behavior is learned through social networks.

What is social disorganization theory?

The theory that deviance is more common in dysfunctional neighborhoods.

What does social disorganization theory suggest about deviance?

Deviance is more common in dysfunctional neighborhoods.

Define concentrated poverty.

An area where 40 percent or more of residents live below the federal poverty line.

What is neutralization theory?

A theory that explains how people develop culturally credible excuses for rule breaking.

What is labeling theory?

A theory that suggests the labels applied to individuals influence their behavior.

What is primary deviance?

The first act of deviance that attracts a label.

What is secondary deviance?

Further deviance caused by receiving a label.

What is the gap identified by strain theory?

The gap between societal goals and the means to achieve them.

What does structural functionalism emphasize?

Society as a system of necessary, synchronized parts working together to create stability.

What is collective conscience?

A society's shared understanding of right and wrong.

Define anomie.

Widespread normlessness or a weakening of social rules.

How can deviance be useful according to structural functionalism?

It clarifies rules, unites people against rule breakers, and can signal the need for rule changes.

What does conflict theory propose about society?

Societies are defined by competing interests rather than shared ones.

What is social inequality?

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige among individuals.

What is the role of power in defining deviance according to conflict theory?

Those with power decide what counts as deviant, and deviance can be a form of resistance.

What is a survey in research methods?

A method of collecting data by asking people to complete a questionnaire.