Introduction to Sociology SOC-S100 Exam 1 Indiana University

Significant Symbol

A gesture that calls out in the individual making the gesture the same response that is called out in others to whom the gesture is directed

Sociology

A scientific discipline dedicated to exploring the interaction between individuals and society

Society

A complex pattern of social relationships and institutions among a large group of people which cannot be reduced to a simple collection of individuals

Agency

Our ability to act and make decisions in the world as individuals

Social Structure

Things that exist outside our control that exert a force on our lives

The Sociological Imagination

The capacity to think systematically about how many things we experience as personal problems are really social issues that are widely shared by others born in a similar time and social location as us

Institution

Stable patterns of behavior and enduring customs of social life that define, govern, and constrain action

Breaching Experiment

An experiment that seeks to examine people's reactions to violations of commonly accepted social rules or norms

The French and Industrial Revolution

What two revolutions contributed to how sociology came to be?

Epistemology

What we think we can know about the world

Empiricism

The branch of epistemology that holds that knowledge comes from sensory experience (observation)

Theory and Hypothesis

What are the elements of an Empirical Study?

Theory

A statement of how and why specific facts are related

Hypothesis

A prediction about what we are going to discover in research

Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism

What are the three theoretical perspectives of sociology?

Functionalism

Views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability

Conflict Theory

Views social structures as arising through conflict between opposing parties. These theorists focus on the ways groups dominate, control, or resist other groups.

Symbolic Interactionism

Views society as a process shaped and constructed through interactions between groups, individuals, and institutions

Quantitative

What type of methods are experiments and surveys?

Qualitative

What type of methods are in-depth interviews and Ethnography?

Experimental Research

A research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions

Ethnography

A research method in which an investigator observes people while joining them in their routine activities

our senses

How do we interact with the physical world?

Typification

A process of creating a standard (typical) social construction based on standard assumptions.

Object

Something on which attention or action is focused

Social Construction of Reality

The interactive process by which knowledge is produced and codified, making it specific to a certain group or society

Social Construct

An interpreted social phenomenon that was invented by individuals and is shaped by the social forces present in the time and place of its creation

The Definition of The Situation

The process of sense-making required to determine how one should act and to predict how others may act

Impression Management

A process through which we influence the perceptions of others by regulating and controlling the information we give off in social interaction.

Expressions Given

Expressions that one gives in order to intentionally convey information

Expressions Given Off

Expressions that one gives unintentionally

Front Stage

A region where one's performance (behavior) is open to judgement by those who observe it

Back Stage

A region where actors can discuss, polish, or refine their performance without revealing themselves to their audience

Self

An organized, stable sense of who you are

Self Concept

This list is the three elements to the _____ ______

1. the imagination of our appearance to another person

2. the imagination of their judgement of that appearance

3. some sort of self-feeling, such as pride or mortification

Internal Dialogue

This diagram is a representation of the _____ _______

Generalized other

^ \

/ V

Agent Self "I" <------- Objectified Self "Me"

Generalized Other

An organized and generalized attitude of a social group

The Internal Dialogue

The conversations we have with ourselves in our minds both verbal and non-verbal

Agent Self "I"

The acting subject whose attention is focused on taking actions

Objectified Self "Me"

The object of one's own actions, with attention focused on one's own real or imagined actions in the eyes of others

Preparatory, play, and game stage

What are the three stages in the development of self?

Preparatory Stage

During this stage, children begin to imitate the people around them.

Play Stage

The stage where children begin to develop skills in communication through symbols, taking their first steps into role taking

Game Stage

The stage where children consider several actual tasks and relationships simultaneously

Role Taking

The process of mentally assuming the perspective of another

Significant Other

Those people whose reactions are most important to your self-concept

Culture

The values, norms, and material goods characteristic of a given group

Culture Shock

The disorientation experienced when coming into contact with a fundamentally different culture

Material Culture

Includes the physical items one associates with a given group, such as artwork, emblems, clothing, jewelry, foods, buildings, and tools

Nonmaterial Culture

The beliefs, practices, aesthetics, and values of a group of people

Values

The ideas, beliefs, and attitudes about what is important that help guide the way you live

Norms

Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members that arise out of our values

Folkways, Mores, Laws and Taboos

What are the four types of Norms?

Folkways

Norms that are not strictly enforced and not seen as critical for society's survival

Mores

Norms that are seen as essential to our core values which must be conformed to in order to protect the moral order

Laws

Norms that are defined by authority that has the power to punish violators

Taboos

Norms that are so strongly ingrained that even the thought of their violation are greeted with revulsion

Capital

Any factor of production that is not wanted for itself but for its ability to help in producing other goods

Economic Capital

Economic resources such as money or property that can be exchanged or leveraged to obtain other goods

Economic, Social, Human, Cultural, and Symbolic

What are the five forms of Capital?

Human Capital

The skills knowledge and experience possessed by workers viewed in terms of their value or cost to an organization or country.

Symbolic Capital

The resources available to an individual on the basis of honor, prestige or recognition.

Social Capital

Opportunities or resources gained through the networks to which one belongs

Cultural Capital

Wealth in the form of knowledge, tastes, ideas, or competencies that legitimates the maintenance of status and power

Nomos

An individual's fundamental assumptions about how the universe works, its purpose, and its order

Nomization

The process of creating a stable definition of purpose and direction in the universe

Durkhaim's Typology of Suicide

This is a diagram of what:

Altruistic Suicide

^

|

|

Anomic | Fatalistic

<---(Regulation) -------------->

|

(Integration)

|

V

Egoistic

Integration

The degree to which individuals are connected to their community

Regulation

The sense of order and direction that society provides

Egoistic Suicide

Arises from a lack of integration within a community.

Altruistic Suicide

Arises when one is overwhelmed by the goals and needs of a group.

Fatalistic Suicide

Arises from too much regulation

Anomic Suicide

Arises from a lack of regulation and moral confusion

Anome

A condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals

Doxa

The learned, fundamental, deep-founded, unconscious beliefs, and values, that are taken as self-evident universals within a society

The Sphere of Opinion

The universe of things that may be openly contested and discussed

Heterodoxy

The position held by those who want to move away from the old Doxa towards a new belief or way of life

Orthodoxy

The position held by those who wish to return to the original doxa, in which a belief, truth, or way of life was taken for granted

sacred

Those things that are worthy of awe and special treatment and are not mundane or everyday parts of life

Profane

Things that are not worthy of awe and special treatment

Sacred and Profane

What are the two categories of objects?