Introduction to Sociology – Key Vocabulary

Ten foundational vocabulary terms from Chapter 1: The Foundation of Sociology, covering core concepts, theories, and thinkers.

Sociology

The scientific study of social behavior, human groups, and the ways society shapes and is shaped by individuals.

Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills’s concept describing the ability to connect personal experiences (private troubles) to wider social structures (public issues).

Society

A group of people sharing a defined territory and a common culture.

Culture

The shared practices, values, beliefs, and material objects that characterize a group or society.

Positivism

Auguste Comte’s idea that reliable knowledge of society should come from scientific observation and empirical data.

Verstehen

Max Weber’s approach requiring researchers to understand social actions from the insider’s subjective point of view.

Structural Functionalism

Macro-level perspective that views society as a system of interrelated parts working together to maintain stability, with manifest and latent functions (Merton).

Conflict Theory

Macro-level perspective, rooted in Karl Marx, asserting that society is in constant struggle over scarce resources, producing inequality and social change.

Symbolic Interactionism

Micro-level perspective focusing on how individuals create and interpret meanings through symbols, language, and everyday interactions (Mead, Cooley).

Looking-Glass Self

Charles Horton Cooley’s idea that individuals form their self-image by imagining how others perceive and judge them.