Sociology 1000 Exam 1 List

Sociological Imagination

The ability to connect personal, individual experiences to broader social forces and historical patterns.

Social Institution

An established, organized system of social behavior with a recognized purpose (e.g., family, education, religion). It is not a physical place; it persists over time and consists of roles, rules, relationships, and behavioral expectations.

Karl Marx

Major classical sociologist who developed Conflict Theory; argued that class conflict between the bourgeoisie (owners) and proletariat (workers) drives historical and social change.

Max Weber

Classical sociologist known for subjective understanding ("Verstehen"), studying the rationalization of society, bureaucracy, and the link between the Protestant work ethic and modern capitalism.

Émile Durkheim

Founding sociologist of functionalism; studied social facts, social cohesion/solidarity (mechanical vs. organic), and anomie (normlessness), demonstrating that even suicide has social causes.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Pioneering American sociologist who studied racial inequality and racial identity; introduced the concept of "double consciousness" (the internal conflict experienced by Black Americans viewing themselves through the lens of a racist society).

Functionalism

A macro-level perspective viewing society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity, order, and stability, with manifest (intended) and latent (unintended) functions.

Conflict Theory

A macro-level perspective viewing society as fragmented into groups competing for scarce resources and power; emphasizes inequality, dominance, and social change.

Feminist Theory

A sociological perspective centered on gender inequalities, patriarchal structures, and the social experiences of women across institutions.

Symbolic Interactionism

A micro-level framework viewing society as the product of everyday, face-to-face interactions where people negotiate meanings through shared symbols, words, and gestures.

Sociology

Sociology focuses systematically on social structures, group dynamics, and institutional influences on human behavior,

Micro-sociology vs. Macro-sociology

Micro-sociology examines small-scale, face-to-face interpersonal interactions and dynamics; macro-sociology examines large-scale social structures, broad trends, institutions, and overall social systems.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Methods

Quantitative methods collect numerical data to analyze patterns and statistical relationships (e.g., surveys); qualitative methods collect descriptive, non-numerical data to uncover meanings and lived experiences (e.g., in-depth interviews, ethnography).

Deductive vs. Inductive Approach

Deductive reasoning starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, and collects empirical data to test it (top-down); inductive reasoning starts with empirical observations and builds toward a broader generalization or theory (bottom-up).

Causality vs. Correlation

Correlation means two variables change together; causality means a change in one variable directly produces a change in another (requiring correlation, time order, and non-spuriousness).

Hypothesis

A testable, educated statement predicting the relationship between two or more variables.

Independent vs. Dependent Variable

An independent variable is the hypothesized cause that influences change; a dependent variable is the outcome or effect being measured.

Operationalization

The process of defining abstract concepts into specific, measurable variables for empirical research.

Validity

The degree to which a measurement accurately reflects the specific concept it is intended to measure.

Reliability

The consistency of a measurement over repeated trials; obtaining the same result when using the same measure under identical conditions.

Generalizability

The extent to which research findings from a specific sample can be applied to the larger target population.

Experimenter Effect and Reflexivity

The experimenter effect occurs when researcher behavior inadvertently biases subjects' responses; reflexivity is a researcher's critical self-awareness of their own role, background, and biases in shaping the research process.

Participant Observation (Pros & Cons)

Pro: Yields rich, nuanced, real-world context and depth. Con: Time-consuming, difficult to replicate, and limited generalizability.

Interviews (Pros & Cons)

Pro: Captures deep personal perspectives and complex explanations. Con: Subject to interviewer bias and high time investment per participant.

Surveys (Pros & Cons)

Pro: Can sample large populations efficiently and produce generalizable, quantifiable data. Con: Superficial data with limited depth, prone to self-reporting errors.

Experiments (Pros & Cons)

Pro: Strong control over variables to establish clear causal relationships. Con: Artificial lab environments may produce unnatural behavior (Hawthorne effect) and raise ethical concerns.

Informed Consent

An ethical requirement ensuring research subjects are voluntarily participating after being fully briefed on the study's purpose, risks, and potential benefits.

Culture (Material vs. Nonmaterial)

Culture is the shared set of beliefs, traditions, practices, and artifacts of a group. Material culture includes physical objects and technology; nonmaterial culture includes values, norms, beliefs, and language.

Cultural vs. Biological Explanations

Sociologists favor cultural explanations because human behavior varies dramatically across societies and eras, proving that learned social norms shape action far more than universal biological instincts.

Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism is evaluating or judging other cultures using the standards of one's own; cultural relativism is evaluating a culture's practices and beliefs from within the context of that culture itself.

Cultural Scripts

Culturally specific modes of behavior, understanding, and communication that guide social interaction (not universal or biologically innate).

Culture Shock

Disorientation and anxiety experienced when suddenly immersed in an unfamiliar cultural environment with foreign norms and expectations.

Code-Switching

Shifting between different languages, dialects, or communication styles depending on the cultural context or social setting.

Subculture vs. Counterculture

A subculture is a distinct group within a broader society with unique values/norms that still coexist with the mainstream; a counterculture is a group whose core values and norms directly oppose and reject dominant societal culture.

Hegemony vs. Soft Power

Hegemony is a dominant group using cultural leadership and consent rather than direct force to maintain control; soft power is influencing others' behaviors or preferences through cultural attraction, values, and diplomacy rather than coercion.

Media Concentration

The consolidation of media ownership into a small number of massive conglomerates, which narrows viewpoint diversity, limits critical discourse, and shapes public agenda around corporate interests.

Media Effects and Stereotypes

Media selectively frames and repeats narrow, one-dimensional depictions of social groups, reinforcing systemic stereotypes, implicit biases, and cultural norms across society.

Socialization

The lifelong process through which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a society to learn how to function as its members.

Agents of Socialization

Key social groups and institutions that teach norms and social expectations: family (primary agent), schools, peer groups, mass media, and the workplace.

Resocialization

The process of unlearning old behaviors, values, and roles to adopt entirely new ones when transitioning into a new life stage or total institution (e.g., military, prison).

Looking-Glass Self (Cooley)

The theory that an individual's self-concept is formed through imagining how they appear to others, imagining how others judge that appearance, and developing an emotional response to that judgment.

Mead's Theory of the Social Self

The "I" is the unsocialized, spontaneous, creative self; the "me" is the socialized self that incorporates the expectations of others; development progresses from imitation to play to games, culminating in understanding the "generalized other" (the overall norms and expectations of society).

Dramaturgical Theory (Goffman)

A sociological perspective viewing social life as a theatrical performance where individuals act out scripted roles.

Front Stage, Backstage, and Impression Management

Front stage is where individuals perform for an audience and adhere to social scripts; backstage is where individuals relax, drop the performance, and prepare; impression management is the conscious or subconscious effort to control the perceptions others form of them.