Sociology: The Sociological Perspective, Theoretical Approaches, and Stratification

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering introductory sociology topics, sociological perspectives, major theoretical approaches, Comte's stages, stratification concepts, C. Wright Mills' sociological imagination, and real-world applied sociology.

Sociology

The systematic study of human society.

The Sociological Perspective

The distinct viewpoint of sociology that involves seeing the general in the particular, enabling sociologists to identify general social patterns in the behaviour of particular individuals.

Auguste Comte

The French philosopher recognized as the founder of sociology who coined the term to study modern social reality scientifically through three historical stages.

Theological Stage

Comte's first historical stage of society (exemplified by the Church in the Middle Ages) where social life was understood as an expression of God's will.

Metaphysical Stage

Comte's second historical stage of society, linked to the Enlightenment and thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, in which society was viewed as a natural rather than supernatural system.

Scientific Stage

Comte's third historical stage of society, marked by applying the scientific approach—used in physics and chemistry—to study modern social reality and social systems.

Positivism

A way of understanding based on science, holding that society operates according to definite laws just like the physical world.

Empowerment

The process of giving someone the power, right, or authority to do something or to control what happens to them.

Theory

A statement of how and why specific facts are related.

Theoretical Approach

A basic image of society that guides thinking and research.

Structural-Functional Approach

A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.

Social Structure

Any relatively stable pattern of social behaviour.

Social Functions

The consequences of a social pattern for the operation of society as a whole.

Manifest Functions

The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern.

Latent Functions

The unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern.

Social Dysfunction

Any social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society.

Social-Conflict Approach

A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.

Gender-Conflict Approach

A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men, closely linked to feminism's advocacy of social equality.

Race-Conflict Approach

A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories.

Symbolic-Interaction Approach

A framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals, viewing reality as a mosaic of shared subjective meanings.

Postmodern Approach

An approach critical of modernism that distrusts grand theories and ideologies, holding that human sciences cannot be purely scientific due to human subjectivity.

Social Stratification

A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.

Social Mobility

A change in position within the social hierarchy.

Caste System

A closed system of social stratification based entirely on ascription or birth, permitting little or no social mobility based on personal effort.

Class System

An open system of social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement, allowing for greater social mobility.

Meritocracy

Social stratification based on personal merit.

Status Consistency

The degree of consistency of a person's social standing across various dimensions of social inequality, such as wealth, power, and prestige.

Ideology

Cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including inequality.

C. Wright Mills

The American sociologist who authored The Sociological Imagination (1959), articulating the connection between biography and history as well as personal troubles and public issues.

Sociological Imagination

The quality of mind that enables its possessor to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society, connecting personal experiences to larger social structures.

Personal Troubles

Difficulties that occur within the character of an individual and within the range of their immediate relations, considered a private matter where cherished individual values feel threatened.

Public Issues

Matters that transcend local environments and the individual's inner life, involving institutions of an historical society as a whole and crises in institutional arrangements.

Thin Slicing

A psychological concept concerning the ability of human first impressions to draw a vast amount of nonverbal cues about a stranger from a minimal encounter or photograph.

Elo Rating (Tinder)

A proprietary algorithm referencing chess that assigns an undisclosed rating to each user profile based on the frequency of right swipes to determine profile visibility.

Jessica Carbino

A sociologist who served as the in-house sociologist at Tinder, applying sociological methods and research (such as thin slicing) to analyze user dating patterns and help refine app algorithms.