Sociological Theories, Research Methods, and Socialization

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering sociological perspectives, scientific research standards and methodologies, and human socialization theories.

Theory

A set of logically and systematically interrelated propositions that explain and predict a particular process or phenomenon.

Sociological Theory

A set of interrelated logical principles, ideas, or assumptions that provide structural explanations and predictions for human behaviors and social conditions.

Grand Theory

A theory based on very broad assumptions that provides general structures and patterns for sociological reasoning; because of their broad design, they are not directly testable.

Grounded Theories

More specific, testable theories created under grand theories for understanding and predicting specific social phenomena.

Structural Functionalism

The theory that societies contain certain interdependent structures, each of which performs certain functions for the maintenance and stability of society.

Manifest Functions

Consequences of social structures that are directly intended or recognized.

Latent Functions

Consequences of social structures that are not directly intended or recognized.

Dysfunctional Parts

Parts or consequences in a social system that make negative contributions to social stability or lead to the breakdown of the system.

Functional Alternatives

Meeting functions of the system in ways other than initially intended to achieve the intended goal and avoid dysfunctions.

Conflict Theory

A social theory that views conflict as inevitable and natural and as a significant cause of social change.

Symbolic Interaction Theory

The social theory stressing interactions between people and the social processes that occur within the individual that are made possible by language and internalized meaning.

Thomas Theorem

The principle formulated by William I. Thomas asserting that when people define a situation as real, the situation becomes real in its consequences.

Empirical Methods

Scientific methods that focus on observable phenomena, allowing researchers to check observations for accuracy and strive for objectivity.

Concept

An abstract system of meaning that enables us to perceive a phenomenon in a certain way; tools that permit us to share meanings.

Variable

A characteristic such as age, class, or income that can vary from one person to another; a concept that can have two or more values.

Proposition

A statement about the nature of some phenomenon, generally consisting of a statement about the relationship between two or more concepts or variables.

Hypothesis

A type of proposition formulated so that it can be tested, indicating how stated relations between variables can be tested empirically.

Direct Relationship

A relationship between two variables in which an increase in one variable is accompanied by an increase in the other.

Inverse Relationship

A relationship between two variables such that an increase in one variable is accompanied by a decrease in the other.

Null Hypothesis

A statement proposing that there is no relationship between the variables of interest.

Objectivity

The scientific standard asserting that the personal biases and values of researchers must never influence the data reported or the interpretation of results.

Replication

The scientific standard asserting that research should be conducted and reported in such a way that someone else can duplicate it under similar conditions and produce virtually identical results.

Precision of Measurement

The scientific standard asserting that the phenomenon being studied should be measured in precise, reliable, and valid ways.

Operational Definition

A definition of a concept or variable such that it can be measured during research.

Descriptive Research

Research that describes social reality or provides facts about the social world, addressing questions of who, what, where, when, how often, and how many.

Reliability

The extent to which repeated observations of the same phenomena yield similar results.

Validity

The extent to which observations actually measure what they are supposed to measure.

Explanatory Research

Research that attempts to explain why things do or do not happen by examining relationships and causal connections between social variables.

Independent Variable

The variable presumed to cause an effect in an experiment or study; it must precede the dependent variable in time.

Dependent Variable

A variable that is changed, influenced, or affected by another variable.

Evaluative Research

Research that measures how well a program or project works in relation to its specified goals.

Qualitative Methods

Sociological methods used to determine the essential characteristics, properties, or processes of something or someone rather than counting numbers.

Quantitative Methods

The gathering of numerical data that is usually used to test a hypothesis or examine the relationship between variables.

Observational Research

Research in which the researcher watches what is happening and makes no attempt to control or modify the activity being observed.

Participant Observation

An observational technique in which the researcher becomes an active participant in the population, community, or event being studied.

Survey Research

A quantitative research technique that involves systematically asking people questions about their attitudes, feelings, ideas, opinions, or behaviors.

Sample

A number of individuals or cases drawn from a larger population thought to represent that larger population.

Random Sample

A sample selected by chance in such a way that every member of a population has an equal chance of being chosen.

Systematic Sampling

Obtaining a sample from a population by following a specific pattern of selection, such as choosing every tenth person.

Stratified Sampling

Sampling in which a population is divided into categories and then subjects are chosen at random from within those categories.

Experimental Design

A scientific procedure in which at least two matched categories, differing only in the variable being studied, are used to collect and compare data.

Hawthorne Effect

Contamination of experimental outcomes resulting from the researcher's presence becoming a significant independent variable that alters subject behavior.

Secondary Analysis

The use of existing information that was gathered by others or that exists independently of one's own research.

Content Analysis

The procedure of systematically extracting thematic data from a wide range of communications.

Socialization

The lifelong process of learning to develop all human potentials and how to interact in society by learning the rules and expectations of society.

Nature-Nurture Debate

A longstanding debate over whether behavior results from predetermined biological characteristics or from socialization and environmental influences.

Sociobiology

The study of the biological and genetic determinants of social behavior.

Instinct

Biological or hereditary impulses, drives, or behaviors that require no learning or reasoning.

Self-Concept

The images by which we see and describe ourselves.

Looking-Glass Self

A three-component social interaction process theorized by Charles Horton Cooley in which we perceive ourselves as we believe others perceive and judge us.

Identity Negotiation

A process of selecting the identity that is most consistent with the image of ourselves with which we have grown accustomed when faced with conflicting looking-glasses.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A prediction that comes true because people believe it and act as though it were true.

Role Playing

How individuals behave to fulfill the expectations of their positions within their groups.

Role-Taking

Assuming the roles of others and seeing the world from their perspective.

Significant Others

Important people in the lives of children, especially with regard to socialization, whose roles are imitated during early development.

Generalized Others

The assumption that other people have similar attitudes, values, beliefs, and expectations, providing a generalized reference for conduct across roles.

The "I"

According to George Herbert Mead, the acting, spontaneous, and unself-conscious component of the self that responds to personal needs.

The "Me"

According to George Herbert Mead, the part of the self that sees self as an object, evaluates self, and is aware of society's expectations.

Presentation of Self

The way we present ourselves to others and how our presentation influences others' impressions and expectations.

Dramaturgical Approach

Erving Goffman's framework comparing social interaction to a drama on stage, distinguishing between backstage preparation and frontstage presentation.

Impression Management

How we manage other people's impressions of ourselves so that they perceive and accept us the way we prefer to be seen.

Behaviorism Theory

John Watson's theory proposing that human behavior is learned through cultural tolerance and shaped by sanctions (rewards and punishments).

Peer Group

An informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age.

Mass Media

Forms of communication, such as television, popular magazines, and radio, intended for a large audience.

Instrumental Role

A social role that emphasizes accomplishment of tasks—such as earning a living to provide food and shelter—and is traditionally associated more with men than with women.

Expressive Role

A social role that emphasizes warmth and understanding rather than action or leadership—and is traditionally associated more with women than with men.

Gender Identity

The social construction of boys and girls, men and women, as opposed to their biological characteristics.

Resocialization

Socialization to a new role or position in life that requires a dramatic shift in the attitudes, values, behaviors, and expectations learned in the past.

Mortification of Self

The most dramatic type of resocialization, occurring in total institutions like prisons and mental hospitals, where an individual is stripped of all characteristics of past identity.