Sociology Exam 1

What is Sociology?

the scientific study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions 

The Sociological Imagination:

the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and larger social forces 

agency

individual choices and actions

structure

social forces that shape individual behavior

troubles

personal challenges

issues

social problems affecting a society such as mass unemployment due to economic problems 

social facts

values, cultural norms and social structures that transcend the individual and can exercise social control

Durkheim’s Suicide

social integration was key factor in determining suicide rates

Enclosure Movement

the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions

Auguste Comte

coined the concept of sociology referring to the scientific study of society

Positivism

scientific study of social patterns that hold that society 

Theory

Statement of how and why specific facts are related… goal is to explain social behavior 

Structural-functional

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

Symbolic-interaction

these see society as a product of everyday interaction of individuals

Social-conflict

Building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change 

historical materialism

Emphasizes the role of material conditions rather than ideas in explaining social development and change 

base

shapes the superstructure

superstructure

maintains the base

materialism

the belief that matter (objective social relations) determine reality (Marx)

idealism

the belief that ideas create or are behind reality (Weber)

protestant ethic

work ethic tied to religious beliefs that helped capitalism grow 

rationalism

Society becomes more focused on efficiency rules and bureaucracy 

social science

empirical evidence to sutdy society

validity

how well the study measures what it was designed to measure

reliability

how likely research results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced 

experiment

Research method for investigating cause and effect

independent variable

the cause

dependent variable

the effect

survey

Subjects respond to a series of statements or questions in a questionnaire or  interview

field research

Gathering primary data from a natural environment without doing a labor experiment or survey

secondary data

researchers utilizes data collected by others

research ethics

Ensuring informed consent, avoiding harm, and maintaining objectivity 

culture

the way of thinking

society

people who interact in a shared territory

cultural universals

patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies

culture shock

refers to the personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life

symbols

anything that carries a meaning recognized by people who share a culture

language

symbols that allow people to communicate with one another

norms

rules and expectation by which a society guides the behavior of its members

values

ideals and standard members of a culture hold in high regard

beliefs

specific statements that people hold to be true

high culture

cultural patterns that distinguish a societys elite

popular culture

designates cultural patterns that are widespread among a societys population

subcultures

cultural patterns that distinguish some segment of a society’s problem

counterculture

cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society

multiculturalism

perspective recognizing and promoting respect and equal standing for all cultural traditions

cultural change

how and why culture elements evolve over time

Theoretical Analysis of Culture

helps us understand how culture functions, maintains power structures, and is shaped through interactions

nature

genes and hereditary factors, physical appearance, personality characteristics

nurture

environmental variables, childhood experiences, how we are raised, social relationships, surrounding culture

family

the most important agent of socialization. marked by social class race and ethnicity 

school

 introduces students to being evaluated  according to universal standards

peer group

social groups whose members have interest, social patterns, and age in common

mass media

impersonal communications aimed at a vast audience and also shape socialization 

childhood

most important phase of socialization, varies marked by class, race, and gender

adolescence

period of social and emotional turmoil reflecting cultural inconsistency. Also varies with class, race, and gender

early adulthood and middle adulthood

(late teens to 40s) workplace socialization.  middle adulthood (40 to 60) live circumstances fairly set aging and divorce, empty nest, midlife crisis

old age

us population is currently experiemncing an increase in the elderly population

death and dying

average American lifespan currently declining

generation z

shaped by how they were raised, public events they witnessed in adolescence, and the social mission they take on as they come of age 

total institutions

 settings in which people are isolated from the rest of society and manipulated by an administrative staff