Sociology CLEP

Comte

Founder of Sociology

Comte believed we needed to use the __________ _________

scientific method

Karl Marx proposed ____ _______ is the root of sociology

class conflict

Karl Marx’s 2 classes of society

1. bourgeoisie - own land + factories

2. proletariats - exploited workers

Karl Marx: how is change initiated in a society?

proletariats will eventually revolt → class conflict → change

Durkheim’s idea on suicide rates

greater social integration = lower suicide rates

Functionalist Perspective

Society = system of integrated parts / living body (when on organ fails, the whole system suffers)

Durkeim

Founder of Functionalist Perspective

anomie

normlessness/chaos

Durkheim argued that without clear-cut governing norms, _______ will result

anomie

Merton

distinguishes between manifest functions, latent function, and dysfunctions

manifest functions

obvious, intended functions

ex: bonus for every child born - child birth increases

latent functions

important but not recognized

ex: bonus for every child born - benefits to retail stores/businesses

dysfunctions

negative consequences

ex: bonus for every child born - increased taxes from no stopping to bonus

Conflict Perspective

struggle between classes, races, genders, and other groups vying for power and resources

Karl Marx

Founder of Conflict Perspective

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

focuses on micro-level of social life where meaning is built through communication and symbols

Cooley

proposed theory of looking-glass self

Looking-Glass Self Theory

self-image is a reflection of interaction with others in your social world

Mead

self is not present at birth - it develops over time through social experiences

Types of Culture

1. Material

2. Non-material

material culture

objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture

ex: clothing, cities, schools, goods, factories, neighborhoods

non-material culture

nonphysical ideas that people have about their culture - arbitrary symbols

ex: beliefs, values, norms, morals, language, religion

subculture

type of culture that still participate in the dominant culture

ex: gothic, biker - different styles but both still go to school and have jobs

counterculture

culture with values that contradict the values of those in the dominant culture

ex: mormons

culture shock

experiencing an unfamiliar culture

cultural competence

meeting the social and cultural needs of someone that is culturally different from you

ex: being an accommodating doctor

ethnocentrism

considering your own cultures right and others wrong

result of ethnocentrism

in-group loyalty

out-group discrimination

cultural relativism

embracing and understanding other cultures

types of nonmaterial culture (8)

1. gestures

2. language

3. values

4. norms

5. sanctions

6. folkways

7. mores

8. taboos

gestures

simple body movements we use to communicate with others

language

system of symbols that use words to communicate conceptual thought

values

general convictions about what is good/bad

ex: success, individualism, hard work, practicality, technology, freedom, equality

value clusters

set of values that tend to form a whole

ex: leisure, self-fulfillment, physical fitness, youthfulness, environment

value contradictions within a value cluster

disagreements between values within a value cluster

ex: group superiority and equality

norms

agreed upon expectation and rules of how people are supposed to act, think, and feel in specific situations

norms are learned through social interaction and ________

sanctions

sanction

results for following/breaking a norm

types of sanctions

positive/negative

formal/informal

what type of sanction? high five for doing well on an exam

positive informal sanction

sanction type? cash bonus at job

positive formal

sanction type? getting fired

negative formal

moral holiday

specified time that people are permitted to break their cultural norms

ex: Mardi Gras

folkways

type of norm that is the customary way of doing things

ex: not picking your nose in public

breaking a folkway results in _________ sanction

no severe

more

a more serious norm that has severe consequences for when they are broken

ex: murder

more > folkway

____ set a more in motion

laws

taboo

strongest norm; violations are seen with repulsion

ex: cannibalism

taboo > more > folkway

cultural lag

when nonmaterial culture takes time to catch up with material culture (technological innovations)

cultural diffusion

spread of culture

types of cultural diffusion

direct, indirect, forced

direct diffusion

2 cultures are geographically close to each other

directly connected through trade, intermarriage, warfare

ex: soccer in the US from Mexico

forced diffusion

one culture defeats another and forces customs onto the conquered

ex: Spanish conquistadors

indirect diffusion

cultural ideas are spread through a middleman or another culture

ex: Italian food in the US

________ ________ is a result of cultural diffusion

cultural leveling

cultural leveling

when cultures become similar to one another

driven by mass market media and international travel

___________ is the driving force of material cutlure

technology

socialization

process of learning norms, rules, values, and attitudes of your society

agents of socialization

different people and groups that influence our emotions, attitudes, and behaviors

types of agents of socialization

1. family

2. neighborhood

3. religion

4. daycare

5. school/peers

6. workplace

3 Elements of Cooley’s Looking Glass Theory

1. imagine how we appear to others

2. interpret the reaction of others

3. develop a self concept

Mead’s theory of socialization

we understand our social world through play and game

self = subject (I) and object (me)

Goffman’s theory of socialization

impression management

impression management

attempting to influence the perception of other people about a person, object, or event by regulation/controlling info

Mead’s “generalized other”

society’s expectations internalized by the individual

macrosociology

large scale features of social life

ex: war, third world countries

microsociology

small scale features of social life

ex: role of women, nature of family

social structure

patterned social arrangement that guides behavior and social location

social classes

economic/cultural arrangements of a group in society

ex: income, education, occupation

social status

position/rank of a person

2 types of social status

1. achieved

2. ascribed

ascribed status

status you’re born with

ex: age, sex, race, ethnicity

achieved status

status you earn

ex: mother, student, athlete

status symbol

denotes social status

ex: luxury goods, wedding band

master status

ascribed/achieved status that overshadows all other social positions

roles

behaviors associated with a status

ex: playing sick role

groups

people who interact with one another and “belong together”

social institutions

social structure/mechanism of social order that governs our behavior as a set of individuals

ex: education system, marriage/family unit, politics, religion, economics

2 methods of microsociology

1. symbolic interactionism

2. ethnomethodology

symbolic interactionist are interested in:

symbols and their attached meanings

Edward Hall’s zones of space

1. public zone 12> ft

2. social zone 4-12 ft

3. personal zone 1.5-4 ft

4. intimate zone 1.5<

Erving Goffman termed the word ____________

dramaturgy

dramaturgy

life is like play with different stages

role performance

how successfully you play your prescribed role

role conflict

conflict among roles corresponding to 2/+ statuses

ex: daughter, friend, student

role strain

strain in roles within the same status

ex: student needs to study, go to club meetings, meet with teacher

ethnomethodology

how people interact with the world and use background assumptions to get through life

background assumption

basic rules/ideas for everyday life

Thomas Theorem

behavior depends on subjective interpretation of reality

ex: if people think a bank will become bankrupt, they withdraw their money, and the bank actually becomes bankrupt

aggregate

people who temporarily share the same physical space but do not see themselves as belonging together

ex: people waiting in line at a grocery store

category

people who share similar characteristics but don’t necessarily interact

ex: college females who wear glasses

types of social groups

1. primary groups

2. secondary groups

primary groups

• smaller

• sources of social support

• face-to-face

secondary groups

• larger

• based on mutual interest

• formal and impersonal group

types of solidarity

1. organic solidarity

2. mechanical solidarity

organic solidarity

interdependence; keep societies together in more complex groups

mechanical solidarity

high similarity between members; homogenous

acts as the social glue in less complex societies

type of secondary groups

voluntary association, bureacracy

voluntary association

volunteers who have organized on the basis of some mutual interest

ex: political parties, churches, teams, clubs