MCC The Matrix Fall 2024 Exam 1

Microsociology

examines small group interactions and how they impact larger institutions in society

Macrosociology

examines large scale social structures to see how they impact individuals

Endogamy

marriage within your own social group

Exogamy

marriage to someone outside your social group

Homogamy

dating or marrying someone with a similar background to your own

Heterogamy

marrying across traditional boundaries (race, class, religion)

Deductive Approach

hypothesis, then data gathering to test the hypothesis

Inductive Approach

data gathering first, then hypothesis

Ethnography

the study of people in their own environment

Participant Observation

researcher observes and becomes part of the social setting (part of ethnography)

Overt Research

study group is informed that they are being studied

Covert Research

study group is unaware they are being studied

Reflexivity

researcher's bias and how the researcher's background can influence what occurs in the field

Field Expirement

experiment performed in the real world with controlled conditions to see impact on another variable

Microtheory

symbolic interactionism; action in terms of meanings assigned to objects within an environment (socially constructed meanings)

Macrotheory

structural functionalism, conflict theory, feminist theory

Structural Functionalism

stable, ordered system, made of interrelated parts/structures

Conflict Theory

sees social conflict as the basis for change

Feminist Theory

focus on gender and gender inequality

Ethnocentrism

use of your own culture as the standard to measure all other cultures, etc

Cultural Relativism

seeing each culture on its own terms (culturally sensitive)

Material Culture

physical objects holding social meaning

Symbolic/Non-Material Culture

ways of thinking and behaving, such as communication, beliefs & ideals, and social norms

Countercultures

cultures that go against the dominant culture

Hegemony

ability of a dominant group to maintain power over other groups

Multiculturalism

beliefs/policies promoting equal accommodation of ethnic and social groups