Sociology Foundations and Theoretical Perspectives Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards reviewing key sociologists, types of suicide, major theoretical frameworks, and concepts of symbolic interactionism.

Herbert Spencer

Sociologist who developed the first Sociology textbook, believed every society has a specialized function to survive, and became known as a proponent of 'Survival of the fittest' & Doctrine.

Emile Durkheim

Sociologist who noted that industrialization forced or induced people to leave rural communities for urban areas, produced the first sociological study on suicide, and identified social integration as a key social factor.

Social Integration

The degree to which people are tied to a social group.

Egoistic Suicide

Type of suicide characterized by low group solidarity, isolation, and loneliness.

Altruistic Suicide

Type of suicide characterized by a high level of group solidarity and over involvement with others.

Anomic Suicide

Type of suicide caused by feeling disconnected from society values, such as knowing what goals to strive for but lacking the means to obtain them.

Fatalistic Suicide

Type of suicide derived from excessive and oppressive social regulation, such as slavery.

W. E. B. Du Bois

Sociologist who focused on structural oppression of people regarding gender and race, published 'The Soute of black folks', and discussed 'double consciousness'.

Double Consciousness

Concept discussed by W. E. B. Du Bois where an African American sees themselves as an American but also as a person of color.

Society

A group of people who follow shared rules and expected ways of behaving.

Middle Range Theory

Theory introduced by Robert K. Merton that is neither macro nor micro, focusing on family, education, and political sociology.

Conflict Theory

A theory about different groups of society competing for power, money, and resources, where social systems are unstable, change rapidly, and social order is achieved through coercion and force.

Functional Theory

A theory stating that social systems are highly stable, social life is governed by consensus and cooperation, and social order is achieved through cooperation.

Micro Level

A level of sociological analysis focusing on small, everyday, person-to-person, or face-to-face interactions between people.

Symbolic Interaction Theory

A micro-level theory concerned with how people give meaning to behavior through interactions with others, how people place meanings on another's behavior, and how people understand and respond to each other.

Social Construction of Reality

The concept that we create our view of reality based on society and our experiences.

Thomas Theorem

Sociological theorem stating that if we believe something is real, it can have real consequences.

George H. Mead

Sociologist who developed symbolic interaction theory.

Herbert Bulmer (1962)

Student of George H. Mead who named the symbolic interaction theory.

Role Taking

Putting yourself in someone else's position.

Subjective Interaction

Your personal understanding of what something means.

Sense of Self

How we see ourselves, which is shaped by interaction with other people.

Max Weber

Sociologist in whose work symbolic interaction has roots, who noted that social life includes both cooperation & solidarity and exploitation & conflict.