Sociology Exam 1

Ball State Soc 100

Emile Durkheim

A French sociologist who focused on social causes of suicide in the 1890’s.

Social forces

Influence how society behaves (social integration & social regulation).

Social integration (Interaction)

How well one is integrated into his/her social group or community.

Social regulation (Norms)

The number of rules guiding one’s daily life.

Altruistic suicide

Occurs when one experiences too much social integration (Kamikaze pilots during WWII).

Egoistic suicide

Occurs when one is not well integrated into a social group (unmarried, elderly, etc).

Anomic suicide

Occurs as a result of too little social regulation (stock market crash).

Fatalistic suicide

Occurs as a result of too much social regulation (prisoners and slaves).

Sociology

The study of human society.

Auguste Comte

A French thinker who coined the term “sociology” in 1838.

Main characteristics of sociology

Members of a group, systematic patterns, and individual outcomes (social forces).

Sociological imagination

The ability to connect the most basic intimate aspects of an individual’s life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces.

Wright Mills

An American who coined the term “sociological imagination”.

Social structures

Stable patterns of social relations.

Microstructures

Patterns of intimate social relation (family members, friends, couples, etc).

Macrostructures

Patterns of social relations outside of your circle of intimates and acquaintances (class, race, gender relations).

Global structures

International organizations, worldwide travel and communication, and economic relations between countries.

Levels of social structure

micro → macro → global

Functionalism

A theory that suggests all social institutions have a function or serve a purpose for society (medical system, legal system, etc). How is society integrated?

Criticisms of functionalism

Disregarded historical process and is difficult to use to explain social change.

Robert Merton

Came up with 3 different functions based off Functionalism (manifest functions, latent functions, & dysfunction).

Manifest functions

Intended and easily observed.

Latent functions

Unintended and less obvious.

Dysfunction

Disruptive consequences.

Conflict theory

A theory that suggests groups in society are in a constant state of conflict as they vie for access to limited resources (need for change, revolution, etc). How is society divided?

Criticisms of conflict theory

The driving force of society is not just social class, but also politics and religion.

Karl Marx

A German concerned with social change through social conflict and revolution. Also developed theories of class conflict.

W.E.B. Du Bois

He was concerned with racial equality and created the NAACP.

Max Weber

A German sociologist who criticized Marx. He argued that the driving force of society is not just social class, but also politics and religion.

Symbolic interactionism

A theory that suggests human understanding of the social world are continuously created as people interpret the symbols they encounter in interactions. What are your experiences in this society?

George Herbert Mead

An American sociologist who founded social psychology.

Erving Goffman

He wrote a book called “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” and used theatre to show the importance of human social interaction.

Criticism of symbolic interactionism

It neglects larger social institutions and social processes. It also neglects powerful issues of stability and change.

Feminist theory

Focus on patriarchy (male privilege) which is determined by social structures and social convention. How is society stratified by gender and how does gender shape peoples social experience?

Harriet Martineau

An English writer, philosopher, feminist, and the first female sociologist.

Research methods

Approaches that social scientists use for investigating the answers to questions.

Quantitative methods

Gathering and analyses of numeric data.

Qualitative methods

Gathering and analysing non-numerical data.

Deductive approach

Starts with a theory, develop a hypothesis, make empirical observations, and analyzing the data.

Inductive approach

Starts with empirical observation and then works to form a theory.

Hypothesis

A proposed relationship between two variables.

Independent variable (IV)

The cause.

Dependent variable (DV)

The effect, or the outcome.

Participant observation

A qualitative method that seeks to observe social actions in practice.

Interview

A qualitative data-gathering technique through asking questions.

Survey

An ordered series of questions intended to elicit information from respondents.

Population survey

The entire group of individuals, objects or items from which samples may be drawn.

Sample survey

A subset of the population (representative or convenience sample).

Experimentation

Seeks to alter the social world in a very specific way; often involves comparisons to a control group that did not experience such an intervention.

Historical methods

Collect existing documents from written reports, newspapers, etc. that date back to the period under study.

Content analysis

A systematic analysis of the content rather than the structure of a communication (a subtype of historical methods).

Comparative research

Two or more entities (countries) are compared to learn about the dimension that differs.

Ethical issues

Respect their subjects’ rights to: safety (guard against physical, emotional, or psychological harm), privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent. Researchers must also meet codified standards.