SOC 101 Chapters 1-4

Sociology

scientific study of human social relations, groups, and societies

Social Embeddedness

idea that economic, political, and other forms of human behavior are fundamentally shaped by social relations

Sociological Imagination

the ability to grasp the relationship between individual lives and the larger social forces that shape them

Agency

the ability of individuals and groups to exercise free will and to make social changes on a small or large scale

Structure

patterned social arrangements that have effects on agency and are, in turn, affected by agency

Critical Thinking

ability to evaluate claims about truth by using reason and evidence

Norms

accepted social behaviors and beliefs

Anomie

a state of normlessness that occurs when people lose sight of the shared rules and values that give order and meaning to their lives

Social Statics

the way society is held together

Social Dynamics

the laws that govern social change

Positivism

an approach to research that is based on scientific evidence

Social Facts

qualities of groups that are external to individual members yet constrain their thinking and behavior

Social Solidarity

the bonds that unite the members of a social group

Collective Conscience

the common beliefs and values that bind a society together

Proletariat

working class; wage workers

Bourgeoisie

capitalist class/property owning

Means of Production

the sites and technology that produce the goods we need and use

Verstehen

the German word for interpretive understanding; Weber's proposed methodology for explaining social relationships by having the sociologist imagine how subjects might perceive a situation.

Formal Rationality

a context in which people's pursuit of goals is increasingly shaped by rules, regulations, and larger social structures

Bureacracies

formal organizations characterized by written rules, hierarchical authority, and paid staff, intended to promote organizational efficiency

Double Consciousness

an awareness of themselves as both Americans and Black, and never free of racial stigma

Sociological Theories

logical, rigorous frameworks for the interpretation of social life that make particular assumptions and ask particular questions about the social world

Manifest Functions

obvious and intended functions of a phenomenon or institution

Latent Functions

functions of a phenomenon or institution that are not recognized or expected

Social Conflict Paradigm

seeks to explain social organization and change in terms of the conflict that is built into social relationships

Symbolic Interactionism

a microsociological perspective that posits that both the individual self and society as a whole are the products of social interactions based on language and other symbols

Inequality

differences in wealth, power, political voice, educational opportunities, and other valued resources

Intersectionality

the confluence of social statuses that shape people's lives, access to resources and power, justice, health, and well-being

Globalization

process by which people all over the planet have become increasingly interconnected economically, politically, socially, culturally, and environmentally

Social Diversity

the social and cultural mixture of different groups in society and the societal recognition of difference as significant

Ethnocentrism

a worldview whereby one judges other cultures by the standards of one's own culture and regards one's own way of life as normal and often superior to others

Bias

a characteristic of results that systematically misrepresent the true nature of what is being studied

Casual Relationship

a relationship between two variables in which one variable is the cause of the other

Correlation

the degree to which two or more variables are associated with one another

Deductive Reasoning

starts from broad theories about the social world but proceeds to break them down into more specific and testable hypotheses

Dependent Variables

variables that change as a result of changes in other variables

Document Analysis

the examination of written materials or cultural products: previous studies, newspaper reports, court records, campaign posters, digital reports, films, pamphlets, and other forms of text or images produced by individuals, government agencies, private organizations, or others

Experiments

research techniques for investigating cause and effect under controlled conditions

Fieldwork

a research method that uses in-depth and often extended study to describe and analyze a group or community; also called ethnography

Hypothesis

ideas about the world, derived from theories, that describe possible relationships between social phenomena

Independent/Experimental Variables

variables the researcher changes intentionally

Inductive Reasoning

starts from specific data, such as interviews, observations, or field notes, that may focus on a single community or event and endeavors to identify larger patterns from which to derive more general theories

Interview

detailed conversation designed to obtain in-depth information about a person and his or her activities

Leading Questions

questions that tend to elicit particular responses

Negative Correlation

a relationship showing that as one variable increases, the other decreases

Objectivity

the ability to represent the object of study accurately

Operational Definition

describes the concept in such a way that it can be observed and measured

Population

the whole group of people studied

Positive Correlation

a relationship showing that as one variable rises or falls, the other does as well

Principle of Falsification (falsifiability)

the principle, advanced by philosopher Karl Popper, that to be scientific, a theory must lead to testable hypotheses that can be disproved if they are wrong

Qualitative Research

research that is characterized by data that cannot be quantified (or converted into numbers), focusing instead on generating in-depth knowledge of social life, institutions, and processes

Qualitative Variables

variables that express qualities and do not have numerical values

Quantitative Variables

factors that can be counted

Quantitative Research

research that gathers data that can be quantified and offers insight into broad patterns of social behavior and social attitudes

Random Sampling

sampling in which everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being chosen for the study

Reliability

the extent to which researchers' findings are consistent with the findings of different studies of the same thing or with the findings of the same study over time

Replication

the repetition of a previous study using a different sample or population to verify or refute the original findings

Research Methods

specific techniques for systematically gathering data

Sample

a small number of people; a portion of the larger population selected to represent the whole

Scientific Method

a process of gathering empirical (scientific and specific) data, creating theories, and rigorously testing theories

Scientific Theories

explanations of how and why scientific observations are as they are

Social Desirability Bias

a response bias based on the tendency of respondents to answer a question in a way that they perceive will be favorably received

Spurious Relationship

a correlation between two or more variables caused by another factor that is not being measured rather than a causal link between the variables themselves

Statistical Data

quantitative information obtained from government agencies, businesses, research studies, and other entities that collect data for their own or others' use

Stratified Sampling

dividing a population into a series of subgroups and taking random samples from within each group

Survey

a research method that uses a questionnaire or interviews administered to a group of people in-person or by telephone or e-mail to determine their characteristics, opinions, and behaviors

Validity

the degree to which concepts and their measurements accurately represent what they claim to represent

Value Neutrality

the characteristic of being free of personal beliefs and opinions that would influence the course of research

Variable

a concept or its empirical measure that can take on two or more possible values

Beliefs

Particular ideas that people accept as true.

Cultural Capital

Wealth in the form of knowledge, ideas, verbal skills, and ways of thinking and behaving.

Cultural Inconsistency

A contradiction between the goals of ideal culture and the practices of real culture.

Cultural Relativism

A worldview whereby the practices of a society are understood sociologically in terms of that society's norms and values, and not the norms and values of another society.

Culture

The beliefs, norms, behaviors, languages, and products common to the members of a particular group that bring meaning to their social worlds.

Emic Perspective

The perspective of the insider, the one belonging to the cultural group in question.

Etic Perspective

The perspective of the outside observer.

Folkways

Fairly weak norms that are passed down from the past, the violation of which is generally not considered serious within a particular culture.

Global Culture

A type of culture—some would say U.S. culture—that has spread across the world in the form of Hollywood films, fast-food restaurants, and popular music heard in virtually every country.

Habitus

The internalization of objective probabilities and subsequent expression of those probabilities as choice.

High Culture

Music, theater, literature, and other cultural products that are held in particularly high regard in society.

Hyperreality

Mass reproduction of images and realities leading to a culture where language and images are separated completely, and reproductions of reality are more real than the reality they intend to produce.

Ideal Culture

The values, norms, and behaviors that people in a society profess to embrace.

Language

A symbolic system composed of verbal, nonverbal, and written representations that are vehicles for conveying meaning.

Laws

Codified norms or rules of behavior.

Mass Media

Media of public communication intended to reach and influence a mass audience.

Material Culture

The physical objects that are created, embraced, or consumed by society that help shape people's lives.

Mores

Strongly held norms, the violation of which seriously offends the standards of acceptable conduct of most people within a particular culture.

Multiculturalism

A commitment to respecting cultural differences rather than trying to submerge them into a larger, dominant culture.

Nonmaterial Culture

The abstract creations of human cultures, including language, ideas about behavior, and social practices.

Popular Culture

The entertainment, culinary, and athletic tastes shared by the masses.

Rape Culture

A social culture that provides an environment conducive to rape that blames victims for their victimization.

Real Culture

The values, norms, and behaviors that people in a society actually embrace and exhibit.

Social Class Reproduction

The way in which class status is reproduced from generation to generation, with parents passing on a class position to their offspring.

Simulacra

Copies of objects and things that have no reality in the first place.

Subcultures

Cultures that exist together with a dominant culture but differ from it in some important respects.

Taboos

Powerful mores, the violation of which is considered serious and even unthinkable within a particular culture.

Values

The abstract and general standards in society that define ideal principles, such as those governing notions of right and wrong.

Anticipatory Socialization

Adoption of the behaviors or standards of a group one emulates or hopes to join.

Behaviorism

A psychological perspective that emphasizes the effect of rewards and punishments on human behavior.

Cognitive Development

The theory, developed by Jean Piaget, that an individual's ability to make logical decisions increases as the person grows older.