Sociology 101 Midterm Flashcards

Sociological perspective

an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context

Wright Mills referred to the sociological perspective as

the intersection of biography (the individual) and history (social factors that influence the individual).

Society

a group of people who share culture and territory

Social location can include:

Gender, Race-Ethnicity (we can add immigration status too), Age, Social class, Health, Education, Jobs/employment

Auguste Comte

Founder of sociology and coined the term “sociology” Believed that this new science should not only discover sociological principles, but should then apply those principles to social reform.  A strong advocate of social reform – let’s examine society and use this knowledge to address problems and make it better for everyone

Positivism

applying the scientific approach to the social world

What's the first goal of any scientific discipline?

to explain why something happens.

Hebert Spencer

Fundamentally disagreeing with Comte, Viewed societies as evolutionary, Spencer was convinced that no one should intervene in the evolution of society and that attempts at social reform were wrong.

Social Darwinism

survival of the fittest;the most adapted will reproduce and perpetuate the species and the weak will die off

Karl Marx

Believed that class conflict was the key to human history And that Workers want better working conditions, higher wages, etc. and will identify with one another and come together to overthrow the capitalists. Causing workers to prevail and a classless utopian society emerges where people work according to their abilities and receive according to their needs.

Bourgeoisie

those who own the means of production,

Haves and proletariat

those who sell their labor, the have nots

Emile Durkheim

Wanted sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline and played a key role in the development of sociology. He was interested in understanding the social factors that influence individual behavior.

social integration

the degree to which people are tied to their social group

Max Weber

Disagreed with Marx and defined religion as the central force in social change. Protestantism encourages greater economic development and was the central factor in the rise of capitalism in some countries. The Protestant belief system encouraged its members to embrace change. Protestants sought “signs” that they were in God’s will; financial success became a major sign. The more money they made, the more secure they were about their religious standing.

Verstehen

to have insight into someone’s situation – concept from Max Weber

Social facts

group patterns of behavior that characterize a certain group – concept from Emile Durkheim

Theory

a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work.It is an explanation of how two or more “facts” are related to one another

three major theories

symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory—to observe and interpret social contexts, relationships, and realities in distinct ways.

Micro-level analysis

focus on small scale interactions

Symbolic Interactionism

George Herbert Mead is one of the founders of this perspective. Through the use of symbols, people are able to define relationships to others, coordinate actions with others, thereby making social life possible, and develop a sense of themselves.

Functional Analysis

Robert K. Merton was a major proponent of this paradigm. Also known as functionalism and structural functionalism, Society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium. According to this perspective, everything (i.e., positive and negative) serves a function in society.

Manifest function

intended consequence

Latent function

unintended consequence

Latent dysfunction

harmful consequence

Macro-level analysis

large scale patterns in society

Conflict Theory

Karl Marx’s work is associated with this paradigm. Views society as composed of groups competing for scarce resources Class struggle between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. conflict permeates every layer in society and has expanded this perspective to include conflict in all relations of power and authority.

Culture

the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that are passed from one generation to the next.

Material culture

is composed of things such as jewelry, art, buildings, weapons, machinery, hair styles, clothing, etc.

Nonmaterial culture

a group’s way of thinking (its beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) and doing (its common patterns of behavior, including language,

Culture shock

the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life.

Ethnocentrism

the use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies. This generally leads to a negative evaluation of their values, norms,and behaviors

cultural relativism

not judging a culture, but trying to understand it on its own terms

Symbolic culture

known as the material culture because its central components are the symbols that people use.

Symbols

something people attach meaning to and use to communicate.

Gestures

use one’s body to communicate with others and are shorthand ways to convey messages without using words

Language

symbols that can be strung together in an infinite number of ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thought

Values

 ideas of what is desirable in life. Values are the standard people use to define good and bad, etc.; they underlie our preferences, guide our choices, and indicate what we hold of value in our life.

Norms

the expectations or rules of behavior that develop out of our group’s values.

Sanctions

refer to the reactions people receive for following or breaking social norms (positive and negative)

Folkways

Norms that are not strictly adhered

Mores

norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought to be essential to core values or the well-being of the group.

counterculture

a group whose values, beliefs, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture.

pluralistic society

a society made up of many different groups

Achievement and success

completing a socially defined task or goal through effort, while success refers to attaining valued outcomes or status as judged by society.

Individualism

prize success that comes from individual efforts

Activity and work

hard work and busily engaging in some activity

Efficiency and practicality

things are done efficiently effectively, and in the most practical way possible, with a focus on results and problem‑solving

Science and technology

passion for applied science and development of new technology

Progress

expectation of rapid change; attainment of “progress”

Material comfort

good nutrition, medical care, housing

Humanitarianism

emphasis on helpfulness especially in times of mass disaster

Freedom

Americans pride themselves on their personal freedom

Democracy

the right of everyone to express an opinion and to a representative government

Equality

central role in the American ideal and the role that equality plays in their lives

Racism and superiority

contradictory of freedom, democracy, and equality

Education

 people are expected to go as far as their abilities and finances allow

Religiosity

feeling that everyone should have belief in a supreme being

Romantic love

proper basis for marriage is romantic love

Value clusters

values that fit together

Value contradictions

values that contradict one another

Leisure

a value that is reflected in the recreation industry

Self-fulfillment

being all one can be; maximize your potential

Physical fitness

obsession about dieting & alternative eating styles

Youthfulness

valuing the youthful and disparaging the old; double standard of aging

Concern for the environment

more conscientious about our resources

Cultural lag

human behavior that lags behind technological developments

Nature refers to:

Heredity, Genes, Biology

Nurture refers to:

Social environment Contact with others

tabula rasa

we are a “blank slate” when we are born and it’s through contact with our social environment and experience that ultimately shapes the person

Feral Children

these children had very animal-like behavior – they drank by lapping water, ate grass, communicated with grunts, growls, barks and howls

Institutionalized and Isolated Children

Children that are raised in institutionalized or isolated settings, exhibit detrimental effects to their socialization process that can be Irreversible. If they lack language skills, they can’t communicate. These children cannot understand relationships and social phenomenon

Socialization

a lifelong process by which, through social interaction, we learn our culture, develop a sense of self, and become functioning members of a society 

Primary socialization

takes place when we are taught the skills necessary in order to survive in society; the internalization of the fundamental ideas of culture (norms and values)

Continuing socialization

takes place through various institutions in society; where we learn ideas about masculinity and femininity

looking glass self

is the process by which our self develops through internalizing others’ reaction to us

three components to the looking glass self:

We imagine how we appear to those around us We interpret others’ reactions We develop our self-concept

Sensorimotor stage (birth to about age 2)

understanding is limited to direct contact with the environment; inability to think

Preoperational stage (age 2 to age 7)

development of the ability to use symbols; cannot understand common symbols (like size, speed, the perspective of the other)

Concrete Operational stage (age 7 to age 12)

children understand causation and can take the role of the other

Formal Operational stage (age 12 and above)

capable of abstract thought

Sigmund Freud

the father of psychoanalysis

Id

our inborn basic drives that cause us to seek gratification; pleasure seeking; demands immediate fulfillment of basic needs

Ego

balancing force between the id and the demands of society that suppresses it; based off the reality principle

Superego

conscience; the norms and values we internalize; culture within us; based off the morality principle

six basic emotions:

anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise

gender socialization

the ways in which society sets children onto different courses in life because of their gender

three main sources where we receive gender messages:

Family, Peers Mass media

Agents of socialization

are people or groups that affect our self-concept, attitudes,behaviors, and other orientations towards life

Major agents of socialization:

Family Peers Schools Media Religion Workplace

Resocialization

the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors

Total institution

a place in which people are cut off from the rest of society and are almost totally controlled by the officials who run the place (boot camps, prison camps, convents, cults, some boarding schools)

degradation ceremony

an attempt to remake the self by stripping away an individual’s self-identity and stamping a new identity in its place (i.e., military boot camps, etc.)

family

people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption

household

people who occupy the same housing unit – a house, apartment, or other living condition

nuclear family

parents and children

extended family

people such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins in addition to the nuclear unit

Family of orientation

the family in which an individual grows up in

Family of procreation

the family that is formed when, or if, a couple has their first child

open courtship system

is one in which most of us make our own decision about choosing our partners