Intro to Sociology

Sociology

the scientific and systematic study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions.

Society

A group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture

Micro-level

Small groups and individual interactions

Macro-level

Large groups and societies.

Culture

A system of shared practices, values and beliefs.

Sociological imagination

A way of studying culture, created by C. Wright Mills. An awareness of the relationship between a person’s behavior and experience and the wider culture that shaped the person’s choices and perceptions.

Cultural Patterns

Social forces and influences that put pressure on people to select one choice over another.

Social Facts

The laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and cultural rules that govern social life.

Figuration

Coined by Norbert Elias, it is the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of individuals and the society that shapes that behavior.

Social Institution

Structures that fulfill essential functions in society, such as family, education, religion, and economy.

Auguste Comte

French philosopher who founded the original ideas of sociology

Social location

A way of classifying someone by their race, social class, gender, sexual orientation and religion.

Marginalization

A social group that occupies a position outside of the centers of power. Often affects minorities, who have a better idea of societal power.

Hunter-gatherer societies

Basic human societies, based around kinship or tribes. Relied on surroundings for survival, and were nomadic. Rare in modern times, but very common until several hundred years ago.

Pastoral societies

Society that relies on the domestication of animals for survival. Used for food, clothing, transportation, and trade with other groups. Nomadic

Horticultural societies

Societies based around the cultivation of plants. Formed in areas with plentiful rainfall, and made permanent settlements.

Agricultural societies

Grew out of the agricultural revolution, where new farming technology made it so that farmers could grow multiple crops efficiently and with surplus to trade. Cities and towns formed, and people had extra time to study the arts and philosophy. Different social classes and gender differentiation occured.

Feudal societies

Strict hierarchical system based around land ownership. Nobility placed lower class workers in charge of land, and sold the resources.

Industrial societies

Beginning through the industrial revolution, mass production became the focus of industry. Rise of urban centers and accessibility of products. Focus on wealth and mobility, although concerns about family and childhood were common.

Information/postindustrial societies

Based on the production of information and services through digital technology. Social classes based on access to education, and power is held by those with knowledge.

Social Solidarity

Theorized by Emile Durkheim, it is the idea of social ties within a group, especially when looking at a typically individual phenomenon.

Grand theories

Theories that attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions.

Paradigms

Philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them.There are three main paradigms.

Functionalism

A view of society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society. Created by Herbert Spencer, and the parts of society were the social institutions.

Dynamic equilibrium

A state of a healthy society in which all parts work together to maintain social stability and continuity.

Manifest functions

The consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated.

Latent functions

the unsought consequences of a social process.

Dysfunctions

social processes that have undesirable consequences.

Conflict theory

Created by Karl Marx, it is a macro-level approach that looks at society as a competition for limited resources. These can be social material and political, and our social institutions reflect this competition in their inherent inequalities.

Critical theory

An expansion on conflict theory that is holistic and attempts to address structural issues causing inequality. It must explain what’s wrong in current social reality and provide practical goals for social transformation.

Dramaturgical analysis

A technique created by Erving Goffman to use theater as an analogy for social interaction to show patterns of cultural “scripts”.

Constructivism

An extension of symbolic interaction theory that proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be. Constructs are based on interactions with others, making it easier to spot social deviance.

Collective conscience

The communal beliefs, morals and attitudes of a society

Social intergration

The strength of ties that people have to their social groups.

Mechanical solidarity

Social order maintained by the collective conscience of a culture. Common in preindustrial societies.

Organic solidarity

Social order based around an acceptance of economic and social differences. Common in industrial societies.

Social Anomie

A situation in which society no longer has the support of a firm collective consciousness.

False consciousness

A condition in which the beliefs, ideals or ideology of a person are not in the person’s own best interest.

Class consciousness

The awareness of one’s rank in society in order to become an advocate for social improvements.

Rationalization

A concept created by Max Weber to describe a modern society. It is built around logic and efficiency rather than morality or tradition.

Iron cage

A position where an individual is trapped by institutions and bureaucracy, leading to a sense of disenchantment. Coined by Weber.

Sociocultural evolution

Created by Gerhard Lenski, is the changes that occur as a society gains new technology.

Race conflict theory

Theorized by W.E.B. DuBois, it understands social inequality as the conflict between different racial and ethnic groups.

Gender conflict theory

Focused on the social inequalities between women and men.

Empirical evidence

Evidence from direct experience

The scientific method

A six step process of research: ask a question, research existing sources, formulate a hypothesis, design and conduct a study, draw conclusions, and report results.

Literature review

A review of any existing similar or related studies to your research.

Reliability

How likely research results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced. Accurate tools and methods increase reliability.

Validity

How well the study measures what it was designed to measure.

Operational definition

A definition of each concept in terms of the physical or concrete steps it takes to objectively measure it. Allows researchers to to collect data in a systematic or replicable manner.

Interpretive framework

A perspective that seeks to understand social worlds from the point of view of participants. Research tends to be more descriptive or narrative.

Primary source data collection

Survey, participant observation, ethnography, case study, unobtrusive observations, experiment, etc.

Secondary data analysis

The use of existing sources for research

Surveys

A collection of data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions. Allows for anonymity and are a good method for determining how people think, feel and act.Targets a specific population through a smaller sample that should be representative of the population. Typically closed ended questions used to collect quantitative data.

Field research

the gathering of primary data from a natural environment. Researchers interact with or observe people in a specific setting and look for specific behaviors. Best for understanding how and why people behave a certain way through correlation.

Participant observation

Researchers join people and participate in a group’s routine activities to observe them in that context. Results in only observation to determine patterns and hypotheses.

Ethnography

The immersion of the researcher in the natural setting of an entire social community to observe and experience everyday life and culture. Institutional ethnography focuses on everyday concrete social relationships.

Case study

An in-depth analysis of a single event, situation or individual. Cannot be used to form a generalized conclusion.

Experiment

An investigation to test a hypothesis: can be lab-based or field-based

Hawthorne affect

When people change their behavior because they know they are being watched as part of a study.

Nonreactive research

Does not involve direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence behaviors.

Content analysis

A systematic approach to recording and valuing information gleaned from secondary data as they relate to the study at hand.

Value neutrality

A practice of remaining impartial during the course of a study and in publishing results.

Code of ethics

A formal guideline maintained by the ASA for conducting sociological research. It consists of principles and ethical standards to be used in the discipline.

Positive theory

An approach to study that is objective and fact based. Logical and quantitative data to explain social phenomena.

Normative Theory

What society should be like. It is subjective and value based

Positivist sociology

The study of society based on systematic observations of social behavior.

Interpretative sociology

The study of society that focuses on the meanings that people attach to their social world.

Critical sociology

The study of society that focuses on the need for social change.

Inductive logical thought

Takes observations to build a theory, collect data and the use them to form an idea about society.

Deductive logical thought

The use of an existing theory to inform the hypothesis you test. You start with a theory and collect data to test the theory.

Nonmaterial culture

The idea, attitudes and beliefs of a society. They are intangible.

Cultural universals

Patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies. Created by George Murdock, they normally have to do with food, clothing and shelter, or shared experiences like birth and death.

Ethocentrisim

The evaluation and judgement of another culture based on one’s cultural norms. You believe your group is the correct measuring standard and of other cultures do not measure up to it, they are wrong.

Cultural imperialism

The deliberate imposition of one’s own cultural values oon another culture.

Culture shock

Disorientation and frustration when placed in an unfamiliar culture.

Cultural relativism

The practice of assessing a culture by its own standards rather than viewing it through the lens of one’s own culture.

Xenocentrism

The belief that another culture is superior to one’s own.

Values

Ideals and standards members of culture hold in high regard.

Ideal culture

The standards society would like to embrace and live up to.

Sanctions

A way to curtail unwanted behaviors by withholding support, approval or permission.

Social control

Ways to encourage conformity to cultural norms or rules.

Norms

The visible and invisible rules of conduct through which societies are structured

Mores

Norms that embody the moral views and principles of a group.

Folkways

Norms without any moral underpinnings.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

The idea that people experience their world through language, and therefore understand their world through the cultural meanings embedded in their language. Language shapes thought and thus behavior.

High culture

The patten's of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in the highest or elite class segments of a society. Associated with intellectualism political power and prestige.

Low culture

Associated with the pattern of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in the lowest class.

Pop culture

The pattern of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in mainstream society.

Subculture

A smaller cultural group within a larger culture.

Counterculture

Rejection of some of the larger culture’s norms and values.

Innovation

A concept’s initial appearance in society, leading to new norms and behaviors.

Culture lag

The time that passes between the introduction of a new item of material culture and its social acceptance.

Diffusion

The process of the integration of cultures into the mainstream.

Globalization

The promotion and increase of interactions between different regions and populations around the globe resulting in the integration of markets and interdependence of nations fostered through trade.

Benjamin Lee Whorf

American Linguist that worked on theories about culture, particularly the implications of language on mental conceptions.

Individualism

Valuing one’s needs over the general population. More common in the US and other western countries.

Collectivism

Stressing the importance of groups over individuals. More common in Eastern countries.

Multiculturalism

A perspective that, rather than seeing society as a homogeneous culture, recognizes cultural diversity while advocating for equal standing for all cultural traditions.

Symbolic interactionists

All of society is about the shared reality that we create.