Studied by 0 people
by Richard T. Schaefer Edition: 6th McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Note: In class Notes are mixed in with Textbook vocab and concepts.
Sociology
The scientific study of social behavior and human groups.
C. Wright Mills
An American sociologist known for his work on the sociological imagination, which connects personal troubles to larger social issues.
Sociological Imagination
An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past.
Natural Science
The study of physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change. Ex: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology
Social Science
The study of social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change. Ex: Sociology, anthropology, economics, history, psychology, political science.
Correlation between Sociology and Common Sense
Cannot be directly correlated due to faulty, yet valid, reasonings concluded by common sense. Ex: The Earth is Flat.
Theory (In Sociology)
A set of statements that seek to explain problems, actions, or behaviors
Emile Durkheim
Most famously known for his study conducted on suicide and his contribution to Sociology. Coined the term Anomie.
Anomie
Refers to the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective. Occurs when direction of life is lost.
“The general in the particular.“
By Peter Berger. Example definition: The general pattern in a socioeconomic group.
“The strange in the familiar".”
By C. Wright Mills. Example definition: An exchange student from Japan living in an American household noting their different culture.
Occam’s Razor
A problem-solving principle that suggests the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. (Usually true in conspiracies.)
Auguste Comte
A French philosopher known as the father of sociology, who proposed the theory of positivism and emphasized the importance of empirical observation. Applied during the 19th century in France (French rev.)
Harriet Martineau
An English social theorist and the first female sociologist. She was the first to translate Comte's work into English and advocated for women's rights and social justice.
Herbert Spencer
An English philosopher and sociologist known for his theory of social Darwinism, which applied the concept of survival of the fittest to societies.
Max Weber
A German sociologist and political economist known for his contributions to the study of bureaucracy, authority, and the relationship between religion and capitalism. Credited for the “Ideal Type".”
Ideal Type
A construct or model for evaluating specific cases.
Karl Marx
A German philosopher and economist known for his critique of capitalism and his theory of historical materialism, which emphasizes the role of class struggle in societal development. Wrote the “Communist Manifesto: Emphasized group identifications.
W.E.B Dubois
An African American sociologist and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP and advocated for the study of race relations and the concept of double consciousness.
Double Consciousness
A concept introduced by W.E.B. Du Bois describing the internal conflict experienced by marginalized groups, particularly African Americans, as they navigate their identity in a society that devalues them.
Robert Morton
Proposed the theory of deviant behaviors.
Macrosociology
The study of large-scale social processes and structures, focusing on societal systems and institutions. Also focuses on large scale phenomena or entire civilizations.
Microsociology
The study of small-scale social interactions, examining individual behaviors and the dynamics of everyday life within specific contexts.
Mesosociology
An intermediate level of analysis embracing study of formal organizations and movements.
Global Sociology
Makes comparisons among nations, typically using entire societies as the units of analysis.
Pierre Bourdieu
A French sociologist known for his concepts of social capital, cultural capital, and habitus, which describe how social structures and cultural dimensions shape individual behavior and social practices.
Cultural Capital
Refers to noneconomic goods such as family background and education reflected through knowledge of arts.
Social Capital
The collective benefit of social networks which are built on reciprocated trust.
Functionalist Perspectives
Emphasizes the way in which the parts of society are structural to maintain stability.
Manifest Functions
Institutions open, stated, and conscious functions.
Latent Functions
Unconscious or unintended functions which may reflect hidden values of an institution.
Dysfunction
Refers to elements or process of a society that may actually disrupt the social system or reduce stability.
Conflict Perspective
Assumes social behavior is understood best in terms of tensions between groups over power or resources.
Dramaturgical Approach
An Interactionalist perspective but imagining people as theatrical performers.
Interactionalist Perspective
The perspective of generalized everyday occurrences to explain society.
Applied Sociology
The use of the discipline of sociology to yield human behaviors in a practical manner.
Clinical Sociology
Dedication to facilitate the altering of social relationships or social institutions.
Basic Sociology
Seeks a profound knowledge of the fundamental aspects of social phenomena. (An extremer version; Not so “basic.”)
Social Inequality
When members of society differ due to class.
