Soc 100 exam 1 (CSU Downing)

sociological perspective

seeing general patterns in the behavior of particular individuals, the general categories which we fall into shape our particular life experiences

Sociological imagination

C. Wright Mills, the ability to grasp the relationship between individual lives and the larger social forces that shape them, personal problems are transformed into public issues, using the sociological imagination helps people understand their society and how it affects their own lives... Power

What is theory

a statement of how and why specific facts are related, job of sociological theory to explain social behavior in the real world, sociologists conduct research to test and refine their theories

Structural-functional approach (Functionalist theory)

a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability

Social-Conflict approach (Conflict theory)

a framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change; social behaviors is best understood in terms of conflict/ tension between competing groups

Symbolic-interactionist approach (Symbolic-Interaction Theory)

a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals: society is the reality people construct for themselves as they interact with one another

Manifest functions

the recognized intended consequence of any social pattern: open, stated function

latent functions

the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern: unintended functions that may reflect a hidden purpose of an institution

Micro level focus

a close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations

Macro level focus

a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole

Qualitative Data

researchers accounts of how people understand their surroundings/world/society

Quantitative Data

numerical measurements of sociological behavior/outward behavior

Variable

in which change or effect can be observed

Culture

the ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people's way of life

Material culture

the physical creations that members of a society make, use, and share, refers to tangible things created by members of society: corvette, houses, cell phones, tools

Nonmaterial culture

intangible world of ideas created by members of a society: Karma, kindness, etc. includes ideas created by a member of society

Symbols

anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture, anything meaningful that represents something else

Language

set of symbols that expresses ideas and enables people to think and communicate with one another; a system of symbolic verbal, nonverbal, and written represented rooted within a particular culture

Taboos/Mores

-moral component, violators often punished

Folkways

norms that are not strictly enforced

Beliefs

specific statements that people hold to be true/ particular matters that we believe as true or false

Ethnocentrism

the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture

Cultural relativism

worldview whereby we understand the practices of another society sociologically, in terms of that society's own norms and values and not our own

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

value neutrality

Max Weber's term for objectivity of sociologists in the interpretation of data

Survey

the collection of data by having people answer a series of questions

sample

a subset of the population

interview

A face-to-face or telephone questioning of a respondent to obtain desired information.

fieldwork

An extended period of close involvement with the people in whose language or way of life anthropologists are interested, during which anthropologists ordinarily collect most of their data.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Research methods and ethics

specific techniques for systematically gathering data

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

the idea that different languages create different ways of thinking

Key Values of US Culture

equal opportunity, achievement and success, material comfort, activity and work, practicality and efficiency, progress, science, democracy and free enterprise, freedom, racism and group superiority

Norms

rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

Subculture

A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations

Counterculture

A culture with lifestyles and values opposed to those of the established culture.

Multiculturalism

A perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equal standing for all cultural traditions

Cultural Pluralism

A condition in which many cultures coexist within a society and maintain their cultural differences.