Intro to sociology (Ch. 1-8)

Sociology

The systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions.

Society

A group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others.

Social sciences

The disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world. The social sciences include fields such as anthropology, psychology, economics, political science, and sometimes history, geography, and communication studies.

Sociological perspective

A way of looking at the world through a sociological lens.

Beginner's mind

Approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things a new way.

Culture shock

A sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment.

Sociological imagination

A quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces.

Microsociology

The level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and structures of society.

Macrosociology

The level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals.

Theories

Abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future.

Paradigm

A set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality.

Positivism

The theory that sense perceptions are the only valid source of knowledge.

Social Darwinism

The application of the theory of evolution and the notion of “survival of the fittest” to the study of society.

Structural functionalism

Paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures.

Solidarity

The degree of integration or unity within a particular society; the extent to which individuals feel connected to other members of their group.

Mechanical solidarity

The type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion.

Organic solidarity

The type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights.

Anomie

“Normlessness”; term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change.

Sacred

The holy, divine, or supernatural.

Profane

The ordinary, mundane, or everyday.

Empirical

Based on scientific experimentation or observation.

Structure

A social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of a society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability.

Dysfunction

A disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system.

Manifest functions

The obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system.

Latent functions

The less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure.

Conflict theory

A paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change.

Social inequality

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

Means of production

Anything that can create wealth

Proletariat

Workers; those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live.

Bourgeoisie

Owners; the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers.

Alienation

The sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else.

False consciousness

A denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize that the interests of the ruling class are embedded in the dominant ideology.

Class consciousness

The recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed, leading to revolutionary action.

Critical theory

A contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression.

Critical race theory

The study of the relationship among race, racism, and power.

Feminist theory

A theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world.

Queer theory

Social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories.

Praxis

The application of theory to practical action in an effort to improve aspects of society.

Rationalization

The application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns.

Bureaucracy

A type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication.

Iron cage

Max Weber’s pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization.

Verstehen

“Empathic understanding”; Weber’s term to describe good social research, which tries to understand the meanings that individuals attach to various aspects of social reality.

Symbolic interactionism

A paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction.

Chicago School

A type of sociology practiced at the University of Chicago in the 1920s and ’30s that centered on urban settings and field research methods.

Pragmatism

A perspective that assumes organisms (including humans) make practical adaptations to their environments; humans do this through cognition, interpretation, and interaction.

Dramaturgy

An approach pioneered by Erving Goffman in which social life is analyzed in terms of its similarities to theatrical performance.

Ethnomethodology

The study of “folk methods” and background knowledge that sustain a shared sense of reality in everyday interactions.

Conversation analysis

A sociological approach that looks at how we create meaning in naturally occurring conversation, often by taping conversations and examining their transcripts.

Postmodernism

A paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux.

Modernism

A paradigm that places trust in the power of science and technology to create progress, solve problems, and improve life.

Midrange theory

An approach that integrates empiricism and grand theory.

Quantitative research

Research that translates the social world into numbers that can be treated mathematically. This type of research often tries to find cause-and-effect relationships. (Strictly uses scientific method)

Qualitative research

Research that works with nonnumerical data such as texts, field notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and tape recordings. This type of research often tries to understand how people make sense of their world.

Scientific method

A procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting data through observation and experiment.

Literature review

A thorough search through previously published studies relevant to a particular topic.

Hypothesis

A theoretical statement explaining the relationship between two or more phenomena.

Variables

Two or more phenomena that a researcher believes are related. These will be examined in the experiment.

Operational definition

A clear and precise definition of a variable that facilitates its measurement.

Replicability

The ability of research to be repeated and, thus, later verified by other researchers.

Correlation

A relationship between variables in which they change together and may or may not be causal.

Causation

A relationship between variables in which a change in one directly produces a change in the other.

Intervening variable

A third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the relationship between two other variables.

Spurious correlation

The appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable.

Deductive approach

An approach whereby the researcher formulates a hypothesis first and then gathers data to test that hypothesis.

Inductive approach

An approach whereby the researcher gathers data first, then formulates a theory to fit the data.

Paradigm Shift

When an entire approach of research is changed/modified drastically.

Ethnography

A naturalistic method based on studying people in their own environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities. Also, the written work that results from the study. (“Observer studying a college class”)

Participant observation

A methodology associated with ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting. (“The students experience of a class”)

Rapport (Rap-poor)

A positive relationship often characterized by mutual trust or sympathy.

Field notes

Detailed notes taken by an ethnographer describing their activities and interactions, which later become the basis of the analysis. (Extremely detailed, on the environment and how its interacted with)

Autoethnography

A form of participant observation in which the feelings and actions of the researcher become a focal point of the ethnographic study. (beyond photographic detail to explore all the possible meanings of a phenomenon within a particular cultural setting)

Thick description

The presentation of detailed data on interactions and meaning within a cultural context, from the perspective of its members.

Reflexivity

How the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on in the field setting.

Grounded theory

An inductive method of generating theory from data by creating categories in which to place data and then looking for relationships among categories.

Representativeness

The degree to which a particular group studied is similar to, or represents, any part of the larger society.

Validity

The accuracy of a question or measurement tool; the degree to which a researcher is measuring what they think they are measuring.

Interviews

Person-to-person conversations for the purpose of gathering information by means of questions posed to respondents.

Respondent

A participant in a study from whom the researcher seeks to gather information.

Focus group

A process for interviewing a number of participants together that also allows for interaction among group members. (group interviews-kinda)

Informed consent

A safeguard through which the researcher makes sure that respondents are freely participating and understand the nature of the research.

Closed-ended question

A question asked of a respondent that imposes a limit on the possible responses.

Open-ended question

A question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses.

Leading questions

Questions that predispose a respondent to answer in a certain way. (Ask, “so it sounds like you didn’t like this. Why didn’t you like this?” Instead ask “What were your feelings about this? What did you like or dislike about it?”)

Double-barreled questions

Questions that attempt to get at multiple issues at once and so tend to receive incomplete or confusing answers.

Life history

An approach to interviewing that asks for a chronological account of the respondent’s entire life or some portion of it.

Surveys

Research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a sample of respondents selected from a target population.

Likert scale

A way of formatting a survey questionnaire so that the respondent can choose an answer along a continuum. (1-5, 1-worst/5-best)

Negative questions

Survey questions that ask respondents what they don’t think instead of what they do think.

Pilot study

A small-scale study carried out to test the feasibility of conducting a study on a larger scale.

Probability sampling

Any sampling procedure that uses randomization.

Simple random sample

A particular type of probability sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Response rate

The number or percentage of surveys completed by respondents and returned to researchers.

Reliability

The consistency of a question or measurement tool; the degree to which the same questions will produce similar answers.

Existing sources

Materials that have been produced for some other reason but that can be used as data for social research.

Unobtrusive measures

Research methods that rely on existing sources and whereby the researcher does not intrude upon or disturb the social setting or its subjects.

Comparative historical research

Research that uses existing sources to study relationships among elements of society in various regions and time periods.

Content analysis

A method in which researchers identify and study specific variables or themes that appear in a text, image, or media message.

Experiments

Formal tests of specific variables and effects, performed in a setting where all aspects of the situation can be controlled.

Experimental group

The members of a test group who receive the experimental treatment.

Control group

The members of a test group who are allowed to continue without intervention so that they can be compared with the experimental group.