Spring 25 - SOC 2213 - General Study Guide

Key Terms to Describe

Dominant Culture

• Refers to the culture that holds the most power in a society, often setting norms and values that are widely accepted and practiced.

Social Inequality

• The unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges among members of a society.

Structural Mobility

• Refers to changes in social status due to shifts in the societal structure, often influenced by economic factors or social policies.

Sociological Imagination

• The ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and larger social influences, allowing for a deeper understanding of societal dynamics.

Culture

• Material Culture: Tangible objects and physical artifacts that shape and reflect a culture.

• Nonmaterial Culture: Intangible aspects such as beliefs, values, norms, and customs.

Crime

• Behavior that violates laws established by a governing authority, punishable through formal sanctions.

Cyberbullying

• A form of bullying that occurs over digital devices through social media, messaging, or gaming platforms.

Anomie

• A state of normlessness where social norms are unclear or absent, leading to feelings of disconnection and instability.

Norms

• Mores: Norms that embody the moral views and principles of a group; violations are typically met with severe repercussions.

• Folkways: Norms that govern everyday behavior; violations are less severe but can still lead to social disapproval.

• Taboos: Strong prohibitions against certain behaviors, often based on moral grounds.

Scientific Method

• A systematic approach to research that involves observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation, and analysis to acquire knowledge.

Moral Holiday

• A specified time when individuals are allowed to break societal norms without facing censure or punishment.

Sanctions

• Measures used to enforce norms, which can be positive (rewards for conformity) or negative (punishments for nonconformity).

Feral Children

• Children who have been isolated from human contact and raised without human care, often providing insight into the role of socialization in human development.

Theories to Describe

Differential Association Theory

• A theory that suggests criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others, emphasizing the role of social groups in the development of criminal behavior.

Conflict Theory

• A perspective that views social life as a competition for limited resources, focusing on the disparities created by social, economic, and political power.

Structural-Functional Theory

• A framework that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and order, emphasizing social structures and their functions.

Symbolic Interaction Theory

• A sociological perspective that focuses on the interactions among individuals and the meanings they derive from social encounters, stressing the importance of symbols and language.

Freud’s Theory of Social Development

• A framework positing that social development occurs in stages, heavily influenced by unconscious desires and conflicts during childhood.

Concepts to Describe

Goals of Socialization

• To develop personal identity, transmit culture, and integrate individuals into society.

Agents of Socialization

• People and groups that influence personal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, including family, schools, peers, and media.

Ethnocentrism

• The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture, often leading to misunderstanding and bias.

Thomas Theorem

• The assertion that situations defined as real are real in their consequences, highlighting the power of perception.

Manifest Function

• The intended and recognized consequences of social structures or actions.

Groupthink

• A psychological phenomenon where the desire for group cohesion leads to flawed decision-making as critical thinking is inhibited.

Levels of Social Consciousness

• False Consciousness: A way of thinking that prevents a person from perceiving the true nature of their social situation.

• Class Consciousness: Awareness of one’s social class and its implications for society.

• Everyday Consciousness: The practical and mundane awareness individuals have in their day-to-day lives.

Causes of Anomie

• Rapid social change, lack of social norms, and weakening of societal values can lead to feelings of alienation and disconnection.

Social Reproduction

• The process through which social structures reproduce themselves over time, including the transmission of inequality across generations.

Social Stratification

• Marx's View: Focuses on economic factors and class conflict as the basis of social hierarchy.

• Weber's View: Incorporates multiple factors including prestige and power in defining social stratification.

• Bourdieu's View: Emphasizes capital forms (economic, cultural, social) in understanding inequality.

Total Institution

• A place of residence and work where a large number of individuals are cut off from the wider society for an extended period of time, leading to a reorganization of everyday life.

Weber’s Iron Cage

• A metaphor for the increasing rationalization and bureaucratization of society, leading to loss of individuality and creativity.

Pros and Cons of Interviews in Social Research

• Pros: In-depth information, personal insights, flexibility in question variation.

• Cons: Time-consuming, potential researcher bias, reliance on participant honesty.

Types of Surveys

• Can be categorized into structured, semi-structured, and unstructured formats, used to gather quantitative and qualitative data.

Difference Between Sociology and Psychology

• Sociology: Studies social behavior, structures, and institutions, focusing on the collective aspects of human life.

• Psychology: Focuses on individual behavior and mental processes, exploring personal experiences and emotions.