Ch 1 - Intro to Sociology

Question 1

sociology

Answer 1

the systematic study of human behaviour in social context

Question 2

social structures

Answer 2

stable patterns of social relations

Question 3

sociological imagination

Answer 3

the quality of mind that enables one to see the connection between personal troubles and social structures

Question 4

microstructures

Answer 4

patterns of intimate social relations formed during face-to-face interaction (ex. families and friend cliques)

Question 5

mesostructures

Answer 5

patterns of social relations in organizations that involve people who are often not intimately acquainted and who often do not interact face to face (ex. uni, govt bureaucracies)

Question 6

macrostructures

Answer 6

overarching patterns of social relations that lie above and beyond mesostructures. (ex. patriarchy)

Question 7

patriarchy

Answer 7

a system of power relations and customary practices that help to ensure male dominance in economic, political, and other spheres of life

Question 8

global structures

Answer 8

the fourth level of society that surrounds and permeates us (ex. economic relations among countries, patterns of worldwide travel and communication)

Question 9

Industrial Revolution

Answer 9

Beginning in Britain in the 1780s, a process of rapid economic transformation that involved the large scale application of science and technology to industrial processes, the creation factories, and the formation of a working class

Question 10

Social solidarity

Answer 10

A property of social groups that increases with the degree to which a groups members share beliefs and values, and the frequency and intensity with which they interact

High social solidarity = secure relationships/sense of belonging w likeminded people
Low = lack thereof

Question 11

Rate

Answer 11

The number of times an event happens in a given period per 100,000 members of the population

Question 12

Egoistic suicide

Answer 12

The type of suicide that results from a lack of integration of the individual into society because of weak social ties to others

Question 13

Anomic suicide

Answer 13

Occurs when norms governing behaviour are vaguely defined - low solidarity settings

Question 14

Altruistic suicide

Answer 14

Intentional suicide that occurs to help/save others - high solidarity setting

Question 15

functionalist theory

Answer 15

How human behaviour is dictated by social structures based on shared values, and how that contributes to social stability

Question 16

Dysfunctions

Answer 16

Effects of social structures that create social instability

Question 17

Manifest functions

Answer 17

Visible and intended effects of social structures

Question 18

Latent function

Answer 18

Invisible and unintended effects of social structures

Question 19

Social classes

Answer 19

Positions people occupy in a hierarchy that is shaped by the source/amount of their income/wealth

Question 20

Class conflict

Answer 20

The struggle between classes to resist and overcome the opposition of other classes

Question 21

Conflict theory

Answer 21

Highlights the tensions underlying existing social structures and the capacity of those tensions to burst into the open and cause social change

Question 22

Class consciousness

Answer 22

Awareness of being a member of a social class

Question 23

Cultural hegemony

Answer 23

Involves the control of a culture by dominant classes and other groups to the point where their values are universally accepted as common sense

Question 24

poststructuralism

Answer 24

school of thought where the stability of social relations and culture is denied along with its capacity to shape how people think and act

Question 25

protestant ethic

Answer 25

belief that religious doubts can be reduced if one works hard and is self disciplined; had unintended effects of increasing capitalist growth in the 16th and 17th century

Question 26

symbolic interactionism

Answer 26

examination of how various aspects of social life convey meaning and thereby assist or impeded communication

Question 27

gender

Answer 27

one’s sense of being masculine or feminine as conventionally defined

Question 28

feminism

Answer 28

school of thought claiming that female/male domination not determined by biology but by structures of power and social convention

Question 29

reactivity

Answer 29

awareness of an observer present, meaning people have a tendency to conceal things or act differently

Question 30

detached observation

Answer 30

a type of field research that involves classifying and counting the behaviour of interest according to a pre-determined scheme (observing without passing judgment or affecting those observed)