Ch. 1 Sociological Imagination Flashcards
What is a folkway?
common sense norms. conventions of every day life in society. conformity is expected, but not enforced. if you don’t, you’re generally not punished. less serious, less formal than other norms. (ex: matching socks, showing up on time, greeting someone when you meet them, tipping waiters)
What is a norm?
Consists of shared rules or guidelines that prescribe the behavior that’s appropriate in any given situation; what people ought to do, and what people ought not to do. *Often dictated by values.
What’s a more?
A norm that is deeply cherished in society; these norms are often so central to society, that their violation is so unthinkable by a taboo. (powerful social belief that some specific act is disgusting) some type of punishment. (ex: incest, cannibalism, adults shouldn’t have sex with children)
What’s a law?
norms that have been formally enacted by a political authority, and as such, are backed by the power of the state. *many mores are encoded in law while most folkways are not.
What is social control?
Function of culture - means of ensuring that people generally behave in expected and approved ways.
What is a sanction?
Consists of rewards for conformity and punishments for nonconformity.
Define internalization of norms:
the unconscious process of making the social conformities of one’s culture part of one’s personality, so that you automatically follow social expectations without questioning them.
Which of the “founding fathers” of sociology put forth the idea that sociologists should examine social behavior from the perspective of those engaging in the behavior?
Max Weber
Sociology is distinct from other academic disciplines in its attempt to _____.
detect patterns in how different societies handle or respond to similar phenomena
Examining the interactions between people with a focus on how the people talk, dress, and use body language is an example of which theory?
symbolic interactionism
Recall that having a ____________________ takes the external opinions of an often racially prejudiced onlooker into consideration.
double consciousness
the ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of an individual’s life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces.
sociological imagination
Feminist research focuses on: _____________; and researchers study: _____________.
inequalities based on gender categories; women’s experiences at home and in the workplace
Which contributer to the development of sociology argued for the importance of identifying scientific laws that govern human behavior?
Auguste Comte
A social institution can be described as _____.
a group of social positions, connected by social relations, that perform a social role
According to Karl Marx, throughout history social change has been sparked by _____.
class conflict
Which of the following American sociologists applied Durkheim’s theory of anomie to explain African American crime rates?
W.E.B. DuBois
A way that individuals define themselves in relation to groups they are a part of or groups they choose not to be a part of
social identity
social institution
a complex group of interdependent positions that perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time; also defined in a narrow sense as any institution in a society that works to shape the behavior of the groups or people within it.
double consciousness
a concept conceived by W. E. B. DuBois to describe the two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constantly maintained by African Americans.
functionalism
the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to server some important (or necessary) function to keep society running.
conflict theory
the idea that conflicts between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general.
symbolic interactionism
a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions.
social construction
an entity that exists because people behave as if it exists and whose existence is perpetuated as people and social institutions act in accordance with the widely agreed upon formal rules or informal norms of behavior associated with that entity.
