Ch1.1 and 1.4: introduction to sociology

Question 1

sociology

Answer 1

the systematic study of society and social interaction

Question 2

society

Answer 2

group of people whose members interact, reside in a definable area, and share a culture

Question 3

micro-level sociology

Answer 3

• focuses on the social dynamics of intimate, face to face interactions
• researches conducted with a specific set of individuals (family, partners, friend groups)

Question 4

macro-level sociology

Answer 4

focuses on the properties of large-scale, society-wide social interactions that is beyond the immediate milieu of individual interactions (dynamics of institutions, class structures, gender relations, whole populations)

Question 5

global-level sociology

Answer 5

focuses on structures and processes that extend beyond the boundaries of states or specific societies

Question 6

macro level processes

Answer 6

according to Georg Simmel, macro level processes are nothing more than the sum of all unique interactions between individuals at any one time, with the properties that would be missed if sociologists only focused on micro-level interactions

Question 7

Émile Durkheim’s study of suicide

Answer 7

Durkheim showed that rates of suicide between religious communities could not be explained by individual factors, but had to be explained by macro-level variables dealing with different religious beliefs and practices, and different degrees of social integration of their communities

Question 8

sociological imagination

Answer 8

pioneered by C. Wright Mills, encourages individuals to connect personal experiences to broader social issues and historical contexts as a way to address the dilemmas of the micro/macro divide

Question 9

what does sociological imagination allow us to do

Answer 9

allow the ability to see a personal trouble in the context of the broader social processes
allow sociologists to examine the problem and apply systematic and scientific methods without letting their biases and preconceived ideas influence their thinking

Question 10

social structures

Answer 10

when general patterns persist through time and become routinized at micro-levels of interactions, or institutionalized at macro or global levels of interactions

Question 11

reification

Answer 11

the way in which abstract concepts, complex processes come to be thought of as “things”

Question 12

individual

Answer 12

inconceivable without the relationships to others that define their internal, subjective life and their external, socially-defined roles

Question 13

figuration

Answer 13

the process of simultaneously analyzing the behaviour of individuals and the society that shapes behaviour, proposed by the German sociologist Norbert Elias (no society without individuals, no individuals who are not affected by society)

Question 14

who is Bernard Blishen

Answer 14

he was appointed to be the research director for the newly established Royal Commission on health studies

Question 15

Peter L. Berger’s definition of a sociologist

Answer 15

described as someone who is concerned with understanding society in a disciplined way

Question 16

what does sociology teach people

Answer 16

• ways to recognize how they fit into the world
• to not accept easy explanations
• to organize their thinking to ask better questions and formulate better answers
• increases willingness and ability to see the world from other peoples’ perspectives
• ability to collect, read, and analyze statistical information
• capacity for critical thinking about social issues and problems
• prepares people for a wide variety of careers

Question 17

agency

Answer 17

the capacity of individuals to have the power and resources to fulfill their potential (gives you a sense of choice)

Question 18

anomie

Answer 18

a social condition or normlessness in which a lack of clear norms fails to give direction and purpose to individual actions

Question 19

capitalism

Answer 19

an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership and production of goods and their sale in a competitive market

Question 20

content

Answer 20

the specific reason or drives that motivate individuals to interact

Question 21

egoistic suicide

Answer 21

suicide which results from the absence of strong social bonds tying the individual to a community

Question 22

formal sociology

Answer 22

a sociology that analytically separates the contents from the forms of social interaction to study the common forms that guide human behaviour

Question 23

function

Answer 23

the part of a recurrent activity plays in the social life as a whole and the contribution it makes to structural continuity

Question 24

social actions

Answer 24

actions to which individuals attach subjective meanings

Question 25

social facts

Answer 25

the external laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and cultural rules that govern social life

Question 26

social reform

Answer 26

an approach to social change that advocates slow, incremental improvements in social institutions rather than rapid, revolutionary change of society as a whole

Question 27

social solidarity

Answer 27

the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, and religion

Question 28

Verstehen

Answer 28

German for “understanding”, refers to the use of empathy, or putting oneself in another’s place, to understand the motives and logic of another’s action