Chapter 1-4 Flashcards
Two Sociological Twos
Critical Thinking (Ryan Niellis)
&
Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)
Critical Thinking (Ryan Niellis) ***
Ability to ask any question within reason, to give any answer that can be justified, and to do so by leaving all prejudice and bias aside.
Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills) ***
Ability to understand the relationship between individual occurrences of the society at large.
4 Types of truths
- Faith/Belief
- Recognized Experts
- An agreement by all people
- Science
Reliability
Consistency in the findings
Validity
Actually measuring exactly what you intend to find
Validity & Reliability
Need both to move forward with scientific tests
Correlation ***
A relationship in which two (or more) variables change together.
(ex. walking & the sole of shoes wearing down)
Hypothesis
Educated Guess
Hawthorne Effect
A change in a subjects behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied.
Theory
A set of logically interrelated statements that attempt to describe, explain, or predict social events.
Inductive Reasoning ***
Begins with research that yields a theory
(ex. In the past, ducks have always come to our pond. Therefore, the ducks will come to our pond this summer)
Deductive Reasoning ***
The research begins with a theory
(ex. All spiders have eight legs. A tarantula is a spider. Therefore, tarantulas have eight legs)
Inductive & Deductive Reasoning
Approaches to Research
Quantitative Research
Uses data, figures and calculations to come up with findings.
Qualitative Research
Uses narratives to study the subjects and present procedures to come up with findings.
Primary Data
Gathered directly from the source
(ex. birth/death dates)
Secondary Data
Information that is secured from a second, third or fourth source down the road
(ex. We did not collect the information ourselves)
Research Methods (Collecting Information)
- Questionnaires
- Interviews
- Focus Groups
- Surveys
Questionnaires
Series of written questions a researcher presents
Interviews
Series of questions a researcher asks a respondent in person.
Focus Groups
Community residents pulled together to answer questions pertaining to a certain common ground subject.
Norms
Unwritten rules and regulations that govern our behaviors
Mores
A set of moral or customs derived from generally accepted practices.
(ex. Derives from social practices rather than law)
Eurocentrism
The dominance of European (especially English) cultural patterns with a society.
Counter Culture
Cultural patterns that strongly oppose the widely accepted within a society
3 Causes of Culture Change
- Invention
- Discovery
- Diffusion
Theoretical Perspective on Culture
- Structural Perspective
- Social-Conflict Perspective
- Feminist Perspective
- Sociological Perspective
Structural Perspective
Complex system with many moving parts.
Social-Conflict Perspective
Out culture and values represent competitive and conflicting interests that are responsible for stresses, inequities and social discord.
Feminist Perspective
Highlights how culture is gendered, dividing activities between the sexes in ways that give men great power and privilege.
Sociological Perspective
Atomic, biological, genetic differences and how it affects how we create culture.
Auguste Compte
The Father of Sociology
Culture
The ways of thinking, acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life.
Society
A group of people who interact in a defined territory and who share a culture.
Nation
A political entity that has defined territory.
What is the United States?
Both and nation and society; has borders and presents a culture in a defined territory.
Does the U.S. have more than one culture?
Yes, there are over 300 languages spoken in the U.S.
Sapir-Whorf Theory
People see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language.
Values
Standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful that serve as broad guidelines for social living.
Surveys
Collects data from respondents through a series of questions by interview or questionnaire
