Chapter 1

Question 1

Define sociology

Answer 1

The systematic study of the relationship between the individual and society and of the consequences of difference.

Question 2

Define sociological imagination

Answer 2

Our recognition of the interdependent relationship between who we are eas individuals and the social forces that shape our lives.

Question 3

Define private troubles

Answer 3

Problems we face in our immediate relationships with particular individuals in our personal lives.

Question 4

Define public issues

Answer 4

Problems we face as a consequence of the positions we occupy within the larger social strucutre.

Question 5

Define agency

Answer 5

The freedom individuals have to choose and to act.

Question 6

Define social inequality

Answer 6

A condition in which members of society have differing amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.

Question 7

Define science

Answer 7

The body of knowledge obtained by methods based on systematic observation.

Question 8

Define natural science

Answer 8

The study of the physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change.

Question 9

Define social science

Answer 9

The study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change.

Question 10

Define theory

Answer 10

In sociology a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behaviors.

Question 11

Define anomie

Answer 11

A weak sense of social solidarity due to a lack of agreed-upon rules to guide behavior.

Question 12

Define macrosociology

Answer 12

Sociological investigation that concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations.

Question 13

Define microsociology

Answer 13

Sociological investigation that stresses the study of small groups and the analysis of our everyday experiences and interactions.

Question 14

Functionalist view of society

Answer 14

Stable, well integrated

Question 15

Functionalist level of analysis emphasized

Answer 15

Macro

Question 16

Functionalist key concepts

Answer 16

Social integration, institutions, anomie

Question 17

Functionalist view of the individual

Answer 17

People are socialized to perform societal functions

Question 18

Functionalist view of the social order

Answer 18

Maintained through cooperation and consensus

Question 19

Functionalist view of social change

Answer 19

Predictable, reinforcing

Question 20

Functionalist example

Answer 20

Public punishments reinforce the social order

Question 21

Functionalist proponents

Answer 21

Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton

Question 22

Conflict view of society

Answer 22

Characterized by tension and struggle between groups

Question 23

Conflict level of analysis emphasized

Answer 23

Macro

Question 24

Conflict key concepts

Answer 24

Inequality, capitalism, stratification

Question 25

Conflict view of the individual

Answer 25

People are shaped by power, coercion, and authority

Question 26

Conflict view of social order

Answer 26

Maintained through force and coercion

Question 27

Conflict view of social change

Answer 27

Change takes place all the time and may have positive consequences

Question 28

Conflict example

Answer 28

Laws enforce the positions of those in power

Question 29

Conflict proponents

Answer 29

Karl Marx, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida Wells-Barnett

Question 30

Interactionist view of society

Answer 30

Active in influencing and affecting everyday social interaction

Question 31

Interactionist level of analysis emphasized

Answer 31

Micro, as a way of understanding the larger macro phenomena

Question 32

Interactionist key concepts

Answer 32

Symbols, nonverbal communications, face-to-face interaction

Question 33

Interactionist view of the individual

Answer 33

People manipulate symbols and create their social worlds through interaction

Question 34

Interactionist view of the social order

Answer 34

Maintained by shared understanding of everyday behavior

Question 35

Interactionist view of social change

Answer 35

Reflected in people’s social positions and their communications with others

Question 36

Interactionist example

Answer 36

People respect laws or disobey them based on their own past experience

Question 37

Interactionist proponents

Answer 37

George Herbert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley, Erving Goffman

Question 38

Define functionalist perspective

Answer 38

A sociological approach that emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability.

Question 39

Define conflict perspective

Answer 39

A sociological approach that assumes social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources, including housing, money, access to services, and political representation.

Question 40

Define interactionist perspective

Answer 40

A sociological approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole.

Question 41

Define personal sociology

Answer 41

The practice of recognizing the impact our individual position has on who we are and how we think and act, and of taking responsibility for the impacts our actions have on others.

Question 42

Define applied sociology

Answer 42

The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations.

Question 43

Define globalization

Answer 43

The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas.