Chapter 1

Question 1

Sociological Perspective

Answer 1

Understanding human behavior by placing it within the broader social context.

Question 2

Society

Answer 2

People who share a culture and a territory.

Question 3

Social Location

Answer 3

The group membership that people have because of their location in history and society.

Question 4

Positivism

Answer 4

The application of the scientific approach to the social world.

Question 5

Sociology

Answer 5

The scientific study of society and human behavior.

Question 6

Class Conflict

Answer 6

Marx’s term for the struggle between capitalism and workers.

Question 7

Bourgeois

Answer 7

Marx’s term for capitalism, those who own the means of production.

Question 8

Proletariat

Answer 8

Marx’s term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production.

Question 9

Patterns of Behavior

Answer 9

Recurring behaviors or events.

Question 10

Theory

Answer 10

A general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another.

Question 11

Basic (or pure) Sociology

Answer 11

Sociology research for the purpose of making discoveries about life in human groups, not for making changes in those groups.

Question 12

Applied Sociology

Answer 12

The use of sociology to solve problems - from the micro level of classroom interaction and family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution.

Question 13

Public Sociology

Answer 13

Applying sociology for the public good; especially the use of the sociological perspective (how things are relayed to one another) to guide politicians and policy makers.

Question 14

Functional Analysis

Answer 14

A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function a that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium; also know as functionalism and structural functionalism. (Structure as a whole.)

Question 15

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 15

A theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their view of the world, and communicate with one another.

Question 16

Macro-level Analysis

Answer 16

An examination of large-scale patterns of society; such as how Wall Street and the political establishment are interrelated.

Question 17

Micro-level Analysis

Answer 17

An examination of small-scale patterns of society; such as how the members of a group interact.

Question 18

Social Interaction

Answer 18

One person’s actions influencing some else; usually refers to what people do when they are in one another’s presence, but also includes communications at a distance.

Question 19

Non Verbal Interaction

Answer 19

Communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on.

Question 20

Conflict Theory

Answer 20

A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources.

Question 21

Hypothesis

Answer 21

A statement on how variables are expected to relate to one another, often according to predictions from a theory.

Question 22

Variable

Answer 22

A factor thought to be significant to human behavior, which can vary (or change) from one case to another.

Question 23

Operational Definition

Answer 23

The way in which a researcher measures a variable.

Question 24

Research Method (or Research Design)

Answer 24

One of seven procedures that sociologist use to collect data: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis, analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.

Question 25

Validity

Answer 25

The extent in which an operational definition measure what it is intended to measure.

Question 26

Reliability

Answer 26

The extent to which research produces consistent or dependable results.