Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective Flashcards
The study of human society and social life and the social causes and consequences of human behavior
Sociology
a quality of mind that allows us to understand the influence of history and biography on our interactive process.
Sociological Imagination
the ability to see how society and social behavior has patterns and discern social processes
Sociological Perspective
Macrosociology
A level of sociological analysis concerned with large scale structures like war and unemployment
Microsociology
small scale units like small group and social interactions
the study of the physical, biological, social and cultural development of humans
Anthropology
Auguste Comte
“father of sociology”, coined the term sociology, best known for law of human progress, created concept that society is like an organism, social statics/social dynamics
Law of Human Progress
Society has gone through three stages
- Theological (priests and military hold political dominance, family is prototypical social unit)
- Metaphysical (clergy and lawyers, state)
- Scientific (scientific moral guides and industrial admins, whole human race)
Social statics
Comte’s term for the stable structure of society
Comte’s term for social progresses and change
Social dynamics
Herbert Spencer
Believed that societies pass through an evolution process, his theories helped well educated and wealthy, he opposed public school, government non-interference
Karl Marx
lower class = moral outrage, political revolution = vital for improvement of society, economics = dominant institution, social conflict, economic determinism, bourgeoisie, class-consciousness
Social conflict
a view of Karl Marx that class struggle due to economic inequality is at the core of society
Economic determinism
Marx’s idea that economic factors are responsible for most social change and for the nature of social conditions, activities and institutions
The class of people who own the means of production
Bourgeoisie
The group in capitalist societies that does not own the means of production has only labor to sell
Proletariat
Awareness among members of society that the society is organized in hierarchical order
Class-consciousness
Emile Durkheim
Suicide is a social phenomenon, social phenomenon have distinctive characteristics/determinants, collective consciousness, made sociology a legitimate academic enterprise, “social order”, empirical research
Egoistic suicide
results from lack of social integration into meaningful groups
Altruistic suicide
results from being overly integrated into a group and the group meaning takes on more importance than the individual. Ex: ISIS
Anomic suicide
Results from sudden changes in society or in one’s life, disruption of patterns; ex: Great Depression
Fatalistic suicide
results from oppressive social conditions that lead on to a fatal sense of hopelessness
Max Weber
German sociologist who believed sociologists should not just study social structures and facts but social actions, considered structures, social divisions, social movements, Verstehen, iron cage of rationality
Reliable and valid pieces of information about society
Social facts
A collective psyche that results from the blending of many individual mentalities but exist above any one individual; ex: God exists in the beliefs of people
Collective conciousness
Verstehen
Understanding human action by examining the subjective meaning that people attach to their own behavior and behavior of others
Significant contributor to early development of sociology who was ignored by the male dominated field
Harriet Martineau
Middle-range theory
A set of propositions designed to link abstract theory with empirical testing
A set of logically and systematically interrelated propositions that explain a particular process phenomenon
Theory
The theory that societies contain certain interdependent structures, each of which perform certain functions
Structural functionalism
In structural functionalism theory, factors that lead to the disruption of breakdown of the social system
Dysfunctions
Functional alternatives
Meeting functions of the system in ways other than initially intended. ex: providing alternatives for a child left alone (clubs, staying with a relative, etc.) = less chance of school violence
Conflict Theory
A social theory that views conflict as inevitable and natural as a significant cause of change. When sociologists look for answers to conflict they look for inequalities
Symbolic interaction theory
The social theory that stressing interactions between people and the social progress that occur within the individual that are made possible by language and internalized meaning; red traffic light = stop
Exchange theory
A theory of interaction that attempts to explain social behavior in terms of reciprocity of costs and rewards
Evolutionary theory
A theory of social development that suggests that societies, like biological organisms, progress through stages of increasing complexity
A science that has human behavior, social organizations and society as its subject matter
Social science
Responsible for concept of Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills
Data derived from observation and experience
empirical evidence
The Development of Sociology was inspired by…
Ideas produced during the Enlightenment (18th century), progress in physical/natural sciences, Industrial Revolution, expansion of colonialism
Henri de St. Simon
Studied the scientific analysis of society as it pertained to social reform
Mechanical Solidarity
Societies and groups held together by similarities
Organic Solidarity
Societies and groups held together by interdependence
False Consciousness
A belief that something is true even if it is not. ex: American Dream rags to riches stories
Iron Cage of Rationality
Behavior becomes goal oriented (purposeful) rather than value oriented (emotional). Causes Bureaucracies to lose their “human element”
Roots of Sociology in US
1892, University of Chicago - used to study urban development
George Herbeat Mead
“The Chicago School”, roots of social psychology
Charles Horton Cooley
“The Chicago School”, primary self
Robert Park and Ernest Burgress
“The Chicago School”, focus on social problems;urban sociology
1st big shaper of sociology
Durkheim
Key Contributors to Functionalism
Durkheim, Parsons, Merton
Critique of Functionalism
An overly conservative view of social life, lacks sufficient critical component
Key Contributors to Conflict Theory
Marx, Mills, Dahrendorf, Collins
Criticisms of Conflict Theory
Too radical, overly critical, ignores cooperative aspects of society
Key Figures of Symbolic Interactionism
Cooley, Mead, Blumer
