chapter one vocab

Question 1

sociology

Answer 1

the study of human society and social behaviors from large scale-institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions

Question 2

society

Answer 2

a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others

Question 3

social sciences

Answer 3

the disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world

Question 4

sociological perspective

Answer 4

a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens

Question 5

beginners mind

Answer 5

approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way

Question 6

culture shock

Answer 6

a sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment

Question 7

sociological imagination

Answer 7

a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between individual circumstances and larger social forces

Question 8

microsociology

Answer 8

the level of analysis that studies face to face and small group interactions to understand how they affect larger patterns/ structures in society

Question 9

macro sociology

Answer 9

the level of analysis that studies large scale interactions to understand how they affect the lives of small groups and individuals

Question 10

theories

Answer 10

abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future

Question 11

positivism

Answer 11

the theory that sense perception is the only valid source of knowledge

Question 12

anomie

Answer 12

“normalness” a term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that results from weaker social bonds and increased pace changes

Question 13

paradigm

Answer 13

a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that make up a way to understand social reality

Question 14

social darwinism

Answer 14

the application of the theory that evolution and the belief that “survival of the fittest” to the study of society

Question 15

structural functionalism

Answer 15

a PARADIGM based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures

Question 16

solidarity

Answer 16

the degree of integration within a certain society to the extent that individuals feel more connected to other members of their group

Question 17

mechanical solidarity

Answer 17

the type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies where shared traditions and beliefs create a sense of social unity

Question 18

organic solidarity

Answer 18

the type of social bonds presented in modern societies based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights

Question 19

sacred

Answer 19

holy, divine, or supernatural

Question 20

profane

Answer 20

the ordinary or mundane

Question 21

empirical

Answer 21

based on scientific experimentation or observation

Question 22

structure

Answer 22

social institutions that are relatively stable over time and meet the needs of its society by performing necessary functions to maintain social order and stability

Question 23

dysfunction

Answer 23

a disturbance to or an undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system

Question 24

manifest functions

Answer 24

the obvious intended functions of a social structure for the social system

Question 25

latent functions

Answer 25

the less obvious perhaps unintended functions of a social structure

Question 26

conflict theory

Answer 26

a paradigm that sees social conflict as a basis of society and social change that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and dynamic model of historical change.