CLEP - Sociology 1-2

Question 1

Scientific perspective

Answer 1

Stresses acquiring objective empirical (actual) knwoeldge which can be measured from an actual experiance.

Question 2

Sociological imagination

Answer 2

Term coined by C, Wright Mills
Describes knowledge that expresses both an understanding that personal troubles can often reflect broader social issues and problems a
Expresses the humanistic aspect of the sociological perspective

Question 3

Theological stage

Answer 3

1st stage in a pattern of development in which scientists look toward the supernatural realm of ideas for an explanation of what they observe

Question 4

Metaphysical stage

Answer 4

2nd stage in a pattern of development in which scientists begin to look to the real world for an explanation of what they have observed

Question 5

Positive stage

Answer 5

3rd and Final/definitive stage of pattern of development of all knowledge in which scientists search for general ideas or laws

Question 6

Deductive theory

Answer 6

Proceeds from general ideas, knowledge, or understanding of the social world from which specific hypotheses are logically deduced and tested

Question 7

Inductive theory

Answer 7

concrete observations from which general conclusions are inferred through a process of reasoning

Question 8

Interpretative theory

Answer 8

human beings attach meaning to their lives; includes the perspective of symbolic interaction

Question 9

Conflict theory

Answer 9

View of the social world that questions how factors such as race, sex, social class, & age are associated with an unequal distribution of socially valued goods & rewards

Question 10

Structural functionalism

Answer 10

View of society as a social system of interrelated parts & analogous to a living organism where each part contributes to the overall stability of the whole;

society is seen as a complex system whose components work with one another

Question 11

Conflict paradigm

Answer 11

View of society as being characterized by conflict & inequality

Question 12

Research methods

Answer 12

Refers both to a strategy or plan for carrying out research & the means of carrying out the strategy

Question 13

Quantitative methods

Answer 13

Research method that makes use of statistical & other mathematical techniques of quantification or measurement in an effort to describe & interpret observations

Question 14

Qualitative methods

Answer 14

Research method that relies on personal observation & description of social life in order to explain behavior

Question 15

Verstehen

Answer 15

Understanding as a means of characterizing & interpreting or explaining through applying reason to specific social situations;

developed by Max Weber

Question 16

Survey method

Answer 16

Method of observation in which subjects are asked about their opinions, beliefs, or behavior; info is collected directly from the respondents by means of an interview or indirectly by means of a self-administered written form of a questionnaire

Question 17

Descriptive survey

Answer 17

Captures info about a situation, condition, event, attitude, or opinion at a specific time

Question 18

Explanatory survey

Answer 18

Captures info in order to test theories & casual or correlational relationships between variables

Question 19

Independent variable

Answer 19

A variable that influences another variable

Question 20

Dependent variable

Answer 20

Variable that is influenced by another variable

Question 21

Correlational relationship

Answer 21

Exists when a change in one variable coincides with, but does not cause, a change in another

Question 22

Causal relationship

Answer 22

Exists when a change in one variable causes or forces a change in the other

Question 23

Representative sample

Answer 23

A sample of respondents that accurately reflects the population from which it is drawn

Question 24

Random sample

Answer 24

A sample where every member of the population has the same chance of being chosen for study

Question 25

Systematic sampling

Answer 25

A type of sample in which the nth unit in a list is selected for inclusion in the sample

Question 26

Stratified sampling

Answer 26

A type of sampling that uses the differences that already exist in a population as the basis for selecting a sample; knowing the percentage of the population that falls into a particular category, the researcher then randomly selects a number of persons to be studied from each category in the same proportion as exists in the population

Question 27

Stratified sampling

Answer 27

A type of sampling that uses the differences that already exist in a population as the basis for selecting a sample; knowing the percentage of the population that falls into a particular category, the researcher then randomly selects a number of persons to be studied from each category in the same proportion as exists in the population

Question 28

Experimental group

Answer 28

A group of subjects to be studied

Question 29

Control group

Answer 29

A similar population to the experimental group upon which the action has not been performed

Question 30

Unobtrusive observation

Answer 30

Observation from a distance, without being involved in the group or activity being studied

Question 31

Participant observation

Answer 31

Observation by a researcher who is (or appears to be) a member of the group or a participant in the activity he is studying

Question 32

Secondary analysis

Answer 32

The analysis of existing sources of info

Question 33

Content analysis

Answer 33

The quantitative or qualitative techniques employed to describe the contents of the materials

Question 34

Sociology

Answer 34

The science or discipline that studies societies, social groups, & the relationships between people

Question 35

Auguste Comte

Answer 35

1838; concluded that every science follows the same regular pattern of development; coined the term Sociology–society as distinct from the mere sum of individual actions, & its methods, prudent observation & impartial measurement based on the scientific method of comparison

Question 36

Stages of sociology development

Answer 36

1st stage - theological stage
2nd stage - metaphysical stage
3rd stage - positive stage

Question 37

Harriet Martineau

Answer 37

1802-1876; observed English social patterns at same time Comte was laying a foundation for sociology

Question 38

Karl Marx

Answer 38

1818-1883; theoretical giant of communist thought

Question 39

Herbert Spencer

Answer 39

1820-1903; idea that society follows a natural evolutionary progression toward something better

Question 40

Emile Durkheim

Answer 40

1858-1917; statistical study of suicide

Question 41

Max Weber

Answer 41

1864-1920; series of studies in which he sought to explain the origins of capitalism

Question 42

Lester Ward (1841-1913) & William Graham Sumner (1840 - 1910)

Answer 42

Influenced the concentration on narrower & more specific social problems

Question 43

Grand theory

Answer 43

Advocated by functionalist Talcott Parsons, involves the building of a theory of society based on aspects of the real world & the organization of these concepts to form a conception of society as a stable system of interrelated parts

Question 44

Humanistic

Answer 44

The approach to sociology that stresses self-realization, the full development of a cultivated personality, and the improvement of the human condition.