Exam 1 Flashcards
What is Sociology?
The study of social behavior and human groups
Focus on:
* Social relationships
* Group behavior
* Societal development and change
What is science?
- A body of knowledge gained through systematic observation
- Uses scientific methods to collect data to objectively study phenomena
What are the two types of science?
Natural Sciences
* Study physical features of humans and ways they interact and change
* Ex: astronomy, biology, physics
Social Sciences
* Study social features of humans and ways they interact and change
* Ex: criminology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology
Why is sociology important?
- Sharpens our understanding or transforms common sense
- Collects and analyzes data to report findings
- Key is that findings have been tested, even if obvious
What are the 3 different types of sociology?
Applied Sociology
* Used for practical applications of sociology
* Study violence, porn, immigration, homelessness
* Ex: environmental and medical sociology
Clinical Sociology
* Facilitates change by altering relationships
* Ex: family therapy
Basic Sociology (pure sociology)
* Seeks more profound knowledge
How can sociology be used in the real world?
Sociological research
Advising government agencies
Jobs in sociology
* Counseling, social work, sales, education
What is the sociological imagination?
An awareness to the relationship between individuals and wider society
- Want to view our society as an outsider
- Avoid cultural bias
- Observations outside of personal experience
Who created the sociological imagination?
C. Wright Mills
How can one develop a sociological imagination?
- Conducting sociological research and theory
- Understanding the connectivity of people
- Think globally
—Globalization - world interdependence - Thinking about inequality
—Members of society have differing amounts of wealth, prestige, and power - Significance of race, gender, and religion
—How events affect groups differently - Social policy impact
—How successful programs are
What is a theory?
- A set of statements that seek to explain problems, actions, and behaviors
- A good theory has both explanatory and predictive power
Why are theories needed for research?
- Provides a framework
- Enables testable predictions
- Points to gaps in knowledge
- Helps research be parsimonious (best explanation with fewest variables)
Who was Emile Durkheim?
French sociologist
Concerned with study of suicide
* Most understand behavior large social contexts, not just individual
Anomie
What is anomie?
State of normlessness
* Loss of direction felt in society
* Loneliness, isolation, and alienation occur
* Occurs because social controls are ineffective
* During industrialization
Who was Max Weber?
German Sociologist
Verstehen - German for understanding
* One wants to be insightful in intellectual work
* Must learn subjective meaning of behavior
* Ex: social hierarchy in organizations
Ideal types - standard of evaluating specific cases
* Focus on concepts that capture essence of activity
* Measuring rod for phenomena
* Studied a model of bureaucracy
Who was Karl Marx?
German Sociologist
Wrote the Communist Manifesto
* Focused on the struggle of the social classes
* Proletariat (working) vs. Bourgeois (upper)
* Bourgeois own the resources and power
* Proletariat have no resources except labor
* They need to unify and overthrow the class system
Power is the root of inequality
Who was W. E. B. DuBois?
American Sociologist
Focused on the struggle between races
* Knowledge vital to fight prejudice and achieving egalitarian society (equal society for all)
* Studied urban life
Double consciousness
* The division of one’s identity into 2 or more social realities
* Ex: being black in America
Founded the NAACP
What is functionalism (functionalist perspective)?
Society is made up of parts and is structured to maintain stability
* Key is stability
Manifest functions - intended, stated functions
Latent functions - unintended, unconscious functions
Dysfunction - practices that disrupt society and reduce stability
* Ex: homicide, gangs, drugs
Key functionalist thinker: Emile Durkheim
What is the conflict perspective?
Focus on tension between groups over power and resource allocation
* Tension = labor negotiations, political parties, religious groups, races
Marxist view - how social institutions help maintain privilege of some and keep others subservient
Feminist view - inequality in gender is central to all behavior
* Intersectionality - inequality multiplied by race and gender
Queer view - study society from broad spectrum of sexual identities (LGBTQIA+)
Key conflict thinkers: Karl Marx and W. E. B. DuBois
What is interactionism (interactionist perspective)?
Focus on everyday forms of interaction
Symbolic interactionism - we live in a world of meaningful objects
* Objects = people, relationships, and symbols
* Symbols = shared social meaning understood by all in society
* Nonverbal communication - gestures, tattoos, eye contact, dress codes
Key interactionist thinker: George Herbert Mead (Founder)
Who are the 3 people responsible for 20th century developments to sociology?
Charles Horton Cooley
* Focus on small group networks
* Family, gangs, and friendship networks
* How groups shape beliefs, values, and symbols
* “Looking glass self” - big contribution
Robert Merton
* Focus on poverty and how to achieve success
* Classification schemes
* Macrosociology (large scale phenomena) - Ex: crime rates
* Microsociology (small groups) - Ex: how teacher’s expectations impact students’ performance
Pierre Bourdieu
* Focus on capital
* Not just economic capital
* Cultural capital - noneconomic goods
—Education and family background
—Knowledge of arts and language - valued by elites
* Social capital - collective benefits of social networks
—Based on reciprocal trust and friendship networks
What is the scientific method?
A systematic organized series of steps that ensure maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem
What is the first step of the scientific method?
Define the problem:
State clearly what you want to investigate
What is the research question (broad, but narrow over time)
Must develop Operational Definitions
* Explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow researchers to assess the concept
What is the second step of the scientific method?
Review the literature:
Reading relevant studies, synthesizing the work, and citing them
* Use APA or ASA citations in sociology
Prior research guides new research
What is the third step of the scientific method?
Formulate the hypothesis:
Hypothesis: a speculative statement about the relationship of 2 or more variables
Variable: a measurement set of attributes (allow measurement of a concept)
* Independent variable (x) - causes the effect the researcher wants to explain (predictor variable)
* Dependent variable (y) - effect research (outcome variable)
Causality and correlations:
* Causal logic - one variable causes another
* Correlation - changes in one variable coincide with changes in another
* Correlation = causality may be present
* Correlation doesn’t equal causality
What is the fourth step of the scientific method?
Select a research design:
Collecting and analyzing data
Select a sample (subset of population)
* Population is the entire group that you want to study
* Samples should be representative of the entire population
Types of samples:
* Random sample - every member of the population has a chance to be selected (removes bias from study)
- Convenience sample - only select people who are easy to reach and closest at hand
- Snowball sampling - one person will tell another to participate and so on
Reliability = Consistency (RC Car)
Validity = Truthful (VT - Vermont)
What is Reliability vs Validity?
Reliability = Consistency (RC Car)
* Measure the same thing over and over again, get the same result
* Test by asking different groups of people exact same questions or check answers across similar individuals
Validity = Truthful (VT - Vermont)
* How accurate your measure is
* Problems with validity may deal with question writing
What is the fifth step of the scientific method?
Develop conclusions:
Determine if hypothesis is supported or rejected
Not all studies support hypothesis
* Some have null results or contradictory results
Potential reason is other factors:
* Control variables - extra variables that are added to test the strength of the independent variable
* Test if other factors matter
What are the 4 major research designs?
Surveys:
* Method of collecting information through direct contact with study participants about how people think or act
* Questionnaires (written) or interviewed (face-to-face)
* Ask open- or closed-ended questions
Ethnography:
* Study of the entire setting through extensive systematic field work
* Involves immersing in an area
* Detailed interviews
* Observations - collects information from closely watching a group or community
* Participant observer - researcher participates in activities of those they observe
Experiments:
* An artificially or naturally created situation that allows manipulation of variables
Involves 2 groups:
* Experimental group: gets the treatment (independent variable)
* Control group: doesn’t get the treatment (remains the same)
Existing Sources:
* Secondary analysis - use of data that has already been collected and publicly available
* Content analysis - systematic coding and objective recoding of data, guided by a rationale
What is the Hawthorne Effect?
People change behavior because they know they are being studied
What is quantitative vs qualitative research?
- Quantitative research - analyzes data through numerical or statistical forms
- Qualitative research - relies on what is seen in the field, not on stats
What happened during the Tea Room Trade experiment?
- Laud Humphrey wanted to study sexual behavior
- Involved sex in men’s bathrooms and tracked them by license plates
- Misrepresented himself as a “Watch Queen”
- Scientific knowledge vs morality ethics
- Issues: consent, privacy, deceit, and psychological/emotional impacts
What does the ASA Code of Ethics in Research define?
Research must:
* Maintain integrity and objectivity
* Respect people’s rights, dignity, and diversity
* Protect from personal harm
* Preserve confidentiality
* Seek informed consent when collected data
* Disclose financial support
What are the 3 ethical safeguards that are put in place?
Institutional Review Boards (IRB):
* Committee that review research for ethical research
* Goal: protect rights and reduce harm
* Includes academics and non-academics
* Must approve, but can reject
Informed Consent:
* Provide knowledge
* Potential harms/benefits
Debriefing:
* Done to ensure no psychological harm
* Answer questions
What is culture?
The totality of socially transmitted ideas or knowledge, materials, and behavior
Doesn’t relate to refined tastes
* Consists of all objects and ideas in a society
