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
What is society?
A large number of people who share a common culture
Independent of others outside area
It’s the largest form of human group
Transmits culture through generations
* Simplifies day-to-day interactions
What are cultural universals?
- Common practices that societies develop to meet human needs
- Cooking, sports, marriage, religion, rituals
What is ethnocentrism?
- The tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life is the norm or superior
- May see other cultures as deviant
- Own culture is correct
What is cultural relativism?
- Viewing practices of other people’s behavior from the perspective of their culture
- Requires unbiased efforts to evaluate other customs and values (think Weber)
What are the 4 elements of culture?
- Language
- Norms
- Sanctions
- Values
What is language?
The foundation of culture
* Key form of cultural capital (Pierre Bourdieu)
* Bridges cultures (spoken and written)
* Communicates norms, sanctions, and values
Nonverbal communications
* Gestures, facial expressions, symbols, and other visuals
What are norms?
Established standards of behavior maintained by societies (widely shared)
Formal norms: written and specify strict punishments for violations
* Laws
Informal norms: not recorded, but understood
* Mores
* Folkways
What are folkways?
- Informal norm
- Customary behaviors that govern everyday behaviors
What are mores?
- Informal norm
- Culturally universal behaviors deemed necessary for the welfare of society
What is a law?
A formal norm which must be obeyed and is enforced by the government
What are sanctions?
- Positive or negative consequence for conducting a social norm
- Norms and sanctions reflect the cultures’ values and priorities
What are values?
Collective conceptions of what is desirable/undesirable, good/bad, and proper/unproper in a culture
* Defines what is morally right
Can be specific or general
Values change overtime but are often stable
What are the 3 ways that culture is spread?
Innovation
* Introducing a new idea to a culture
* When something new is added, it can change culture
* Two forms: Discovery and Invention
Diffusion:
* Cultural items spread to different groups or societies
* Occurs through exploration, military, and mass media
* Ex: K-pop, fast food, Pokemon
* McDonaldization
Technology:
* Increases the spread of culture
* Material culture
* Nonmaterial culture
* Culture lag
What is discovery?
A form of innovation where someone makes known something that already exists
What is invention?
A form of innovation where existing cultural items are combined to form something new
What is McDonaldization?
A process of diffusion where business and industry can overlap culturally
Ex: McDonalds around the world
* Each country has unique items on the menu
What is material culture?
- Physical or technological aspects of our daily lives
- Ex: food, houses, factories
What is nonmaterial culture?
- Ways of using objects, customs, beliefs, government, and patterns of communication
- More resistant to change
What is culture lag?
- Maladjustment of nonmaterial culture struggles to adopt to material culture
- Ex: e-cigarettes
What are the 4 forms of cultural variation?
Dominant ideology
* Set of cultural beliefs and practices that maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests
* Conflict perspective - wealthy control means to produce beliefs
* Feminist perspective - controls women
Subculture
* Segment of society whose customs, values, and traditions differ from the larger society
* Ex: marijuana users, juggalos, furries, amish
* Argot - specialized language
Counterculture
* When subculture deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture
* Ex: hippies (1960); militia (2020)
Culture shock
* Feeling of uneasiness when experiencing another culture
* Ex: toilet slippers in Japan
What is socialization?
Patterns of behaviors and attitudes that emerge and develop over one’s lifetime
What do we learn through socialization?
- Attitudes
- Values
- Culturally appropriate behaviors (norms)
- Socialization shapes people’s personality
What is nature vs nurture?
Nature - behavior through genetics
* Heredity
Nurture - behavior through social interactions
* Social environment
What did the Minnesota Twin Family Study discover?
- Both genetics and socialization matter during development
- Nature and Nurture are important
Who was Charles H. Cooley?
Focused on the study of the self
The “Looking-Glass Self” is a product of our social interactions
* Creates a self-concept
* We learn who we are from interactions
* Broader view of the double consciousness (W.E.B. DuBois)
What are the 3 stages to developing a self-concept?
- Imagine how we present ourselves
- Imagine how others evaluate us
- Develop feelings about ourselves based on these impressions
Who was George Herbert Mead?
- Pioneered the interactionist approach
- Also focused on the study of the self
- 3 stages of the self
What are the 3 stages of the self?
Preparatory stage (imitation stage):
* Focused on early childhood and watching parents (imitate parent’s actions)
Play stage (mimic others):
* Role taking - process of mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that image
* Role playing - like playing doctor
Game stage (understand interactions):
* Think hide and seek
Who was Erving Goffman?
- Interactionist focusing on how people convey themselves
- Impression management
- Dramaturgical approach
- Force - work
What is impression management?
- Altering the presentation of the self to create a distinct appearance to an audience
- Ex: job interview
What is the dramaturgical approach?
- People are seen as performers
- Think drama and the theater
- Ex: look busier than you are at work
What is force-work?
- Efforts to maintain proper image and avoid public embarrassment
- Ex: rejections on TV competitions
Who was Jean Piaget?
- Psychologist who focused on how interactions shape the self
- Focused on children and how process which newborns are self-centered (no looking-glass self)
- Cognitive Theory of Development
- Social interaction is key to development
What are the 4 stages of child development (cognitive theory of development)?
- Sensorimotor - use senses to discover (touching things)
- Preoperational - use words and symbols (talking)
- Concrete - logical thinking (a clay snake is still a snake)
- Formal - sophisticated abstract thought (handle ideas and values)
Who was Albert Bandura?
- Social learning theory
- Studied learning through the use of Bobo doll experiment
What is the social learning theory?
- Focuses on observing, modeling, and mitating behaviors, attitudes and reactions to others
- Based on conditional learning (rewards and punishments)
What was determined from the Bobo doll experiment?
- Children observe models (family, tv characters, teachers)
- Models provide examples of behaviors to imitate
- Children are more likely to model after similar people to themselves
- Models will respond to behavior with reinforcement or punishment
What are the 6 agents of socialization?
Family (most important)
* Impact begins after birth
* Cultural assumptions form (gender and race)
School
* Socialize in norms and values of culture
* Use system of rewards and punishments
* Learn customs of larger society
Peer groups
* More important as we age
* Share similar status
Mass media and technology
* Internet, TV, and music
* Age of internet access decreases (toddler using)
* Social media (Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok)
Workplace
* After school or full time employment
* Increased time at work = stronger agent than school
* Changing jobs impact socialization (avg 12 jobs in lifetime)
Religion and government
* Impact rites of passage
* Governs traditions or life transitions
* Regulates drinking, marriage, voting, and children
What is the life course approach?
- Perspective of looking closely at the social factors that influence people
- Goes from birth to death
- Focuses on aging and development
- Want to study social pathways
What are longitudinal studies?
- Study the same people over several points in time
- Not cross-sectional
- Understand the development of youth
- Ex: National Longitudinal Survey or Youth
What are cross-sectional studies?
Study different people every time
Who were Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck?
- Criminologists wh9o studied offending over life course
- Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency (1950)
- Main finding is maturation
What was the Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency study?
- 3 wave study of 1,000 boys (ages: 14, 25, 32)
- 500 deliquent and 500 nondelinquent matched on age, national origin, IQ, and residence
- Analyzed youths on 400 factors
Who is Glen Elders?
- Major life course reassurer
- Studied the lives of Children in teh Great Depression
- Devised the Principles of the life course
What are the 5 principles of the life course?
Life Span Development
* Development is a lifelong process
Agency (free will)
* People make their own choices
Time and Place
* Historical times and geographic location matter
Timing
* Time in life when event happens
Linked Lives
* Lives linked interdependently
* Ex: New relationships shape lives
What are the 3 T’s of the Life Course?
Transitions
* Changes in social roles
* Include: leaving home, starting a career, becoming a parent, and retiring
* Involve a change in status and identity
* Early transitions have large impact because they shape future trajectories
Trajectories
* Sequence of roles in life
* Made up of transitions
* Focus on stability and change
Turning Points
* Involve a change in the direction of ones’ life
* Ex: moving away from criminal offending
What are common turning points and what do they provide?
Common TPs:
* Returning to work/school
* Military service
* Residential change
* Marriage
TPs provide:
* Identity transformation
* Change routine activities
* Knife off past
* Provide new opportunities for social support
What are the 4 typical life transitions?
Early transitions
* Birth - School - College
Adult transitions
* Moves out of home - Begins career - Enters marriage
Midlife transition
* Midlife Crisis - point in life when people realize they did not achieve their goals and have little time left
Late life transition
* Retirement - Death
What are the 2 types of socialization?
Anticipatory socialization
* Process of preparing to take on future
* Prepare for aspects of adult life
* Ex: high school to college
Resocialization
* Process of forgetting old socialization and learning enw behaviors
* Reform schools, prisons, and therapy
* Happens in total institutions
What are total institutions?
- Institution that regulates all aspects of ones’ life
- Involves degradation ceremonies
- Prison, military, mental hospital, convent
- Coined by Erving Goffman
What are the aspects of a total institution?
- Under control of single authority
- Any activity conducted with others in the same circumstance
- Authority creates all rules and schedule
- All aspects of life are to fulfill purpose of organization
What are the British Birth Cohort Studies?
- Study of British Youth (5 different generations)
- Longitudinal study of children over life course
- Questions and DNA collected
- Produced 6,000 articles and books
- Studies impact parenting and poverty on youths
What are folkways?
- Informal norm
- Customary behaviors that govern everyday behaviors
