Exam 1 (Modules 1 - 4) Flashcards
norms
established rules of behavior or standards of conduct
norms tell us how to behave in particular situations and places
some rules are very serious, and others are not so serious
folkways
the “not so serious” norms
every day customs that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture
mores (pronounced more-rays)
strongly held norms with moral and ethical connotations that may not be violated without serious consequences
those who violate mores may be seen as lacking character or as immoral
laws
formal, standardized norms that have been enacted by legislatures and are enforced by formal sanctions
sociology vs psychology?
sociology - the study of groups
psychology - the study of individuals
anomie (ann-oh-me)
a loss of shared values and sense of purpose among members of a society
this results in a lack of direction and questioning what is right and what is wrong
ethnocentrism
the assumption that one’s own culture is superior to others
cultural relativism
views and analyzes another culture in terms of that culture’s own values and standards
the view that ethical and social standards reflect the cultural context from which they are derived
cultural relativists uphold that cultures differ fundamentally from one another, and so do the moral frameworks that structure relations within different societies
culture
the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are from one generation to the next in a human group or society
culture shock
refers to the anxiety people experience when they encounter cultures radically different from their own
culture lag
a gap between the technical development of a society and its values and beliefs
material culture generally changes more rapidly than does nonmaterial culture
material vs nonmaterial
material culture - physical or tangible creations (such as clothing shelter, and art) that members of a society make, use, and share
nonmaterial culture - abstract or intangible human creations of society (such as attitudes, beliefs, and values) that influence people’s behavior
material culture generally changes more rapidly than does nonmaterial culture
subcultures
a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs
examples: African American, religion, Amish
countercultures
a group whose values and norms deviate from or are at odds with those of the dominant culture
social Darwinism
the belief that the human beings best adapted to successful competition within the economic environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted become the poor
Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
had an evolutionary perspective on social order and social change
hypothesized social Darwinism
wanted to cease charity and aid to the poor so they would gradually die out
Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857)
considered the “founder of sociology”
his philosophy became known as positivism - which is a belief that the world can be best understood through scientific inquiry
believed objective, bias-free knowledge was attainable only through science rather than religion
Emile Durkheim (1858 - 1917)
asked: what holds people together as a society?
- common values and morals
- the importance of rituals
- the role of religion
the most important figure today in the development of structural-functionalism
related suicide to an issue of cohesiveness in a society
French - son was killed in WW1 - was an atheist - believed in religion but not god
Max Weber (Veber) (1864 - 1920)
believed sociological research should exclude personal values and economic interests (“value-free sociology” or “value-free research”)
saw bureaucracies as having both positive and negative consequences
provided insights on rationalization and bureaucracy
hypotheses
an idea or explanation that must be tested using the scientific method
independent vs dependent variables
independent variables are what we expect will influence dependent variables
a dependent variable is what happens as a result of the independent variable
sample vs population
population - includes all people to whom our hypothesis refers
sample - the portion of the population we actually include in our study
quantitative vs qualitative research
quantitative research - focuses on data that can be measured numerically
qualitative research - focuses on interpretive description rather than statistics to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships
the looking glass self
it is described as our reflection of how we think we appear to others
id, ego, superego
id - the primitive and instinctual part of the mind
super-ego - operates as a moral conscience
ego - the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego
socialization
the lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire knowledge of their culture
although most intense early in our lives, it is a lifelong process
socialization is the essential link between the individual and society
anticipatory socialization
the process, facilitated by social interactions, in which non-group-members learn to take on the values and standards of groups that they aspire to join, so as to ease their entry into the group and help them interact competently once they have been accepted by it
resocialization
stripping of previous self
replace previous self with a new self
all aspects of life strictly controlled
often takes place in a “total institution”
total institutions
a place of work and residence where a great number of similarly situated people
examples: rehabilitation centers, military training
Harry Harlow’s study
monkeys raised in isolation and lacked basic socialization skills
Oxana
a feral child raised by dogs
Black Doll-White Doll
an experiment that showed the effect of socialization has on race
agents of socialization
people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior
- family
- peer group
- school
- religion
- mass media
how often does suicide occur in the US?
average of once every 17 minutes
what race and sex commit suicide the most often and the least often?
white men on average have the highest suicide rates
African American women have the lowest suicide rates
sociology
the systematic study of human society and social interaction
Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)
believed that economic systems have historically lead to differences in power that result in unfairness and exploitation of one group by another
believed class conflict produces social change which will result in the end of capitalism and a fairer society
an activist who wanted change
most important figures in the development of conflict theory
today, he would have called himself an economist
structural-functionalism (order theory) (macro)
central concern: what holds society together?
focused on order and stability in a society
theorizes what holds a society together is consensus, general agreement on values, morality, and appropriate behavior
each part of society works in harmony and functions to maintain an orderly system, preserving social order for the smooth running of society
an orderly, smooth-running social order is beneficial to its members
the structures of society are functional for the orderly running of that society
conflict theory (macro)
believes society is shaped by conflict and competition between people and groups attempting to advance their own interests
these competing people and groups have different amounts of power
the powerful will win the competition and are then able to shape society according to their own interests
if a group has power it will use that power to advance its own interests
feminism stems from this view
symbolic interactionism (micro)
studies people interacting with one another and the meaning attached to these interactions
interested in the importance of symbolic behavior in creating social reality in human interaction
structured inequality
the structures of society (the way it is set up) benefits the powerful and privileged
ideologies and false consciousness
ideologies are ideas that rationalize existing social arrangements
ideologies result in “false consciousness”
according to Karl Marx, those who suffer from false consciousness do not even recognize their own oppression
they have been tricked into believing that society is set up fairly, as a result, they will not even demand change
