Exam 1 (Modules 1 - 4)

Question 1

norms

Answer 1

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

Question 2

folkways

Answer 2

the “not so serious” norms

every day customs that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture

Question 3

mores (pronounced more-rays)

Answer 3

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

Question 4

laws

Answer 4

formal, standardized norms that have been enacted by legislatures and are enforced by formal sanctions

Question 5

sociology vs psychology?

Answer 5

sociology - the study of groups

psychology - the study of individuals

Question 6

anomie (ann-oh-me)

Answer 6

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

Question 7

ethnocentrism

Answer 7

the assumption that one’s own culture is superior to others

Question 8

cultural relativism

Answer 8

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

Question 9

culture

Answer 9

the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are from one generation to the next in a human group or society

Question 10

culture shock

Answer 10

refers to the anxiety people experience when they encounter cultures radically different from their own

Question 11

culture lag

Answer 11

a gap between the technical development of a society and its values and beliefs

material culture generally changes more rapidly than does nonmaterial culture

Question 12

material vs nonmaterial

Answer 12

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

Question 13

subcultures

Answer 13

a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs

examples: African American, religion, Amish

Question 14

countercultures

Answer 14

a group whose values and norms deviate from or are at odds with those of the dominant culture

Question 15

social Darwinism

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857)

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Emile Durkheim (1858 - 1917)

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Max Weber (Veber) (1864 - 1920)

Answer 19

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

Question 20

hypotheses

Answer 20

an idea or explanation that must be tested using the scientific method

Question 21

independent vs dependent variables

Answer 21

independent variables are what we expect will influence dependent variables

a dependent variable is what happens as a result of the independent variable

Question 22

sample vs population

Answer 22

population - includes all people to whom our hypothesis refers

sample - the portion of the population we actually include in our study

Question 23

quantitative vs qualitative research

Answer 23

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

Question 24

the looking glass self

Answer 24

it is described as our reflection of how we think we appear to others

Question 25

id, ego, superego

Answer 25

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

Question 26

socialization

Answer 26

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

Question 27

anticipatory socialization

Answer 27

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

Question 28

resocialization

Answer 28

stripping of previous self

replace previous self with a new self

all aspects of life strictly controlled

often takes place in a “total institution”

Question 29

total institutions

Answer 29

a place of work and residence where a great number of similarly situated people

examples: rehabilitation centers, military training

Question 30

Harry Harlow’s study

Answer 30

monkeys raised in isolation and lacked basic socialization skills

Question 31

Oxana

Answer 31

a feral child raised by dogs

Question 32

Black Doll-White Doll

Answer 32

an experiment that showed the effect of socialization has on race

Question 33

agents of socialization

Answer 33

people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior

• family
• peer group
• school
• religion
• mass media

Question 34

how often does suicide occur in the US?

Answer 34

average of once every 17 minutes

Question 35

what race and sex commit suicide the most often and the least often?

Answer 35

white men on average have the highest suicide rates

African American women have the lowest suicide rates

Question 36

sociology

Answer 36

the systematic study of human society and social interaction

Question 37

Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)

Answer 37

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

Question 38

structural-functionalism (order theory) (macro)

Answer 38

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

Question 39

conflict theory (macro)

Answer 39

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

Question 40

symbolic interactionism (micro)

Answer 40

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

Question 41

structured inequality

Answer 41

the structures of society (the way it is set up) benefits the powerful and privileged

Question 42

ideologies and false consciousness

Answer 42

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