Final Exam Flashcards
Define the sociological perspective
Understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context
Define the sociological imagination
Described by Mills as “it enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography.”
Who are the major sociologists who originally developed the field of sociology
Comte Spencer Marx Durkheim Weber Du Bois Addams Wright Mills
What did Comte believe?
Suggested we apply the scientific method to the social world, known as POSITIVISM. He named this new science “sociology”
What did Spencer believe?
Believed sociologists should not guide social reform. He championed Social Darwinism, letting societies experience survival of the fittest.
What did Marx believe?
Believed the engine of human history is class conflict. Society is made up of 2 classes: Bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (workers).
What did Durkheim believe?
Believed in social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social groups, people who had weaker ties to their social groups were more likely to commit suicide.
What did Weber believe?
Believed religion was the central force in social change. Protestants sought financial success as a sign that God was on their side. Weber called this the Protestant ethic, and believed it brought about Capitalism.
What did Du Bois believe?
Believed that racism was wrong. He was an outspoken African-American sociologist, and a critic of the US state department.
What did Addams believe?
Combined the role of sociologist with that of social reformer. Strove to bridge the gap between the powerful and the powerless.
What did Wright Mills believe?
Believed sociologists should get back to social reform. Analyzed the role of the power elite in US society.
What are the 3 major theoretical perspectives on sociology?
Symbolic Interactionism
Functional Analysis
Conflict Theory
What is Symbolic Interactionism?
A theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another.
What is Functional Analysis?
A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium.
What is Conflict Theory?
A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources.
What level of analysis does symbolic interactionalism use?
Microsociological (examines small-scale patterns of social interaction)
What level of analysis does Functional analysis use?
Macrosociological (examines large-scale patterns of social interaction)
What level of analysis does Conflict theory use?
Macrosociological
What was the focus of analysis of symbolic interactionism?
Face-to-face interaction, how people use symbols to create social life
What was the focus of analysis of functional analysis?
Relationships among the parts of society, how these parts are functional or dysfunctional
What was the focus of analysis of conflict theory?
The struggle for scarce resources by groups in a society, how the elites use their power to control the weaker groups
What are the steps of sociological research?
- select a topic
- define the problem
- review the literature
- formulate a hypothesis
- choose a research method
- collect the data
- analyze the results
- share the results
What are the most common research methods used by sociologists?
Surveys Participant observation (fieldwork) Case study Secondary analysis Analysis of documents Experiments Unobtrusive measures
Define survey
The collection of data by having people answer a series of questions
Define Participant observation (fieldwork)
Research in which the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting
Define Case study
An intensive analysis of a single-event, situation, or individual
Define Secondary analysis
The analysis of data that have been collected by other researchers
Define Analysis of documents
The analysis of written sourches or archival material that provide data
Define experiment
The use of control and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation
Define Unobtrusive measures
Ways to observe people who are not aware they are being studied
What is culture?
The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next
What are the main components of culture
Gestures, values, norms, and sanctions, folkways, mores, and taboos
What are the 3 types of norms?
Folkways
Mores
Taboos
Define folkways
norms that are not strictly enforced
Define Mores
norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought essential to core values or the well being of the group
Define Taboos
a norm so strong that it brings exterme santions, even revulsion if violated.
Define Dominant culture
The established language, religion, values, ritual, and social customs. These practices are a norm for the society as a whole.
Define subculture
The values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture, a world within a world
Define counterculture
A group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture.
What is the difference between real and ideal culture?
Ideal culture refers to the values, norms, and goals that a group considers ideal, worth aiming for. Sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow real culture.
Define cultural lag
Ogburn’s term for human behavior lagging behind technological innovations.
Define cultural diffusion
The spread of cultural traits from one group to another; includes both material and non-material cultural traits.
Define cultural leveling
The process by which cultures become similar to one another; refers especially to the process by which western culture is being exported and diffused into other nations.
What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativity.
Ethnocentrism is the use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and behaviors.
Cultural relativity is trying to understand a culture on its own terms, not ours.
What is socialization?
The process by which people learn the characteristics of their group- the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, norms, and actions thought appropriate for them.
What are the agents of socialization?
Family Neighborhood Religion Day Care The School Peer Groups The Workplace
Who established the main theories of socialization?
Mead, Cooley, Freud
What was Cooley’s theory of socialization?
Believed in the looking glass self