Introduction Flashcards
Definition of Sociology
The study of how societies are organized and how it influences the decisions of its members
Define Sociological Imagination
The ability to think about our own experience in relation to a larger social experience
When did the field of Sociology emerge?
In the 1800s
What caused the field of Sociology to emerge?
The Industrial Revolution
Who is C. Wright Mills?
Early Sociologist who introduced the idea of Sociological Imagination
What is the Industrial Revolution?
Rapid development in the late 1700s throughout the 1800s where manufacturing, industry, and migration to cities changed how society was structured
What is Division of Labor?
An Economic arrangement in which communities are divided in order to specialize in a task or creation of a product rather than producing everything for themselves
Who is Auguste Comte?
Early Sociologist who practiced empirical (Statistical research-based) sociology and was the first figure associated with Positivism
What is Positivism?
The idea that society is equipped with inherent logic that governs society
Why did Comte believe in Practiced Positivism?
Comte believed that society had an inherent logic that he could solve through empirical research
Who is Harriet Martineau?
THE FIRST Female Sociologist who believed in Applied Sociology
What is Applied Sociology?
The belief that society is always changing and the way to improve society for all is through research
What is Sociological Sympathy?
The skill of understanding others as they understand themselves (deemed a essential skill by Martineau)
Define Standpoint
The ability to recognize that one’s own experiences shape their view of the world (aka point of view)
Define Cultural Relativism
The ability to understand cultural practices without assigning judgement
Define Meritocracy
The idea that greater skill and commitment will garner more success (“The American Dream”)
Sociological History
Current and Past societal structures that impact the changes in society (make events more or less likely)
Sociological History
current and past societal structures that affect how society changes, typically making things more or less likely (if your parents got a bachelor’s degree)
Sociological Biography
typically just looking at our own PERSONAL EXPERIENCES and how that influences decisions
Social structure
The boundaries people confront as they make decisions about their individual and Collective actions
Nature
the potential of an individual, makes things more or less likely (ex: genetics)
Nurture
How the social world impacts likelihood ( will or will not close)
Socialization
The experiences that give us identity and teach us values, morals, beliefs, mannerisms, and thought processes. (IT IS A LIFE LONG PROCESS)
Formal Socialization
Explicitly taught via rules, laws, and regulations
Informal Socialization
Taught through observation and experience
Agents of socialization
individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions that influence our identity, morals, beliefs, etc.
3 main things learned from Socialization
Skills, Values, and NORMS
Norms
Social expectations and rules about behavior that are controlled by groups
4 types of Norms
Folkway, More, Laws, Taboo
Folkway
Norm for the sake of tradition or efficiency (walking on the right side of the side walk)
More
Deeply held moral beliefs (can be tied to religion), has more significance and disapproval should you violate (ex: standing or kneeling for the national anthem)
Laws
Written rules that have specific consequences following violation and are regulated by official agencies
Taboo
Extremely held beliefs by society, and violation results in being outcast by society (ex: views on cannibalism or incest)
Social Sanctions
The ways in which we demonstrate (dis)approval. It is the most common form or social control
Feelings Rules
Norms that regulate emotion and their expression (ex: somber expression at a funeral)
Emotional Management
The management of emotion to meet private ends (we determine how we express emotion and we choose how to follow emotion rules)
Emotional Labor
Management of feelings in order to produce externally visible expected emotion (told how to express and we are told what the emotion rules are, must be followed exactly)
Social Acceptability Bias
When asked sensitive questions, people tend to give the socially acceptable answer instead of their actual beliefs
Response Bias
The systematic pattern of who does or does not respond
Hawthorne Effect
When people know that they are being observed it changes their behavior
Social Conflict Theory
Society is full of inequalities which create further inequality (inequalities are rooted in class conflict)
Class Conflict
The struggle between classes to control access to resources
Materialism
How people meet their needs and beyond
Means of Production
The control over the ways to generate capital (control of resources, labor, manufacturing sites, etc.)
Alienation
The disconnect from the people around you including a disconnect from your work and personal humanity
False Consciousness
Capitalism has trained your mind to believe that the only way to improve your place in society is to work hard. This in turn makes coworkers look like competition and allows for inequality to be viewed as merit-based.
Class Consciousness
The awareness of one’s class position
