Introduction to Sociology Flashcards
Define sociology: what is sociology?
- scientific study of social behaviour and human groups
- scientific study of interactions among human beings
Explain the study of sociology? What does it focus on?
Sociology focus on:
- how relationships influence people’s attitudes and behaviours
- how societies develop and change
What is the difference between psychology and sociology?
Psychology is within individuals
Sociology is between individuals
What are the two important qualities in Sociology?
- The focus on the Social
- Skepticism
Elaborate more on ‘The Sociological Eye’.
The Sociological Eye is a term coined by Mcintyer (2014) as a chapter to incorporate the focus on the social and skepticism.
- Thesociological eyemeans looking at things for what they are, as best we can given the blinders of interest and ideology, of cliché and ritualized belief.
- Thesociological eyeholds up a periscope above the tides of political and intellectual partisanship, spying out the patterns of social life in every direction.
- Asociological eye enables youto see what others may not notice
- Social environment makes some choices easier and others harder.
- The Sociological Eye does not focus on the individual but look at social environment and the ways in which it affects people
What is the difference between Macrosociology and Microsociology
Macrosociology: Concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations
Microsociology: Stresses study of small groups, often through experimental means
What is the difference between cultural capital and social capital?
Cultural capital: noneconomic goods reflected in knowledge of language and arts
Social capital: collective benefit of social networks
Elaborate more on ‘The Sociological Imagination’.
The Sociological Imagination is a kind of thinking, an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past.
The Sociological Imagination is the ability to view one’s own society as an outside. It looks beyond limited understanding of human behaviour
- Enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography
- “Make the familiar strange,” or to question habits or customs that seem “natural” to us
- A way to understand the macro-micro link to understand the person’s circumstance
Explain Thomas Theorem.
Thomas Theorem is the social construct of reality.
If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.
In other words, our behavior depends not on the objective reality of a situation but on our subjective interpretation of reality. The consequences and results of behavior make it real.
Forexample, a teenager who is defined as deviant might begin to act deviant. He makes his label real.
Explain social construction of reality
if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences
What is Skepticism?
- Skepticism is not believing what you see and asking questions to find out more. - This is the inquisitive mind, the mind that questions and does not accept at face value what is seen.
Explain the focus on the social.
- Not focused on the individual
- Look at the social environment and the way in which it affects people
What are the advantages of Sociological Imagination?
- Opens up new resources for problem solving
- Identifies social causes
- Fixes challenges by focusing on social structures and social arrangements
What is the difference between manifest and latent function and dysfunction?
Manifest functions : Intended beneficial consequences of people’s actions
Manifest dysfunctions : Intended consequences that harm society
Latent functions : Unintended beneficial consequences of people’s actions
Latent dysfunctions : Unintended consequences that harm society
