Introduction to Sociology: The Basics

Question 1

the systematic study of human society, culture, and relationships on a group level

Answer 1

sociology

Question 2

major structures made up of groups or ideas that influence people’s daily lives, views of the world, or integration into society. Examples are religion and schools

Answer 2

Social institutions

Question 3

People who directly help to improve people’s lives using sociological concepts

Answer 3

clinical sociologists

Question 4

ancient people believed that everything around them was a sign of active gods influencing their lives

Answer 4

theological stage

Question 5

the person who actually came up with the term ‘sociology’ way back in 1838 to define the study of society

Answer 5

Auguste Comte

Question 6

believed that sociology could identify three major stages to the development of global society.

Answer 6

Auguste Comte

Question 7

people viewed the world and events as natural reflections of human tendencies. People in this stage still believed in divine powers or gods, but they believed that these beings are more abstract and less directly involved in what happens on a daily basis. Instead, problems in the world are due to defects in humanity.

Answer 7

metaphysical stage

Question 8

people view the world and events as explained by scientific principles

Answer 8

scientific stage

Question 9

the belief that societies have their own scientific principles and laws, just like physics or chemistry. assumes there are truths about society that can be discovered through scientific studies and that our understanding of society should be based on actual data and evidence.

Answer 9

positivism

Question 10

a statement of how and why processes work or the world operates. attempts to explain why groups of people choose to perform certain actions and how societies function or change in a certain way

Answer 10

theory

Question 11

views society as a complex, but interconnected system, where each part works together as a functional whole. A metaphor is the human body.

Answer 11

structural-functional theory

Question 12

views society as a system of groups that are not equal, and therefore consistently generate conflict and change

Answer 12

social conflict theory

Question 13

views society as traditionally unequal between men and women and strives for equality between the sexes

Answer 13

feminism

Question 14

views the larger society as a byproduct of the interactions among millions of individuals. In other words, this theory focuses more on tiny groups of two or three people, talking to each other and interacting, and says that society is really just millions of these tiny groups occurring over time.

Answer 14

symbolic interactionism