Midterm Prep

Question 1

Functionalism

Answer 1

The idea, developed by Durkheim, that all societal constructs (beliefs, customs, institutions) serve a vital function. It addresses society as a whole in terms of constituent elements.

Question 2

Material culture

Answer 2

The physical elements of a culture that members of a society make and use. With material cultures, there exists manifest and latent function.

Question 3

Non-material culture

Answer 3

The abstract or intangible that influences behaviours- norms, folkways, taboos, mores, sanctions, etc are the non-material culture.

Question 4

Collective consciousness

Answer 4

According to Durkheim, the desires and self-interests of human beings, which can only be held in check by forces that originate outside of the individual. Durkheim characterizes this external force as a collective consciousness, a common social bond as expressed by the values, ideologies, and ideals of a particular culture.

Question 5

Cultural lag

Answer 5

Non material culture changes slower than material culture.

Question 6

Culture

Answer 6

Culture (first defined by EB Taylor in 1871) refers to knowledge, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society.

Question 7

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 7

Symbolic Interactionists attempt to examine day-to-day interactions and behaviour within groups. People continue to negotiate their social realities. Values and norms are not independent realities that automatically determine behaviour. Each person has a subjective reality of a given situation.

Question 8

Society

Answer 8

A society is a large group that occupies the same geographic territory and is subject to the same political authority of the governing body.

Question 9

Manifest function

Answer 9

The actual function of the object- ie; a tool cuts.

Question 10

Latent function

Answer 10

The implicated function of the object- ie; a tool establishes craft specialization.

Question 11

Post-modern perspectives

Answer 11

Assert that a Eurocentric lens conditions our view of all cultures and that the culture of our age produces a social world that is not real, but stimulated.

Question 12

Feminist perspectives

Answer 12

Have no single unified approach. There are many different feminisms, but all are built on one core belief- that women and men are equal and should be equally valued. There is a focus on patriarchy- a hierarchical system of power in which males possess greater economic and social privilege than females. Gender roles are socially created and this limits our human potential.

Question 13

Cultural relativism

Answer 13

The ability to view the beliefs and customs of other peoples within the context of their culture rather than one’s own. Conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them.

Question 14

Versthen

Answer 14

Coined by Weber- to understand.

Question 15

Socialization

Answer 15

The process of acquiring a certain culture.

Question 16

Enculturation

Answer 16

The process of being socialized into a specific culture.

Question 17

Chronological age

Answer 17

The age one is, based on date of birth.

Question 18

Macrolevel analysis

Answer 18

Sociological approach which emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level of sociological structure.

Question 19

Microlevel analysis

Answer 19

Examines the interactions between people within a society and how they react to one another.

Question 20

Conflict Theory

Answer 20

Assume that groups in society are engaged in one continuous power struggle for the control of scarce resources.

Question 21

Mechanical solidarity

Answer 21

Social integration of members of a society who have common values and beliefs.

Question 22

Organic (individualism)

Answer 22

Social cohesion based upon the dependence individuals have on each other in more advanced societies. Arises from division of labour.

Question 23

The purpose of the family unit, according to functionalism

Answer 23

Families are the source of
procreation and socialization of
children. Learn dominant culture and
subcultures we belong to. Source of emotional & financial
support. They tame ‘excess individuality’.

Question 24

Wright Mills

Answer 24

There is a need for extrapolation, compilation, rumination, and understanding that humans have of their own society, of their own place in the world, cosmos, and humour, etc (tea example- maintaining good health, a tradition/ritual/social activity/addiction).

Question 25

Harriet Martineau

Answer 25

Secularist, sociologist examining religion politics, child rearing, slavery, immigration in categories of race, class, and gender. Friend of Charles Darwin.

Question 26

Karl Marx

Answer 26

Examined conflict, believing that history is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas. Conflict, namely class conflict, was necessary in order to produce social change and a better society. Asserted that capitalism made poverty, controlling and exploiting the masses of struggling workers by paying them less than the value of their labour. This resulted in the alienation of the workers, a feeling of powerlessness that would make them aware and overthrow the capitalists, creating a free and classless society. Hugely influential.

Question 27

Max Weber

Answer 27

Emphasized full objectivity in sociology, as well as cultural and political factors as key influences on economic development and individual behaviour. Economic systems as one but not the only source of change. Realized that sociology could not always be value-free, so they should employ versthen- “understand”, to gain the ability to see the world as others see it. Famous for studies of bureaucracies and religion. Also stressed power and prestige.

Question 28

Emile Durkheim

Answer 28

Made several major contributions to sociology- focusing on the division of labour, functionalism, elaborating sociology, etc. According to Durkheim, a social fact (identifiable through the power of external coercion) and are “sui generis”- of its own kind, unique, and must be studied distinct from biological and physiological phenomena. Emile Durkheim focused continually on the nature of the social system and the relation of that system to the personality of the individual. People are the product of a social environment, societies are built on social facts

Question 29

The purpose of the family, according to conflict theory

Answer 29

Socialization reproduces parents’ class rather than
challenging the conditions that currently exist.
Socialization contributes to a false consciousness – a lack
of awareness and a distorted perception of the reality of
class.

Question 30

Etic way of viewing something

Answer 30

Seeing things from the perspective of an observer.

Question 31

Seeing things in an emic way

Answer 31

Seeing things from the perspective of the observed.

Question 32

Power

Answer 32

Defined as the ability of a person within a social relationship to carry out their own will despite resistance.

Question 33

Prestige

Answer 33

Defined as a positive or negative social estimation of honour.

Question 34

Anomie

Answer 34

Lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group.

Question 35

Social group

Answer 35

A collection of two or more people who share a sense of belonging, have a feeling of interdependence, and frequently interact with one another. (A group of roommates)

Question 36

Aggregate

Answer 36

A collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time, but have little in common. (One of my swimming classes).

Question 37

Category

Answer 37

Categories are people or things who have never met each other. (Cat lovers, Catholics, etc)

Question 38

The purpose of the school, according to conflict theory

Answer 38

The school, which offers varied experiences dependant on race, class, orientation, gender, etc. indoctrinates children with curriculum steeped in capitalism. Play is structured like competition, curriculum enforces capitalism.

Question 39

The purpose of the school, according to symbolic interactionism

Answer 39

Socialization is a result of
daily interactions in the school setting
Here, students learn about their
culture, the nation, aggression and
compliance, and gender.