sociological perspectives Flashcards

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1
Q

perspective

A

way of looking at something

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2
Q

sociological perspective

A

way of looking at society

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3
Q

structuralism

A

concerned with overall structure of society and way social institutions (family, education, media) act as a constraint on individual behaviour

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4
Q

stucturalist approach

A

individual is like a puppet to whose strings are pulled by society

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5
Q

macro approach

A

focus of sociology is on study of social institutions and social structure as a whole not on the individual

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6
Q

social action

A

individual behaviour in every day social situations
(discovering) - the process which interactions between individuals take place, how people interpret and see things they do

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7
Q

micro approach

A

study of individuals/ small groups not the social structure as a whole

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8
Q

symbolic interactionism

A

social action perspective concerned with understanding human behaviour and how people can be defined in particular ways

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9
Q

determinism

A

activities and identities of individuals are moulded by forces beyond their control

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10
Q

viewpoint

A

where you stand in society (attitude towards something)

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11
Q

functionalism

A
  • sees society as made up of parts which work together for good of society
  • most things have a useful function for society
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12
Q

marxism

A
  • sees society as divided by conflict between opposing social classes (rich vs poor) and power vs lack of power
  • social class inequality is main source of conflict, shows society doesn’t function well
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13
Q

social action

A
  • perspective which emphasises creative action people can take
  • people are not puppets of society, they have their own mind to make choices
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14
Q

post modernism

A
  • approach that says society is changing so rapidly that it is marked by chaos
  • knowledge is always made not discovered
  • self identify and personal life is more relevant now
  • new era is about diversity, choice and change
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15
Q

feminism

A
  • equality for all genders
  • doesn’t agree that society works well, only works well for straight, white men
  • gender inequality is so embedded in us that research must focus on changing this
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16
Q

pluralist

A
  • mixed approach
  • society and individuals mould each other
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17
Q

social order

A

family
education
religion
crime

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18
Q

modernist

A
  • mid 18th century
  • original perspective
  • interested in urbanisation and industrialisation
  • v popular in 1950/60’s
  • now considered old fashioned
19
Q

structuralist

A
  • argue that society shapes individuals
  • macro approach
  • people are puppets of society
20
Q

consensus

A
  • how society is run
  • agreement
  • belief that society is based on socialisation, norms, values, consensus, collective conscience, social solidarity
21
Q

socialisation

A

process of internalising the norms and values of society

22
Q

norms

A

behaviours that are expected and thought to be normal

23
Q

value consensus

A

agreement about society’s values - beliefs about what is right/ wrong

24
Q

collective conscience

A

shared ideas about importance of what is right for a wider group

25
Q

social solidarity

A

sense of being a part of a wider society, bringing togetherness and support

26
Q

social bonds

A

care and concern for others and wider community

27
Q

social order/ harmony

A

society functions well and order is maintained when everyone works together

28
Q

anomie

A

normlessness when people are not sufficiently socialised into society

29
Q

emile durkheim

A
  • earliest sociologists
  • said: people are basically selfish, they need to be encouraged to think about wider social group or they will think of themselves and society would break down
  • said primary and secondary socialisation and collective conscience is most important
30
Q

talcott parsons

A
  • said: he developed ideas that durkheim spoke of
  • is well known for his organic analogy
  • comparison between society and human body
  • biblical idea
  • if body’s organs work together then society can work together, if one organ breaks down the rest do too
31
Q

functional prerequisites

A

basic needs that every society needs in order to survive

32
Q

GAIL MODEL

A

G- goals
A- adaptation
I- integration
L- latency

33
Q

goals

A

parliament sets goals, priorities and aims for society and enables the means to achieve them
e.g - reducing unemployment, poverty and crime

34
Q

adaptation

A

adapting the environment to achieve society’s goals
e.g - factories for food and clothes, providing education and healthcare become a goal post war so education changes were made and the NHS was created

35
Q

integration

A

co ordination of all parts of society so there are shared goals and a sense of contributing to the greater good
e.g - community spirit

36
Q

latency

A

maintenance when things are good, minimising conflicts which could prevent goals by preserving commitment to culture and values

37
Q

robert merton

A
  • doesn’t believe everything serves a useful purpose
  • some parts of social structure don’t work as intended and cause problems (dysfunction)
  • thinks some families are dysfunctional, not socialising their children well can lead to anti social behaviour and crime
38
Q

organic analogy

A

if one organ within the body doesn’t work the rest don’t work either
like society if one part doesn’t work none of it does
talcott parsons idea

39
Q

new right

A

capitalist idea
emphasis on importance or socialisation to establish core values and maintain social stability
importance of traditional institutions (conventional marriage, traditional education)
rise of dependency culture

40
Q

rise of dependency culture

A

dependence within government and society

41
Q

criticising new right

A

would be to criticise the greed that comes with it

42
Q

life cycle

A

traditional way
set stages and standard life course
nuclear
get married
start own family
long term commitment
expectation
set patterns

43
Q

life course

A

contemporary way
diversity
multiple paths and no standard life course
young people face uncertainty in their personal lives about what to do and when to do it
flexibility
focused on individual
risk
variation