Sociology - Chapters 1 & 2 Key Terms and Topics Flashcards
What is a society?
A group of people whose members interact, reside in a definable area, and share culture.
Define Sociology
The systematic study of society and social interaction.
Define “Sociological Imagination”
How individuals understand their own and others’ past in relation to history and social structure.
Who pioneered Sociological Imagination?
C. Wright Mills
What is also known as the “sociological lens” or “sociological perspective”?
Sociological Imagination
What concept is a key basis for sociological perspective? Developed by Norbert Elias.
“Figuration”
The process of simultaneously analyzing individuals behavior and the society that shapes that behavior.
A German word that means to “understand deeply”
Verstehen
The view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they worked to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values
Antiposotivism
The scientific study of social patterns
Positivism
In-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources as the source of its data
Qualitative Sociology
Statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants
Quantitative Sociology
The social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, and religion
Social Solidarity
A wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a society
Macro level
The study between specific relationships between individuals or small groups
Micro-level theories
Philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them
Paradigms
sees society as a structure with interrelated
parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of individuals who make up that society. It is the oldest of the main theories of sociology.
Structural Functionalism
Another theory with a macro-level view, this looks at society as a competition for limited resources.
FOCUS - How inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power.
Conflict Theory
A theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)
Symbolic Interactionism
a proposed explanation about social interactions or society
Theory
a measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced.
Reliability
the degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study
Validity
an established scholarly research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions
Scientific Method
specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study
Operational definition
a scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research
Literature review
an educated guess with predicted outcomes about the relationship between two or more variables
Hypothesis
cause changes in dependent variables
Independent variables
changed by other variables
Dependent variables
a sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction; this approach is not based on hypothesis testing
Interpretive framework
when study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher
Hawthorne Effect
collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire
Survey
a study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population
random sample
represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted
quantitative data
comprise information that is subjective and often based on what is seen in a natural setting
qualitative data
a one-on-one conversation between the researcher and the subject
interview
gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey
field research
data that are collected directly from firsthand experience
primary data
when a researcher immerses herself in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an “insider” perspective
participant observation
observing a complete social setting and all that it entails
Ethnography
in-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual
case study
the testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions
experiment
using data collected by others but applying new interpretations
secondary data analysis
using secondary data, does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviors
nonreactive research
applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to the study at hand
content analysis
a set of guidelines that the American Sociological Association has established to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology
code of ethics
an experimental group that is not exposed to the independent variable
control group
a group divided by sociologists to be used in an experiment
experimental group
evidence corroborated by direct experience and/or observation.
empirical evidence
a defined group serving as the subject of a study
population
a practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment during the course of a study and in publishing results
value neutrality
School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and leaders, regularly
reinforce what society expects from children - the informal teaching done by schools.
hidden curriculum
using secondary data, does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviors
nonreactive research
Researchers must obtain this from participants and inform subjects of the responsibilities and risks of research before they agree to partake.
informed consent
This man named the scientific study of social patterns positivism. He described his philosophy in a series of books called ‘The Course in Positive Philosophy’ (1830–1842) and ‘A General View of Positivism’ (1848). He believed that using scientific methods to reveal the laws by which societies and individuals interact would usher in a new “positivist” age of history. originally studied to be an engineer.
Auguste Compte
(1820–1903) this man published ‘The Study of Sociology’, the first book with the term “sociology” in the title. Spencer rejected much of Comte’s philosophy as well as Marx’s theory of class struggle and his support of communism. Instead, he favored a form of government that allowed market forces to control capitalism.
Herbert Spencer
some consider him to be the world’s first
sociologist / (1332–1406) from Tunisia. He wrote about many topics of interest today, setting
a foundation for both modern sociology and economics, including a theory of social conflict, a
comparison of nomadic and sedentary life, a description of political economy, and a study connecting a tribe’s social cohesion to its capacity for power
Ibn Kahldun
helped establish sociology as a formal academic discipline by establishing the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895 and by publishing his Rules of
the Sociological Method in 1895. Held theory on how societies transformed from a primitive state into a capitalist, industrial society - people rise to their proper level in society based on merit.
Emile Durkheim
(1818–1883) a German philosopher and economist. In 1848 he and Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) coauthored the Communist Manifesto. This book is one of the most influential political manuscripts in history. He believed that societies grew and changed as a result of the struggles of different social classes over the means of production.
Karl Marx
(1864–1920) established a sociology department in Germany at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in 1919. Wrote on many topics related to sociology including political change in Russia and social forces that affect factory workers. Best known best for his 1904 book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Max Weber
social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society
dysfunctions
the unrecognized or unintended consequences of a social process
latent functions
sought consequences of a social process
manifest functions
the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life
social facts
a stable state in which all parts of a healthy society are working together properly
dynamic equilibrium
