Sociology - Chapters 1 & 2 Key Terms and Topics

Question 0

What is a society?

Answer 0

A group of people whose members interact, reside in a definable area, and share culture.

Question 1

Define Sociology

Answer 1

The systematic study of society and social interaction.

Question 2

Define “Sociological Imagination”

Answer 2

How individuals understand their own and others’ past in relation to history and social structure.

Question 3

Who pioneered Sociological Imagination?

Answer 3

C. Wright Mills

Question 4

What is also known as the “sociological lens” or “sociological perspective”?

Answer 4

Sociological Imagination

Question 5

What concept is a key basis for sociological perspective? Developed by Norbert Elias.

Answer 5

“Figuration”

The process of simultaneously analyzing individuals behavior and the society that shapes that behavior.

Question 6

A German word that means to “understand deeply”

Answer 6

Verstehen

Question 7

The view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they worked to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values

Answer 7

Antiposotivism

Question 8

The scientific study of social patterns

Answer 8

Positivism

Question 9

In-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources as the source of its data

Answer 9

Qualitative Sociology

Question 10

Statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants

Answer 10

Quantitative Sociology

Question 11

The social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, and religion

Answer 11

Social Solidarity

Question 12

A wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a society

Answer 12

Macro level

Question 13

The study between specific relationships between individuals or small groups

Answer 13

Micro-level theories

Question 14

Philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them

Answer 14

Paradigms

Question 16

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.

Answer 16

Structural Functionalism

Question 17

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.

Answer 17

Conflict Theory

Question 18

A theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)

Answer 18

Symbolic Interactionism

Question 19

a proposed explanation about social interactions or society

Answer 19

Theory

Question 20

a measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced.

Answer 20

Reliability

Question 21

the degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study

Answer 21

Validity

Question 22

an established scholarly research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions

Answer 22

Scientific Method

Question 23

specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study

Answer 23

Operational definition

Question 24

a scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research

Answer 24

Literature review

Question 25

an educated guess with predicted outcomes about the relationship between two or more variables

Answer 25

Hypothesis

Question 26

cause changes in dependent variables

Answer 26

Independent variables

Question 27

changed by other variables

Answer 27

Dependent variables

Question 28

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

Answer 28

Interpretive framework

Question 29

when study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher

Answer 29

Hawthorne Effect

Question 30

collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire

Answer 30

Survey

Question 31

a study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population

Answer 31

random sample

Question 32

represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted

Answer 32

quantitative data

Question 33

comprise information that is subjective and often based on what is seen in a natural setting

Answer 33

qualitative data

Question 34

a one-on-one conversation between the researcher and the subject

Answer 34

interview

Question 35

gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey

Answer 35

field research

Question 36

data that are collected directly from firsthand experience

Answer 36

primary data

Question 37

when a researcher immerses herself in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an “insider” perspective

Answer 37

participant observation

Question 38

observing a complete social setting and all that it entails

Answer 38

Ethnography

Question 39

in-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual

Answer 39

case study

Question 40

the testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions

Answer 40

experiment

Question 41

using data collected by others but applying new interpretations

Answer 41

secondary data analysis

Question 42

using secondary data, does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviors

Answer 42

nonreactive research

Question 43

applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to the study at hand

Answer 43

content analysis

Question 44

a set of guidelines that the American Sociological Association has established to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology

Answer 44

code of ethics

Question 45

an experimental group that is not exposed to the independent variable

Answer 45

control group

Question 46

a group divided by sociologists to be used in an experiment

Answer 46

experimental group

Question 47

evidence corroborated by direct experience and/or observation.

Answer 47

empirical evidence

Question 48

a defined group serving as the subject of a study

Answer 48

population

Question 49

a practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment during the course of a study and in publishing results

Answer 49

value neutrality

Question 50

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.

Answer 50

hidden curriculum

Question 51

using secondary data, does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviors

Answer 51

nonreactive research

Question 52

Researchers must obtain this from participants and inform subjects of the responsibilities and risks of research before they agree to partake.

Answer 52

informed consent

Question 53

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.

Answer 53

Auguste Compte

Question 54

(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.

Answer 54

Herbert Spencer

Question 55

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

Answer 55

Ibn Kahldun

Question 56

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.

Answer 56

Emile Durkheim

Question 57

(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.

Answer 57

Karl Marx

Question 58

(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.

Answer 58

Max Weber

Question 59

social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society

Answer 59

dysfunctions

Question 60

the unrecognized or unintended consequences of a social process

Answer 60

latent functions

Question 61

sought consequences of a social process

Answer 61

manifest functions

Question 62

the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life

Answer 62

social facts

Question 63

a stable state in which all parts of a healthy society are working together properly

Answer 63

dynamic equilibrium