Sociology Midterm Flashcards
Charles Wright Mills
Mills helped popularize the study of sociology in the US. (Divorce Rates)
Emile Durkheim
Key founder of the field of sociology, which he defines as the systematic (scientific) study of social facts.
John Darley + Bibb Latane
Oversaw a series of experiments to demonstrate the Bystander Effect
Robert Cialdini
Developed the concept of social proof and oversaw experiments on its power.
Solomon Asch
Oversaw experiments to demonstrate conformity through situational forces.
Dan Ariely
Dan Ariely who contributed significantly to behavioral economics, and after getting a major burn, decided to explore why people behave unethically, even when they consider themselves to be moral individuals.
The Sociological Imagination
Mills’ term for the relationship between personal experiences and broader societal systems. Developed through the interplay of structural, agential, and situational forces. Explores the dialectical relationship between people and society.
Social Facts
Durkheim’s term of patterns of though/behavior/belief that characterize a society and (1) are objectively real, (2) coercively imposed on an individual by society, that make behavior predictable
Collective Effervescence
Durkheim’s term to describe that which gave rise to religious worship in the elementary forms of religious life (currently, has to do with football)
Anomie
Breakdown of the influence of social norms on individuals in a society
Social Proof
Cialdini’s term to describe the internalization of a belief shared by the situational group. Has more impact due to (1) larger numbers, (2) novelty, and (3) affinity
Pluralistic Ignorance
inhibiting influence: a majority mistakenly believe that their internal feelings differ from others, even when everyone may be feeling the same way.
Collective Delusion
Objectively false beliefs that spread through a population
Mass-Hysteria
People begin taking action on collective delusion.
Mass-Sociogenic Illnesses
Physical effects begin to have an effect on people as a result of mass-hysteria
Independent Variable
the “manipulated” variable, changed by the experimenter to examine results on the dependent variable
Dependent Variable
the “resulting” variable that is being measured in an experiment.
Operationalizing a Dependent Variable
quantifying a “resulting” variable through a unit of measurment.
Ceteris Paribus
Latin for “all things being equal.” In valid experiments, all conditions should be controlled except for those being measured.
Extraneous Variables
not controlled; yet has no impact in the relationship between the IV and DV
Confounding Variables
an uncontrolled factor that affects the relationship between the IV and DV
Structural Forces
Stable arrangement of systems, which characterize and give shape to society
Angential Forces
free-will and the personality of individuals
Situational Forces
features of one’s immediate social environment and circumstances
Divorce rate is an example of a social fact because
1) a societies is a straight line
2) different societies have different lines
Darley + Latane
Diffusion of Responsibility Experiments
1) A group of NYU students were sitting in respective rooms aside from each other (to simulate an apartment building), connected by microphones and headsets. Although the students being tested believed they were talking to other students, they were really just talking to recordings—one of which begins to have a seizure.
Dependent: Time
Independent: Group Size
Results: When only one other person, everyone got up before the speech was over. When it was a group of 3, 80% of people responded. When it was a group of 6, 62% of people responded.
Darley and Latane wondered if results would be different if people could talk to each other freely…
2) Group of Columbia students filled out forms in rooms that filled with smoke.
Dependent: Time
Independent: Group Size
Results: 75% of solo individuals reported the smoke. Yet only 1 of 8 individuals in groups of 3 reported the smoke.
Darley and Latane… someone falling off ladder
70% of lone subjects, as well as those paired with a group acted when a guy fell off a ladder, while only 40% reacted as a stranger pair, and 7% of those with passive confederates acted.
Cialdini Towel Usage
Cialdini and colleagues tested the impact of different messages on hotel guests’ towel reuse. Some signs asked guests to save the environment, while others informed them that the majority of guests reused their towels.
Cialdini Rocks Experiment
In a U.S. national park, signs were posted to discourage visitors from stealing petrified wood. One sign warned against theft, stating that many people had been stealing wood (implying it was common), while another sign simply asked visitors not to steal.
Solomon Asch Line Conformity Experiment
Participants were shown two lines: one standard line and three comparison lines. They had to choose which comparison line matched the standard. When actors in the group (who were in on the experiment) deliberately chose the wrong line, many real participants also conformed, choosing the wrong line despite knowing the correct answer.
Demonstrates situational forces.
Solomon Asch Diagnosis Bias
Half were told the lecturer was “warm,” and the other half were told he was “cold.” After the lecture, participants rated the lecturer. Those who were told he was “warm” gave more favorable ratings, describing him as friendly and approachable, while those told he was “cold” rated him less favorably.
Culture
the learned patterns of perception, judgement, and behavior which are shared by a group and differentiate this group from other collectives
Socialization
the process through which culture is taught/learned. (enculturation)
Material Culture
The physical objects that are made/used by a cultural group
Non-Material Culture
The symbols, values, norms, rituals and other non-physical aspects of a culture.
Values
That which a culture socializes its members to regard as important, virtuous, and beautiful. (cultural preferences)
Ideal Values
The values that are publicly proclaimed by a cultural group.
Real Values
The cultural values which actually shape the social facts of the group.
Cultural Lag (Ogburnian Lag)
William Ogburn’s term for the phenomenon in which a technological or social change generates a period of anomie in a society. Ogburn notes that this lag is inevitable as norms take time to develop.
The Protestant (Work) Ethic
A cultural value, first described by Max Weber, which views “hard-work” as inherently good and an end in itself, as opposed to a means of achieving other goals. This value also entails one viewing their job as a “calling.”
The Spirit of Capitalism
A cultural value, first noted by Max Weber, which views the making of money as an inherent good and an end in itself, as opposed to a means of acquiring goods and services. Weber notes that these values are irrational and unnatural, but have proven highly impactful.
Emic Perspective
The “insider’s” view of a culture and cultural group.
Etic Perspective
The “outsider’s” point of view on a culture or cultural group.
Honne
Japanese term used to describe one’s actual thoughts/feelings
Tatemae
Japanese term describing the views/opinions that one expresses in public settings to avoid disharmony
Uso mo Hoben
Japanese proverb/idiom that means, “lying is a useful means to an end”
Judge Ooka (Ooka Tadasuke)
Japenese folk-hero who (in folk-tales) resolves conflicts in ways that embody Japanese values and cultural norms
“The nail that sticks up gets hammered down”
(deru Kngi wa utarern)
Japanese idiom/proverb related to the importance of conformity (collectivism)
Honorifics
(sama/san/sensei)
Terms that are added to the end of the name of a conversation partner to show proper respect to one’s senior (higher in hierarchy)
Senpai and Kohai
Terms related to senior-junior relationships and related to age-hierarchies in Japan
On and Oiri
Terms related to Japan’s system of social debt
Status
An established position/identity (niche/title) within a social group. All people hold/occupy multiple statuses
Ascribed Status
A social status that one holds, but did not agentially choose.
Achieved Status
A social status that an individual acquires through their agency. An achieved status can/will be “lost” if the role of that status is not (well) played.
Status Symbol
A piece of material culture that signals (indicates) possession of a status.
Role (Role Set)
The patterns of action (behavior) that are expected or required of the holder of a social status.
Master Status
A social status that overshadows other statuses and proves most impactful for an individual
