Test 1 Flashcards
Define Sociology
- Systematic study of human society
- Distinctive view guided by sociological perspective
Define Society
People who live in a defined territory and share a way of life
What are 5 ways the sociological perspective is defined?
- Seeing the general in the particular (Berger, 1963)
- Seeing how society shapes what we think and do in patterned ways
- Seeing society in our everyday lives
- Seeing sociologically, especially through marginality and crisis
- Seeing sociologically
Social Change and Sociology
- A new industrial economy
- During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
- Explosive growth of cities
- Political change
- A new awareness of society
Who is Auguste Comte?
- Coined term “sociology” in 1838
- Saw sociology as product of a three-stage historical development
- Theoretical stage
- Metaphysical stage
- Scientific stage
- Used scientific approach to the study of society in positivism
- Believed that society operates according to its own laws, much as the physical world operates according to gravity and other laws of nature
What is Auguste Comte known as and what term did he coin?
He is the father of society. sociology
What happened in the Theoretical stage?
People looked at things as being tied to supernatural linked to God
What happened in the Metaphysical stage?
People looked at things as being tied to natural nature/ selfish reasons.
What happened in the Scientific stage?
People looked at things as being tied to physical, and biological chemistry.
What is the basics of the Structural-Functional Approach?
- Macro-level orientation is concerned with broad patterns that shape society as a whole.
- Society is viewed as a complex system; parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
What is the Structural-Functional Approach?
- Social structure: Any relatively stable patterns of social behavior found in social institutions
- Social function: Consequences for the operation of society as a whole
- Manifest functions: Recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern
- Latent functions: Unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern
What is a manifest functions?
Recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern - you go to school to learn
What is a Latent function?
Unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern - school becomes childcare
Who are 3 sociological theorists views on the Structural-Functional Approach?
- Auguste Comte
- Importance of social integration during times of rapid change
- Emile Durkheim
- Helped establish sociology as a discipline
- Herbert Spencer
- Compare society to the human body
What is Robert K. Merton’s theory?
- Manifest functions are recognized and intended consequences
- Latent functions are unrecognized and unintended consequences
- Social dysfunctions are undesirable consequences
- Evaluation of structural-functional approach
- Favored approach in mid-1900s
- Focus on stability at expense of conflict makes this approach somewhat conservative
- Less utilized today
What is the Social-Conflict Approach and what are the basics?
- It sees society as arena of inequality that generates conflict and change
- The basics
- Factors such as race, sex, class, and age are linked to social inequality
- Dominant group vs. disadvantaged group relations
What is the Feminism and Gender-Conflict Theory?
- Focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men
- Feminism: Advocacy of social equality for women and men linked to gender-conflict theory
Who is Jane Addams?
- Was a sociological pioneer who helped found Hull House
- Dealt with issues involving immigration and the pursuit of peace
- Won Nobel Peace Prize (1931)
What is the basics of Race-Conflict Theory?
- Focus on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories
- Suggests racial conflict is still an issue in U.S.
What is the Evaluation of Race-Conflict theory?
- Large following gained in recent decades
- Focus on inequality, but largely ignores how shared values and interdependence unify members of a society
- Cannot claim scientific objectivity
Who is Ida Wells Barnett?
- Born to slave parents but rose to become a teacher and then a journalist and newspaper publisher
- Campaigned for racial equality throughout her life
Who is W.E.B. DuBois?
- Earned Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard
- Founded the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory
- Believed that sociologists should not simply learn about society’s problems but also try to solve them
- Saw sociology as the key to solving society’s problems, especially racial inequality
What are the basics of the Symbolic-Interaction Approach?
- Presents a micro-level orientation
- Offers a close-up focus on social interactions in specific situations
- Views society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals
What are they key elements of the Symbolic-Interaction Approach?
- Society is a shared reality that people construct as they interact with one another.
- Society is a complex, ever-changing mosaic of subjective meanings.
What was Weber & Meads views on the Symbolic-Interaction Approach?
- Max Weber - Understanding a setting from the people in it
- George Herbert Mead - How we build personalities from social experience
What are 6 American Sociological Association guidelines for conducting research
- Technical competence and fair-mindedness
- Full inclusion and disclosure
- Protection of subjects
- Informed consent
- Funding source disclosure
- Cultural sensitivity
Define Hypothesis
A statement of a possible relationship between two (or more) variables
Define experiment
Research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions
What is the “Stanford County Prison” experiment
- Zimbardo’s research helps explain why violence is a common element in our society’s prisons.
- His work demonstrates the dangers and required ethics in sociological investigation
