The Sociological Perspective Flashcards
Sociological Perspective
An approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context
Society
The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community
Social Location
The position of an individual in a given society and culture
Science
The systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained
Scientific Method
The process of objectively establishing facts through testing and experimentation
Sociology
the study of the development,structure, and functioning of human society
Class conflict
The economic antagonism and political tension that exists among social classes because of clashing interest, competition for limited resources, and inequalities of power in the socioeconomic hierarchy
Bourgeoisie
the middle class, typically with reference to its perceives materialistic values of conventional altitudes
Proletariat
workers or working-class people, regarded collectively as
Social Integration
the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society
Patterns of Behavior
a recurrent way of acting by an individual or group toward a given object or in a given situation
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Max Weber
A German sociologist and political economist best known for his thesis of the “Protestant ethic,” relating Protestantism to capitalism, and for his ideas on bureaucracy
WEB Dubois
the first sociologist to articulate the agency of the oppressed
Jane Adams
Crated a sociology that places ethics at the center of its analysis of society and social life
C Wright Mills
Identifying questions, themes, and ideas that pertained to all of society and distinguishing them from more individualistic issues
Basic Sociology
The study of social life, social change and the social causes and consequences of human behavior
Applied Sociology
the application of sociological ideas,concepts, theories and models to address everyday problems or situations
Public Sociology
Sociological discipline that emphasizes expanding boundaries of sociology in order to engage with non-academic audiences
Theory
A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent to the thing to be explained
Symbolic Interactionism
the view of social behavior that emphasizes linguistic or gestural communication and its subjective understanding, especially the role of language in the formation of the child as a social being
George Herbert Mead
One of the key figures in the development of pragmatism
Functional Analysis
It stipulates that society is a complex organism and is made up of several parts or functions
Robert Merton
American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology.
Conflict Theory
A social theory that posits that society is in a state of perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources
Macro-level analysis
Addresses peace, conflict, and violence in large populations
Micro-level analysis
The smallest unit of analysis in the social sciences is an individual in their social setting
Social interaction
The way people talk and act with each other
Nonverbal Interaction
The transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, body language,social distance, touch, voice, physical environments/appearance, and use of objects
Hypothesis
A supposition a proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation
Variable
Not consistent or having a fixed pattern; liable to change
Operational Definition
A detailed explanation of the technical terms and measurements used during data collection
Research Method
The strategies, processes or techniques utilized in the collection of data or evidence for analysis on order to uncover new information or create better understanding of a topic
Validity
the quality of being logically or factually sound
Reliability
The extent to which, if you repeated the research, you would get the same results
Survey
A research method that collects data from respondents through a series of questions by interview or questionnaire
Population
A group of human beings with some beings with some predefined criterion in common, such as location, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religon
Sample
a smaller group of people who will be studied, taken from a broader target population
Random Sample
when a researcher randomly selects participants for research from a list, out of a hat or randomly-generated choice by computer
Respondents
a person replying to questions in a survey or interview
Closed Ended Questions
those with a limited number of possible responses, often “yes” or “no”
Objectivity
Judgments based in facts and undistorted by bias, emotion, or prejudice
Interviewer Bias
An interviewer;s expectations, beliefs, and prejudices as they influence the interview process and the interpretation of the data it provides
Open Ended Questions
Those that provide respondents with a question prompt and provide them a space in which to construct their own response
Rapport
the ease of a relationship between people and in the case of sociological research, between a researcher and their subjects
Participant observation
a research methodology where the researcher is immersed in the day-to-day activities of the participants
Case Study
Where sociologists investigate in great detail a particular individual or group, as opposed to trying to gather a representative sample from the target population
Generalizability
the degree to which you can apply the results of your study to a broader context
Secondary analysis
the use of existing research data to find answer to a question that was different from the original work
Analysis of Documents
the process of reviewing or evaluating documents both printed and electronic in a methodical manner
Experimental Group
The group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested
Control group
A group in the experiment which a variable is not being tested
Independent variable
a variable that stands alone and isn’t changes by the other variables you are trying to measure
Dependent Variable
The variable that depends on other factors that are measured
Unobtrusive variable
A method of making observations without the knowledge of those being observed
Globalization
An ongoing process that involves interconnected changes in the economic, cultural, social, and political spheres of society
Globalization of Capitalism
It involves the flow of goods, services, capital, and labor across national boundaries, shaping economies and societies on a global scale
