Understanding Sociology

Question 1

Sociological Imagination

Answer 1

Created by C. Wright Mills –> awareness of relationship between individual + wider society
–> view society from outsider’s perspective –> go beyond personal experiences to understand broader public issues

Question 2

Sociology

Answer 2

Study of social behavior and human groups

Question 3

Science

Answer 3

Body of knowledge obtained by systematic observation

Question 4

Natural Science

Answer 4

Study of physical features of nature –> interact and change

Question 5

Social Science

Answer 5

Social features of humans –> interact and change

Question 6

Auguste Comte

Answer 6

Coined the term “Sociology”

Question 7

Harriet Martineau

Answer 7

Wrote the first book on sociological methods –> her work emphasized impact on what/how society changes

Question 8

Herbert Spencer

Answer 8

Wanted to understand society, not change it –> applied Darwin’s Theory and applied it to how societies change

Question 9

Emile Durkheim

Answer 9

Appointed the first Sociology professor in France –> argued behavior must be understood within a larger social context –> key interest focused on consequences of work and modern societies

Question 10

Anomie

Answer 10

Loss of direction in society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective

Question 11

Max Weber

Answer 11

Claimed that in order to comprehend behavior we must learn subjective meanings people attach to actions

Question 12

Verstehen

Answer 12

German word for
understanding” or “insight”

Question 13

Karl Marx

Answer 13

Argued society was divided between 2 classes (communist)

Question 14

W.E.B. Dubois

Answer 14

Black Sociologist –> argued that knowledge was essential to combat prejudice and achieve tolerance –> NAAP

Question 15

Double Consciousness

Answer 15

Division of an individuals identity into two or more social realities

Question 16

Charles Horton Cooley

Answer 16

Used sociological perspective to study face-to-face groups

Question 17

Jane Addams

Answer 17

Co-founded Hull House –> worked to establish a juvenile court system and a woman’s trade union

Question 18

Robert Merton

Answer 18

Developed theory to explain deviant behavior –> emphasized bringing together Macro and Micro level sociological approaches

Question 19

Macrosociology

Answer 19

The focus on large scale phenomena or civilizations

Question 20

Microsociology

Answer 20

The focus on small groups

Question 21

Mesosociology

Answer 21

Studies the formal organizations and social movements

Question 22

Global Sociology

Answer 22

Makes comparisons among nations

Question 23

Pierre Bourdieu

Answer 23

Discerned different forms of capitalism

Question 24

Cultural Capital

Answer 24

Noneconomic goods that are reflected in knowledge of language and arts

Question 25

Social Capital

Answer 25

Collective benefit of social networks –> built on reciprocal trust

Question 26

Functionalist Perspective

Answer 26

How parts of society are structed to maintain social stability

Question 27

Talcott Parsons

Answer 27

Claimed society is a network of connected parts, and each part maintains social stability

Question 28

Manifest Functions

Answer 28

Open, stated, conscious functions of institutions (ex: school)

Question 29

Latent Function

Answer 29

Unintended consequences of an institution

Question 30

Dysfunctions

Answer 30

Elements/processes of society that can disrupt social system/reduce stability

Question 31

Conflict Perspective

Answer 31

Assumes social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources

Question 32

Feminism Perspective

Answer 32

Inequity in gender is central to all behavior ad organization

Question 33

Intersectionality

Answer 33

Interlocking matrix of domination

Question 34

Queer Theory

Answer 34

The study of society from the perspective of a broad spectrum including different sexualities

Question 35

Interactionalist Perspective

Answer 35

Generalizes everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole (ex: material things, relationships, symbols, actions, other people, etc…)

Question 36

George Herbert Mead

Answer 36

Founder of the Interactionalist Perspective

Question 37

Erving Goffman

Answer 37

Developed the dramaturgical approach –> compared life to theatre –> presentation of self in public/private

Question 38

Applied Sociology

Answer 38

The use with specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations

Question 39

Clinical Sociology

Answer 39

Dedicated to facilitating change by altering social relationships or restructuring social instiutions

Question 40

Basic Sociology

Answer 40

Seeks a more profound knowledge of the fundamental aspect of social phenomena