Unit 1: Introduction to Sociology

Question 1

Sociology

Answer 1

study of human society & societal behavior

Question 2

Social interaction

Answer 2

how people relate to one another & influence each other’s behavior

Question 3

Social phenomena

Answer 3

observable facts or events that involve human society

Question 4

Social perspective

Answer 4

point of view that helps to view humans as social beings
- looks at life in a scientific way
- shows influence of social factors & learned behavior

Question 5

Social imagination

Answer 5

the ability to see the connection between the larger world & one’s personal life
- helps you understand how the social environment shapes you & you shape the social environment

Question 6

August Comte

Answer 6

• the founder of sociology
• Felt sociologists should only study how society remains unchanged & what social developments force changes in society

Question 7

Herbert Spencer

Answer 7

• strongly influenced by Charles Darwin & the theory of evolution
• Social change & unrest are natural occurrences during a society’s evolution toward stability & perfection
• Believed that only the fittest societies would survive over time (Social Darwinism)

Question 8

Emile Durkheim

Answer 8

saw shared beliefs & values as what held a society together

Question 9

Karl Marx

Answer 9

• believed that the structure of a society is influenced by how its economy is organized
• Communist manifesto
• Society is divided into 2 classes: the elite & workers
• imbalance of power would lead to rebellion

Question 10

Conflict theory

Answer 10

emphasis on conflict as the primary cause of social change

Question 11

Max Weber

Answer 11

• interested more in social groups than the whole society
• Introduced the idea of an ideal type (essential characteristic)

Question 12

Functionalist Perspective

Answer 12

• views society as a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable social system
• society is held together through a consensus
• things that negatively affect society are viewed as a dysfunction

Question 13

Manifest function

Answer 13

the intended & recognized consequence of some element of society

Question 14

Latent function

Answer 14

the unintended & unrecognized consequence of an element of society

Question 15

Feminist perspective

Answer 15

• views society as a “sex/gender system in which men dominate women & that which is considered masculine is more highly valued than that which is considered feminine”
• Gender of inequality created by society

Question 16

Globalization

Answer 16

the worldwide spread of political, economic, and social institutions through trade and the exchange of ideas

Question 17

Interactionist perspective

Answer 17

• focuses on how individuals interact with one another in society
• how individuals respond to one another in everyday situations & the meanings that individuals attach to their own actions & the actions of others

Question 18

Conflict perspective

Answer 18

• focus on the forces in society that promote competition & change
• those with more power have more control

Question 19

symbol

Answer 19

any thing that represents something else

Question 20

Karl Marx ideas fall under what perspective?

Answer 20

Conflict perspective

Question 21

Comte, Spencer, and Durkheim ideas fall under what perspective?

Answer 21

Functionalist perspective

Question 22

Max Weber would be a champion of this perspective.

Answer 22

Interactionist perspective

Question 23

Inequality of gender fits which perspective?

Answer 23

Conflict perspective

Question 24

This perspective focuses in the use of symbols and the role they play in our daily lives.

Answer 24

Interactionist perspective

Question 25

Dysfunction manifest function and latent function are all part of this perspective.

Answer 25

Functionalist perspective

Question 26

The individual responds to people and things based on the meanings he or she gives to those people or things

Answer 26

Interactionist perspectives