What Is Sociology Flashcards
Learn what sociology covers as a field and how everyday topics are shaped by social and historical forces.
Sociological Imagination
Application of imaginitive thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions
Somone using socioligical imagination “thinks himself away” from the familiar routines of daily life
Social Structure
Underlying regularities/patterns in how people behave in relationships with one another
Framework of society; how a society is set-up and organized
Encourages stable patterns of behavior
Social Construction
Idea or practice that a group of people agree exists
Maintained over time by people taking it’s existence for granted
EXAMPLE: the american flag, college admission process
Socialization
Social process where children develop awareness of social norms & values and achieve a distinct sense of self
Auguste Comte
- Invented the word sociology
- scientific method/evidence to study human behavior
- use science to predict & control human behavior
- believed social order is constructed by individuals
Herbert Spencer
- natural order
- survival of the fittest
- laissez-faire approach
Social Facts
Emile Durkheim; aspects of social life that shape our actions
Durkheim believed social facts could be studied scientifically
Organic Solidarity
Durkheim; social cohesion resuls from various parts of a society functioning as a whole
Social Contraint
Conditioning influence on our behavior of groups & societies we are members of
Durkheim’; one of the distinctive properties of social facts
Sociology
Study of society; study of social lives of people, groups, and societies
Social Sciences
Examine individual and social relationships
Sociological Perspective
- Particular way of seeing the world
- Offers a view of the world
- Understanding behavior within its social context
- Fresh look at familiar worlds
- Use of sociological imagination
C. Wright Mills on Sociological Imagination
- Critical component of socioligical perspective
- People tend to understand their lives in terms of immediate surroundings
- Importance of understanding the influence of society on people’s lives
- Requires imagination: thinking about possibilities of what might or could be
- Encourages people to examine the role of society, social forces and historical context in understanding people’s lives and patterns of social behavior
Social Institutions
Help compose the social structure of a society
Groups of people come together for a common purpose
Organized way to meet socially agreed upon needs
Help maintain and sustain society
EXAMPLES: family, religion, education, media, law, politics, and economy
The Thomas Theorem (W.I. Thomas)
If we believe something to be real, it becomes real in its consequences
EXAMPLES: money or currency
Division of Labor
Specialization of work within a production system
Anomie
Durkheim; social norms lose their hold over individual behavior
Materialist Conception of History
Marx; material or economic factors have a prime role in determining historical change
Macrosociology
Focus on large scale social systems
Microsociology
Focus on face-to-face interactions, small groups
Theory
General statement about how the world works
Role of Theory
Provides framework for understanding the empirical world
Filters, organizes, and interprets information and data
Captialism
Economic system based on private ownership of wealth
Bureaucracy
Organization marked by clear hierarchy of authority and existence of written rules
Fuctionalism
- Focuses on large scale phenomena
- Social structures that shape society as a whole
- Sees society as a complex system that promotes solidarity and stability
- Analyzes social structure & social activity and their contribution of society
- Stability
Robert Merton Functionalism
- Introduced the notion of manifest functions & latent functions
- Distinguished between functions & dysfunctions
Marxist Theory
- Sees society as divided along lines of economic class between working class and ruling class
- Focuses on social implications of the economic organization of a society
Social Conflict Theory
- Roots in Marxist Theory
- Focuses on social theory
- Focuses on the competition between groups within society over limited resources
Marxism / Social Conflict Theory (How are they the same?)
- Both are macro theory perspectives
- Emphasize the impact of power, coercion, and friction in shaping social structure, social processes and patterns of behavior
- How groups compete for resources
- Social order is maintained by those who dominate the most resources
Rationalization
Weber; process which modes of precise calculation and organization that involve abstract rules and procedures come to dominate the social world
Symbolic Interactionism
George Herbert Mead; emphasizes the role of symbols & language as core elements of all human interactions
Symbol
One item used to stand for or represent another
Manifest Function
Functions of a type of social activity that are known and intended by the individual involved in the activity
Latent Functions
Functional consequences that are not intended by the members of a social system
Conflict Theory
Emphasizes the role of political & economic power & oppression constributing to the existing social order
Conflict Theory
Emphasizes the role of political & economic power & oppression constributing to the existing social orderMar
Marxism
A body of thought deriving its main elements from the ideas of Karl Marx
Power
Ability of individuals to achieve aims or further interests they hold
Ideologies
Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups
Rational Choice Approach
Theory that an individuals behavior is purposive
Postmodernism
The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress
