Chapter 1 Vocab

Question 1

Sociology

Answer 1

The systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large‐scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions (9)

Question 2

Society

Answer 2

A group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others (9)

Question 3

Social Sciences

Answer 3

The disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world (9)

Question 4

Sociological Perspective

Answer 4

A way of looking at the world through a sociological lens (10)

Question 5

Beginner’s Mind

Answer 5

Approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way (10)

Question 6

Culture Shock

Answer 6

A sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment (12)

Question 7

Sociological Imagination

Answer 7

A quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces (12)

Question 8

Microsociology

Answer 8

The level of analysis that studies face‐to‐face and small‐group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and structures of society (14)

Question 9

Macrosociology

Answer 9

The level of analysis that studies large‐scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals (16)

Question 10

Theories

Answer 10

Abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future (16)

Question 11

Paradigm

Answer 11

A set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality (16)

Question 12

Positivism

Answer 12

The theory that sense perceptions are the only valid source of knowledge (18)

Question 13

Social Darwinism

Answer 13

The application of the theory of evolution and the notion of “survival of the fittest” to the study of society (18)

Question 14

Structural Functionalism

Answer 14

A paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures (19)

Question 15

Solidarity

Answer 15

The degree of integration or unity within a particular society; the extent to which individuals feel connected to other members of their group (19)

Question 16

Mechanical Solidarity

Answer 16

The type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion (19)

Question 17

Organic Solidarity

Answer 17

The type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights (19)

Question 18

Anomie

Answer 18

“Normlessness”; term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change (19)

Question 19

Sacred

Answer 19

The holy, divine, or supernatural (19)

Question 20

Profane

Answer 20

The ordinary, mundane, or everyday (19)

Question 21

Empirical

Answer 21

Based on scientific experimentation or observation (20)

Question 22

Structure

Answer 22

A social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of a society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability (20)

Question 23

Dysfunction

Answer 23

A disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system (20)

Question 24

Manifest Functions

Answer 24

The obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system (20)

Question 25

Latent Functions

Answer 25

The less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure (20)

Question 26

Conflict Theory

Answer 26

A paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change (21)

Question 27

Social Inequality

Answer 27

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society (21)

Question 28

Means of Production

Answer 28

Anything that can create wealth: money, property, factories, and other types of businesses, and the infrastructure necessary to run them (21)

Question 29

Proletariat

Answer 29

Workers; those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live (21)

Question 30

Eurocentric

Answer 30

The tendency to favor European or Western histories, cultures, and values over those of non‐Western societies (22)

Question 31

Bourgeoisie

Answer 31

Owners; the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers (23)

Question 32

Alienation

Answer 32

The sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else (23)

Question 33

False Consciousness

Answer 33

A denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize that the interests of the ruling class are embedded in the dominant ideology (23)

Question 34

Class Consciousness

Answer 34

The recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed, leading to revolutionary action (23)

Question 35

Critical Theory

Answer 35

A contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression (23)

Question 36

Critical Race Theory

Answer 36

The study of the relationship among race, racism, and power (23)

Question 37

Feminist Theory

Answer 37

A theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world (24)

Question 38

Queer Theory

Answer 38

Social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories (24)

Question 39

Praxis

Answer 39

The application of theory to practical action in an effort to improve aspects of society (24)

Question 40

Rationalization

Answer 40

The application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns (25)

Question 41

Bureaucracies

Answer 41

A type of secondary groups designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication (25)

Question 42

Iron Cage

Answer 42

Max Weber’s pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization (25)

Question 43

Verstehen

Answer 43

“Empathic understanding”; Weber’s term to describe good social research, which tries to understand the meanings that individuals attach to various aspects of social reality (25)

Question 44

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 44

A paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction (25)

Question 45

Chicago School

Answer 45

A type of sociology practiced at the University of Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s that centered on urban settings and field research methods (27)

Question 46

Pragmatism

Answer 46

A perspective that assumes organisms (including humans) make practical adaptations to their environments; humans do this through cognition, interpretation, and interaction (28)

Question 47

Dramaturgy

Answer 47

An approach pioneered by Erving Goffman in which social life is analyzed in terms of its similarities to theatrical performance (30)

Question 48

Ethnomethodology

Answer 48

The study of “folk methods” and background knowledge that sustain a shared sense of reality in everyday interactions (30)

Question 49

Conversation Analysis

Answer 49

A sociological approach that looks at how we create meaning in naturally occurring conversation, often by taping conversations and examining their transcripts (30)

Question 50

Postmodernism

Answer 50

A paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux (32)

Question 51

Modernism

Answer 51

A paradigm that places trust in the power of science and technology to create progress, solve problems, and improve life (32)