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

Question 2

society

Answer 2

a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others

Question 3

social sciences

Answer 3

the disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world

Question 4

sociological perspective

Answer 4

a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens

Question 5

beginner’s mind

Answer 5

approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way

Question 6

culture shock

Answer 6

a sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural

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

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

Question 9

macrosociology

Answer 9

the level of analysis that studies large-sclae social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals

Question 10

theories

Answer 10

abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future

Question 11

paradigms

Answer 11

a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that make up the way of understanding social reality

Question 12

social darwinism

Answer 12

the application of the theory of evolution and the notion of “survival of the fittest” to the study of society

Question 13

structural functionalism

Answer 13

a paradigm based on the assumptions that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its seperate structures

Question 14

solidarity

Answer 14

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

Question 15

mechanical solidarity

Answer 15

the type of social bonds present in pre-modern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion

Question 16

organic solidarity

Answer 16

the type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence and individual rights

Question 17

sacred

Answer 17

the holy, divine or supernatural

Question 18

profane

Answer 18

the ordinary, mundane or every day

Question 19

empirical

Answer 19

based on scientific experimentation or observation

Question 20

eurocentric

Answer 20

the tendency to favor european or western histories, cultures, or values over those of non-western societies

Question 21

structures

Answer 21

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

Question 22

dysfunction

Answer 22

a disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system

Question 23

manifest functions

Answer 23

the obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system

Question 24

latent functions

Answer 24

the less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure

Question 25

conflict theory

Answer 25

a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialistic view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change

Question 26

social inequality

Answer 26

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society

Question 27

means of production

Answer 27

anything that can create wealth: money, property, factories, and other types of businesses

Question 28

proletariat

Answer 28

workers: those who have no means of production on their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live

Question 29

Bourgeoisie

Answer 29

owners: the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers

Question 30

alienation

Answer 30

decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic; also, according to Marx, the sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of processing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else

Question 31

false consciousness

Answer 31

a denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they recognize that the interests of the ruling class are embedded in the dominant ideology

Question 32

class consciousness

Answer 32

the recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed, leading to revolutionary action

Question 33

critical theory

Answer 33

a contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression

Question 34

critical race theory

Answer 34

the study of the relationships among race, racism and power

Question 35

feminist theory

Answer 35

a theoretical approach that looks at gender inequalities in society and the way that gender structures the social world

Question 36

queer theory

Answer 36

social theory about gender and sexual identity; emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects ideas of innate identities or restrictive categories

Question 37

praxis

Answer 37

the application of theory to practical action in an effort to improve aspects of society

Question 38

rationalization

Answer 38

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

Question 39

iron cage

Answer 39

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

Question 40

bureaucracy

Answer 40

a type of secondary group designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality and formal written communication

Question 41

verstehen

Answer 41

"empathetic understanding": Weber's term to describe good social research, which tries to understand the meanings that individuals attach to various aspects of social reality

Question 42

symbolic interactionism

Answer 42

a paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings that aren't inherent but are created through interaction

Question 43

pragmatism

Answer 43

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

Question 43

Chicago School

Answer 43

a type of sociology practiced at the University of Chicago in the 1920's and 1930's that centered on urban settings and field research methods

Question 44

dramaturgy

Answer 44

an approach pioneered by Erving Goffman in which social life is analyzed in terms of its similarities to theatrical performance

Question 45

ethnomethodology

Answer 45

the study of "folk methods" and background knowledge that sustain a shared sense of reality in everyday interactions

Question 46

conversation analysis

Answer 46

a sociological approach that looks at how we create meaning in naturally occuring conversation, often by taping conversations and examining their transcripts

Question 47

postmodernism

Answer 47

a paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux

Question 48

modernism

Answer 48

a paradigm that places trust in the power of science and technology to create progress, solve problems and improve life

Question 49

midrange theory

Answer 49

an approach that integrates empiricism and grand theory