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Sociology 101 > Chapters 1 > Flashcards

Chapters 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is Sociology?

A

The systematic study of human societies, with special emphasis on modern, industrialized systems.

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2
Q

What do sociologist do?

A

Attempt to understand the far- reaching changes that have occurred in human societies over the past two to three centuries

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3
Q

What are “personal” troubles?

A

Difficulties that are located in individual biographies and their immediate milieu, a seemingly private experience

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4
Q

What are “public issues?”

A

Difficulties or problems that are linked to the institutional and historical possibilities of social structure.

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5
Q

What is structuration?

A

The two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual actions and by which we are reshaped by society

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6
Q

What is an example of major social changes at a “micro” level?

A

The development of romantic love as basis for marriage

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7
Q

What is the sociological imagination?

A

The ability to think imaginatively and the detach oneself form preconceived ideas about social relationships.

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8
Q

Globalization

A

The economic, political, and social interconnectedness of individuals throughout the world

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9
Q

Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

A
  • Invented the word “sociology”
  • believed sociology should contribute to the welfare of humanity by using science to understand, predict, and control human behavior
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10
Q

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

A
  • believed development is a natural outcome of individual achievement
  • argued society can change and improve the quality of life for all people only when everyone changes his or her behavior to maximize individual potential
  • believed privileged members of society enjoyed a high quality life because they had earned this status
  • argued that the state should not assist in improving the life chances of individuals, as doing so interfere with the natural order
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11
Q

Emile Durkheim

A
  • to become science sociology must study SOCIAL FACTS
  • Society is like a human body
  • believed in order for society to function and persist over time, its specialized institutions (such as the political system, religion, the family, and the educational system) must work in harmony with one another and function as an integrated whole
  • Durkheim also pursued that society exerts SOCIAL CONSTRAINT
  • studied suicide and ANOMIE
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12
Q

Social Facts

A

The aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals

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13
Q

Organic Solidarity

A

The social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole

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14
Q

Social Constraint

A

The conditioning influence on our behavior by the groups and societies of which we are members

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15
Q

Anomie

A
  • A feelings of aimlessness or despair provoked by modern social life, being one of these influences
  • A situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior
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16
Q

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

A
  • founded the MATERIALIST CONCEPTION OF HISTORY
  • concentrated on change in modern times
  • the development of CAPITALISM was important
  • believed there would eventually be no classes- no divisions between rich and poor
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17
Q

Materialist Conception of History

A

The view according to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role n determining historical changes

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18
Q

Capitalism

A

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit

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19
Q

Max Weber (1864-1920)

A
  • Rejected the MATERIALIST CONCEPTION OF HISTORY
  • saw class conflict as less significant than Marx
  • believed economics were important, but ideas and values have just as much effect on social change
  • according to Weber, humans are thinking erasing beings: We attach meaning and significance to most of what we do, and any discipline that deals with human behavior must acknowledge this
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20
Q

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)

A
  • represented women

- brought sociology from France and Germany to England by translating Comte’s work

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21
Q

W.E.B. Du Bois

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A

represented African Americans
- founding member of NAACP
- conceptual contributions include the ideas of DOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS and the COLOR LINE
-

22
Q

Double Consciousness

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A

expresses the way in which all African Americans must see themselves, not only through their own eyes, but also through the eyes of a society that degrades them

23
Q

Color Line

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A

Although slavery was over, the “color line” remained a major social problem in the US.

24
Q

Symbolic Interactionism

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A

A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of human interaction

We learn about ourselves and the world through meaningful interaction, language, and symbols

(microsociology)

25
Symbol
One item used to stand for or represent another For example: a flag can be used to symbolize a nation
26
Functionalism
a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform - focus on understanding society the role or contribution of some event, activity, or institution to the workings of society as a whole - seeks to understand society as a unified social system in which different social institutions and events serve particular functions, or roles, in maintaining societal harmony (macrosociology)
27
Manifest Functions
the functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity
28
Latent Functions
Functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur
29
Conflict Theory
a sociological perspective that emphasizes the role of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order
30
Marxism
- One of two particular approaches typically and broadly classified as a conflict theory - theoretical perspective mostly focused on the economy, the power structures that results from particular economic systems, the ideologies used to reproduce (maintain) these systems, and the conflicts that arise and are built in to these systems
31
Power
- is defined in sociology as the ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve their aims or further the interests they hold - important in Conflict Theory
32
Ideology
defined in sociology as shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups
33
Feminist Theory
- begins from the perspective that women's lives and experiences have largely been ignored and must be brought to the forefront of sociological thinking - emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experiences of women - has widely grown
34
Postmodern Theory
- Social life is not based on any kind of linear history, but rather is always in flux - grand historical narratives of, for example, modernity and industrialization, are no longer relevant or useful to people's lives
35
Postmodernism
the belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress - we are now in a new period in which there are a multitude of equally relevant (or irrelevant) stories, and that we are all subject to the many voices in the media, which tell us about the social world without the anchor of context or history
36
Microsociology
The study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction - Small events: conversations between individuals in particular social roles
37
Macrosociology
-broad level of analysis For example, the role fundamentalist religions play in modern democratic societies or the relationship between employment and racial inequality
38
Can microsociology and macro sociology be used together?
Yes. They work well together. For examples, Elijah Anderson examined the broad problem of inner-city violence by looking at interactions in one neighborhood and simultaneously considering the massive loss of manufacturing jobs from the 1980s forward
39
What kind of questions can Sociologist answer?
Sociologists investigate social life by posing clearly defined questions and investigating the answers via systematic research. These questions may be FACTUAL questions, COMPARATIVE questions, DEVELOPMENTAL questions, or THEORETICAL questions
40
Factual Questions
questions that raise issues concerning matters of fact, rather than theoretical or moral issues
41
Comparative Questions
questions concerned with drawing comparisons among different human societies
42
Developmental Questions
questions that sociologists pose when looking at the origins and path of development of social institutions
43
Theoretical Questions
questions posed by sociologists when seeking to explain a particular range of observed events - the asking of theoretical questions is crucial to allowing use to generalize about the nature of social life
44
What are the steps of the research process?
1. ) Defining the research problem 2. ) reviewing the evidence 3. ) making the problem precise 4. ) creating a design 5. ) carrying out research 6. ) interpreting the results 7. ) reporting the findings
45
What research methods do sociologist use?
- Qualitative - Quantitative - Ethnography
46
Qualitative Methods
often rely on personal and/or collective interviews, accounts, or observations of a person or situation
47
Quantitative Methods
draw on objective and statistical data and often focus on documenting trends, comparing subgroups, or exploring correlations - Example = surveys
48
Ethnography
qualitative method that involves a researcher going into the field to study people or social groups in their own setting
49
Triangulation
when researchers use a combination of all of the methods to check or supplement the material obtained from the others
50
What ethical dilemmas do sociologist face?
- problems may arise when researchers deceive the subjects of the research, or where the publication of research findings might adversely affect the feelings or lives of those studied - informed consent and debriefing are two strategies used to uphold research ethics

Sociology 101 (3 decks)

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