Introduction Vocabulary Flashcards
(23 cards)
antipositivism
The view in sociology that social sciences need to create and use different scientific methods than those used in the field of natural sciences. Researchers should strive for subjectivity, not objectivity, in their research.
conflict theory
a theory that looks at society as a competition for limited resources
dynamic equilibrium
a stable state in which all parts of a healthy society are working together properly
dysfunctions
social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society
figuration
the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of an individual and the society that shapes that behavior
function
the part a recurrent activity plays in the social life as a whole and the contribution it makes to structural continuity
functionalism
a theoretical approach that sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of individuals that make up that society
grand theories
attempts to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change
latent functions
the unrecognized or unintended consequences of a social process
macro-level
a wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a society
manifest functions
sought consequences of a social process
micro-level theories
the study of specific relationships between individuals or small groups
paradigms
philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them
positivism
the study of society that relies specifically on scientific evidence, such as experiments and statistics, to reveal a true nature of how society operates.
qualitative sociology
in-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources as the source of its data
quantitative sociology
statistical methods such as s urveys with large numbers of participants
social facts
the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life
social solidarity
the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, and religion
sociological imagination
the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures in particular
sociology
is the systematic study of society and social interaction
symbolic interactionism
a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)
theory
a proposed explanation about social interactions or society
verstehen
a German word that means to understand in a deep way
