Sociology Flashcards
(22 cards)
Functionalism
- Various parts of society are independent
- Social systems are highly stable
- Social life is governed by consensus and cooperation
Sociology
The systematic study of human social life, groups and societies
Conflict Theory
- Society accommodates between competing interest groups
- Society is unstable and prone to change
- Social life is conflict-laden
Areas of study
Cults, gangs, institutions (prisons, religion, education, military, healthcare, media, poverty)
Scientific method of inquiry
- Identify an issue or problem
- Formulate hypothesis
- Collect data
- Analyze data
- Draw conclusions
Characteristics of a group
- They interact regularly and influence each other
- They believe they have something in common
- They have an informal or formal social structure with leaders or followers
- They have a group consensus on certain values, behaviour and goals
Aggregate
A collection of people who interact briefly, if at all and have little influence on one another
Conformity
Changing one’s behaviour or attitudes to follow the beliefs, rules or guidelines of people in a group
Norms
Certain guidelines of behavior for our different life roles
Roles
Who we are within groups of people
Cult Characteristics
- A captivating and authoritarian leader who claims to have all the answers to life and their belies cannot be questioned by group members
- Only claims it’s members will be saved, given higher understanding and made superior to others
- Friendship of group replaces other relationships
- Taken advantage of (physically, mentally, financially abused)
- Members are psychologically manipulated using mind control
Frustration
An emotional state that develops from unresolved conflict or from being prevented from reaching a goal, may lead to aggression
Aggression
Hostile or forceful action intended to dominate or violate
Albert Bandura Experiment
Watching media violence causes viewers to act violently themselves
Mary Harris Experiment
People become more aggressive if their progress is interrupted when they are close to a goal
Causes of deviance
Pride, defense, revenge, peer pressure, media, drugs
Examples of deviance
Shooting with paintball gun, blowing up mailbox, smashing cars (The Trouble w Evan)
Deviance
The fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards
Asch Experiment (Conformity)
The degree to which an individual’s own opinions are influenced by those of a majority group. In present day, relationship between conformity/ age,culture etc.
Milgram Experiment (Obedience to authority)
Adults are extremely willing to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority
Charles Manson (The Family)
- loving environment
- believed there was going to be a white vs black war (Helter Skelter)
- lived together as a close group
- women used as prostitutes to lure men
- drugs,sex used to brainwash
Jim Jones (People’s Temple)
- will get to live in the promised land
- open to all races, classes of wealth
- used capsules to create “wine” from blood, said that he was god (brainwashing)
- sexual misconduct, separation of couples, physical abuse
