Sociology Test #1 Flashcards
(94 cards)
1
Q
the scientific study of human society and social behavior
A
sociology
2
Q
what are the two main perspectives of studying social behavior?
A
microsociology and macrosociology
3
Q
studies face-to-face and small group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and institutions of society
A
micro sociology
4
Q
studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals
A
macro sociology
5
Q
micro and macro approaches shape how sociologists develop _____.
A
theories
6
Q
abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future
A
theories
7
Q
who stated that sociology needed to be treated like any other scientific discipline?
A
Comte
8
Q
who said that information must be based on observations, experiments, or other data collection.
A
Comte
9
Q
who laid the groundwork for discipline?
A
Comte
10
Q
who believed in positivism – to seek the identity in social laws
A
Comte
11
Q
who focused on social stability?
A
Comte
12
Q
who worked to establish sociology as an important academic discipline?
A
Durkheim
13
Q
Who was interested in stability and Social solidarity– the social factors that bond and hold people together?
A
Durkheim
14
Q
Who studied Suicide Study—more integrated individuals are less likely to commit suicide?
A
Durkheim
15
Q
Who believed that capitalism was creating social inequality between the bourgeoisie, who owned the means of production (money, factories, natural resources, and land), and the proletariat, who were the workers?
A
Marx
16
Q
According to __, this inequality leads to class conflict.
A
Marx
17
Q
Who focus on how society is changing?
A
Marx
18
Q
Who was the most influential figure in sociological theory?
A
Weber
19
Q
Who looked at economic, political and cultural factors that shape social life?
A
Weber
20
Q
Who believed in 2 types of society understanding (direct observational understanding & explanatory understanding)?
A
Weber
21
Q
What are the 2 types of understanding Weber believed in?
A
Direct observational understanding —observation of body language, facial expressions, etc.
Explanatory Understanding— the scientist tries to grasp the intention and context of the behavior.
22
Q
Who emphasize in value of free society —separating your beliefs from scientific research?
A
Weber
23
Q
Who influenced Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionist Theories?
A
Weber
24
Q
Who wanted a change or “cure” for prejudice and discrimination?
A
DeBois
25
Who believed in the The Veil - the dividing line between blacks and whites that inhibits true interaction
DeBois
26
Each structure fulfills certain functions—purposes and activities that contribute to a society’s stability and survival.
functionalism
27
What are the 2 types of functions and their definitions?
Manifest Functions —purposes and activities that are intended
Latent Functions —purposes and activities that are unintended
28
social patterns that have a negative impact on a group or society.
dysfunctions
29
Theory: Microsociological Theory
Conflict theory
30
Theory: Focuses on change
Conflict theory & feminist theory
31
Theory: Looks at how and why groups disagree, struggle over power, and compete for scarce resources.
Conflict theory
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Theory: Life is a continuous struggle between the haves (bourgeoisie) and the have-nots (proletariat).
Conflict theory
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Theory: People compete for limited resources that are controlled by a small number of powerful groups.
Conflict theory
34
Theory: Society is based on inequality in terms of ethnicity, race, social class, and gender.
Fight Club
Conflict theory
35
Theory: Microsociological Theory
Symbolic interaction
36
Theory: Looks at change, but at the individual level.
Symbolic interaction
37
Theory: People act on the basis of meaning they attribute to others and meaning grows out of the social interaction that we have with others.
Symbolic interaction
38
Theory: Language is essential
Symbolic interaction
39
Theory: There are no inherent meanings, all meanings are socially constructed.
Symbolic interaction
40
Theory: People continuously reinterpret and reevaluate their knowledge and information in everyday encounters.
symbolic interaction
41
Theory: Macrosociological and Microsociological Theory
Feminist theory
42
Theory: Sex, ethnicity, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class—rather than a person’s ability or intelligence—explain many of our social interactions and lack of access to resources.
Feminist theory
43
Theory: Social change is possible only if we change our institutional structures and our day-to-day interactions.
Feminist theory
44
Theory: Emphasize deconstruction—a type of analysis that involves taking apart or disassembling old ways of thinking
Postmodern theory
45
Theory: see the social world as diverse, pluralistic and constantly in flux (changing)
Postmodern theory
46
Theory: The most qualified person will be selected for the position
“The cream rises to the top”
functionalism
47
Theory: Hiring decisions are based on other factors than qualifications– connections (nepotism), notability, etc.
People may be denied the job because of race, gender, sexual orientation, age
Conflict theory
48
Theory: Women are socialized to not seek “male” jobs. Women are denied access to jobs based on gender. If hired, they are paid less due to their gender.
Feminist theory
49
Theory: Hiring is based on how the candidate presents himself/herself
Symbolic Interactionism
50
Theory: Being hired doesn’t mean you are the best person for the job, and vice versa.
Postmodernism
51
Qualitative vs quantitative research:
Quantitative research--translates the social world into numbers that can be studied mathematically
Qualitative research: uses nonnumerical data like texts, interviews, photos, and recordings to help us understand social life
52
____ is the standard procedure for acquiring and verifying empirical (scientific) knowledge.
Scientific method
53
Basic steps for the Scientific method:
1. Identify the problem
2. Literature Review —a search through previously published studies related to your research
3. Form a hypothesis —a theoretical statement explaining the relationship between two or more phenomena (known as variables)
4. Researcher chooses a research design
5. The researcher collects the data
6. Analyze the data
7. Researcher shared the information she has learned to the scientific community as well as the general public
54
Independent and dependent variables (Beyonce):
Variables —one of two or more phenomena that a researcher believes are related
Independent Variable —a characteristic that has an effect on the dependent variable
Independent variable—Beyonce
Dependent variable – the outcome, which may be affected by the independent variable
Dependent variable—teenage pregnancy
55
formal tests of specific variables and effects, performed in a controlled setting where all aspects of the situation can be controlled
experimental methods
56
the part of a test group that receives the treatment (exposure to the independent variable)
experimental group
57
the part of the test group that is not exposed to the treatment
control group
58
Scientific method: limitations
can't distinguish between correlation and causation
59
a relationship between variables in which they change together, and may or may not be causal
correlation
60
a relationship in which a change in one variable directly produces a change in the other variable
causation
61
a third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the relationship between two other variables
intervening variable
62
the appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable
spurious correlation
63
a naturalistic method based on studying people in their own environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities.
ethnography
64
a methodology associated with ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting.
participant observation
65
What 2 things must a researcher do to conduct ethnography?
1. gain access
| 2. gain rapport
66
face to face, information seeking conversations to gather information from research subjects, known as respondents.
interviews
67
For interviews, sociologist must ____
identify a target population –the larger group they wish to generalize about
68
During an interview, researchers select a ___, a smaller group who are representative of the larger group
sample
69
Before the interview take place, researchers must get informed ____, a safeguard through which the researcher makes sure the respondents are freely participating and understand the nature of the research
consent
70
a question asked of a respondent that imposes a limit on the possible responses during an interview
Close-ended question
71
a question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses during an interview
Open-ended questions
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questions that predispose a respondent to answer in a certain way during an interview
Leading questions
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questions that attempt to get at multiple issues at once during an interview
Double barreled question
74
questionnaires that are administered to a sample of respondents selected from a target population
surveys
75
Tend to be macro and quantitative
surveys
76
___ have open and closed ended questions
surveys
77
materials that have been produced for some other reason, but that can be used as data for social research
existing sources
78
Once we identify the source(s), we can conduct a ___ – a data collection method that systematically examines some form of communication and looks for key words, phrases, or images associated with the research
content analysis
79
golden rules of social research
1. do no harm
2. informed consent
3. confidentiality
80
Psychology experiment with Social Psychological and Sociological applications
Students were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.
Sanford Prison experiment
81
Issues with social research:
value free sociology - researchers identify facts without allowing their personal beliefs or biases to interfere
objectivity - impartiality, the ability to allow the facts to speak for themselves
reactivity - the tendency of people and events to react to the process of being studied (Hawthorne effect)
82
issues with social research
Value free Sociology– an ideal whereby researchers identify facts without allowing their personal beliefs or biases to interfere
Does not happen…Bias exists within all researchers
Objectivity – impartiality, the ability to allow the facts to speak for themselves
Reactivity– the tendency of people and events to react to the process of being studied
Hawthorne Effect —a specific example of reactivity, in which the desired effect is the result not of the independent variable but the research itself
83
Psychology experiment with Social Psychological and Sociological applications
Students were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.
Sanford Prison Experiment
84
What is culture?
an entire way of life of a group of people
85
using one’s own culture as a standard by which all other cultures are evaluated
ethnocentrism
86
Our cultural lenses can either elucidate or obscure the nuances of a specific culture
exploring culture
87
Understanding cultures on their own terms —rather than just judging or evaluating them according to one’s own culture.
cultural relativism
88
the objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, or artwork
material culture
89
the ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, values and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication).
symbolic culture
90
Standards that define what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable (general guidelines)
value
91
Society’s specific rules of right and wrong behavior
| Example: Money
norm
92
Characteristics of Norms
```
Often unwritten
Formal or informal
Serve a specific purpose (function)
Change over time
Conditional
Reinforces underlying societal values
```
93
when a person engages in a behavior that is deemed unacceptable or inappropriate within a certain culture
norm violations
94
a means of enforcing norms.
sanctions
