Theories, Sociologists, And More Flashcards
(26 cards)
List and explain one concept of each that was introduced by August Comte, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and max Webber - the founding fathers of sociology
August Comte - introduced the idea of functionalism. Each individual had a specific part to play in the bigger picture
Emile Durkheim - introduced the idea of social integration. The more involved and accepted an individual was in a society, the less likely they are to stray from the social norm.
Karl Marx - introduced the idea of dialect materialism. Materials like money and clothes create tension which inevitably lead to conflict
Max Webber - symbolic interactionist who introduced the idea that religion was the main reason for tension
Explain Robert Merton’s version of functionalism
Merton was a functionalist thinker who changed the way people saw functionalism by introducing terms. He introduced three terms (manifest, latent, and disfunction) to help the flow of functionalism which was at a stand still at the time.
What are two levels of of social analysis and cite at least one benefit and one constraint of each
Micro and macro
Micro - benefit = see finer points
- negative = can’t see the whole picture
Macro - benefit= whole perspective
- negative = miss finer points
List three major theories and the names of at least one 20th century American sociologist who is affiliated with each theory
Theories= functionalism, symbolic, and conflict
- Merton =functionalism
- Dubious = conflict
- Mead = symbolic
State the 7 research steps
- Define the problem
- Literature survey
- Fine tune question
- Decide on research design/method
- Use method and gather info
- Analyze data
- Publish research
State research methods
- Experimentation
- Ethnographic research
- Participation observation
- Surveys
Functionalism
- believed society is like an organism. A set of systems that all have their own function
- if one system malfunctions, other system would rearrange to form equilibrium in order to obtain homeostasis
- macro
- social events can be explained by functions they preform
August Comte
Father sociology
Came up with term sociology
Looked at sociology like science
Theory and activist could not go together
Emile Durkheim
Solidarity
Mechanical
Organic
Believed in social integration, social fact and anomie
Herbert spencer
No recognized cause of Nazi party
Believed in social Darwinism
Examined why societies became extinct
Robert Merton
20th century functionalist
Fine tunes definition of functionalism
Harriet mautineau
Wrote “society in America”
Translated Comte work from French to English
Activist in women’s rights
Conflict theory
Conflict in society is inevitable
Major reason for conflict is economics
Macro
Karl Marx
Constant state of conflict
Economics reasons for tension
Dialect materialism
Activist
Web Dubois
Colored conflict theorist
Double consciousness
Activist who studied race, social inequality, and colored line
C. Wright mills
Conflict theorist
Social imagination
Introduced white collar crime
Symbolic interactionism
Communication through symbols
Study symbols is small groups
Micro perspective
Max Webber
Fine tunes Marx ideas
Believed religion to be cause of conflict and social change
Flow of society is like bureaucracy
Feminist perspective
Females were not included in research
So how accurate are the results
Post modern perspective
Category of grand theory - life had no linear path and that diversity and constant state of flux is normal
Society is no longer governed by history or progress
Rational choice theory
Stated individuals make choices with rational function
Self interest
State three ways sociology can help us
- Helps us to understand society as a whole using strong correlations and patterns
- Helps us to understand the individual and whether we matter in the larger scheme of things
- Helps us understand the norm of things, why it is the norm, and for how long it will be the norm
George Herbert mead
20th century thinker
Symbolic interactionism
Study of language important
Socialization
Process children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve distinct sense of self
