Chapter 1: An Introduction to Sociology
A sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area, share a culture, and who: a. interact b. work in the same industry c. speak different languages d. practice a recognized religion
A
Which would quantitative sociologists use to gather data? a. A large survey b. A literature search c. An in-depth interview d. A review of television programs
A
Who coined the phrase symbolic interactionism? a. Herbert Blumer b. Max Weber c. Lester F. Ward d. W. I. Thomas
A
Kenneth and Mamie Clark used sociological research to show that segregation was: a. beneficial b. harmful c. illegal d. of no importance
B
Weber believed humans could not be studied purely objectively because they were influenced by: a. drugs b. their culture c. their genetic makeup d. the researcher
B
Which founder of sociology believed societies changed due to class struggle? a. Emile Comte b. Karl Marx c. Plato d. Herbert Spencer
B
Which of the following was a topic of study in early sociology? a. Astrology b. Economics c. Physics d. History
B
Which research technique would most likely be used by a symbolic interactionist? a. Surveys b. Participant observation c. Quantitative data analysis d. None of the above
B
Who believed that the history of society was one of class struggle? a. Emile Durkheim b. Karl Marx c. Erving Goffmann d. George Herbert Mead
B
Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological __________ to study how society affects individuals. a. culture b. imagination c. method d. tool
B
Berger describes sociologists as concerned with: a. monumental moments in people's lives b. common everyday life events c. both a and b d. none of the above
C
Seeing patterns means that a sociologist needs to be able to: a. compare the behavior of individuals from different societies b. compare one society to another c. identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressure d. compare individuals to groups
C
The difference between positivism and antipositivism relates to: a. whether individuals like or dislike their society b. whether research methods use statistical data or person-to-person research c. whether sociological studies can predict or improve society d. all of the above
C
Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject? a. The study of individual behavior b. The study of cultures c. The study of society and social interaction d. The study of economics
C
A symbolic interactionist may compare social interactions to: a. behaviors b. conflicts c. human organs d. theatrical roles
D
Studying sociology helps people analyze data because they learn: a. interview techniques b. to apply statistics c. to generate theories d. all of the above
D
Which of these theories is most likely to look at the social world on a micro level? a. Structural functionalism b. Conflict theory c. Positivism d. Symbolic interactionism
D
1.3 Theoretical Perspectives
Sociologists develop theories to explain social events, interactions, and patterns. A theory is a proposed explanation of those social interactions. Theories have different scales. Macro-level theories, such as structural functionalism and conflict theory, attempt to explain how societies operate as a whole. Micro-level theories, such as symbolic interactionism, focus on interactions between individuals.
1.1 What is Sociology
Sociology is the systematic study of society and social interaction. In order to carry out their studies, sociologists identify cultural patterns and social forces and determine how they affect individuals and groups. They also develop ways to apply their findings to the real world.
1.2 The History of Sociology
Sociology was developed as a way to study and try to understand the changes to society brought on by the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Some of the earliest sociologists thought that societies and individuals' roles in society could be studied using the same scientific methodologies that were used in the natural sciences, while others believed that is was impossible to predict human behavior scientifically, and still others debated the value of such predictions. Those perspectives continue to be represented within sociology today.
1.4 Why Study Sociology
Studying sociology is beneficial both for the individual and for society. By studying sociology people learn how to think critically about social issues and problems that confront our society. The study of sociology enriches students' lives and prepares them for careers in an increasingly diverse world. Society benefits because people with sociological training are better prepared to make informed decisions about social issues and take effective action to deal with them.
verstehen
a German word that means to understand in a deep way
society
a group of people who live in a defined geographical area who interact with one another and who share a common culture
culture
a group's shared practices, values, and beliefs
theory
a proposed explanation about social interactions or society
dynamic equilibrium
a stable state in which all parts of a healthy society work together properly
dramaturgical analysis
a technique sociologists use in which they view society through the metaphor of theatrical performance
hypothesis
a testable proposition
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
symbolic interactionism
a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)
conflict theory
a theory that looks at society as a competition for limited resources
macro-level
a wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a society
grand theories
an attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change
reification
an error of treating an abstract concept as though it has a real, material existence
constructivism
an extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be
qualitative sociology
in-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources as the source of its data
social institutions
patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs
paradigms
philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them
dysfunctions
social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society
manifest functions
sought consequences of a social process
significant others
specific individuals that impact a person's life
quantitative sociology
statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants
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
social facts
the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life
generalized others
the organized and generalized attitude of a social group
function
the part a recurrent activity plays in the social life as a whole and the contribution it makes to structural continuity
figuration
the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of an individual and the society that shapes that behavior
positivism
the scientific study of social patterns
social solidarity
the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship shared location, and religion
micro-level theories
the study of specific relationships between individuals or small groups
sociology
the systematic study of society and social interaction
latent functions
the unrecognized or unintended consequences of a social process
antipositivism
the view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they worked to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values
