Sociology Unit 1

What is the difference between a manifest function and a latent function?

A manifest function is the intended and recognized consequence of some element of society. For example, a manifest function of the automobile is to provide speedy transportation from one location to another. A latent function is the unintended and unrecognized consequence of an element of society. A latent function of the automobile is to gain social standing through the display of wealth.

sociological imagination

Ability to see the connection between the larger world and our personal lives

Theory

An explanation of the relationships among particular phenomena

What is the difference between anthropology and sociology?

Anthropology, the comparative study of past and present cultures, is most similar to sociology in its subject matter. Anthropologists have traditionally concentrated on examining past cultures and less advanced societies. Sociology is different from anthropology in that it is interested in group behavior in more advanced societies.

Herbert Spencer was strongly influence by the views of ______, an evolutionist from the 1800s

Charles Darwin

True or False? By adopting a sociological imagination, you can look beyond commonly held beliefs to the hidden meanings behind human actions.

False

True or false? Political science is the study of past events.

False HISTORY is the study of past events.

What social science, which deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms, differs from sociology primarily in that it focuses on individual behavior rather than on group behavior?

Psychology

The observable facts or events that involve human society

Social phenomena

Describe the difference between sociology and psychology.

Sociology is the social science that studies human society and social behavior. Psychology is the social science that deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms. It differs from sociology primarily in that it focuses on individual behavior rather than on group behavior.

Explain the interactionist perspective.

The interactionist perspective focuses on how individuals shapes society and are then shaped by society. For example, and individual develops a symbol that shapes society and then, in turn, the symbol shapes the individual.

"survival of the fittest"

The phrase that was coined by Herbert Spencer to describe only the fittest societies surviving over time, thus upgrading the world as a whole

history

The study of past events

Functionalist Perspective

The view of society as a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable social system.

True or False? Economics is the study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their needs and wants.

True

Social Darwinism

a perspective that holds that societies evolve toward stability and perfection

Theorectical Perspective

a set of assumptions about the nature of things accepted as true

sociology

a social science that studies human society and social behavior

The social science that studies human society and social behavior is a. sociology. b. psychology. c. anthropology. d. political science.

a. sociology.

Verstehen (Max Weber)

an empathetic understanding of the meanings others attach to their actions; a principle that involves an attempt to understand the meanings individuals attach to their actions; putting yourself in the place of others and trying to see situations through their eyes

symbol

anything that stands for something else and has a shared meaning attached to it. Language, gestures, images, sounds, physical objects, events, and elements of the natural world can serve as symbols as long as people recognize that they convey a particular meaning.

Conflict perspective

approach emphasizing the role of conflict, competition, and constraint within a society

Sociologists refer to observable facts or events that involve human society as a. a sociological perspective. b. social phenomena. c. a social interaction. d. sociological imagination.

b. social phenomena.

Political science is a. the study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their needs and wants. b. the examination of the organization and operation of governments. c. the study of past events. d. the study of how the social environment affects an individual's behavior and personality.

b. the examination of the organization and operation of governments.

The ability to see the connection between the larger world and your personal life is what sociologist C. Wright Mills called a. the sociological perspective. b. the sociological imagination. c. social interaction. d. social psychology.

b. the sociological imagination.

Karl Marx believed that society is divided into what two classes?

bourgeoisie (capitalists) and proletariat (workers)

By adopting a ____, you can look beyond commonly held beliefs to the hidden meanings behind human actions. a. economical perspective b. social phenomena c. sociological perspective d. social psychology

c. sociological perspective

Social sciences are a. the observable facts or events that involve human society. b. how people relate to one another and influence each other's behavior. c. the hidden meanings behind human actions. d. the disciplines that study human social behavior or institutions and functions of human society in a scientific manner.

d. the disciplines that study human social behavior or institutions and functions of human society in a scientific manner.

ideal type

description of the essential characteristics of some aspect of society

manifest function

intended and recognized consequence of some element of society

sociological perspective

refers to a viewing of the behavior of groups in a systematic way

dysfunctional

refers to the negative consequence an element has for the stability of the social system; containing a negative consequence for the stability of the social system.

social sciences

related disciplines that study various aspects of human social behavior

political science

study of the organization and operation of governments

anthropology

the comparative study of various aspects of past and present cultures

symbolic interaction

the interaction between people that takes place through the use of symbols

function

the positive consequence an element of society has for the maintenance of the social system; the consequence that an element of society produces for the maintenance of its social system.

psychology

the science that deals with the behavior and thinking of individuals (or organisms)

social psychology

the study of how an individual's behavior and personality are affected by the social environment; the study of how the social environment affects an individual's behavior and personality

economics

the study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their wants and needs

latent function

unintended and unrecognized consequence of some element of society

Jane Addams

who was not considered to be one of the most influential early sociologists