Soc 201 ch 1

Herbert Spencer

"Survival of the fittest"; Social Darwinism between societies and cultures

Karl Marx (Germany)

Argued that capitalism created social inequality

Ashley just got her driver's license permit. Today is the first day she has ever driven a car. Without questioning why, Ashley begins driving on the right side of the road. In sociological terms, Ashley can best be described as a/an

As an everyday actor, Ashley has practical knowledge of how driving works. She doesn't question the social behavior as a social analyst would do. She has learned it by watching others.

coined the term sociology and developed "positivism" as a theory

Auguste Comte

Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills. See difference between situation and what is happening at a social level.

A closed-ended question allows for a wide variety of responses. True or false?

False

Harriet Martineau

First female sociologist. translated comte's work into english

3 key paradigms

Functionalism, Conflict (Macrosociology) and interactionism (Microsocilogy)

In an academic honors society, why would everyone probably agree that getting "straight A's" in school is a worthwhile cause?

Getting top grades is a shared value of the group. FEEDBACK: Values are ideas about what is desirable in a group, and they convey a sense of what is good or bad.

a precursor to naturalistic sociologists and translated Introduction to Positive Philosophy into English

Harriet Martineau

coined the term "survival of the fittest," and his philosophy is often referred to as social Darwinism

Herbert Spencer

Which of the following is one of the functions of symbolic culture?

It enables people to communicate.

Consider the macro-micro continuum in sociology. If you planned to study how your classmates in this particular class arranged their time to allow for the needed reading and writing for the class, which level on this continuum would you turn to?

Level 5, groups FEEDBACK: Sociologists study all levels of social phenomena, ranging from macro to micro. Different perspectives best address different levels of analysis.

In the field of education, teaching students to solve math problems is an example of what kind of function?

Manifest functions are the obvious, intended functions of a social structure.

Durkheim's study of suicide

Most likely: Unmarried, protestant white men Least Likely: Married, poor, Jewish and Catholic men. Looked at Social class, marital status and religion

Which of the following statements about quantitative and qualitative research is correct?

Qualitative research works with nonnumerical data and interprets the results

Surveys and interviews differ in which important way?

Researchers can more easily generalize survey results to the larger population.

Which of the following illustrates a causal relationship?

Sara babysat for four hours. She earned twenty dollars

Sociology is

Sociology is the scientific study of society and social behavior. It encompasses nearly all levels of structure and interaction in society.

Which sociological perspective explores how society is structured and maintains order?

Structural functionalism was the dominant theoretical perspective within sociology well into the mid-twentieth century. It assumes that the whole of a society functions as a result of all its constituent parts.

ay needed a doctor, and his friend told him that Dr. Madeira was "very good." Jay scheduled an appointment with the doctor based solely on his friend's recommendation. Which perspective would explore how Jay defined the meaning of the term "good"?

Symbolic interactionists explore the ways we understand meaning through interaction.

Thomas has a degree in engineering just as his father and grandfather do. His grandfather was able to get a job straight out of college and stay with the same company until he retired. After trying for over a year, Thomas was only able to find contracted, hourly engineering work. He has decided to pursue a graduate degree with the hopes of finding full time employment when he graduates. Using a sociological imagination, how might we better understand this decision?

Thomas is part of a different economy and workforce than his grandfather so his experiences are different. FEEDBACK: C. Wright Mills explored the ability to understand "the intersection between biography and history." He believed that every great theorist must possess this ability. He called this the "sociological imagination." Using our sociological imagination, we can see that while Thomas and his father and grandfather may have all had similar training and skills (biography) they all had unique work experiences based on the different job markets they entered (history)

Culture is

a guide to living our lives. FEEDBACK: Culture is the entire way of life of people. It includes language, rules, values, and more. It is a guide to help us know what is expected of us every day. It is learned and not innate.

An institutional review board (IRB) helps to ensure the safety of subjects of review. Who typically sits on such a board?

academic scholars

What basic idea associates George Herbert Mead with symbolic interactionism?

assigned meanings as social processes requiring the interaction of many individuals FEEDBACK: George Herbert Mead was a key contributor to symbolic interactionism.

In terms of sociological perspectives, a photographer's wide-angle lens is most likely to capture which perspective?

conflict perspective FEEDBACK: Sociological perspectives are much like a photographer's lens. A wide-angle lens will capture the "big picture," much like conflict and functionalist perspectives explore the "big picture" or the macro level of analysis.

Society exists with patterns of inequality and dominance.

conflict theory

What do sociologists call it when cultures that were once distinct become increasingly similar?

cultural leveling

The ability to understand another culture in terms of that culture's own norms and values, without reference to any other culture's standards, is called

cultural relativism

What did Max Weber believe people would experience more of as the dehumanizing features of bureaucratic processes became increasingly prevalent in society?

disenchantment FEEDBACK: Weber believed that contemporary life was filled with disenchantment caused by the rationalization of modern society in which bureaucratic rules prevail.

When Carlos arrives in the country where he and his classmates will be studying abroad, some of his friends start making fun of the locals because the way they dress is "ridiculous." What behavior are they exhibiting?

ethnocentrism FEEDBACK: Often people see their own culture as normal and judge others accordingly. This fosters an ethnocentric view of others.

To better understand the experiences of the homeless community near Lydia's office, she visited the homeless shelter over the course of a month and spoke with the people who stayed there nightly. What type of research method did Lydia use?

ethnography

offers a means of studying groups often overlooked by other methods

ethnography

When a researcher opts to use data originally collected by a different researcher, most often for a different research question, the researcher is using

existing sources

offers the opportunity to use data from a different time period

existing sources

not wearing shoes inside a restaurant

folkway

In the United States, it is against the law to rob a bank. This law is what particular kind of symbolic culture?

formal norm FEEDBACK: Some norms are formal and may be officially codified as laws.

What is the sociological term for signs people make with their bodies?

gestures

What has been achieved when the dominant culture, without the use of force, persuades the rest of society that its beliefs and values are the only or best values?

hegemony

The statement, "What students eat for breakfast affects their grades," would be an example of

hypothesis.

The _____ is the factor that is predicted to cause change in behavior being researched.

independent variable

offers the opportunity for a wealth of information in respondents' own words

interview

Jamison plans to research the benefits of comedy as a coping mechanism during times of natural disasters. Before moving ahead, he will explore pertinent research already compiled on this topic. This is what step of the scientific method?

literature review

Joe wants to know how changes in North Carolina state laws have related to foster care rates over the last twenty years. Which level of analysis might Joe be likely to use in his research?

macro FEEDBACK: Joe is looking at large-scale social patterns, a macro approach. If he opted to speak to local foster care children and parents about their experiences, this would be an example of a micro approach.

A sociologist who studies the use of architectural elements, building materials, paint, and lighting in an historic district is studying

material culture. FEEDBACK: Material culture consists of tangible, physical items within society whereas symbolic culture consists of ideas, beliefs, gestures, and language.

stealing food from the grocery store

more

A monetary fine, harsh words, and shaking one's fist are examples of

negative sanctions

Christopher researches the changes in rates of homeownership in the state of Washington over the past ten years to better understand the statewide impact of the recent economic downturn. What type of research method is Christopher using?

quantitative

Society is orderly and is a unified system.

structural functionalism

A cultural group that exists harmoniously within a larger, dominant culture is called a

subculture

At the end of every semester, Dr. Showalter asks her students to complete a standard teacher evaluation form provided by the university. What type of research is this?

survey

offers the opportunity to gather lots of data quickly and on large groups

survey

A flag, a religious icon, and a hand "OK" sign are all examples of what?

symbolic culture FEEDBACK: Symbolic culture includes items that have significant importance to a culture, might not have value outside of that culture, and are important because of what they symbolize.

Meanings are created and interpreted through interaction

symbolic interactionism

incest

taboo

A simple random sample is defined as a sample

that provides the same chance of being included to every member of the population.

It might be hard to picture an animal called a gato if you don't speak Spanish. The idea that language structures our thoughts and influences our way of looking at the world is called

the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. FEEDBACK: Language allows us to convey our thoughts, ideas, and feelings. If we do not have words for something, we may not be able to make sense of it or share it with others.

In regard to social classes, what sharp distinction did Karl Marx draw between the proletariat (laborers) and the bourgeoisie (owners) in a society?

the control and ownership of the means of production

What is the scientific method?

the procedure for acquiring and collecting concrete data