SOC2130 QUIZ 1 weeks 1-4
What is a dialectical relationship? What are some of the dialectical relationships we discussed that relate to sociology?
-Dialectic = a relationship between two things, each of which has the ability to influence the other, such that a change in one requires a change in the other -while social structure shapes individuals, individuals also the shape social structure Having an IEP Struggle on the individual level with learning and need accommodations Society needs to have resources to help students with IEP Mental health Structural or social factors contributing Intersection between mental health and mass shooting example Drug abuse Social structural factors Access to treatment is difficult
What is the difference between primary and secondary data? Which is most often used by qualitative researchers and which is used by quantitative researchers?
-primary data (information collected personally by the researcher) -secondary data (information not personally collected by the researcher)
Explain the 4 types of suicide according to Durkheim and the cause of each.
Anomic suicide - caused by lack of direction due to dramatic societal/economic upheaval; failure to produce organic solidarity Egoistic suicide - caused by prolonged sense of not belonging; failure to integrate into a community Altruistic suicide - occurs in societies with high integration where individual needs are seen as less important than the society's needs as a whole Fatalistic suicide - occurs when a person is excessively regulated
What is the difference between inductive and deductive research?
Deductive reasoning/research: taking existing theory and breaking it down into testable hypotheses and can be proved or disproved by research Hypotheses Inductive reasoning/research: start by researching and create generalizations then create a theory
Provide an example of the sociological imagination applied to a particular social problem. How is the sociological perspective different form a common sense understanding?
Ex: Poverty Social status is all on the individual, that's your fault if you're poor Not really because society has forces that affect our life chances (racism, sexism, etc.) Ex: Divorce Marriage individual level... people dont care about marriage as much Economic independence, religiosity, social causes help explain divorce rates going up
According to Parsons, what is a functional prerequisite? List and explain each of the major functional prerequisites.
Four functional prerequisites (factors that allow a society to maintain social order): 1.Adaptation - adapt to living within a particular environment (provide basic needs like food and shelter), and adapt to changes in environment and society 2.Goal attainment -need to provide some sort of collective goals for members of society to aspire to and means to attaining these goals 3. Integration - refers to is met by coordinating each of the internal parts of a social system into a smoothly functioning single entity 4. Patten maintenance - societies must insure that the system will be able to maintain and perpetuate itself over time
How can dramaturgical theory be used to explain social media and the phenomenon of the selfie?
Impression management is utilized on social media and through the selfie to paint a certain picture of ourselves online so that others can only see the parts of us we want them to.
What kinds of things do sociologists study?
Sociologists are interested in understanding all aspects of the social life/social world social, including social interaction, social change, social problems, culture, social groups and organizations, and structures and institutions. Sociologists look for RELATIONSHIPS and patterns to understand the causes of trends and problems in society
Explain Cooley's theory of the looking-glass self.
The idea that our self-image is constructed based on our interpretation of how other people view us.
What is a hypothesis?
ideas about the world, derived from theories, that can be disproved or supported when tested against observations (data)
What is social embeddedness and how does it relate to sociology?
social embeddedness = the idea that economic, political, and other forms of human behavior are fundamentally shaped by social relations -In turn, these broader structures and systems shape us as individuals (structure and agency)
What is the sociological imagination? How does using the sociological imagination help us to better understand human behavior and social life?
the ability to grasp the relationship between individual lives and the larger social forces that help to shape them. Coined by C. Wright Mills
What is sociology?
the study of human social relations, groups, and societies.
Explain the major tenants of the structural functionalist perspective. What is the key assumption made by the functionalist perspective? What is the key question posed by functionalism?
•Seeks to explain social organization in terms of the roles performed by different social structures, phenomena, and institutions. •Society is composed of many interdependent parts - each part serves a different function, and the successful functioning of all of society is dependent on the successful functioning each part. (body metaphor) •Key question: What function does a particular institution, phenomenon, or social group serve for the maintenance of society? •Key assumption: EVERY institution, phenomenon, and social group serves some function in our society - If it didn't have a function, it wouldn't exist, according to structural functionalism.
Define the following terms: sample, population, correlation.
•A sample is a portion of the larger population selected to represent the whole •The population is the whole group of people studied in the research •Correlation: the degree to which two or more variables are related to each other
What is the difference between a theory and a paradigm?
•A theory provides us with an explanation of a particular phenomenon; has evidence to back it up and can be tested•A paradigm acts as a theoretical or philosophical framework that allows us to examine the social world from a particular angle/perspective; can be micro or macro level-A paradigm is like a lense - a particular outlook through which we can view the social world
What is the difference between a causal correlation and a spurious correlation?
•Causal correlation: one variable is the cause of the other •Spurious correlation: relationship between two variables is NOT causal, but rather caused by something else that is not being measured.
Explain Goffman's dramaturgical theory. According to Goffman, what is impression management? What are sign vehicles?
•Dramaturgy: compares social interaction to a performance •The presentation of self: each individual's "performance", or efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others •Impression management is the effort to control or influence other people's perceptions. •Sign vehicles are like the props we use in our performances - includes language, as body language, clothing, objects, etc.
Explain the difference between the micro, macro, and messo levels of analysis and the focus of each.
•Macro-level: Analyzing society as a whole; social structure and large-scale social processes (institutions, social processes, etc.)•Micro-level: Analyzing small scale small-scale interactions and individuals (conversations, interpersonal relationships, etc.)•Meso-level: Analyzinggroup dynamics (communities, social groups, etc.)
Explain the difference between manifest and latent functions.
•Manifest functions (obvious and intended)vs. Latent functions (not recognized or expected)
Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative research. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?
•Quantitative Research that gathers data that can be quantified and offers insight intro broad patterns of social behavior and social attitudes -Data is collected by surveys and analyzed using statistics -Relies on secondary data (information not personally collected by the researcher) •Qualitative Research that is characterized by data that cannot be quantified (or converted into numbers), focused instead on generating in-depth knowledge of social life, institutions, and processes -Data is collected through some combination of observation/participation, interviews, and textual analysis. -Relies on primary data (information collected personally by the researcher)
What is role-taking? What is the Generalized other?
•Role-taking: the ability to take the roles of others in interaction; learning to see ourselves from the perspective of other people •Generalized other: The abstract sense of society's norms and values by which people evaluate themselves. Ability to internalize the generalized other allows us to see beyond our individual interests.
What does it mean to say that something is socially constructed?
•Social Construction: a social mechanism, phenomenon, or category created and developed by society; a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is 'constructed' through cultural or social practice
What is social solidarity? Explain the difference between Durkheim's concepts of mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity.
•Social solidarity = the bonds that unite the members of a social group or a society •Mechanical solidarity - simple division of labor; social cohesion is based on sameness (shared culture, values, language, and work); usually pre-industrial societies.-Societies with mechanical solidarity have a strong collective conscience (common beliefs and values that bind a society together) •Organic solidarity - complex division of labor/high level of specialization; social cohesion is based on interdependence-Organic solidarity is weaker than mechanical solidarity.
Define "socialization" and "agent of socialization." List some of the major agents of socialization in our society.
•Socialization: The lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies, providing the individual with the skills and habits that are sanctioned and valued in the larger society. •Nature vs. Nurture (biology vs. socialization)
Define structure and agency. Describe the relationship between structure and agency from a sociological perspective.
•Structure is the pattern of social relations that organize and control social life -social forces shape our experiences, how we interact with other people, and ultimately, the trajectories and outcomes of our lives •Agency refers to the ability of human actors to act independently and make their own free choices •Structure often limits or suppresses agency-Structural factors are generally thought be long lasting/enduring, slow to change, and outside the control of individual actors. •Sociologists understand the relationship between social structure and agency to be an dialectical
Why does Linda McIntyre argue that in order to practice sociology, "one must learn to accept the existence of fuzzy objects?"
•To understand any aspect of the social world, we must take multiple factors into account (complexity and diversity) •The best we can do is predict what MOST people will LIKELY do under a particular set of circumstances •How do you paint a clear picture of a fuzzy object? -Divide up the task: different specializations, methodologies, theoretical perspectives and levels of analysis
According to Durkheim, what is anomie? What causes anomie
•anomie = the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community - results in fragmentation of social identity and rejection of self-regulatory values (normlessness)
Explain the distinction between micro-level theories/paradigms and macro-levels theories/paradigms.
•mico-level theories/paradigms = theories about the social world that are concerned with small group social relations and interactions•macro-level theories/paradigms = theories about the social world that are concerned with large-scale patterns and institutions