SOCIOLOGY EXAM 1

Disenchantment: The iron cage

In sociology, the iron cage is a term coined by Max Weber for the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control.

Materialism

Material relationships are basis of society—property, technology, labor, resources, etc.

Micro

concerning the nature of everyday human social interactions and agency on a small scale: face to face.

Conflict theory

how does society change through conflict

Operationalization

operational definition, operationalization The transformation of an abstract, theoretical concept into something concrete, observable, and measurable in an empirical research project. Operational definitions are pragmatic and realistic indicators of more diffuse notions.

Quantitative Literacy

the ability to apply mathematical skills when solving real world problems. We feel that in order to perform as professionals and responsible citizens, students must be able to read and understand numerical data that is presented in graphs, tables, and formulas.

Anomie

Anomie, also spelled anomy , in societies or individuals, a condition of instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals. Émile Durkheim

Base-Superstructure model of society

Base: production superstructure: everything not directly involved with infrastructure and production

Collective conscience

Collective conscious or collective conscience (French: conscience collective) is the set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society. The term was introduced by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his Division of Labour in Society in 1893.

W.E.B. DuBois

Conflict theorist, first African American PhD from Harvard, NAACP co-founder

Correlation

Correlation is a term that refers to the strength of a relationship between two variables

Double consciousness

Double consciousness describes the feeling that you have more than one social identity, which makes it difficult to develop a sense of self. It is a concept that W.E.B. Du Bois first introduced in his book, The Souls of Black Folk

Feminist theory

Feminist sociology is a conflict theory and theoretical perspective which observes gender in its relation to power, both at the level of face-to-face interaction and reflexivity within a social structure at large. Focuses include sexual orientation, race, economic status, and nationality.

Functionalism

How is order maintained in society

Thomas Theorem

If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. In other words, the interpretation of a situation causes the action.

Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective which developed around the middle of the twentieth century and that continues to be influential in some areas of the discipline. It is particularly important in microsociology and social psychology.

Hawthorne Effects

The Hawthorne effect (also referred to as the observer effect) is a type of reactivity in which individuals modify or improve an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.

Alienation

Unable to relate

Macro

an approach to sociology which emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level of social structure, and often at a necessarily high level of theoretical abstraction

Stereotypes vs. Generalizations

stereotype: a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Generalization: A sociological generalization is the act of setting the standard for behavior in social settings based on common behavior.

Society (definitions; cultural/material aspects)

the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community

Structure

the distinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society interact and live together.

Max Weber

Influenced both conflict theory & symbolic interaction Critique of Marx: not everything is economically determined

Authority

Legitimized power Power: the ability of actors to impose their will on others Legitimacy: property of power that gives it moral grounding

Types of functions: manifest, latent, dysfunction

Manifest functions are the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern, while latent functions are those unrecognized and unintended consequences. To analyze the manifest functions of any social institution, we have to study its contribution to the continuation of a group, community, or society.

Social conflict (what drives it?)

Social change results from a clash of material interests between classes

Research Methods

Sociologists may conduct cross‐cultural research, or research designed to reveal variations across different groups of people. Most cross‐cultural research involves survey, direct observation, and participant observation methods of research.

Spurious Correlations

Spurious correlation is often a result of a third factor that is not apparent at the time of examination

Deductive vs. Inductive Research

The main difference between inductive and deductive approaches to research is that whilst a deductive approach is aimed and testing theory, an inductive approach is concerned with the generation of new theory emerging from the data

Personal Troubles vs. Social Issues

The sociological imagination enables people to distinguish between personal troubles and public issues. For example, women who live under repression, or people who suffer from poverty, might link their personal conditions to the social forces that are relevant to the society they live in.

Basic unit of analysis in sociology

The unit of analysis is the major entity that is being analyzed in a study. It is the 'what' or 'who' that is being studied. In social science research, typical units of analysis include individuals (most common), groups, social organizations and social artifacts.

Validity vs. Reliability

Validity is the degree to which a measurement instrument Reliability is the degree to which a measurement instrument gives the same results each time that it is used

Breaching experiments

a breaching experiment is an experiment that seeks to examine people's reactions to violations of commonly accepted social rules or norms

Social Construction

a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication theory that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality.

Agency

agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices

Social solidarity definition; mechanical vs. organic

mechanical and organic solidarity, in the theory of the French social scientist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), the social cohesiveness of small, undifferentiated societies (mechanical) and of societies differentiated by a relatively complex division of labour (organic).

Rationalization

rationalization refers to the replacement of traditions, values, and emotions as motivators for behavior in society with rational, calculated ones.

Reflexivity

reflexivity therefore comes to mean an act of self-reference where examination or action "bends back on", refers to, and affects the entity instigating the action or examination.

Sociological Imagination

the vivid awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society