Sociology Exam 1

How is religious practice influenced by a culture's level of technology? Give examples

When you have a low level of technology, you rely more on nature so you have Pantheistic view on life (spirits are in everything) but when you have more technology, you have more control so you end up living a monotheistic lifestyle

What is the Thomas theorem and how does it relate to the social construction of reality?

"situations defined as real are real in their consequences" We construct or make social reality through interactions Race is a social construction, not a biological reality- Deeply rooted in the history of american of slavery Gender is a social construction

Distinguish between and define social status and social role.

A status is a place or position in society (father, mother ext.) A role would be how a father is a provider or a disciplinarian, expectations on the status

What is a social role? What are its two aspects?

A typified response to a typified social expectation is a social role The two aspects are scrips and an identity

What are the themes of the sociological consciousness?

DEBUNKING MOTIF, UNRESPECTABILITY MOTIF, RELATIVIZATION MOTIF, COSMOPOLITAN MOTIF

Distinguish between induction and deduction.

Deductive reasoning works from the "general" to the "specific". Theory, Hypothesis, Observation, Confirmation Inductive reasoning works the other way around, it works from observation (or observations) works toward generalizations and theories. Observation, Pattern, Hypothesis, Theory

Discuss the nature and nurture argument.

Dehumanization Mainly nurture What makes you human? Your DNA or culture? your culture

Why do humans resist social change? Be sure to use class discussion in your answer.

Its connected to how culture is the pattern of group life, but that only works well when society doesn't change fast When society changed, you are more anxiety due to the fact that your culture is changed You can not count on what you were taught "What else don't I know"

Which of components of culture elements is most important? Why?

Language - The way culture is built Allows culture to be passed on

What are the components of culture?

Language, Value system, Rule structure

What is technology?

Technology is the means by which value is extracted from the environment Value - what has human uses Everything that has value has two components Labor Natural resources

What is world openness? What causes it?

The cause is the creation of life and evaluation World openness is the idea that we have many things to choose from

Why did Alfred Schutz call culture the "cultural pattern for group life?" Be sure to understand the "cultural recipe box."

The metaphor is that culture is a recipe box, it's how you do everything (student, parent, wife)

Why did we mention that education is about questions and not facts? What is the relationship between education and life-satisfaction?

We ask questions to learn, to dig deeper. If education was about facts then it would be pointless because we wouldn't learn more about each topic, just what was handed to us

Explain the importance of taken-for-grantedness to people living their everyday lives.

We don't think about the simple things we take for granted, like when we come into class and the seat we sat in the first day of class is our seat for the rest of the year Even people with more money or people who grow up in developed countries take for granted the food they get

Explain how both the Christian story of creation and human evolution lead to world openness.

We have no instinct, the world is open to us Freewill, and the obvious consequences that it carries

What does it mean to say that sociological thinking is "value neutral?"

it is not based off of their option but based on facts

According to lecture what is the function of culture?

its apart of what makes us human

Discuss why freedom and security are incompatible.

when you have a lot of freedom, you have many choices like to murder, steal or just have a lot to choose from. Its too chaotic. In our society, we have choices made for us giving us security

What is debunking?

expose the falseness

What is a province of reality? What is taken for grantedness?

A non thinking approach to everyday life is taken for granted

What is meant by status? Distinguish between achieved and ascribed status.

Achieved status - how hard you work, "class system" Ascribed status - given at birth, caste systems, no choice about it

What is the life-world?

Alfred Schutz "That province of reality which the wide awake and normal adult takes for granted in an attitude of common sense" The life world isn't our only reality but the most important

What is the social construction of reality as defined by your book?

Basic idea is during our own going interaction, we go about constructing a world that we live in

Explain the social construction of reality.

Basic idea is during our own going interaction, we go about constructing a world that we live in

Explain why the measurement of phenomena in the social world can be dehumanizing.

By stereotyping humans, it can dehumanize them Measuring them is dehumanizing

What is correlation?

Correlation is a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two or more variables fluctuate together

What are the stages of the construction of culture? Be sure to understand each stage thoroughly.

Create habits Mutual typification Institutionalization (happens after a long period of time) Customization identify the humanly constructed words with the cosmos

Define and describe the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Due to language, related to social construction to reality Language helps us construct reality, not just describe it Do you fall in love first or does your culture define it first then you fall in love?

What is education? Why is questioning important?

Education is about learning facts Questioning is important to learn basic aspects of life, without questioning, we can not expand our knowledge

Describe and discuss the agents of socialization.

Family, school, peers and mass media

What are values, norms, folkways, mores, and laws?

Folkways - Routine and casual social interactions Mores (french) - Norms that are widely observed with significance, The care of children Value - what has human uses

How does socialization help us to understand freedom and security?

Freedom is the idea that you make choices and you choose in between alternatives World openess is that you can choose about everything but that is too much chaos so we don't have that much security so we create a society with more security and less chooses

What is a master status? Give an example.

Is an overruling status President, an illness

Why are morals always relative in nature? What does this mean?

Good or bad, right or wrong It means it depends on what culture you are in or what history you are in morals are cultural products and it differs in each culture

What are the levels of technology in human cultures?

Hunting and gathering stage- Low level of technology Horticulture and pastoralism - Domesticated animals and farm Agriculture - Farming large grounds, irrigating, using animals to help far, use of some metals Industrialization - Process of using fossil fuels to drive steam engines to make things

Discuss manifest and latent function /consequences.

Manifest means stated or intended Eg. war on drugs: meant to decrease drug intake but it increased crime

What is material culture? What is non-material or ideal culture?

Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, temples, offices, factories and plants, tools ext. Thoughts or ideas that make up a culture are called the non-material culture, examples of non-material culture include any ideas, beliefs, values, norms that may help shape society

Should sociology be concerned with improving the human condition?

No, sociologist are learning for the sake to learn about society

Distinguish between primary and secondary socialization. Why is primary socialization most important?

Primary socialization -Happens when we are young, during childhood Neuroplasticity, when we are young we have high neuroplasticity Secondary socialization - Happens in adulthood

What are the components of social systems?

Relationships, institutions and culture

What is the Thomas theorem? Relate it to everyday life.

Situations defined as real, are real in their consequences Eg. race: in the US, race is a huge thing but biological is not a thing

How do feral children demonstrate the importance of socialization?

Socialization is the process of which you learn your cultural, and if that doesn't happen, you can talk Without socialization, you aren't fully human

Why should sociology be a pursuit of "knowledge for its own sake?"

Sociologist don't just learn to gain access in the world, they learn for the sake of learning

Explain what it means to say that sociological thinking is not just common sense and is often counter to common sense?

Sociologist question the common sense and questions what it means to be human

What is dramaturgical analysis?

To apply the terms of the stage to social interactions Performances When you play this script, you are playing a role Setting - front stage and back stage

What is relativizing?

Too see not one but many; too see that truth depends on where you stand

Why do humans construct culture?

World openness Choice is chaotic Freedom and little security

What are the misconceptions of the role of the sociologist?

people don't know or care about sociology sociologist are people helpers social uplifters or reformers theoretician for social work

Explain in what ways sociology and social work are different pursuits.

sociology is knowledge for own sake while social works is more interested in psychology

What is culture?

the beliefs, values, behavior and material objects shared by a particular people pattern for group like

What are theory, hypothesis, and empirical generalization?

theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment hypothesis is an idea or explanation that you then test through study and experimentation empirical generalization is "a pattern or regularity that repeats over different circumstances and.

How has modernity and social change impacted culture?

through the advancement of technology, we have more independent thinkers