Sociology Exam I

Emile Durkheim

"how does social change come to be" - Believed that sociologists could study objective "social facts". - Conducted study of Suicide and Social Integration

What is a theory?

A set of statements that explains why a phenomenon occurs.

Secondary Data Analysis consists of:

Analysis of government data (census, health, crime statistics) and research of historic documents

What are the steps of the Scientific Method?

Ask a Question Research Existing Sources Formulate a Hypothesis Design and Conduct a Study Draw Conclusions Report Results

Analyzed social statics and dynamics and the empirical study of society "positivism"

August Comte

"Father of Sociology"

Auguste Comte

Karl Marx

Believed that societies grew and changed as a result of the struggles of different social classes over the means of production.

How groups disagree and struggle over power and compete for scarce resources.

Conflict Theory

Experiments consist of:

Deliberate manipulation of social customs

What was a topic of study in early sociology?

Economics

Explain the social, economic, and political positions of women in society.

Feminist Theories

Society is interdependent, purposes and activities meet the different needs of societies stability.

Functionalism

What are the contemporary sociological theories?

Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Feminist Theories, and Symbolic Interactionism

Dysfunctions

Functions that have negative impacts

Kenneth and Marrie Clark used sociological research to show that segregation was:

Harmful

Who coined the phrase "symbolic interactionism"?

Herbert Blumer

Reliability

How likely research results are to be replicated if the study is produced.

What is sociological imagination?

How we understand our own and other's pasts in relation to history and social structure. (The search for causes...)

Seeing patterns means that a sociologist needs to be able to:

Identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressures.

C. Wright mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological _____ to study how society affects individuals.

Imagination

Case Study

In-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual

Manifest

Intended and recognized functions

A sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area, share a culture, and who:

Interact

Studying sociology helps people analyze data because they learn:

Interview techniques, application of statistics, and generating theories

The founder of sociology who believed societies changed due to class struggle:

Karl Marx

Macrosociology

Large-scale patterns and processes that characterize society as a whole

Small-scale patterns of individuals' social interaction in specific settings

Microsociology

Berger describes sociologists to be as concerned with:

Monumental moments in peoples lives and common everyday life events.

Field Work consists of:

Observations, Participant Observation, Ethnography, and Case Study

What research technique would most likely be used by a symbolic interactionist?

Participant observation

Latent

Positive unintended and unrecognized functions

A survery consists of:

Questionnaires and Interviews

Validity

Refers to how well the study measures what it was designed to measure.

What does verstehen mean?

Subjective understanding.

Looks at individuals everyday behavior and communication through symbols and shared meanings.

Symbolic Interaction (micro-level perspective)

A symbolic interactionist may compare social interactions to:

Theatrical roles

Weber believed humans could not be studied purely objectively because they were influenced by:

Their culture

The difference between positivism and anti positivism is:

Whetherociological studies can predict or improve society

Max Weber

Wrote "The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism". Theory: Wrote on many topics related to sociology including political change and social forces that affect factory workers. - Value-free sociology, verstehen, charismatic leaders and change

Which would a quantitative sociologist use to gather data? a) large survey b) literature search c) in-depth interview d) review of television programs

a) Large survey

Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject? a) study of individual behavior b) study of cultures c) study of society and social interaction d) study of economics

c) Study of society and social interactions

Which of these theories is the most likely to look at the social world on a micro-level? a) structural functionalism b) conflict theory c) positivism d) symbolic interactionism

d) Symbolic Interactionism

Operational Definition

specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study