Sociology Unit 1 Exam

Fatalistic suicide

suicide that occurs as a result of too much social regulation (Individuals are placed under extreme rules or high expectations)

Altruistic Suicide

suicide that occurs when one experiences too much social integration (Sacrifice individual life to fulfil some obligation for the group)

Egoistic suicide

suicide that occurs when one is not well integrated into a social group (Absence of social integration)

Auguste Comte

"Father of Sociology" - invented what he called "social physics" to understand the world. We could determine what is right and wrong without reference to higher powers or other religious concepts.

structural functional theorists

Emile Durkheim, August Compte, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton

Culture

1) a set of beliefs, traditions, and practices 2) culture is anything artificial

Causation

A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable.

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Sociological Imagination

Ability to see the connection between the larger world and our personal lives (C. Wright Mills)

Social conflict

Disagreements among people in a society over what the society's priorities should be. (Society is a system characterized by social inequality which tends to benefit some categories of people more than)

Race-Conflict theory

Focused on inequality and conflict between different racial and/or ethnic groups

Symbolic interaction theorists

George Herbert Mead, Erving Goffman, Charles Horton Cooley

Social conflict therists

Karl Marx (main), Max Weber, W.E.B. Du Bois, C. Wright Mills

Negative Sanctions

Social disapproval for violating a norm, a punishment or threat of a punishment to promote conformity to norms.

structural functional theory

Society is a complex unit, made up of interrelated parts. Examines how a society's interdependent parts work together to ensure its survival

Cultural Relativity

The idea that behavior must be judged relative to the values of the culture in which it occurs.

Symbolic Interactionism

a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions

Folkway

a norm governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern (difference between right and rude) ex. Saying everything wrong with your day instead of saying "good how are you"

Positive Sanctions

a reward or positive reaction for following norms, ranging from a smile to a material reward

Informal Sanctions

a spontaneous expression of approval or disapproval given by an individual or a group (other student catching you cheating)

Sampling error

an error that occurs when a sample somehow does not represent the target population

Ethnocentrism

evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.

Material Culture

everything that is part of our constructed physical environment including technology ex. fashion, modern furniture, food, music, homes, cars

Critical Race Theory

focused on how white supremacyand privilege has sustained oppression against people ofcolor; racism is woven into the very fabric of societyand exists net of individual racism

Feminism

it is a movement that supports equity between women and men

Taboos

mores so strong that their violation is considered to be extremely offensive and even unmentionable ex. Incest, betray your country, serial killers

Mores

norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance (difference between right and wrong) ex. Don't steal, cheat, etc....

Formal Sanctions

sanctions imposed by persons given special authority ex. professor being the only one that can fail me for cheating.

Anomic suicide

suicide that occurs as a result of insufficient social regulation (Lack of social regulation that occurs during high levels of stress and frustration)

Integration

the degree to which an individual is bound to a group or groups by social relationships with others

Regulation

the expectations or demands that areplaced on individuals as part of their membership in agroup

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Subculture

the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world ex. Jocks, gamers, etc...

symbolic interaction theory

theory that people make sense of the world based on their interpretation of words or symbols used by others

sociological perspective

understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context

Counterculture

unit within the larger culture which has norms and values which conflict with the dominant culture. Ex. Civil rights activists, hippies, Amish, and flat earthers

Nonmaterial Culture

values, beliefs, behaviors, and social norms