Chapter 1
verstehen
a German word that means to understand in a deep way
society
a group of people who live in a define geographical area who interact with one another and who share a common culture
culture
a group's shared practices, values, and beliefs
which would a quantitative sociologist use to gather data?
a large survey
theory
a proposed explanation about social interactions or society
dynamic equilibrium
a stable state in which all parts of a healthy society work together properly
dramaturgical analysis
a technique sociologists use in which they view society through the metaphor of theatrical performance
hypothesis
a testable proposition
functionalism
a theoretical approach that sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of individuals that make up that societ
symbolic interactionsm
a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)
conflict theory
a theory that looks at society as a competition for limited resources
macro-level
a wide-scale view of the role of social structures within a society
Studying sociology helps people analyze data because they learn: a. interview techniques b. to apply statistics c. to generate theories d. all of the above
all of the above
grand theories
an attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change
reification
an error of treating an abstract concept as though it has real, material existence
constructivism
an extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be
berger describes sociologists as concerned with: a. .monumental moments in people's lives b. common everyday life events c. both a and b d. none of the above
both a and b: monumental moments in people's lives and common everyday life events
which of the following was a topic of study in early sociology? a. astrology b. economics c. physics d. history
economics
Kenneth and Mamie Clark used sociological research to show that segregation was: a. beneficial b. harmful c. illegal d. of no importance
harmful
who coined the phrase symbolic interactionism? a. herbert blumer b. max weber c. lester f. ward d. w.i. thomas
herbert blumer
seeing patterns means that a sociologist needs to be able to
identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressure
C. Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological [BLANK] to study how society affects indviduals
imagination
qualitative sociology
in-depth interviews, focus groups, and/or analysis of content sources as the source of its data
a sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area, share a culture, and who
interact
which founder of sociology believed societies changed due to class struggle? a. emile comte b. karl marx c. plato d. herbert spencer
karl marx
who believed that the history of society was one of class struggle? a. emile durkheim b. karl marx c. erving goffman d. george herbert mead
karl marx
which research technique would most likely be used by a symbolic interactionist? a. surveys b. participant observation c. quantitative data analysis d. none of the above
participant observation
social institutions
patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs
paradigms
philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them
dysfunctions
social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society
social solidarity
social ties that bind a group together such as kinship, shared location, and religion
manifest functions
sought consequences of a social process
significant others
specific individuals that impact a person's lif
quantitative sociology
statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants
which of these theories is most likely to look at the social world on a micro level? a. structural functionalism b. conflict theory c. positivism d. symbolic interactionism
symbolic interactionism
sociological imagination
the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures in particular
social facts
the laws, morals, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life
generalized others
the organized and generalized attitude of a social group
function
the part a recurrent activity plays in the social life as a whole and the contribution it makes to structural continuity
figuration
the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of an individual and the society that shapes that behavior
positivism
the scientific study of social patterns
Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject?
the study of society and social interaction
micro-level theories
the study of specific relationships between individuals or small groups
sociology
the systematic study of society and social interaction
latent functions
the unrecognized or unintended consequences of a social process
antipositivism
the view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they worked to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values
A symbolic interactionist may compare social interactions to: a. behaviors b. conflicts c. human organs d. theatrical roles
theatrical roles
weber believed humans couldn't be studied purely objective because they were influenced by
their culture
the difference between positivism and antipositivism relates to
whether sociological studies can predict or improve society
