Chapter 1- The Sociological Perspective, Sociology Chapter 1 : the Sociological Perspective
A symbolic-interaction analysis focuses on how social interaction in any everyday life setting involves social inequality
False
According to Robert K. Merton, social patterns are always good and have the same effect on all members of a society.
False
According to sociologists, human behavior reflects our personal "free will." T or F
False
Based on the work of Barbara Ehrenreich, who tried to live by working at low-wage jobs, we should expect most people in such jobs to be able to move ahead to better paying work.
False
Both Jane Addams and Harriet Martineau are remembered today because they were married to important sociologists.
False
Both Karl Marx and W.E.B. Du Bois carried out their work following the structural-functional approach.
False
Durkheim documented that categories of people with weaker social ties have lower suicide rates.
False
The goal of the structural-functional approach is not simply to understand how society operates, but to reduce social inequality.
False
The last of Comte's three stages is the metaphysical stage, in which people know the world in terms of God's will.
False
The term "sociology" was coined by Emile Durkheim in 1898.
False
To say that a social pattern is "dysfunctional" means that it has more than one function for the operation of society.
False
Understanding how society operates benefits only the most privileged people.
False
Using the sociological perspective, we would conclude that people's lives are mostly a result of what they decide to do.
False
W.E.B. Du Bois translated the writings of Auguste Comte from French into English.
False
In the United States, secondary schools place students in college preparatory tracks that partially reflect the social background of their families.
True
Like the gender-conflict approach, the race-conflict approach is concerned with social inequality.
True
Sociology is defined as the systematic study of human society. T or F
True
Sociology is useful training for any job that involves working with people.
True
Stacking" in sports is the pattern by which people of one racial category disproportionately play in favored positions.
True
The symbolic-interaction approach is a micro-level orientation.
True
U.S. sociologist C. Wright Mills argued that times of social crisis foster widespread sociological thinking.
True
W.E.B. Du Bois wrote a classic study of the African American community in Philadelphia.
True
Keeping young people out of the labor market is one latent function of higher education.
True; an unintended consequence
stereotype
a simplified description applied to every person in some category
Theory
a statement of how and why specific facts are related **theories attempt to explain why groups of people choose to perform certain actions and how societies function or change in a certain way.
middle-income countries
nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole
Which theoretical paradigm is closest to the work of early sociologist Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim?
structural functional paradigm
C. Wright Mills claimed that, most of the time, people must learn to take responsibility for their own problems.
False
Studying other societies is a good way to learn about our own way of life
True
Herbert Spencer describes human society as having much in common with:
the human body
Sociology's 4 Theoretical Perspectives
1. Stuctural-Functional Theory 2. Social Conflict Theory 3. Feminism 4. Symbolic Interactionism
Sociology
The systematic study of human society, culture and relationships on a group level
Among all academic disciplines, sociology is one of the youngest.
True
Ancient philosophers, including Plato, were primarily interested in imagining the "ideal" society rather than studying society as it really is.
True
In the United States, men have a higher suicide rate than women.
True
symbolic-interaction approach
a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals *micro-level approach
social-exchange analysis
social interaction is guided by what each person stands to gain or lose from the interaction
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
suggested that society reflected not the perfection of God so much as the failings of a selfish human nature
sociological imagination
(C. Wright Mills) the ability to see our private experiences and personal difficulties as entwined with the structural arrangements of our society and the historical times in which we live i.e unemployment d/t poor economy.
3 Stages of Society
1. Theological Stage 2. Metaphysical Stage 3. Scientific Stage
The pioneering sociologist who studied patterns of suicide in Europe was
Emile Durkheim
A global perspective has little in common with a sociological perspective.
False
In the United States, African Americans have a higher suicide rate than whites.
False
Sociological research may be interesting, but it is of little use in shaping public policy, including legislation.
False
Sociological research shows that all categories of people have had the same opportunities to participate in sports.
False
Sociologists focus only on unusual patterns of behavior.
False
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that society reflected the basic goodness of human nature.
False
The focus of the symbolic-interaction approach is how society is divided by class, race, and gender.
False
The largest number of nations in the world ( about 90 out of 192) fall into which category?
Middle Income
The Statement that the social world guides our actions and life choices just as the seasons influence activities and clothing describes
The essential wisdom of the discipline of sociology.
As a discipline, sociology first took root in France, Germany, and England.
True
Auguste Comte was a positivist who believed that there were laws of society in the same way that there are laws of physics that describe the operation of the natural world.
True
Both feminism and the gender-conflict approach highlight ways in which women are unequal to men.
True
College students in the U.S. tend to come from families with above-average incomes.
True
People with lower social standing are usually more likely to see the world from a sociological perspective than people who are well off
True
Rarely are people aware of all the functions of any social structure.
True
Revolutionary changes in European societies sparked the development of sociology
True
Social-exchange analysis is one micro-level approach to understanding social interaction.
True
Societies around the world are more interconnected than ever before.
True
Sociologists test their theories by gathering facts in order to confirm, reject, or modify them.
True
In the US today the suicide rate is the highest for which category of people noted below?
White Males
theoretical approach
a basic image of society that guides thinking and research
macro-level orientation
a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole
micro-level orientation
a close-up focus on social interaction on specific situations
social-conflict approach
a framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change
Social psychologist
a person whose career is directly helping to improve peoples lives using sociological concepts.
race-conflict approach
a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories
gender-conflict approach
a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men
Examples of social institutions
a. religious groups b. schools c. families d. political organizations
Careers in sociology
a. work at colleges b. school/hospital (clinical sociologist) c. sociology can benefit almost any career
social structure
any relatively stable pattern of social behavior
social dysfunction
any social pattern that may disrupt operation of society
August Comte
came up with the term - Sociology (1838)
Making use of the sociological perspective encourages
challenging commonly held beliefs.
Structural-functional approach
framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability
To evaluate a theory, sociologist:
gather date or facts.
Peter Berger described using the sociological perspective as seeing the _____ in the _______.
general, particular
Sociology differs from earlier philosophy by focusing on
how society actually operates
While most of todays sociologist agree with August Comte that science is a crucial part of sociology we also recognize that
human Beings are partly creative and spontaneous. human behavior is often more complex than natural phenomena, no rigid "laws of society" hold everywhere and at all times.
C. Wright Mills pointed out that sociological awareness tends to be more widespread:
in times of crisis.
Social Institutions
major structures made up of groups or ideas that influence peoples daily lives, views of the world or integration into society
According to Comte, people begin to see society as a natural-- rather than a supernatural-- phenomenon as their society enters which stage of development?
metaphysical stage
low-income countries
nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor
high income countries
nations with the highest overall standards of living
Scientific Stage
people view the world and events as explained by scientific principles
Metaphysical Stage
people viewed the world and events as natural reflections of human tendencies i.e. still believed in gods abstractly, but believed problems in the world were d/t defects in humanity (astrology) **considered the transition stage**
Theological Stage
people viewed the world and events in that world as a direct expression of the will of the gods. i.e. bad weather =angry weather gods
Sociological Perspective
seeing the general in the particular **sociologists look for general patterns in the behavior of particular people
The "framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change" is the
social conflict paradigm
The theoretical paradigm in sociology that assumes society is a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability is the
structural functionalist paradigm
feminism
support of social equality for women and men
Positivism
the belief that societies have their own scientific principles and laws, just like physics or chemistry.
social functions
the consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole
manifest functions
the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern
global perspective
the study of the larger world and our society's place in it
latent functions
the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern
The manifest functions of our society's reliance on personal automobiles include tens of thousands of deaths each year in traffic accidents.
False; not an intended consequence
The meaning people find in competitive sports would be one focus of a symbolic-interaction approach.
True
The sociological perspective reveals the truth of the "common sense" beliefs we tend to take for granted.
True
The structural-functional, social-conflict, and symbolic-interaction approaches are three basic theoretical approaches in sociology.
True
