Sociology CH 1
Theory
a way to explain different aspects of social interactions and create a testable proposition about society
Reification
the error of treating an abstract concept as though it has real, material existence (ex. culture)
Social Facts
the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life
Positivism
the scientific study of social patterns
According to Robert Merton, the positive consequence of a social process that is intended or anticipated is called a latent function. True False
False
C. Wright Mill's concept the sociological imagination is the theory that humans evolved slowly over time . True False
False
Karl Marx considered himself a positivist and supported the philosophy of August Comte called positivism. True False
False
Sociologists have always agreed that the most important goal of sociology is to bring about social change. True False
False
Conflict Theory
Looks at society as a competition for limited resources
A fundamental principle of sociology is that social contexts shape what people think and do. True False
True
A paradigm can be defined as philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments conducted to discover evidence to support them. True False
True
According to the principles of symbolic interactionism, the exchange of meaning through language and symbols not only allows relationships to exist, it also allows society to exist. True False
True
Applying the scientific method to the social world is called positivism. True False
True
Emile Durkheim identified social instead of psychological forces as the cause of differing suicide rates. True False
True
French philosopher August Comte is widely considered the father of sociology. True False
True
Jeremy wrote an essay criticizing the college admissions process, arguing that heavy competition and limited educational resources make admission difficult for the average student. Jeremy's argument supports the conflict perspective. True False
True
Karl Marx believed that societies grew and changed as a result of the struggles of different social classes over the means of production. True False
True
Latent functions refer to the unintended consequences of an action(s) that contribute to the stability of the system. True False
True
Sociologists call the areas of life that people occupy such as jobs, income, education, gender, age, and the laws, morals, and the customs that accompany them social facts. True False
True
Sociologists who use the functionalist perspective stress how society is a system of interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals within it. True False
True
Verstehen is defined by the text as to understand in a deep way. True False
True
Qualitative Sociology
Uses in-depth interviews, focus groups, and analysis of content sources (ie. books, popular media) to uncover patterns of human behavior
Quantitative Sociology
Uses statistical methods (ie. surveys) with large numbers of participants to uncover patterns of human behavior
Society
a group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and share a common culture
Culture
a group's shared practices, values, and beliefs
Dramaturgical Analysis
a technique sociologists use in which they view society through the metaphor of theatrical performance
Hypothesis
a testable proposition about society
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 society
Symbolic Interactionism
a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and symbols)
Constructivism
an extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be
Grand Theories
attempt to explain large scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and change
Sociological Imagination
awareness of the relationship between a person's behavior and experience (history and social structure)
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 experiments to support them
Social Solidarity
social ties within a group
Manifest Functions
sought consequences of a social process
Figuration
the process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of individuals and the society that shapes that behavior
Sociology
the study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, of small and personal groups to very large groups
Latent Functions
the unrecognized/unintended consequences of a social process
Antipositivism
the view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they work to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values
Verstehen
to understand in a deep way