Sociology Quiz 1

What was Malcolm Gladwell's main point(s) regarding Canadian hockey players? Why is his explanation sociological?

-He stated that hockey players born earlier in the year have a systematic, or structural advantage. -society is not taking advantage of all of its potential resources -people are born into success and privilege

Be able to explain in your own words what it means to say that sociology generalizes about groups of people, and does not try to analyze individual-level behavior.

-a generalization cannot be applied to a singular person of the entire majority -sociology looks to the general population and based on that makes a generalization, not a stereotype

techniques for gaining a sociological perspective

-beginner's mind -culture shock -sociological imagination

Understand Durkheim's main point in his famous study Suicide? What makes his explanation a sociological one? Hint - think in terms of sociology generalizing about groups of people.

-protestants had the highest suicide rate, followed by Catholics and Jews. -due to higher levels of SOCIAL INTEGRATION-lower rates among those with strong social ties -interest is in group processes and outcomes, not individual ones

sociologists use...

-scientific methods (science and numbers) -methodology, and -statistics to answer certain sociological questions

reader #2 main idea

If we understand the social context and social life around us, we can begin to better understand ourselves

difference between microsociology and macro sociology

The micro perspective assumes that society's larger structures are shaped through individual interactions, while the macro perspective assumes that society's larger structures shape those individuals' interactions

society

a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from others

a trouble is...

a private matter: values cherished by an individual are felt by them to be threatened

an issue is...

a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened

sociological imagination

a quality of mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces

culture shock

a sense of disorientation that occurs when entering a radically new social or cultural environment

sociological perspective

a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens

beginner's mind

approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way

sociologists must...

clearly define their terminology

the sociological imagination...(definition pt 2)

enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life

the sociological imagination...(definition pt 3)

enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society

sociology looks for how we learn to play prescribed roles in society

individuality in a social context. we act freely, but we did not build the stage we act on

the sociological imagination... (definition pt 4)

is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another

sociology looks at stratification/inequality

opportunities and constraints faced by those in the the minority: -race -class -gender

sociology looks for general patterns in society

seeing the general in the particular. look at group processes

sociology looks at how things change over time

society is a developing entity

a sociologist is...

someone concerned with understanding society in a disciplined way

social sciences

the disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world, in contrast to the natural sciences, which examine the physical world

microsociology

the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and structures of society

macrosociology

the level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals

What does C. Wright Mills mean by a "sociological imagination"?

the relationship between the individual and broader society. broader social context is the core of sociology

sociology

the systematic or scientific study of human behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions.

sociology is a social science, and sociologists should be value free

we try to critically assess "common sense". we should be objective, open-minded sociology is closely related to the other social sciences

reader #1 main idea

what sociologists do and what sociology is, is not understood by everyone, nor is the motivation for being a sociologist