Sociology Test #1

Give an example identifying independent and dependent variables.

"Protestants are more likely than Catholics to vote Democrat;" the independent variable is religion; the dependent variable is the likelihood of voting Democrat

What are the contributions of Cooley to our understanding of socialization?

"The Looking-Glass Self;" said that we imaginatively assume the stance of other people and view ourselves as we believe they see us; 1. we imagine how we appear to others, 2. we imagine how others judge our appearance, 3. we have an emotional reaction; said that people transform themselves and their worlds as they engage in social interaction

What are the steps of the research process?

1. Select a Topic (What do I want to know more about?) 2. Define the "Problem" (What is the purpose of this study?) 3. Review Previous Research/Literature (What studies have already been done?) 4. Develop a Hypothesis or Several Hypotheses (What types of questions need to be answered? What are the independent and dependent variables?) 5. Determine the Research Design (What research method should be used?) 6. Define the Sample and Collect Data (Is there a specific group I'm interested in studying?) 7. Analyze Results and Draw Conclusions (What statistical techniques will be used?) 8. Prepare the Research Report (Who is the audience/reader?)

What are the main factors that contributed to the rise of sociology?

1. Social upheaval in Europe (Revolutions, Industrial Revolution, etc.) 2. Expansion of Imperialism (ex: people from London go to Africa and the way they live is different from us...different social order) 3. Success of Natural Sciences

How does social class influence the way that a child is socialized?

A child from the working class is more prone to be taught obedience, rule following, and conformity so that they can get and keep a steady job, while a child from the middle class is usually taught creativity, self-expression, and self-control because they have less of a worry about financial income.

What is a society?

A group of people who share a culture and a territory (ex: we like milk, but a tribal culture could drink warm camel blood)

What is non-material culture?

A group's way of thinking and doing (ex: religion, traditions, language, values, hobbies)

What are "total institutions" and why are they so effective?

A place where people are isolated from the outside world and are almost totally controlled by others (ex: military basic training, boarding school, prison); 1. isolation from outside world (ex: "airport" CNN), 2. spending all of one's time in the same place with the same people, 3. giving up clothes/possessions for uniforms (ex: equalizers), 4. clean break with the past--little or no contact with friends and relatives, 5. loss of freedom of action

What is a sample and why do we use them?

A subset of the population; they save time, money, and resources; you use a small group to generalize a larger population

What is language?

A system of symbols with standard meanings (ex: Nova as supernova or "no go;" "phoque")

What is a hypothesis?

A testable statement about the expected relationship between 2 or more variables

What is culture?

All that humans learn to do, to use, to produce, to know, and to believe as they live in a social group

What is material culture?

All the objects people make and/or use that distinguish a group of people (ex: clothes, car, money, books, heirlooms)

What is "sociological perspective"?

An approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context (ex of Hernando Washington and McIntyre's students cheating on a paper)

What is mean by "social science"?

An attempt to objectively understand the social world

What is a teleology and why has functionalism been criticized as a "teleological" argument?

An circular argument; 1. Why does crime exist? 2. It is functional-it plays a role. 3. How do we know it is functional? 4. Because it exists.

Who was Emile Durkheim and what did he contribute to sociology?

Believed people to be the product of their social environment and did the first sociological study; studied social integration and suicide and published "Suicide"

Who was Herbert Spencer and what did he contribute to sociology?

Compares society to organisms and incorporates the idea of Social Darwinism; claims that societies and organisms share three similarities...1. growth in size, 2. increasing complexity of structure, 3. differentiation in function; published the "Principles of Sociology"

What is micro-level analysis?

Concerned with small-scale patterns of social interaction in specific settings (ex: seeing the tree instead of the forest)

What is macro-level analysis?

Concerned with the large-scale patterns that characterize society as a whole (ex: functionalism and conflict theory; seeing the forest instead of one tree)

What are latent functions?

Consequences that are unrecognized and/or unintended (at least initially); (ex: school is cheaper than day care was and comes with nutritional food and medical care)

Who was August Comte and what did he contribute to sociology?

Considered to be the Founder of Sociology; used the Greek word "socius," together, and "logos," study, to create "sociologie;" studied social statics and dynamics

Who was Karl Marx and what did he contribute to sociology?

Contributed to Conflict Theory and discussed class conflict or struggle

Who was Harriet Martineau and what did she contribute to sociology?

Dangerous for her as a woman sociologist; translated the works of Comte into English; published "Society in America" and wrote "How to Observe Manners and Morals;" studied how moral values of American teens influenced institutional arrangements and fought for women's rights

What is "culture shock?"

Disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a very different culture

What are some agents/agencies of socialization?

Examples: the family, religion, schools, peers, mass media, and the workplace

What are norms?

Expectations or "rules" of social behavior (ex: a good student does their homework, takes notes, studies, etc.)

What are the contributions of Erving Goffman to our understanding of socialization?

Explored the difference of socialization across the life course; viewed socialization as similar to a performance on a theatre stage (dramaturgical approach); explored impression management as the process whereby we present ourselves to others in ways that will lead them to view us in a favorable light

What is resocialization?

Exposure to ideas or values that somehow conflict with what was learned in childhood (ex: in marriage...what way the toilet paper should face, brands of food, etc.); voluntary resocialization (ex: Jenny Craig), involuntary resocialization (ex: rehab, military draft)

What are sanctions and what are the different types and examples of sanctions?

Expressions of approval or disapproval given to people for upholding or violating norms (ex: positive-informal...smiles, pat on the back...positive-formal...awards, ceremonies...negative-informal...avoidance, evil looks...negative-formal...arrest, lawsuit)

Who was W.E.B. DuBois and what did he contribute to sociology?

First African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard, published more than 2,000 works; published "The Philadelphia Negro" that talked about how some black people became successful, but then moved away from their neighborhoods; NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Who was Jane Addams and what did she contribute to sociology?

Focused on "social justice" and founded Hull House for the marginalized; co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

What are public issues?

Go beyond the lives of individuals-these occur at the societal level and often have nothing to do with individual shortcomings (ex: a public issue of divorce would be if the state does not allow it, a public issue of cancer would be that there is no research funding; Rob is a great employee of Target, but is fired because of the economy)

What are gestures?

Non-verbal ways people use their bodies to communicate with each other (ex: "peace," middle finger)

What are folkways?

Norms that are not strictly enforced (ex: walking on the right side of the sidewalk)

What is taboo?

Norms that are so strong that it brings revulsion if it is violated (ex: cannibalism)

What are mores?

Norms that are strictly enforced because they are thought to be essential to maintaining values (ex: don't go out naked in public)

What are personal troubles?

Private matters involving individuals' personal characteristics (ex: a personal trouble of divorce would be if your spouse cheats on you are abuses you, a personal trouble from smoking could be cancer; Fred at Target who is an awful employee

What is an empirical question? Give an example.

Questions that can be answered by observing the world (ex: What are the most popular foods to eat in the cafeteria at lunch time?)

What are the contributions of Mead to our understanding of socialization?

Says that we act as both object and subject when viewing ourselves..."I" and "me" and explores three stages of development: 1. "play" stage when a child takes on the role of someone else, 2. "game" stage when a child assumes many roles, 3. "generalized other" stage when a child can incorporate the community into his or her perceptions

What is conflict theory and what are its criticisms?

Sees society as constantly changing in response to social inequality and social conflict; criticisms: 1. fails to address social stability, 2. too ideological; not enough research evidence

What is a variable?

Something that can change or be different from case to case

What are symbols?

Something to which people attach meaning and then use to communicate with each other (ex: a heart, peace sign, pie, "cat," the Nike symbol)

What are values?

Standards by which groups define attributes as good or bad (ex: tan, tall, muscular)

Who are the "Nacirema"?

The "Nacirema" are defined in McIntyre as a tribe of people living between Canada and Mexico who have bizarre ritual patterns that are centered around the belief that their bodies are ugly and how "sadistic witches" teach them ways to better their bodies and purify themselves. "Nacirema" is American backward and looks at our own culture from a different perspective.

What is meant by "science" and what are its goals?

The application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge; explain, generalize, predict

What is positivism?

The application of the scientific approach to the social world

What was the article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" about?

The article explained the strange rituals of the Nacirema, such as women "baking their heads and faces" and people sticking needles into other people. It was looking at our own culture from a different standpoint and showing how biased we can be about our own practices.

What is reliability?

The extent to which a study can be reproduced and come up with consistent results (ex: determining a student's grade by his or her shoe size...reliable...same shoe size)

What is validity?

The extent to which one's study actually tests what it was designed to test (ex: using the equation 2+4 to determine if one is ready for Calculus...not valid)

What is primary socialization?

The mastery of basic information and skills required of members of a society

What is adult socialization?

The process by which adults learn new roles and statuses; adults are more aware of the processes through which they're being socialized and often have more control over how they wish to be socialized

What is socialization?

The process by which people learn the characteristics of their group

What is anticipatory socialization?

The process in which people think about, experiment with, and try on the behaviors associated with a new role

What are manifest functions?

The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern (ex: get an education to socialize and get a job)

What is "sociological imagination"?

The relationship between individual experiences and forces in the larger society that shape our actions (coined by C. Wright Mills in 1959)

What is sociology?

The scientific study of human societies and social interactions

What is ethnocentrism?

The use of one's own culture as a yardstick for judging the practices of another culture

True or False: Nothing about culture is inherently "correct" or "normal."

True

What is cultural relativism?

Understanding people by the standards of their own culture

Who was Max Weber and what did he contribute to sociology?

Used the term "Verstehen," "to understand," and said that sociologists should use "sympathetic understanding" and place themselves in the shoes of others

What is functionalism and what are its criticisms?

Views society as a system of highly interrelated parts that operate together harmoniously; criticisms: 1. difficult to account for change, 2. conservative bias (ex: they maintain the status quo by saying that even crime and poverty has a purpose, to provide jobs, etc.), 3. Teleological Argument

What is the "Sapir-Whorf"/linguistic relativity hypothesis?

We know/understand the world only in terms of our language (ex: eskimos have more words for snow and we have more words for blue and green than yellow and orange)

What is symbolic interactionism and what are its criticisms?

focuses on how individuals interpret the social world in which they participate; criticisms: 1. fails to account for larger elements of society; too much focus on the individual

What are the contributions of Erikson to our understanding of socialization?

says that the main task of adolescents in Western societies is to build and confirm a reasonably stable identity, that development of self so important to socialization; believed in the transition over the life course; said adolescents move from the family being the center of their world, to understanding other relationships; developed eight stages of development (infancy, early childhood, fourth to fifth year, sixth year to onset of puberty, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood, old age