University of Arkansas Sociology (Professor: Melodie Griffis): Exam 1

Quantitative Analytical Approach

(numerically measurable phenomena) Opinion polls, surveys - e.g., church attendance Based on the goal of "objectivity" "Conventional approach"

Elevator Experiment

- Conformity - Group of people standing the opposite way in an elevator, person often joins them

Social change and development of sociology

- In 18th and 19th Century Europe - Rise of factory-based, industrial economy - Explosive Growth of Cities - New Ideas about democracy, political rights, and individualism

6 Steps in the Research Process

1. Identify a question in need of an answer 2. Conduct literature review 3. Develop an hypothesis about how phenomena relate to one another 4. Identify a method that will enable him or her to answer the research question 5. Collect data 6. Analyze data

Anomie

A condition of instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of purpose or ideals. Normlessness is a state where the expectations of behavior are unclear, and the system has broken down.

Alienation

A condition of workers in a capitalist economy, resulting from a lack of identity with the products of their labor and a sense of being controlled or exploited.

Society

A large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory, and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

Theory

A set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior. Effective theories have explanatory and predictive power. (not a final statement)

When more ice cream is purchased, there are more forest fires. This is an example of __________ a. Correlation b. Causality

A. Correlation

Nonmaterial Culture

Abstract or intangible human creations of society (such as attitudes, beliefs, and values) that influence people's behavior.

Sapir- Whorf Hypothesis

According to this theory, language shapes the view of reality of its speakers. If people are able to think only through language, then language must precede thought. Language can create and reinforce our perceptions about gender (e.g., "Men Working") and race and ethnicity (e.g., "English only legislation").

Cultural Universals

An element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all human cultures worldwide. Ex: Appearances, activities, social institutions, practices

Clinical Sociology

Any use (often client-centered) of the sociological perspective and/or its tools in the understanding of, intervention in, and/or enhancement of human social life.

Informal Norms

Are unwritten standards of behavior understood by people who share a common identity. - When individuals violate informal norms, people may apply informal sanctions.

Formal Norms

Are written down and involve specific punishments for violators. - Laws are the most common type of formal norms.

How did Durkheim see society?

As an organism, with different parts fitting together to create a stable whole.

Common Social Links

Beliefs, values, norms, and traditions.

Harriet Martineau

Believed society would improve when: - women and men were treated equally. - enlightened reform occurred cooperation existed among all social classes. - Translated the writings of Auguste -Comte from French to English. - Documented the evils of slavery. Argued for laws to protect factory workers, defending workers' right to unionize. - She was concerned about women in society and for changes in education policy for women.

Experiments

Carefully designed situation in which researcher studies the impact of certain variables on subject's attitudes or behavior.

Marxist View

Conflict as part of everyday life in all societies Conflict theorists interested in how institutions may help maintain privileges of some groups and keep others subservient

Auguste Comte

Considered the "founder of sociology." - Comte's philosophy became known as positivism— a belief that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry. - Comte believed objective, bias-free knowledge was attainable only through the use of science rather than religion.

Ideal Type

Construct for evaluating specific cases.

Herbert Spencer

Contributed an evolutionary perspective on social order and social change.

Secondary Analysis

Data that has already been collected by someone else.

Research Design

Detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically Surveys - Likert Ethnography Experiments Existing sources - U.S. Census, etc.

W.E.B Du Bois

Double Consciousness White people can simply be "Americans", but African Americans experience an identity conflict inherent in being both Black and American. Pointed out that people in the US espouse values of democracy, freedom and equality, while they accept racism and group discrimination. In 1909, participated in the founding of the NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Always looking at oneself through the eyes of another"

Erving Goffman

Dramaturgical approach: people seen as theatrical performers.

Emile Durkheim

Durkheim related suicide to the issue of cohesiveness in society instead of viewing it as an isolated act that could be understood by studying individual personalities or inherited tendencies.

Probability Sample

Each person or thing has an equal chance of being selected; results can be generalized to the larger population.

Dysfunctions

Elements or processes of society that may disrupt a social system or reduce its stability.

Folkways

Everyday customs that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture. In the United States, folkways include: using deodorant brushing our teeth wearing appropriate clothing for a specific occasion

Random Sampling

Everyone in the sample had the same chance to be picked.

What is a result of large social changes?

Feelings of isolation or meaninglessness.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Focus on small groups and how individuals interact with one another in society Interested in the ways individuals respond to one another in everyday situations Interested also in the symbols (a symbol is anything that represents anything else) that play a part in our daily lives Humans viewed as living in a world of meaningful objects Material things, actions, other people, relationships, symbols

Quantitative Research

Focuses on data that can be measured numerically. Example: comparing rates of suicide

Qualitative Research

Focuses on interpretive description rather than statistics to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships. Example: analyzing contents of suicide notes to look for recurring themes

Conflict Perspective

Focuses on the forces in society that promote competition and change. Particularly interested in the family, racial groups, gender & the relationship between the workers and employers. The basis of social conflict is the competition over scarce resources. When a group obtains those resources they generally protect them through laws, social programs or violence.

Jane Addams

Founded Hull House, one of the most famous settlement houses, in Chicago. One of the authors of a methodology text used by sociologists for the next forty years. Awarded Nobel Prize for assistance to the underprivileged.

Three most widely used ways of viewing society

Functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist.

Qualitative Analytical Approach

Gathers information by using interpretation to get at deeper meanings Words rather than statistics to describe findings "why" versus "how often"

Who coined the phrase, "survival of the fittest" a. Karl Marx b. Emile Durkheim c. Harriet Martineau d. Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer

Validity

How accurate an instrument is at measuring what it is trying to measure.

Nonverbal Communication

Includes gestures, facial expressions, and postures - Manipulation of symbols seen in dress codes

Ethnography

Longer term - from the perspective of the subject Pure observation Face-to-face interviewing Context, artifacts, environment of the subjects and their interactions (netnography - internet)

Three basic parts of symbolic interactionism

Meaning, language, and thought.

Comte's Positivism

Methodological - Scientific knowledge applied to physical and social phenomena Predictive - Using scientific knowledge to predict the likely results of different policies so best could be chosen

Field Research

Observing people in their natural surroundings Includes participant observation "dirty jobs" Snake Church

Manifest Functions

Open, stated, conscious functions; intended and recognized consequences of an aspect of society.

Material Culture

Physical or tangible creations (such as clothing, shelter, and art) that members of a society make, use, and share.

George Herbert Mead

Regarded as founder of interactionist perspective Work encouraged many sociologists to focus more on micro-level societal behavior.

Nonprobability Sample .

Researchers rely on convenience or availability or theoretical perspective.

Microsociology

Small group settings and everyday face-to-face interactions.

Functionalist Perspective

Society is a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a social system. Primarily focuses on the functions of things like family, religion, education and economy To functionalists, society is best compared to the human body - a variety of systems work together to ensure the body's survival

Prescriptive Norms

State what behavior is appropriate or acceptable.

Proscriptive Norms

State what behavior is inappropriate or unacceptable.

Mores

Strongly held norms with moral and ethical connotations that may not be violated without serious consequences

Macrosociology

Study of large scale system of society as a whole.

Modern Society

Suffered from a loss of social cohesion, people were less bound to their society. People felt like they didn't know where they "fit" - this resulted in a dramatic increase in suicide rates.

What are the components of Culture

Symbol: Anything that meaningfully represents something else Language: Symbols that express ideas and enable people to communicate Values: Collective ideas about what is right or wrong and good or bad Norms: Established rules of behavior or standards of conduct

C. Wright Mills' Sociological Imagination

The ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and larger society. Helps us place seemingly personal troubles, such as losing a job or feeling like committing suicide, into a larger social context

Social Darwinism

The belief that the human beings best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out. "Survival of the FIttest"

Reliability

The degree to which an instrument (survey) produces consistent results.

Globalization

The development of economic, political, and social relationships that stretch world-wide.

The Empirical Approach

The empirical approach attempts to answer questions through systematic collection and analysis. This is referred to as the scientific method, and is based on the assumption that knowledge is gained by direct, systematic observation.

Culture

The knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society. Fundamental for the survival of societies. The "essence" of human social interaction.

Bourgeoisie & Proletariat

The owners of the means of production The workers

Sample

The part of the population that is studied.

Urbanization

The process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than rural areas. - The factory system led to a rapid increase in the number of cities and the size of populations. - People from diverse backgrounds began working in the same factory and living in the same neighborhoods. - This led to the development of new social problems: inadequate housing, crowding, unsanitary conditions, poverty, pollution, and crime.

Industrialization

The process by which societies are transformed from dependence on agriculture and handmade products to dependence on manufacturing industries. - First occurred during the Industrial Revolution in Britain between 1760 and 1850. - Resulted in massive economic, technological, and social changes. - People were forced to leave rural communities to seek employment in the emerging cities.

The Industrial Revolution

The shift from traditional to modern society. This reshaped social structure.

Social contagion

The spread of affect or behavior from one crowd participant to another; one person serves as the stimulus for the imitative actions of another.

Theoretical Perspectives

Theoretical perspectives are based on ideas about how social life is organized

Latent Functions

Unconscious or unintended functions; may reflect hidden purposes.

Applied Sociology

Using sociological methods and theories to collect data and communicate findings.

Traditional Society

Very cohesive, people had more opportunities for social connection

Karl Marx

Viewed history as a clash between conflicting ideas and forces. Believed class conflict produced social change and a better society. Combined ideas from philosophy, history, and social science into a new theory.

Ecological Fallacy

When we personalize sociological findings. Group averages do not tell us things about particular people, instead they tell us things about how people in similar social circumstances have similar experiences which lead to similar outcomes.

Critical Thinking Framework

Who What When Where Why

Which research approach collects and reports data primarily in numerical form? a. Quantitative b. Qualitative

a. Quantitative

Likert Scale Survey Example: "Going to College is important" a. Strongly Agree b. Somewhat Agree c. Neutral d. Somewhat Disagree e. Strongly Disagree

a. Strongly Agree

Milgrim Experiment

an experiment devised in 1961 by Stanley Milgrim to see how far ordinary people would go to obey scientific authority figure

Lucy lost her house in 2008. Which statement exhibits the Sociological Imagination? a. Lucy is lazy. b. The Great Recession of 2008 and the collapse of the housing bubble impacted Lucy's ability to make her house payments.

b.

The Theoretical Perspective that views society as groups competing for limited resources: a. Symbolic Interactionist b. Conflict c. Functionalist

b. Conflict

Hazing and binge drinking would be considered __________ of college life. a. Manifest Functions b. Dysfunctions c. Latent Functions

b. Dysfunctions

Which sociologist related suicide to the issue of cohesiveness in society instead of viewing it as an isolated act? a. Ida B. Wells b. Emile Durkheim c. Max Weber d. Karl Marx

b. Emile Durkheim

Choosing research subjects out of convenience is a method of probability sampling. a. True b. False

b. False

If I put a handwashing poster in one bathroom to observe if handwashing increases, the poster is called: a. The Dependent Variable b. The Independent Variable c. The Control Group

b. The Independent Variable

Wright Mills described the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and larger society as: a. Empathy b. The Sociological Imagination c. Projection

b. The Sociological Imagination

The poster in the bathroom was what? a. The dependent variable b. The independent variable c. The extraneous variable

b. The independent variable

The first step in the scientific method is to: a. Write a report b. Literature Review c. Define the Problem d. Collect Data

c. Define the Problem

Hand washing is: a. Extraneous variable b. Independent variable c. Dependent variable

c. Dependent Variable

53% of white women who voted in 2016, voted for Trump. Jane is a white woman, she therefore voted for Trump. This is an example of: a. Data Extrapolation b. Symbolic Interactionism c. Ecological Fallacy

c. Ecological Fallacy

Which Variable is the dependent variable? a. Year b. Number of children c. Life expectancy d. Country

c. Life Expectancy

Who was the control group? a. The people that didn't wash their hands b. The people that washed their hands c. The people in the bathroom without the handwashing sign

c. The people in the bathroom without the handwashing sign

Sociologists study societies and social interactions to develop theories about: a. How behavior is shaped by group life b. How group life is affected by individuals c. Both

c. both

A condition of social instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values or from a lack of shared purpose or ideals. a. Recession b. Exhaustion c. Alienation d. Anomie

d. Anomie

The Asch Experiment

experimented how people would rather conform than state their own individual answer even though they know the group's answer is wrong

Phenomenon

is not a thing in and of itself, but rather it is something that happens within things or to things

Stanford Prison Experiment

study conducted to investigate the effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard and role playing

Verstehen

understanding; insight - viewing the world through the eyes of another