Chapter 1 Exam 1 Study Guide Sociology A French social thinker named Auguste Comte coined the term Sociology in 1838 to describe a new way of studying society Sociology is a systematic study of human society Based on data not opinion Analysis not prescription Scientific methods crafted to fit social setting Not random assignment Usually surveys administrative records observation Social Structure Individual Behavior Key insights Social structure Individual Behavior Social change History Social Structure Influence of the situation Classic social psychology experiments Milgram Experiments Influence of group autonomy Suicide Why do people kill themselves Individual reasons Social influences Theoretical Perspectives Structural Functionalist Perspective Focuses on howsociety createsand maintains social order Stability and solidarity A framework that sees society as a complex system of many interrelated It is important to consider the function of any issue Society is fairly stable which means that things occur in society for a specific function Suggests society will find a balance point of its own Focuses on social structures and functions parts Manifest functions functions that lead to an unexpected Latent functions functions that lead to an unforeseen or unexpected consequence or outcome consequences Conflict Perspective Focuses on society as an arena of inequality that creates conflict and social change Marked by power struggles and competition for limited resources Society is a system of social inequality in which some categories of people benefit at the expense of others Multiculturalism Race Conflict Feminism and Marxism Focuses on social classes and their drastic differences in wealth power and Upper class controls society s wealth and resources and exploits the lower class Once a group has power they want to keep it so they are likely to create themselves advantages for prestige Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Day to day interactions are central to this theory Interactionists focus on the use of language words and symbols to create and maintain our social reality Concerned with social meanings and definitions We are the products and creators of our social reality Social problems and solutions emerge from definitions Believes the root of society comes from its symbols Society is fluid meaning it is always in the process of change because the and their interpretations change Disputes arise when people do not share the same definitions of symbol symbols we use Sociology A science guided by the basic understanding that the social matters our lives are affected not only by our individual characteristics but by our place in the social world Micro Small scale Macro Large scale Solidarity Refers to the level of connectedness and integration a person feels to others in the environment Social control Refers to the social mechanisms that regulate a persons actions Egoistic suicides Suicides that result from a lack of solidarity occurring among those who have few social connections feel isolated and alone and are more likely to fall into despair Altruistic suicides Suicides that occur when the level of solidarity is exceptionally high and when the individual views the groups interest as superior to all other interests Fatalistic suicides suicides that result from too much social control Anomic suicides suicides that occur as a result of rapid change usually economic Paradigm refers to a theoretical framework through which scientists study the world Social laws statements of fact that are unchanging under given conditions and can be used as ground rules for any kind of society Social statics the existing structural elements of society Social dynamics the changes in the existing structural elements of society Social Darwinism a notion that suggests strong societies survive and weak ones become extinct Mechanical solidarity refers to the state of community bonding in traditional societies in which people share beliefs and values and perform common activities Organic solidarity occurs when people live in a society with a diverse division of labor Functions Social factors that affect people in a society Manifest Latent Burgeoisie refers to members of the capitalist class Proletariat refers to members of the poor working class False consciousness A persons lack of understanding of his or her position in society Class consciousness an understanding of one s position in the class system Self Refers to a person s identity and what makes that person different from others Contagion A rapid irrational mode in which people do not think rationally or clearly Dramaturgy A theory of interaction in which all life is like acting Community learning Occurs when individuals and groups work to identify and address issues of public concern Chapter2 Using the sociological perspective Seeing the general in the particular Patterns How categories shape our lives Explore the power of society to guide our actions thoughts and feelings Exercising a sociological imagination which is the ability to look beyond the individual as the cause for success and failure and see how ones society influences the outcome Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior and human groups Sociology focuses on 1 How social relationships influence individual attitudes and behavior 2 How major social institutions affect individuals 3 How individuals affect social groups and organizations 4 How various social groups interact with and influence one another The first principle of the scientific approach is objectivity Objectivity means that we try to prevent our personal beliefs from impacting our research While objectivity is always the goal it can be difficult in practice The Scientific Method 1 Decide on a topic 2 Review the literature 3 Develop a hypothesis independent variables dependent variables control variables 4 Collect data 5 Analyze results 6 Share results Tools for creating a hypothesis Defining your measures Figuring out the relationship causation or correlation positive negative or spurious correlation Quantitative focused on generalizability Survey research and statistical analysis Qualitative focused on understanding phenomenon Interviewing Experimentation Cross cultural analysis Content analysis Participant observation Historical analysis There are 2 main types of social surveys Cross sectional surveys Done only once Takes a cross section of the population and asks them about particular issues at one point in time
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