UD SOCI 201 - Chapter 1: Discovering Sociology

Chapter 1: Discovering Sociology Sociology: Systematic and scientific study of human behavior, social groups, and society Sociological Imagination: Quality of mind that provides an understanding of ourselves within the larger context of society Positivism: The use of observation, comparison, experimentation, and the historical method to analyze society Auguste Comte: Coined term sociology Positivism Wrote “Positive Philosophy” Harriet Martineau: Translated Comte’s work Introduced Sociology to England Herbert Spencer: Social Darwinism ”Survival of the fittest” Free and competitive marketplace w/out gov. interference Karl Marx: “Haves” and “have nots” Conflict perspective Emile Durkheim: Concerned with social order Social solidarity (Mechanical:Rural & Organic:Urban) Max Weber: “Ideal Type” concept Value free sociologists Verhesten Ideal Type: conceptual model/typology constructed from the direct observation of a number of specific cases and representing the essential qualities found in those cases Pure Sociology: study of society in effort to understand and explain the natural laws that govern its evolution George H. Mead: Meaningful symbols make society possible Meaningful Symbols: sounds, objects, colors, events that represent something other than themselves and are critical for understanding social interaction. (ex. language) Definition of the Situation: “if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” The LookingGlass Self: self concept relies on how he/she is perceived by other members of society Dramaturgical Analysis: Uses the analogy of theater to analyze social behavior Impression Management: used to communicate favorable impressions Labeling Approach: People attach various labels to certain behaviors, individuals, and groups that become part of their social identity and shape other’s attitudes about them. Structural Functionalist Perspective: views society as a system of interdependent and interrelated parts Balance, harmony, cooperation Manifest Functions: anticipated or intended consequences of social institutions Latent Functions: unintended or unrecognized consequences of social institutions Conflict Perspective: views society as composed of diverse groups with conflicting values and interests competition and conflict Marxian approach: determined by economics and social class Neoconflict Approach: social conflict viewed as necessary/functional social process C. Wright Mills: promoted conflict perspective for analyzing distribution of power in the U.S. ”The Power Elite” Feminist Theory: studies, analyzes, explains, social phenomena from genderfocused perspective Chapter 2: Doing Sociology Methodology: rules and guidelines followed in sociological research Gain knowledge through: experience, tradition, faith, authority, science Inductive Reasoning: specific observations to a general understanding Deductive Reasoning: begins with general, then gets to specifics Conceptual Definition: defining a concept though the use of other concepts Operational Definition: specifies how a concept is measured Validity: extent to which a technique accurately measures Reliability: consistency of measurement Proposition: statement that interrelates two or more variables Exploratory Research: attempts to answer question, “Why?” Descriptive Research: attempts to answer questions, “What? and “How?” Explanatory Research: “What?”, “How?”, and “Why?” Evaluation Research: measures effectiveness of program Secondary Analysis: analysis of existing data Experimental Design: “cause and effect” relationship between variables Intervening Variables: come between independent and dependent variables Hawthorne Effect: subjects’ behavior is influenced by the fact that they are being studied Ethnographic Interview: qualitative technique where the researcher talks with people in an effort to learn as much as possible Triangulation: use of multiple techniques to gather or analyze research data Content Analysis: Research that examines and analyzes communications Symbolic Interactionist: Microlevel approach, meanings people attach to human behavior Ethnographic interviews, participant observations, case studies Functionalist Perspective: Macrolevel Emphasis in manifest/latent functions Conflict Perspective: Macrolevel , quantitative research methods Social diversity, conflict, change, alienation Chapter 3: Culture and Society Glocalization: interdependence of global and local, resulting in unique outcomes in different geographical areas Society: people who live in a specific territory, interact, share culture Sociocultural Evolution: process in which societies grow more complex in terms of technology, social structure, knowledge Pastoral Society: depends on domestic animals Horticultural Society: depends on domesticated crops Agrarian Society: depends on crops, animals, agriculture Sapir Whorf Hypothesis: language of each culture does not merely influence how people understand the world, it shapes perceptions Beliefs: assertions about the nature of reality seen as common “truths” in society Values: shared ideas about what is socially desirable Norms: expectations and rules for proper conduct that guide behavior of members folkways, mores, laws, taboos Folkways: informal rules/expectations that guide people’s behavior table manners, proper appearance, etiquette Mores: salient norms people consider essential to proper working society moral significance (murder, adultery, etc.) Laws: formal rules enacted and enforced by power of state Taboos: prohibitions against behaviors that most members see as unthinkable cannibalism Sanctions: penalties or rewards societies use to punish deviance Enthnocentrism: tendency to evaluate customs of other groups according to one’s own cultural standards Cultural Relativism: asks that we evaluate other cultures based on their standards, not our own Subcultures: groups that share many elements of mainstream culture but maintain distinctive customs, norms, values based on age, gender, wealth, sexual