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Notes for First Exam - Introduction to Sociology | SOCI 1101, Study notes of Introduction to Sociology

Notes for First Exam Material Type: Notes; Professor: Stevens; Class: Introduction to Sociology; Subject: Sociology; University: Macon State College; Term: Spring 2011;

Typology: Study notes

2010/2011

Uploaded on 02/22/2011

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Sociology Exam 1
Sociology: the scientific study of social behavior and human groups. Broad in scope; it focuses on social
relationships; how those relationships influence people’s behavior; and how societies, the sum total of
those relationships, develop and change
Sociological imagination: C. Wright Mills: awareness of the relationship between an individual and the
wider society. It is based on the ability to view our own society as an outsider might, rather than from
the perspective of our limited experiences and cultural biases.
Sociology is a social science; sociology emphasizes the influence that groups can have on people’s
behavior and attitudes and ways in which people shape society.
Knowledge that relies on common sense is not always reliable. Sociologists must test and analyze each
piece of information they use.
Sociologists employ theories to examine relationships between observations or data that may seem
completely unrelated.
19th Century thinkers;
1. Auguste Comte: French: Founded modern sociology: Knowing is enough
2. Harriet Martineau: English: it is important to understand but you must move forward: helped
found sociology in the US
3. Herbert Spencer: English: once you know it and understand it you can leave it alone and it will
take care of itself
Emile Durkheim: worked on suicide
Max Weber: emphasized the importance of the economy and social conflict
Macrosociology concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations
Microsociology stresses the study of small groups
Functionalist Perspective emphasizes the way in which the parts of society are structured to maintain its
stability.
Conflict Perspective assumes that the social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension
between competing groups.
Interactionist Perspective is concerned primarily with fundamental or everyday forms of interaction,
including symbols and other types of nonverbal communication.
Sociologists use all three perspectives since each offers unique insights into the same issue.
Applied and clinical sociology apply the discipline of sociology to the solution in practical problems in
human behavior and organizations.
Basic sociology is sociological inquiry that seeks only a deeper knowledge of the fundamental aspects of
social phenomena.
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Sociology Exam 1 Sociology: the scientific study of social behavior and human groups. Broad in scope; it focuses on social relationships; how those relationships influence people’s behavior; and how societies, the sum total of those relationships, develop and change Sociological imagination: C. Wright Mills: awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society. It is based on the ability to view our own society as an outsider might, rather than from the perspective of our limited experiences and cultural biases. Sociology is a social science; sociology emphasizes the influence that groups can have on people’s behavior and attitudes and ways in which people shape society. Knowledge that relies on common sense is not always reliable. Sociologists must test and analyze each piece of information they use. Sociologists employ theories to examine relationships between observations or data that may seem completely unrelated. 19 th^ Century thinkers;

  1. Auguste Comte: French: Founded modern sociology: Knowing is enough
  2. Harriet Martineau: English: it is important to understand but you must move forward: helped found sociology in the US
  3. Herbert Spencer: English: once you know it and understand it you can leave it alone and it will take care of itself Emile Durkheim: worked on suicide Max Weber: emphasized the importance of the economy and social conflict Macrosociology concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations Microsociology stresses the study of small groups Functionalist Perspective emphasizes the way in which the parts of society are structured to maintain its stability. Conflict Perspective assumes that the social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups. Interactionist Perspective is concerned primarily with fundamental or everyday forms of interaction, including symbols and other types of nonverbal communication. Sociologists use all three perspectives since each offers unique insights into the same issue. Applied and clinical sociology apply the discipline of sociology to the solution in practical problems in human behavior and organizations. Basic sociology is sociological inquiry that seeks only a deeper knowledge of the fundamental aspects of social phenomena.

Sociological Imagination: theory in practice and research in action; by thinking globally; by focusing on the significance of social inequality; by speaking across race, gender, and religious boundaries and by highlighting social policy around the world. Clinical sociology: the use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of altering social relationships or restructuring social institutions. Anomie: the loss of direction felt in society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective. Conflict perspective: sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups. Dramaturgical approach: view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers. Dysfunction: element or process of a society that may disrupt the social system or reduce its stability. Feminist view: Ida Wells-Barnett: approach that views inequality in gender as central to all behavior and organization. Globalization: worldwide integration of government policies, culture, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas. Ideal type: construct or model for evaluating specific cases. Interactionist Perspective: approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole. Latent function: unconscious or unintended function that may reflect hipped purposes. Manifest function: an open, stated and conscious function Natural Science: study of physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change. Nonverbal communication: sending messages through the use of gestures, facial expressions, and postures. Theory: a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior Chapter 2 Scientific Method: defining the problem, reviewing the literature, formulating the hypothesis, collecting and analyzing the data, and developing the conclusion. Operational definitions: used to study abstract concepts, such as intelligence or prejudice. Hypothesis: states a possible relationship between two or more variables.

Hawthorne effect: unintended influence that observers of experiments can have on their subjects. Mean: a number calculated by adding a series of values and then dividing by the number of values. Median: The midpoint or number that divides a series of values into two groups of equal number of values. Mode: single most common value in a series of scores Operational definition: an explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow a researcher to assess the concept. Qualitative research: relies on what is seen in the field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data Quantitative research: collects and reports data primarily in numerical form. Research design: detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically Chapter 3 Shared culture helps to define the group or society to which we belong George Murdock: List of Cultural Universals; common practices found in every culture, including marriage, sports, cooking, medicine and sexual restrictions. Human culture is constantly expanding through the process of innovation, which includes both discovery and invention Diffusion: the spread of cultural items from one place to another-fostered globalization. But people resist ideas that seem too foreign as well as those they perceive as threatening to their own values and beliefs. Language: important element of culture includes speech, written characters, numerals and symbols as well as gestures and other forms of nonverbal communication. Language both describes culture and shapes it. Sociologists distinguish between norms in two ways: classifying them either as:

  1. Formal norm: norm that has been written down and that specifies strict punishments for violators
  2. Informal norm: norm that is generally understood but not precisely recorded
  3. Mores: norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society
  4. Folkways: norm governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern Dominant Ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests Subculture: thought of as a small culture that exists within a larger, dominant culture Counterculture: subcultures that deliberately oppose aspects of the larger culture

Ethnocentrism: assumption that one’s own culture is better than another Cultural relativism: practice of viewing other people’s behavior from the perspective of their own culture Argot: specialized language used by members of a group or subculture Culture: the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. Culture Lag: a period of maladjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to new material conditions Culture Shock: feeling of surprise and disorientation that people experience when the encounter cultural practices that are different from their own. Diffusion: the process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society Discovery: the process of making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: hypothesis concerning the role of language in shaping our interpretation of reality. It holds that language is culturally determined. Chapter 4 Socialization: the process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate for members of a particular culture: it affects the overall cultural practices of a society; it also shapes the images that we hold of ourselves Heredity and environmental factors interact in influencing the socialization process Charles Horton Cooley: advanced the belief that we learn who we are by interacting with others; the Looking Glass self Erving Goffman: Impression management: trying to convey distinct impressions of who we are to others Anticipatory socialization: processes of socialization in which a person ‘rehearses’ for future positions, occupations, and social relationships Cognitive theory of development: theory that children’s thought progresses through four stages of development Degradation ceremony: humiliating rituals