Sociological, Perspective
Understanding Human Behavior, by placing it within its broader, social context
Society
People who share a culture, and territory
Social location
the group membership, that people have, because of their location in history, and society.
The society in which we grow up, determines what we do, and how we think
Science
systematic methods to study the social, and natural worlds, and the knowledge obtained by those methods.
sociology
The study of society, and human behavior
natural sciences
the intellectual and academic disciplines, that are designed to explain, and predict the events in our natural environment.
social sciences
Social sciences, Examines Human Relationships.
Social sciences, attempts to understand, the social world.
Specialized Social Science Fields are, Anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology.
Generalization
a statement, that goes beyond the individual case, and is applied to a broader group, or situation
Common Sense
those things, that everyone knows are true
Scientific Method
using objective, systematic observations, to test theories
Positivism
the application, of the scientific approach, to the social world
Sociology
the scientific study society, and human behavior
Class Conflict
Marx's term for the struggle between capitalists, and workers
Bourgeoisie
Marx's term for capitalists, those who own the means of production
Proletariat
Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of workers, who do not own the means of production.
Social integration
the degree to which members of a group, or a society, feel united by shared values, and other social bonds, also known as social cohesion.
Value Free
the view that a sociologist's personal values, or biases, shold not influence social research
Values
The standards by which people define what is, desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
Objectivity
total neutrality
Replication
repeating a study in order to test its findings
Verstehen
A german word used by weber, that is perhaps best understood as, "to have insight into someone's situation
Subjective Meanings
the meanings that people give their own behavior
Social Facts
Durkheim's term, for a group's patterns of behavior
Basic or Pure Sociology
Sociological research, whose purpose is to make discoveries, about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups.
Applied Sociology
The Use of socilogy to solve problems, from the Micro level of family relationships, to the Macro level of crime and pollution
Theory
a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together, and how they work;
an explanation of how two or more facts, are related to one another
Symbolic Interactionism
A theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another.
Functioal Analysis
A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each witha function that, when fulfilled, contributes t society's equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structuaral functionalism.
Conflict Theory
A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources.
Macro Level Analysis
An examination of large scale patterns of society
Micro Level Analysis
An examination of small scale patterns of society
Social Interaction
What people do when they are in one another's presence.
Nonverbal Interaction
Communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on.
Globalization
The Growing interconnections among nations due to the expansion of capitalism
globalization Of Capitalism
It is Capitalism, which is investing to make profits within a rational system, becoming the globe's dominant, economic system.