Applied Sociology
use of sociology to solve problems/ ranges from micro level to macro level
Common Sense
those things that "everyone knows
Generalization
a statement that goes beyond the individual case and is applied to a broader group or situation
Globalization
the extensive interconnections among nations due to the expansion of capitalism
Macro-level Analysis
an examination of large-scale patterns of society
Micro-level Analysis
an examination of small-scale patterns of society
Science
the application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by those methods
Theory
a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and communicatie with one another
Social location
the group memberships that people have because of their location in history and society
Positivism
the application of the scientific approach to the social world
Conflict Theory
a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources
Society
a group of people who share culture and a territory
Social Facts
patterns of behavior that characterizes a social group
Patterns
recurring characteristics or events
Sociological Perspective
understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context
Functional Analysis/ Structural Functional
a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society's equilibrium
Symbolic Interactionism/ Sociological Perspective
a theoretical purpose 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
Verstehen
A german word that Weber uses to mean: to have insight into someone's situation - empathetic
Sociology
scientific study of society and human behavior
Social Sciences
the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by mena of controlled and repeated observations
Class Conflict
the struggle between capitalists and workers (karl marx: communism)
Bougeoise
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 people feel a part of social groups
Replication
repeating a study in order to test its findings
Basic or Pure Sociology
sociological research whose purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups
Objectivity
total neutrality
Value free
the view that a sociologist's personal values or biases should not influence social research
Values
ideas about what is good or worthwhile in life; attitudes about the way the world ought to be
Subjective meaning
meanings that people give to their own behavior
3 paradigms
symbolic interaction, structural functional, and social conflict (gender and race)
Manifest
obvious, clear, everyone undertands, expected
latent
hidden/ not fully understood
social disfunction
negative
sociological theory
a statement of how and why specific facts are related
paradigm
world view/ determine what makes society happen
social conflict paradigm
a society that creates conflict and change - inequality
gender conflict approach
feminism
symbolic interaction
defines the world through symbols- gives meaning to what we do - develops our view of the world - society is nothing more than reality
structural function
creates stability
3 types of functional analysis
manifest, latent and social disfunction