What is Sociology?
Sociology is one of the social sciences�disciplines that examine the human or social world.
Sociology
the study of society
What does Sociology do?
looks at a broad range of institutions (structures in our society, like education, economics, politics) to better understand social relationships.
Sociologists can use different levels of analysis to explore social relationships
Microsociology
Macrosociology
Microsociology
sociological investigation that stresses the study of small groups, often through experimental means
Macrosociology
Sociological investigation that concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations.
Methodological Approaches
gathering and analyzing data in order to establish certain facts (quantitative & qualitative)
Quantitative Research
translates the social world into numbers which can be studied mathematically
Qualitative Research
Uses non-numerical data like texts, interviews, photos, and recordings to help understand social life
Sociological Imagination
ability to see the connection between the larger world and our personal lives
Who coined the term "Sociological Imagination"?
C. Wright Mills
C. Wright Mills
Class conflict, came up with "social imagination.
Seeing the Strange in the Familiar
what you take for granted and how its familiar to you but realize how strange it is to others
Sociological Perspective
understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context
Looking at life sociologically requires giving up
the familiar in favor of the strange
Culture Shock
a condition of disorientation affecting someone who is suddenly exposed to an unfamiliar culture or way of life or set of attitudes
The Beginner's Mind
is the opposite of an expert's mind. Bernard McGrane says that to explore the social world, it is important that we clear our minds of stereotypes, expectations, and opinions so that we are more receptive to our experiences.
The Beginner's Mind in action
Step back from familiar routines,
Look at your lives with new curiosity
Global Perspective
The study of the larger world and our society's place in it
Global Village
Marshall McLuhan's term about radio and television were creating new kinds of social bonds, bringing people together as if they all belonged to the same small tribe.
Macro Perspective
assumes that society's larger structures shape individuals' interactions.
Micro Perspective
focuses on an individual meanings and interactions that individuals create
Howard Becker's definition of sociology?
Our sense of self derives in part from our membership in society.
The glass escalator effect refers to the
rapid rate of upward mobility for men in female-dominated workplaces.
What factor primarily differentiates the everyday actor from the social analyst?
The social analyst would investigate everyday assumptions to gain a more complete understanding of them.
Why did Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont travel to the United States in 1831?
They wanted to learn about democracy in the United States so that French citizens could learn from America's strengths and weaknesses.
The central feature of postmodern society may be
mass media and popular culture
What are Sociological Theories?
Theories in sociology are propositions that explain the social world and help to make predictions about future events.
Founders of Sociology
August Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emmile Durkheim, and Max Weber
Auguste Comte
1798-1857
French philosopher remembered as the founder of positivism. Saw human history as 3 stages: theological, metaphysical and scientific. Founded "sociology.
Harriet Martineau
1802-1876
A social activist who traveled the United States and wrote about social changes.
Translated Comte's work into English.
Largely discounted because she was a woman.
Herbert Spencer
1820-1903
major contribution to sociology was an evolutionary perspective on social order and social change.
Social Darwinism - the belief that those human beings, best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out.
Emile Durkheim
1858-1917
french sociologist that contributed many important concepts to sociology. his comparison of the suicuide rates of several countries revealed an underlying social factor: people are more likely to commit suicide if their ties to others in their communities
Karl Marx
1818-1883
Wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848) in conjunction with Friedrich Engels -Society split between the bourgeoisie (middle class) and the proletariat (modern working class) -The proletariat would conquer to bourgeoisie in a violent revolution -The proletari
W.E.B. Du Bois
1868-1963
DuBois argued strenuously with Booker T. Washington regarding the best way for African-Americans to progress. Du Bois urged blacks to fight segregation and win political rights, not accept defeat and concentrate on economic improvement, as Washington advo
Jane Addams
1869-1935
...
3 major theoretical paradigms
-Structural Functionalism
-Social Conflict
-Symbolic Interactionism
Structural Functionalism
sees society as structure made out of pieces that function for the good of society
Social Conflict
the struggle between segments of society over valued resources
Symbolic Interactionism
approach that focuses on the interactions among people based on mutually understood symbols
Robert K. Merton
1910-2003
Pointed out that any social structure probably has many functions
-Manifest Functions
-Latent Functions
-Social Dysfunction
Manifest Functions
the intended beneficial consequences of people's actions
Latent Functions
the unintended beneficial consequences of people's actions
Social Dysfunction
any social pattern that may disrupt operation of society
Feminist Theory
Looks at gender inequalities in society and the way that gender structures the social world, and considers remedies to these inequalities.
Queer Theory
-Proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs
-Seeks to illuminate heterosexist bias in society
Postmodernist Theory
-Suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly changing.
-Critical of "grand narratives
An abstract proposition that both explains the social world and makes predictions about future events
theory
Who first applied a theory of evolution and "survival of the fittest" to societies?
Herbert Spencer
According to Durkheim, people in a modern car factory, where each worker is responsible for building a different part of the car, would experience:
organic solidarity
Is a paradigm that emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change?
Conflict Theory
Is a paradigm that sees meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created?
Symbolic Interactionism
What theory proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs and that no sexual category is fundamentally either deviant or normal?
Queer Theory
A symbolic interactionist analysis of education might focus on
he meanings that a teacher attaches to the various behaviors of students
Max Weber's most overriding concern was with the process of
rationalization
Anything that can be used to create more wealth, such as money and property, is referred to as
the means of production
Is true about the work of Emile Durkheim?
He suggested that mechanical solidarity created the social bonds that held agrarian societies together.
Symbolic Interactionism is derived from the teachings of
George Herbert Meade
The theoretical offshoot of Symbolic Interactionism that uses the metaphor of the theater to understand how individuals present themselves to others is called
dramaturgy
Who first attempted to apply the scientific method to the study of society?
Auguste Comte
According to Postmodern Theory, society is:
diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux
Teaching students to read and write would be an example of a __________ function of education.
manifest
According to Karl Marx, _______ is the source of all social change.
conflict
One of his greatest contributions to understanding human behavior was connecting the unconscious mind (psychology) to social behaviors.
Sigmund Freud
Keeping children busy for 8 hours a day and out of trouble would be an example of a __________ function of education.
latent
Class Consciousness
Karl Marx's term that refers to the recognition by people in a similar economic situation of a common interest.
the maintenance of cultural patterns
is a social structures might fulfill according to Talcott Parsons
The ideal of objectivity
An unattainable but theoretically conceivable condition of unbias
Max Weber coined the phrase
value-free sociology
The Scientific Method
a process used by scientist to investigate questions. It is a series of steps that allow scientist to meaningful experiments in an organized way.
Correlations
reliable associations between two or more events.
Causations
a relationship where one variable causes another variable to change
Spurious Correlations
a relationship that seems to appear between two variables, but is actually caused by something that external, or intervening variable.
Methods
the specific ways that scholars collect and analyze data which they then use to prove or disprove their theories
Quantitative Research
research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form
Qualitative Research
research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data
ethnography
a detailed description of a particular culture primarily based on fieldwork
Field Notes
Notes that describe what has been observed, heard, or otherwise experienced in a participant observation study. These notes usually are written after the observational session
participant observation
a research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities
Interviews
Face-to-face or telephone conversations between an interviewer and a respondent in which the interviewer asks questions and records the respondent's answers.
Surveys
Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.
Examines large-scale social patterns and employs statistics and other mathematical means of analysis.
Survey
Experiments
the use of control and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation
experimental group
the group that receives the treatment
control group
the group that does not receive the experimental treatment.
Existing Sources
Any data that have already been collected and are available for future research.
Objectivity
treating facts without influence from personal feelings or prejudices
Reactivity
responsive to stimulation
The Hawthorne Effect
a phenomenon whereby research subjects alter their behavior when they learn they are being observed
code of ethics
the standards of acceptable behavior developed by and for members of a profession
A sample taken so that the findings can be generalized to the whole population is called a
representative sample
Ethnographies make it difficult to study groups that are often overlooked by other methods.
...
Likert scale
scale that uses numbers (5 strongly agree, 4 agree...)
Survey research is
one of the best methods for gathering a vast amount of original data on a large population.
one of the basic goals for sociologists conducting an experiment?
attempt to control for all possible variables except the one under investigation.
The entire group about which a researcher would like to be able to generalize is a
target population
open-ended question
a question that does not require a specific response and allows the individual to elaborate freely on a subject
close-ended question
a question designed to elicit a small range of specific answers supplied by the interviewer- "yes" or "no
Culture
the way of life of a group of people
Culture Guides
What is acceptable behavior for people in a specific group.
Culture is learned.
For something to be considered cultural, it must be learned as well as shared. We acquire most of our information through spoken language.
Culture ensures
our survival as a species
Material Culture
the concrete, tangible objects of a culture
Symbolic Culture
word, gesture, music, language
Can language shape not only our communication but our perceptions of how we see things as well?
...
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
a theory claiming that language influences perception
Values
the beliefs and principles that guide the way a person lives
Norms
rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior
Folkways
norms that are not strictly enforced
Mores
accepted standards and customs of a social group
Taboos
Culturally forbidden behaviors
Sanctions
rewards or punishments used to enforce conformity to norms
Ethnocentrism
belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group
Cultural Relativism
the practice of judging a culture by its own standards
Culture Shock
personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life
Multiculturalism
view of cultural diversity as valuable and worth maintaining
dominant culture
The attitudes, values, beliefs and customs that the majority of people in a society hold in common
subculture
cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society's population
counterculture
cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society
Popular Culture
culture traits that are well known and widely accepted
High Culture
cultural patterns that distinguish a society's elite
Cultural Change
a major shift in the norms, values, attitudes, and mindset of the entire organization.
Cultural Diffusion
the spread of cultural elements from one society to another
Cultural Leveling
the process by which cultures become similar to one another
Cultural Imperialism
the dominance of one culture over another
Global Culture
A culture in which people around the world are united through their common devotion to brand name consumer goods, movie stars, celebrities, and leisure activities.
polysemy
Having many possible meanings or interpretations.
The spread of McDonald's restaurants throughout Asia is an example of
cultural diffusion.
When Marshall McLuhan asserted that "the medium is the message," he was arguing that:
the changing forms of media dispersion (e.g., TV, radio, the Internet) are as important for cultural change as the content of the media.
social control
attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior
The idea that language structures thought, and that ways of looking at the world are embedded in language is called
the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis