Ch 1: Studying Social Problems In The 21St Century

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sociology

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the academic discipline that engages in the systematic study of human society and social interactions

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society

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a large number of individuals who share the same geographical territory and are subject to the same political authority and cultural expectations

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culture

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the knowledge, language, values,customs and material objects that are passed from person to person in society

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social problem

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a condition or pattern of behavior that harms individuals or all people in a society and that warrants public concern

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discrimination

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actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of subordinate groups

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hate crime

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a physical attack against a person because of assumptions regarding ethnicity, ancestry, religion, etc.

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sociological imagination

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the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and larger society

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microlevel analysis

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studying small group relations and social interactions among individuals

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macrolevel analysis

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studying social processes occurring at the societal level, especially in large-scale organizations

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"verstehen"

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German term meaning "understanding" or "insight." Critical to analysis of social problems.

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theory

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a set of logically related statements that attempt to describe, explain, or predict social events

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perspective

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an overall approach or viewpoint toward some subject

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functionalist perspective

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states society is a stable system composed of a number of interrelated parts, each of which performs a function that contributes to the overall stability of society

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manifest functions

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intended and recognized consequences of an activity

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latent functions

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unintended consequences of an activity

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dysfunctions

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undesirable consequences of an activity that inhibit a society's ability to adapt

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social disorganization

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the conditions in society that undermine the ability of traditional social institutions to govern human behavior

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values

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collective ideas about what is right or wrong in a specific society

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norms

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established rules of behavior or standards of conduct

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subculture of violence hypothesis

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violence is a part of the normative expectations governing everyday behavior among young males in the lower classes

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lifestyle-routine activity approach

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the patterns and timing of people's daily movements are the keys to understanding crime

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conflict perspective

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based on assumption that groups in society are engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources

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value conflict perspective

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social problems are conditions that are incompatible with group values

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ideal culture

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values and beliefs that people claim they hold

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real culture

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values and beliefs that people actually follow

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critical-conflict perspective

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social problems arise out of the major contradictions inherent in the way societies are organized (ex: prejudice)

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symbolic interactionist perspective

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views society as the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups

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moral entrepreneurs

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peple who use their own views of right and wrong to establish rules and label others as deviant

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social construction of reality

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the process by which people's perception of reality is shaped largely by the subjective meaning that they give to an experience