Intro To Sociology Clep Prep

Front 1

sociology

Back 1

the systematic study of human behavior in social context

Front 2

Emile Durkheim

Back 2

French sociologist, proved suicide statistics correlate with social trends and forces. Coined the term 'social solidarity'

Front 3

Social Solidarity

Back 3

the degree to which group members share beliefs and values and the intensity and frequency of their interactions

Front 4

Altruistic Suicide

Back 4

Durkheim's term for suicide that occurs in high-solidarity settings, where norms tightly govern behavior. Suicide in the group interest.

Front 5

Egotistic Suicide

Back 5

Durkheim's term for a type of suicide that occurs in low-solidarity settings. Results from a lack of integration of the individual into society because of weak social ties to others

Front 6

Anomic Suicide

Back 6

Durkheim's term for a type of suicide that occurs in low-solidarity settings where norms governing behavior are vaguely defined.

Front 7

social structures

Back 7

stable patterns of social relations

Front 8

Sociological Imagination

Back 8

the quality of mind that enables one to see the connection between personal troubles and social structures

Front 9

C. Wright Mills

Back 9

American Sociologist who laid the foundations for modern conflict theory in the U.S. Coined the term "social imagination" and wrote The Power Elite

Front 10

Microstructures

Back 10

Patterns of social relations formed during face to face interactions. Families, friends, and work associates are all examples.

Front 11

Macrostructures

Back 11

Overarching patterns of social relations that lie outside and above one's circle of intimates and acquaintances. Includes classes, power systems such as the patriarchy.

Front 12

Patriarchy

Back 12

the traditional system of economic and political inequality between women and men

Front 13

Global Structures

Back 13

Patterns of social relations that lie outside and above the national level. Includes international organizations, patterns of worldwide travel and communication, and the economic relations between and among countries

Front 14

Democratic Revolution

Back 14

~1750. The movement suggested that people are responsible for organizing society and that human intervention can therefore solve social problems (not a deity). Called for improvement of welfare and reaching goals.

Front 15

Scientific Revolution

Back 15

~1550. The movement encouraged that conclusions about society be based in evidence, not speculation. Linked with Newton's Laws and Copernicus's theory.

Front 16

Industrial Revolution

Back 16

~1780. The rapid economic transformation that began in Britain that involved large-scale application of science and technology to industrial processes, the creation of factories, and the formation of a working class. Created a host of new social problems.

Front 17

Functionalist Theory

Back 17

Stresses that human behavior is governed by relatively stable social structures. It underlines how social structures maintain or undermine social stability. It emphasizes that social structures are based mainly on shared values or preferences, and it suggests that reestablishing equilibrium can best solve most social problems.

Front 18

Talcott Parsons

Back 18

American proponent of Functionalism. Known for identifying how various institutions must work to ensure the smooth operation of society as a whole (family, military, schools, churches)

Front 19

Robert Merton

Back 19

Leading Functionalist in the U.S. Proposed that social structures may have different consequences for different groups

Front 20

Dysfunctions

Back 20

effects of social structures that create social instability

Front 21

Manifest functions

Back 21

visible and intended effects of social structures

Front 22

latent functions

Back 22

invisible and unintended effects of social structures

Front 23

Conflict Theory

Back 23

Generally focused on large, macro-level structures such as the relations between or among classes. Shows how major patterns of inequality in society produce social stability and change. Members of privileged groups attempt to maintain power while subordinate groups struggle to increase theirs.

Front 24

Karl Marx

Back 24

German Sociologist who is credited with originating the idea of Conflict Theory. His major work is titled Capitol and argues that capitalism would create so much class misery that they would eventually take state power and create a classless society.

Front 25

Max Weber

Back 25

German Sociologist who showed that class conflict is not the only driving force of history (found flaws in Marx's plan). Encouraged the Protestant ethic.

Front 26

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois

Back 26

African-American Sociologist. An advocate for conflict theory in the U.S, he wrote The Philadelphia Negro to show that poverty and other social problems faced by African Americans were not due to some "natural" inferiority but to white prejudice

Front 27

class consciousness

Back 27

awareness of being a member of a class

Front 28

Protestant ethic

Back 28

16th/17th century belief that religious doubts could be reduced and a state of grace assured if people worked diligently and lived ascetically. This movement has the unintended effect of increasing savings and investment and thus stimulating capitalist growth

Front 29

George Herbert Mead

Back 29

American Sociologist who was the driving force behind the study of how the individual's sense of self is formed in the course of interaction with other people which gave birth to the Symbolic Interactionist Theory

Front 30

Symbolic Interactionist Theory

Back 30

Focuses on the interpersonal communication in micro-level social settings, emphasizing that an adequate explanation of social behavior requires understanding the subjective meanings people attach to their social circumstances. It stresses that people help create their social circumstances and do not merely react to them.

Front 31

Harriet Martinaeu

Back 31

The first female sociologist. She translated Comte into English and conducted studies on research methods, slavery, factory laws, and gender inequality and was a leading advocate for women's suffrage. Considered one of the first feminists.

Front 32

social constructionists

Back 32

Sociologists who argue that apparently natural or innate features of life are often sustained by social processes that vary historically and culturally

Front 33

Feminist Theory

Back 33

Claims that patriarchy is at least as important as class inequality in determining a person's opportunities in life. Claims that male domination is determined by structures of power, not biology, and examines the patriarchy in micro and marco level structures to identify gender inequality

Front 34

research

Back 34

the process of systemically observing reality to access the validity of a theory

Front 35

experiment

Back 35

a carefully controlled artificial situation that allows researchers to isolate hypothetical causes and measure their effects precisely

Front 36

randomization

Back 36

In an experiment, this involves assigning individuals to experimental and control groups by chance processes

Front 37

Dependent variable

Back 37

the presumed effect in a cause-and-effect relationship

Front 38

experimental group

Back 38

the part of an experiment that is exposed to the independent variable

Front 39

control group

Back 39

the part of an experiment that is not exposed to the independent variable

Front 40

independent variable

Back 40

the presumed cause in a cause-and-effect relationship

Front 41

reliability

Back 41

the degree to which a measurement procedure yields consistent results

Front 42

validity

Back 42

the degree to which a measure actually measures what it is intended to measure

Front 43

survey

Back 43

asks people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, or behavior either in a face-to-face, telephone interview, or paper and pencil format

Front 44

sample

Back 44

part of the population of research interest that is selected for analysis

Front 45

probability frame

Back 45

sample in which units have a known and nonzero chance of being selected

Front 46

sampling frame

Back 46

a list of all the people (or other social units, such as organizations) in the population of interest to a researcher

Front 47

respondents

Back 47

people who answer survey questions

Front 48

association

Back 48

exists between two variables if the value of one variable changes with the variable of the other

Front 49

close-ended question

Back 49

in a survey, this is a type of question that provides the respondent with a list of permitted answers. Each answer is given a numerical code so that the data can later be easily input into a computer for statistical analysis

Front 50

open-ended question

Back 50

a type of survey question that allows respondents to answer in their own words

Front 51

field research

Back 51

research based on the observation of people in their natural settings

Front 52

detached observation

Back 52

a type of field research that involves classifying and counting the behavior of interest according to a predetermined scheme

Front 53

reactivity

Back 53

the tendency of people who are observed by a researcher to react to the presence of the researcher by concealing certain things of acting artificially to impress the researcher

Front 54

participant observation

Back 54

a type of field research that involves carefully observing people's face-to-face interactions and participating in their lives over a long period, thus achieving a deep and sympathetic understanding of what motivates them to act in the way they do

Front 55

analysis of existing documents and official statistics

Back 55

a non-reactive research method that involves the analysis of diaries, newspapers, published historical works, and statistics produced by government agencies, all of which are created by people other than the researcher for purposes other than sociological research

Front 56

Postindustrial Revolution

Back 56

the technology-driven shift from manufacturing to service industries and the consequences of that shift for virtually all human activities

Front 57

Globalization

Back 57

the process by which formerly separate economies, states, and cultures are being tied together and people are becoming increasingly aware of their growing interdependence

Front 58

public policy

Back 58

involves the creation of laws and regulations by organizations and governments

Front 59

Culture

Back 59

the sum of the practices, languages, symbols, beliefs, values, ideologies, and material objects that people create to deal with real-life problems. Enables people to adapt to and thrive in their environments

Front 60

high culture

Back 60

consumed mainly by the upper-class

Front 61

popular (mass) culture

Back 61

consumed by all classes

Front 62

society

Back 62

people who interact, usually in a defined territory and share a culture

Front 63

abstraction

Back 63

the human capacity to create general ideas or ways of thinking that are not linked to particular instances

Front 64

Symbol

Back 64

ideas that carry a particular meaning, including the components of language, mathematical notations, and signs

Front 65

Cooperation

Back 65

the human capacity to create a complex social life

Front 66

norms

Back 66

generally accepted ways of doing things

Front 67

values

Back 67

ideas about what is right and what is wrong, good and bad, beautiful and ugly

Front 68

production

Back 68

the human capacity to make and use useful tools that improve our ability to take what we want from nature

Front 69

material culture

Back 69

Composed of the tools and objects that enable people to get tasks accomplished

Front 70

non-material culture

Back 70

composed of symbols, norms, and other non-tangible elements of social life

Front 71

folkways

Back 71

a relatively unimportant norm that many people prefer to uphold. The violation of this norm evokes mild punishment

Front 72

more

Back 72

a core norm that most people believe must be upheld. The violation of this norm evokes moderately harsh punishment

Front 73

taboos

Back 73

the strongest and most central norms. When someone violates this norm, it causes revulsion in the community and punishment is severe

Front 74

language

Back 74

a system of symbols strung together to communicate thought

Front 75

Sapir-Whorf Thesis

Back 75

Hold that we experience certain things in our environment and form concepts about those things. We then develop language to express our concepts. Finally, language itself influences how we see the world

Front 76

Ethocentrism

Back 76

The tendency to judge other cultures exclusively by the standards of one's own

Front 77

Multiculturalism

Back 77

the view that the curricula of America's public schools and colleges should reflect the country's ethnic and racial diversity and recognize the equality of all cultures

Front 78

Cultural relativism

Back 78

the belief that all cultures have equal value

Front 79

Rights Revolution

Back 79

the process b which socially excluded groups have struggled to win equal rights under the law and in practice since the 1960's

Front 80

Rites of passage

Back 80

Culture ceremonies that mark the transition from one stage of life to another

Front 81

Postmodernism

Back 81

a style of thought characterized b an eclectic mixing of cultural elements and the erosion of authority and of consensus around some core values

Front 82

cultural lag

Back 82

the tendency of symbolic culture to change more slowly than material culture

Front 83

Rationalization

Back 83

The application of the most efficient means to achieve given goals and the unintended, negative consequences of doing so

Front 84

Consumerism

Back 84

the tendency to define oneself in terms of the goods one purchases

Front 85

subculture

Back 85

a set of distinctive values, norms, and practices within a larger culture

Front 86

Countercultures

Back 86

subversive subcultures. They oppose dominant values and seek to replace them.

Front 87

Socialization

Back 87

the process by which people learn their culture. The do so by entering and disengaging from a succession of roles and becoming aware of themselves s they interact with others

Front 88

role

Back 88

the behavior expected of a person occupying a particular position in society

Front 89

self

Back 89

consists of one's ideas and attitudes about who one is

Front 90

Id

Back 90

According to Freud, the part of the self that demands immediate gratification

Front 91

Superego

Back 91

According to Freud, the part of the self that acts as a repository of cultural standards

Front 92

Ego

Back 92

According to Freud, a psychological mechanism that balances he conflicting needs of that pleasure-seeking Id and the restraining Superego

Front 93

Unconscious

Back 93

According to Freud, the part of the self that contains repressed memories that we are not normally aware of

Front 94

Looking-glass self

Back 94

Cooley's description of the way our feelings about who we are depend largely on how we see ourselves evaluated by others

Front 95

I

Back 95

According to Mead, the subjective and impulsive aspect of the self that is present at birth

Front 96

Me

Back 96

According to Mead, the objective component of the self that emerges as people communicate symbolically and learn to take the role of the other

Front 97

Significant others

Back 97

People who play an important role in the early socialization experience of children

Front 98

Generalized other

Back 98

according to Mead, a person's image of cultural standards and how they apply to him or her

Front 99

Primary socialization

Back 99

the process of acquiring the basic skills needed to function in society during childhood. This usually takes place in a family

Front 100

Secondary socialization

Back 100

socialization that takes place outside the family after childhood

Front 101

hidden curriculum

Back 101

instruction is what will be expected of students as conventionally good citizens once they leave school

Front 102

self-fulfilling prophecy

Back 102

an expectation that helps bring about the result that it predicts

Front 103

Thomas theorem

Back 103

states that "situations we define as real become real in their consequences"

Front 104

peer group

Back 104

a group composed of people who are about the same age and of similar status. This group acts as an agent of socialization

Front 105

status

Back 105

a recognized social position that an individual can occupy

Front 106

self-socialization

Back 106

involves choosing socialization influences from the wide variety of mass media offerings

Front 107

gender roles

Back 107

the set of behaviors associated with widely shared expectations about how males and females are supposed to act

Front 108

resocialization

Back 108

occurs when powerful socializing agents deliberately cause rapid change in one's values, roles, self-conception, sometimes against one's will

Front 109

initiation role

Back 109

a ritual that signifies the transition of the individual from one group to another and ensures his or her loyalty to the new group

Front 110

total institutions

Back 110

settings where people are isolated from the larger society and under the strict control and constant supervision of a specialized staff

Front 111

anticipatory socialization

Back 111

involves beginning to take on the norms and behaviors of a role to which one aspires but does not yet occupy

Front 112

virtual community

Back 112

as association of people, scattered across the country, continent, or planet, who communicate via computer and modem about a subject of common interest

Front 113

social interation

Back 113

involves people communicating face-to-face or via computer, acting and reacting in relation to other people. It is structured around norms, roles, and statuses

Front 114

status set

Back 114

the entire ensemble of statuses occupied by an individual

Front 115

ascribed set

Back 115

an involuntary status

Front 116

achieved status

Back 116

a voluntary status

Front 117

master status

Back 117

the status that is most influential in shaping one's life at a given time and hence one's overriding public identity

Front 118

role conflict

Back 118

occurs when two or more statuses held at the same time place contradictory role demands on a person

Front 119

role strain

Back 119

occurs when incompatible role demands are placed on a person in a single status

Front 120

emotion management

Back 120

involves people obeying "feeling rules" and responding appropriately to the situations in which the find themselves

Front 121

emotion labor

Back 121

emotion management that many people do as part of their job and for which they are paid

Front 122

exchange theory

Back 122

holds that social interaction involves trade in values resources

Front 123

ration choice theory

Back 123

focuses on the way interacting people weight the benefits and costs of interaction. According to the concept, interacting people always try to maximize benefits and minimize costs

Front 124

dramaturgical analysis

Back 124

an approach that views social interactions as a sort of play in which people present themselves so that the appear in the best possible light

Front 125

role distancing

Back 125

involves giving the impression that we are just going through the motions and that we lack serious commitment to a role

Front 126

ethnomethodology

Back 126

they study of how people make sense of what others do and say by adhering to preexisting norms

Front 127

status cues

Back 127

visual indicators of a person's social position

Front 128

stereotypes

Back 128

rigid views of how members of various groups act regardless of whether individual group members really behave that way

Front 129

Conflict theory of social interaction

Back 129

theories which emphasize that when a people interact, their statuses are often arranged in a hierarchy

Front 130

Power

Back 130

the probability that one actor in a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his or her own will despite resistance