Sociology, A Brief Introduction: Chapters 1-3

Front 1

Anomie

Back 1

The loss of direction felt in a society when social control of an individual behavior has become ineffective.

Front 2

Applied Sociology

Back 2

The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations.

Front 3

Basic Sociology

Back 3

Sociological inquiry conducted with the objective of gaining a more profound knowledge of the fundamental aspects of social phenomena. Also known as pure sociology.

Front 4

Clinical Sociology

Back 4

The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of altering social relationships or restructuring social institutions.

Front 5

Conflict Perspective

Back 5

A sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.

Front 6

Dramaturgical Approach

Back 6

A view of social interaction in which people are seen as theatrical performers.

Front 7

Dysfunction

Back 7

An element or process of a society that may disrupt the social system or reduce its stability.

Front 8

Feminist View

Back 8

A sociological approach that views inequity in gender as central to all behavior and organization.

Front 9

Functionalist Perspective

Back 9

A sociological approach that emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability.

Front 10

Globalization

Back 10

The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas.

Front 11

Ideal Type

Back 11

A construct or model for evaluating specific cases.

Front 12

Interactionist Perspective

Back 12

A sociological approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole

Front 13

Latent Function

Back 13

An unconscious or unintended function that may reflect hidden purposes.

Front 14

Macrosociology

Back 14

Sociological investigation that concentrates on large scale phenomena or entire civilizations.

Front 15

Manifest Function

Back 15

An open, stated, and conscious function.

Front 16

Microsociology

Back 16

Sociological investigation that stresses the study of small groups, often through experimental means.

Front 17

Natural Science

Back 17

The study of the physical features of nature and the ways in which they interact and change.

Front 18

Nonverbal Communication

Back 18

The sending of messages through the use of gestures, facial expressions, and postures.

Front 19

Science

Back 19

The body of knowledge obtained by methods based on systematic observation.

Front 20

Social Inequality

Back 20

A condition in which members of society have differing amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.

Front 21

Social Science

Back 21

The study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change.

Front 22

Sociological Imagination

Back 22

An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past.

Front 23

Sociology

Back 23

The scientific study of social behavior and human groups.

Front 24

Theory

Back 24

In sociology, a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior.

Front 25

Verstehen

Back 25

The German word for "understanding" or "insight"; used to stress the need for sociologists to take into account the subjective meanings people attach to their actions.

Front 26

Causal Logic

Back 26

The relationship between a condition or a variable and a particular consequences, with one event leading to the other.

Front 27

Code of Ethics

Back 27

The standards of acceptable behavior developed by and for members of a profession.

Front 28

Content Analysist

Back 28

The systematic coding and objective recording of data, guided by some rationale.

Front 29

Control Group

Back 29

The subjects in an experiment who are not introduced to the independent variable by the researcher.

Front 30

Control Variable

Back 30

A factor that is held constant to test the relative impact of an independent variable.

Front 31

Correlation

Back 31

A relationship between two variables in which a change in one coincides with a change in the other.

Front 32

Cross-tabulation

Back 32

A table that shows the relationship between two or more variables.

Front 33

Dependent Variable

Back 33

The variable in a causal relationship that is subject to the influence of another variable.

Front 34

Ethnography

Back 34

The study of an entire social setting through extended systematic observation.

Front 35

Experiment

Back 35

An artificially created situation that allows a researcher to manipulate variables.

Front 36

Experimental Group

Back 36

The subjects in an experiment who are exposed to an independent variable introduced by a researcher.

Front 37

Hawthorne effect

Back 37

The unintended influence that observers of experiments can have on their subjects.

Front 38

Hypothesis

Back 38

A speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

Front 39

Independent Variable

Back 39

The variable in a causal relationship that causes or influences a change in a second variable.

Front 40

Interview

Back 40

A face-to-face or telephone questioning of a respondent to obtain desired information

Front 41

Mean

Back 41

A number calculated by adding a series of values and then dividing by the number of values.

Front 42

Median

Back 42

The midpoint or number that divides a series of values into two groups of equal numbers of values.

Front 43

Mode

Back 43

The single most common value in a series of scores.

Front 44

Observation

Back 44

A research technique in which an investigator collects information through direct participation and/or by closely watching a group or community.

Front 45

Operational Definition

Back 45

An explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow a researcher to assess the concept.

Front 46

Percentage

Back 46

A portion of 100.

Front 47

Qualitative Research

Back 47

Research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data.

Front 48

Quantitative Research

Back 48

Research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form.

Front 49

Questionnaire

Back 49

A printed or written form used to obtain information from a respondent.

Front 50

Random Sample

Back 50

A sample for which every member of an entire population has the same chance of being selected.

Front 51

Reliability

Back 51

The extent to which a measure produces consistent results.

Front 52

Research Design

Back 52

A detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically.

Front 53

Sample

Back 53

A selection from a larger population that is statistically representative of that population.

Front 54

Scientific Method

Back 54

A systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem.

Front 55

Secondary Analysis

Back 55

A variety of research techniques that make use of previously collected and publicly accessible information and data.

Front 56

Survey

Back 56

A study, generally in the form of an interview or questionnaire that provides researches with information about how people think and act.

Front 57

Validity

Back 57

The degree to which a measure or scale truly reflects the phenomenon under study.

Front 58

Value Neutrality

Back 58

Max Weber's term for objectivity of sociologists in the interpretation of data.

Front 59

Variable

Back 59

A measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions.

Front 60

Argot

Back 60

Specialized language used by members of a group or subculture.

Front 61

Bilingulaism

Back 61

The use of two or more languages in a particular setting, such as the workplace or schoolroom, treating each language as equally legitimate.

Front 62

Counterculture

Back 62

A subculture that deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture.

Front 63

Cultural Relativism

Back 63

The viewing of people's behavior from the perspective of their own culture.

Front 64

Cultural Universal

Back 64

A common practice or belief found in every culture.

Front 65

Culture

Back 65

The totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior.

Front 66

Culture Lag

Back 66

A period of maladjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still struggling to adapt to new material conditions.

Front 67

Culture Shock

Back 67

The feeling of surprise and disorientation that people experience when they encounter cultural practices that are different from their own.

Front 68

Diffusion

Back 68

The process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society.

Front 69

Discovery

Back 69

The process or making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality.

Front 70

Dominant Ideology

Back 70

A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.

Front 71

Ethnocentrism

Back 71

The tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others.

Front 72

Folkway

Back 72

A norm governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern.

Front 73

Formal Norm

Back 73

A norm that has been written down and that specifies strict punishments for violators.

Front 74

Informal Norm

Back 74

A norm that is generally understood but not precisely recorded.

Front 75

Innovation

Back 75

The process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture through discovery or invention.

Front 76

Invention

Back 76

The combination of existing cultural items into a form that did not exist before.

Front 77

Language

Back 77

An abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture; includes gestures and other nonverbal communication.

Front 78

Law

Back 78

Governmental social control.

Front 79

Material Culture

Back 79

The physical or technological aspects of our daily lives.

Front 80

Mores

Back 80

Norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society.

Front 81

Nonmaterial Culture

Back 81

Ways of using material objects, as well as customs, beliefs, philosophies, governments, and patterns of communication.

Front 82

Norm

Back 82

An established standard of behavior maintained by a society.

Front 83

Sanction

Back 83

A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm.

Front 84

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Back 84

A hypothesis concerning the role of language in shaping our interpretation of reality. It holds that language is culturally determined.

Front 85

Society

Back 85

A fairly large number of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside it, and participate in a common culture.

Front 86

Sociobiology

Back 86

The systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior.

Front 87

Subculture

Back 87

A segment of society that shares a distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from the pattern of the larger society.

Front 88

Technology

Back 88

Cultural information about how to use material resources of the enviornment to satisfy human needs and desires.

Front 89

Value

Back 89

A collective conception of what is considered good, disirable, and proper - or bad, undesirable, and improper - in a culture.