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34 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Sociology
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the study of human groups and societies, giving particular emphasis to the analysis of the industrialized world. One of a group of social sciences, including anthropology, economics, political science, and human geography. The divisions between each science aren't clear cut, and share a certain range of interests, concepts, and methods.
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Sociological Imagination
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The limited worldview that every person has as a result of social situations and experiences that each person encounters on a daily basis.
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Troubles and Issues
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A trouble is an individual struggle or shortcoming. An issue is a problem in an individual's life that is outside of their control and a result of society.
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Social Facts
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The aspects of social life that, according to Durkheim, shape out actions as individuals. Durkheim thought they should be scientifically studied.
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Agency v. Social Structure
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An agency is something that people do independently and as a semi-free choice, while a social structure is an influence or limit on someone's actions or opportunities available.
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Functionalism
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A perspective based on the notion that social events can be best explained in terms of the functions they perform, or how they contribute to the continuity of society. Everything has an important function in society.
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Manifest Functions
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Functions of a social activity that are known and intended by the individuals in the activity. Dysfunctions are things that happen that are negative.
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Latent Functions
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Functional consequences that aren't intended or recognized by the members of a social system.
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Conflict Theory
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(Karl Marx) The ruling class, called the bourgeois, own the means of production and the working class, called the proletariat, work for the owners without owning or controlling production. Real change occurs because of conflict and revolution. The groups in society are in a constant struggle for scarce resources.
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Ideologies
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Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. Ideologies are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between groups. The concept of ideology connects closely with that of power; some ideological systems serve to legitimize the power that groups hold.
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Feminist Theory
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A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women. There are many strands of feminist theory but they all share the desire to explain gender inequalities in society and work to overcome them.
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Rational Choice Theory
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More broadly, the theory that an individual's behavior is purposive. Within the field of criminology, rational choice analysis argues that deviant behavior is a rational response to a specific social situation.
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Postmodernism
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The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no grand narrative guiding its development.
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Symbolic Interactionism
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A theory in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead, which emphasized the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction
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The Looking Glass Self
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The idea that people imagine how they must appear to other. We imagine the judgment of that appearance and develop our self image through the judgments of others.
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Symbols
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An item used to stand for or represent another. In the case of a flag, it represents a nation.
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Generalized Other
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A concept in the Symbolic Interactionism theory by George Herbert Mead, according to which the individual takes over the general values of a given group or society during the socialization process.
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Public Sociology
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As opposed to professional sociology, which is debating sociological issues, public sociology is when you DO things to learn about sociology and you interact in a social environment, instead of in a room or with semi-controlled experiments.
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Research Methods
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Diverse methods of investigation used to gather empirical material. Different research methods exist in sociology, but the most commonly used are fieldwork (participant observation) and survey methods. For many purposes, it is useful to combine two or more methods within a single research project.
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Causation and Correlation
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Causation is the influence of a factor upon another, in a way that whenever a particular event exists solely because it was produced by the existence of another factor. Correlation is a regular relationship between two things, but only by association. The existence of one does not necessitate the existence of another, but when both exist, high or low values of one relate to how or low values of the other.
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Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
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Deductive reasoning is when a researcher sees a general pattern and performs experiments or research to find a more specific pattern. Inductive reasoning is the opposite, when they see a specific pattern and try to find a more broad generalization or theory.
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Self-Reflexivity
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The capacity of an agent to recognize forces of socialization and alter their place in the social structure. A low level of this would result in a society where individuals are heavily influenced by the environment around them, while a high level of this would result in a very individualistic society, in which people define their own norms, tastes, and desires.
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In-groups and Out-groups
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Social groups that an individual does or does not identify themselves with. Ex. A white male does not associate himself as an African American woman.
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Types of groups and their impact
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Primary groups are usually smaller groups characterized by face to face interaction and a strong sense of commitment. Secondary groups are large and impersonal and seldom involve intense emotional ties or unity. A reference group is a group that provides a standard for judging one's attitudes or behavior.
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Socialization
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The process by which we develop a sense of self and learn about society. Connects us to a different generation, passes down norms and traditions, changes over time. Helps to pass on values, ways of thinking, etc
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Family (Agent)
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Most important source of socialization. Helps to define our self image, places a child into society in terms of race, class, religion.
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Peer Groups (Agent)
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People of similar age, it teaches us how to form social relationships, what's wrong or right, and allows you to talk about taboo subjects. We're influences by the groups we want to join.
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School (Agent)
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Teaches cultural values, status hierarchies, brings achievement, and gender roles in society.
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Work (Agent)
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The more you participate in a line of work, the more the work becomes a part of your self concept. You come to see yourself in terms of your work. Helps to learn skills and perspectives of the world.
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Media (Agent)
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Impersonal communications to a vast audience. Leads to homogenization, perpetuates stereotypes and unrealistic pictures of people. Pushes social boundaries.
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Identity
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The distinctive characteristics, of a person's or group's character that relate to who they are or what is meaningful to them. Some of the main sources of identity include gender, sexual orientation, nationality or ethnicity, and social class.
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Social Construction of Reality
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The book that introduced the term "Social Construction" into the social sciences. Written by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann
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Social Interaction
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The process by which we act and react to those around us.
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Globalization
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The development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide. In current times, we are all influenced by organizations and social networks located thousands of miles away. A key part of globalization is the emergence of a world system - for some purposes, we need to regard the world as forming a single social order.
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