Sociology Ch. 1 Key Terms

Front 1

Economic determinism

Back 1

the idea that the nature of a society is based on the society’s economy

Front 2

Mechanical solidarity

Back 2

social unity based on a consensus of values and norms, strong social pressure for conformity, and dependence on tradition and family

Front 3

Positivism

Back 3

the use of observation, experimentation, and other methods of the physical sciences in the study of social life

Front 4

Dynamic equilibrium

Back 4

the assumption by functionalists that a society both changes and maintains most of its original structure over time

Front 5

Social structure

Back 5

patterned, recurring social relationships

Front 6

Bourgeoisie

Back 6

members of a society who own the means for producing wealth

Front 7

Macrosociology

Back 7

the level of analysis that focuses on relationships among the social structures without reference to the interaction of the people involved

Front 8

Sociology

Back 8

the scientific study of social structure

Front 9

Verstehen

Back 9

the method of understanding social behavior by putting oneself in the place of others

Front 10

Symbol

Back 10

something that stands for, or represents, something else

Front 11

Latent function

Back 11

an unintended and unrecognized consequence of some element of a society

Front 12

Conflict theory

Back 12

the theoretical perspective that emphasizes conflict, competition, change and constraint within a society

Front 13

Presentation of self

Back 13

the ways that we, in a variety of social situations, attempt to create a favorable evaluation of ourselves in the minds of others

Front 14

Social dynamics

Back 14

the study of social change

Front 15

Theoretical perspective

Back 15

a set of assumptions accepted as true by its advocates

Front 16

Social structure

Back 16

patterned, reoccurring social relationships

Front 17

Microsociology

Back 17

the level of analysis concerned with the study of people as they interact in daily life

Front 18

Sociological imagination

Back 18

the set of mind that allows individuals to see the relationships between events in their personal lives and events in their society

Front 19

Humanist sociology

Back 19

the theoretical perspective that places human needs and goals at the center of sociology

Front 20

Liberation sociology

Back 20

the theoretical approach to sociology that seeks to replace human oppression with greater democracy and social justice

Front 21

Social statics

Back 21

the study of stability and order in society

Front 22

Proletariat

Back 22

members of society who labor for the bourgeoisie at subsistence wages

Front 23

Class conflict

Back 23

the conflict between those controlling the means for producing wealth and those laboring for them

Front 24

Organic solidarity

Back 24

social unity based on a complex of highly specialized roles that makes members of a society dependent on one another

Front 25

Value-free research

Back 25

research in which personal biases are not allowed to affect the research process and its outcomes

Front 26

Rationalization

Back 26

the tendency to use knowledge and impersonality in social relations to gain increased control over society

Front 27

Functionalism

Back 27

the theoretical perspective that emphasizes the contributions (functions) made by each part of a society

Front 28

Manifest function

Back 28

an intended and recognized consequence of some element of society

Front 29

Dysfunction

Back 29

a negative consequence of some element of a society

Front 30

Power

Back 30

the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will

Front 31

Feminist theory

Back 31

a theoretical perspective that links the lives of women and men to the structure of gender relationships within society

Front 32

Symbolic interactionism

Back 32

the theoretical perspective that focuses on interaction among people based on mutually understood symbols

Front 33

Dramaturgy

Back 33

the symbolic interactionist approach that depicts social life as theater