Sociology Test Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by jjovann

C. Wright Mills’s sociol­ogical imagin­ation:
–Awareness of the relati­onship between an individual and the wider society
–Ability to view one’s own society as an outsider would
–Allows us to go beyond personal experi­ences and observ­ations

a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior
–Effective theories may have both explan­atory and predictive power

•Macro­soc­iology: concen­trates on large-­scale phenomena or entire civili­zations
•Micro­soc­iology: stresses study of small groups, often through experi­mental means

Feminist perspe­ctive: sees inequality in gender as central to all behavior and organi­zation
•Ida Wells-­Barnett (1862–­1931)
–Often allied with the conflict perspe­ctive
–Propo­nents tend to focus on the macro level
–Conte­mporary feminist theorists often view women’s subord­ination as inherent in capitalist societies
–Inter­sec­tio­nal­ities: interl­ocking matrix of domination in which privilege or lack thereof is determined by multiple social factors

people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture.

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

the totality of learned, socially transm­itted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior
–Includes ideas, values, customs, and artifacts of groups of people

viewing people’s behaviors from the perspe­ctive of their own culture
–Different social contexts give rise to different norms and values
–Example: child marriage

-Formal norms: generally written; specify strict punish­ments for violators
•Law: govern­mental social control (Donald Black)
–Informal norms: generally understood but not precisely recorded

–Material culture: the physical or techno­logical aspects of daily lives
–Nonma­terial culture: ways of using material objects; and customs, beliefs, philos­ophies, govern­ments, and patterns of commun­ication

Nature refers to innate qualities like human nature or genetics. Nurture refers to care given to children by parents or, more broadly, to enviro­nmental influences such as media and marketing.

regulates all aspects of a person’s life under a single authority (Goffman)

looking closely at social factors that influence people throughout their lives
–Terms youthhood, emerging adulthood, and not quite adult coined to describe the prolonged ambiguous status that young people in their 20s experience
–There is a schedule to life stages, and these may not always happen when expected

agents of social­ization during that phase of our lives are the family, school, peers, and mass media.

discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones during transi­tions in one’s life

•Socio­logy: scientific study of social behavior and human groups
•Sociology focuses on:
–Social relati­onships
–How those relati­onships influence people’s behavior
–How societies develop and change

Auguste Comte (1798–­1857)
–Syste­matic invest­igation of behavior
–Coined the term sociology

emphasizes the way parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability
–Talcott Parsons (1902–­1979)
•Viewed society as a vast network of connected parts
•Each helps maintain the system as a whole
•Manifest and Latent Functions
–Manifest functions: open, stated, conscious functions; intended and recognized conseq­uences of an aspect of society
–Latent functions: uncons­cious or unintended functions; may reflect hidden purposes
•Dysfu­nctions
–Dysfu­nction: element or process of a society that may disrupt a social system or reduce its stability

genera­lizes about everyday forms of social intera­ction to explain society as a whole
–Also referred to as symbolic intera­cti­onism
–Humans viewed as living in a world of meaningful object­s•M­aterial things, actions, other people, relati­ons­hips, symbols
–Nonverbal commun­ica­tion: includes gestures, facial expres­sions, and postures
–Manip­ulation of symbols seen in dress codes

1.Defining the problem
2.Revi­ewing the literature
3.Form­ulating a testable hypothesis
4.Sele­cting the research design and then collecting and analyzing data
5.Deve­loping the conclusion

•Quant­itative research: collects and reports data primarily in the numerical form
•Quali­tative research: relies on what is seen in field and natura­listic settings; often focuses on small groups and commun­ities

certain common practices and beliefs that all societies have developed
–Many are adapta­tions to meet essential human needs
–Anthr­opo­logist George Murdock compiled a list of cultural univer­sals, but they are expressed differ­ently from culture to culture
•Example: Some form of family

the systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior
–Founded on Darwin’s theory of evolution
–Most social scientists would agree there is a biological basis for social behavior; however, it is behavior, not genetic structure, that defines social reality

the polari­zation of society over contro­versial cultural elements
–In the 1990s, referred to political debates over abortion, religious expres­sion, gun control, and sexual orient­ation
–After the U.S. establ­ished a military presence in Iraq and Afghan­istan, the foreign opinion of the U.S. became quite negative

a segment of society that shares a distin­ctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from larger society
–Existence of subcul­tures is charac­ter­istic of complex societies
•A subculture may develop an argot, a specia­lized language that distin­guishes a subculture from the wider society

-a distinct identity that sets us apart from others
–Not a static phenomenon
–Socio­logists and psycho­logists both interested in how indivi­duals develop and modify their sense of self as a result of social intera­ction

Science: body of knowledge obtained by methods based on systematic observ­ation
–Natural science: study of physical features of nature and the ways they interact and change
–Social science: study of social features of humans and the ways they interact and change
Social science discip­lines all focus on the social behavior of people, but each has a particular orient­ation

-Among the early Black sociol­ogists struggling for a racially egalit­arian society
-Consi­dered knowledge essential in combating prejudice
-Conducted in-depth studies of urban life
–Focused on religion at the community level
-Double consci­ous­ness: division of indivi­dual’s identity into two or more social realities

•Conflict perspe­ctive: assumes social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between groups competing over resources
•The Marxist View
–Conflict as part of everyday life in all societies
–Conflict theorists are interested in how instit­utions may help maintain the privileges of some groups while keeping others subser­vient

measurable trait or charac­ter­istic subject to change under different conditions
–Indep­endent variable: variable hypoth­esized to cause or influence another
–Dependent variable: variable whose action depends on influence of the indepe­ndent variable

Sociol­ogists study the influence society has on people’s attitudes and behavior

Secondary analysis: research techniques that make use of previously collected and publicly accessible inform­ation and data
–Consi­dered nonrea­ctive
—not influe­ncing people’s behavior

the tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to others
–Other societies: underd­eve­loped, backward, primitive
–Our view of the world is dramat­ically influenced by the society in which we were raised

Norms: establ­ished standards of behavior maintained by a society
–To be signif­icant, must be widely shared and understood
Folkways: norms governing everyday behavior
–Mores: norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society

–Sanct­ions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm
–Positive sanctions: pay raises, medals, words of gratitude, pats on the back
–Negative sanctions: fines, threats, impris­onment, stares of contempt

subculture that conspi­cuously and delibe­rately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture
•Count­erc­ultures typically thrive among the young
•Example: Counte­rte­rrorism experts in the U.S. are concerned about the growth of ultrac­ons­erv­ative militia groups

lifelong process in which people learn attitudes, values, and behaviors approp­riate for members of a particular culture

–Charles Horton Cooley
–View of ourselves comes from contem­plation of personal qualities and impres­sions of how others perceive us
–Looki­ng-­glass self: the self is a product of social intera­ctions with other people
–We see ourselves through the way others view us

expect­ations regarding proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females
-They are learned through the agents of social­ization