Chapter 1 Giddens (Sociology) – Flashcards
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Sociological imagination
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The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. Someone using this "thinks himself away" from the familiar routines of daily life
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Social structure
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The underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave and their relationship to one another
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Socialization
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The social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self. Mostly influential in children, but continues throughout life since no individuals are immune from the reactions of others around them
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Determinism
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Predicts that where an individual ends up in life is significantly, if not entirely, influenced by the position into which he/she is born
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Deterministic
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The sociological imagination can be quite _____________ in that it pushes us to see that in many ways the lives of individuals are determined by social roles, gender, race and class
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Probabilities, power of the individual
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Sociologists look at the _____________ that people will end up in certain living situations on the basis of where they were born, race etc, deemphasizing the _______ __ ___ ______________.
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Max Weber
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He looked at the way in which the world has been changing due to the influence of massive large-scale organizations, and how this has changed social life.
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Capital
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Book that analyzes the way in which industrialization changed the structure of the entire society in his book, transforming the relationships of individuals to their work and to each other from feudalism to capitalism
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The Division of Labor in Society
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Book that looks at the way in which historical changes brought by industrialization and urbanization had led to the increasing specificity of the roles of individuals
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Globalization
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The development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide. We are now influenced by organizations and social networks located thousands of miles away.
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Auguste Comte
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French philosopher that invented the word sociology.
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Auguste Comte
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Believed that the scientific method could be applied to the study of human behavior and society. Believed that it should model itself after physics
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Auguste Comte
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Felt that sociology should contribute to the welfare of humanity by using science to predict and control human behavior
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Auguste Comte
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Believed that society and the social order is not natural but rather constructed by the individual
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Emile Durkheim
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Believed that in order to have a scientific basis, sociologist must develop methodological principles to guide their research
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Emile Durkheim
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Believed that sociology must study social facts, aspects of social life that shape our actions, like the economy or religion
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Durkheim's famous first principle
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"Study social facts as things!"
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Emile Durkheim
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Saw society as a set of independent parts (such as the political system, the religion, the family), that work in harmony with each other
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Organic solidarity
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According to Durkheim, the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole
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Social facts
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According to Durkheim, the aspect soy social life that shape our actions as individuals. Believed that these could be studied scientifically
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Social constraint
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The conditioning influence on our behavior of the groups and societies of which we are members. Regarded by Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts
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Division of labor
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The specialization of work tasks; especially between the tasks allocated to men and those to women. Became more complicated when industrialization occurred, it is now international
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Emile Durkheim
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Thought that the division of labor gradually would replace religion and would become the basis of social cohesion. Argued that as it expands, people become more dependent on each other
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Suicide
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Durkheim believed that social factors influence ________ and related behavior, such as anomie
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Anomie
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A feeling of aimlessness or despair provoked by social life; a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior
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Materialistic conception of history
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States that social change is prompted primarily by economic or material influences. Conflicts between classes (rich vs poor) provide the motivation for historical development.
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Capitalism
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An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit
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Marx, capitalism
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__________ thought __________ was conflicting because it is inevitable for the ruling class to exploit the working class and it is in the interest of workers to seek to overcome exploitation
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Max Weber
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Rejected the materialist conception of history and believed that class conflict was less significant than what Marx claimed it to be
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Max Weber
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Believed that both economic factors and the ideas and values of people have equal effect on social change
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Max Weber
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His most influential writings analyzed the distinctiveness of Western society vs society in other major civilizations like China and India
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Max Weber
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Believed that certain aspects of Christian beliefs greatly influenced the rise of captialism
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Bureaucracy
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Large organization that is divided into jobs based on specific functions and staffed by officials ranked according to an established hierarchy
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Harriet Martineau
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"First woman sociologist", proponent of women's rights and abolition of slavery
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Society in America
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Book written by Martineau that describes a systematic study of American society
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Double consciousness
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A way of talking about identity through the lens of the experiences of African Americans
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DuBois
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Made claims that one's sense of self and identity are largely influenced by historical events and social circumstances (in the case of African-Americans, the effect of slavery and emancipation)
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DuBois
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First sociologist to trace the problems faced by African-Americans to their social and economic underpinnings
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DuBois
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Connected social analysis to social reform; founding member to National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
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Karl Marx
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Believed that economics had a large influence on the development of modern societies
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Max Weber
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One of Karl Marx's most acute critics; believed that noneconomic factors have played a key role in modern social development (eg. science and bureaucracy will always affect both capitalist and socialist societies)
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Rationalization
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A concept used by Weber that refers to the process by which modes of precise calculation and organization, involving abstract rules and procedures, increasingly come to dominate the social world
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Symbolic interactionism
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A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead, which emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of human interaction
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George Mead
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Placed particular importance on the study of language in analyzing the social world; believed that language allows us to become self-conscious beings
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Symbol
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One item used to stand for or represent another-as in the case of the flag, which symbolizes a nation
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Functionalism
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Rival tradition of thought of symbolic interaction
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Functionalism
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A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can be best explained in terms of the functions they perform- that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of a society
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Moral consensus
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Maintaining order and stability in society; emphasized by functionalists
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Manifest functions
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The functions of a type of social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity
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Latent functions
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Functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur
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Dysfunctions
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Aspects of social behavior that focus on features of social life that challenge the existing order, proposed by functionalists
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Marxism
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A body of thought that derives its main ideas from Marx's theory
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Marxists
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Lay more emphasis on conflict, class divisions and ideology than others
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Power
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This concept was very important to Marxists' a pervasive element in all human relationships; many conflicts stem from the desire for this; the ability of individuals to achieve aims or further their own personal interests
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Ideologies
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Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups; found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between groups; serve to legitimize the power that groups hold
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Ideologies
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Used to justify the actions of the powerful
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Feminism
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Like Marxism, it links sociological theory and political reform
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Feminist sociologists
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Argue that women's experiences are central to the study of society; highlight gender relations and gender inequality
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Instrumental or rational action
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Behavior oriented towards self-interest, like making money
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Rational choice theory
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The theory that behavior is purposive, argues that if you could have one variable to explain society, it would be self-interest
