Intro to Sociology: Section One: Chapter 1
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Sociology
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the systematic study of human society.
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Sociological Perspective
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\"seeing the general in the particular\", looking for general patterns in the behavior of the particular people.
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Who proposed the sociological perspective?
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Peter Berger
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What did Lillian Rubin discover in her 1976 study on women's hope for marriage?
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She discovered that higher-income women expected their husbands to be sensitive to others, to talk readily, and share their feelings and expectations. She also discovered lower-income women wanted men who did not drink too much, were not violent, and held steady jobs.
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Important Stat: Rate of People with a College Degree
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5 out of every 100 people in the world.
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What did Emile Durkheim discover in his study?
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Durkheim discovered that when looking at suicide rates, certain categories of people were more opt to take their lives then other categories. He explained this in terms of social integration: categories of people with strong social ties had low rates and people with weak social ties had high rates of suicide.
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How can people begin to clearly see how society is shaped?
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By experiencing one of two situations: living on the margins of society and living through a social crisis.
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Important Stat: Outsider
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The greater people's social marginality, the better they are able to use sociological perspective.
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Global Persepective
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the study of the larger world and our society's place in it.
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What is the importance of a global perspective for sociology?
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First, global awareness is the next logical step in the sociological perspective.
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Three Categories of Economic Devlelopment
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High-Income Countries - the nations with the highest overall standards of living (United States, Canada, Argentina, Western Europe, Israel, Japan). Middle-Income Countries - nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole (Eastern Europe, most of Latin America and Asia). Low-Income Countries - Nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor.
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Why do we draw comparisons between the United States and other nations?
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1) Where we live shapes the lives we lead. 2) Societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected. 3) Many social problems we face in the United States are far more serious elsewhere. 4) Thinking globally helps us learn more about ourselves.
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Why is being able to apply the sociological perspective so useful?
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1) Sociology is at work guiding many of the laws and policies that create our world. 2) When looking at the individual level, sociological perspective can lead to important personal growth and expanded awareness. 3) Studying sociology is important in understanding the world of work.
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How does Sociology benefit us?
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1) The sociological perspective helps us assess the truth of \"common sense.\" 2) The sociological perspective helps us see the opportunities and constraints in our lives. 3) The sociological perspective empowers us to be active participants in our society. 4) The sociological perspective helps us live in a diverse world.
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What changes were important in the development of sociology?
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1) Rise of a factory-based industrial economy 2) Explosive Growth of Cities 3) New Ideas About Democracy and Political Rights
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What did Comte's three-stage historical development of sociology look like?
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Stage One: theological stage - people took a religious view that society expressed God's will. Stage Two: metaphysical stage - people saw society as a natural rather than a supernatural system. Stage Three: scientific stage - people believed that society operated according to it's own laws.
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What was Comte's approach called?
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Positivism - A way of understanding based on science.
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What is a theory?
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A theory is a statement of how and why specific facts are related.
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What is a theoretical approach?
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A basic image of society that guides thinking and research.
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What are the three major theoretical approaches?
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Structural-functional approach, social-conflict approach, and the symbolic-interaction approach.
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What is the structural-functional approach?
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A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
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What is social structure?
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Any relatively stable pattern of social behavior.
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What are social functions?
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The consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole.
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What are manifest functions?
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The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern.
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What are latent functions?
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The unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern.
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What is social dysfunction?
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Any social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society.
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What is the social-conflict approach?
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A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.
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What is the gender-conflict approach?
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A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men.
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What is feminism?
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The support of social equality for women and men.
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What is the race-conflict approach?
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A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories.
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What is macro-level orientation?
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A broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole.
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What is micro-level orientation?
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A close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations.
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What is the symbolic-interaction approach?
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A framework for building theory that see society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals.
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How would we define \"reality\"?
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Simply by how we define our surroundings, our obligations towards others, and even our own identities.
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What is dramaturgical analysis?
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A theory that describes how we resemble actors on a stage as we play our various roles.
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What is social-exchange analysis?
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Social interaction is guided by what each person stands to gain or lose from the interactions.
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What is a stereotype?
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A simplified description applied to every person in some category.
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How do sociologists avoid stereotypes?
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1) Sociologists do not carelessly apply any generalization to everyone in a category. 2) Sociologists make sure that a generalization squares with the available facts. 3) Sociologists offer generalizations fair-mindedly, with an interest in getting at the truth.
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What is sociological investigation?
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The \"doing\" of sociology.
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How does Sociological Imagination start?
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1) Apply the sociological perspective 2) Be Curious and Ask Questions
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What is science?
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A logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation.
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What is empirical evidence?
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Information we can verify with our senses.
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What is positivist sociology?
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The study of society based on systematic observation of social behavior.
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Concept
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A mental construct that represents some part of the world in a simplified post.
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Variable
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A concept whose value changes from case to case.
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Measurement
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A procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case.
