SOC 100: Chapter 1 — The Sociological Perspective – Flashcards
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Sociology
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The study of human behavior
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Social Interaction
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The behavior between two or more people that is given meaning
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Social Structure
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The organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together constitute society
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Social Institution
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Established and organized systems of social behavior with a particular and recognized purpose
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Social Change
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The alteration of society over time
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Sociological Perspective
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The ability to see the societal patterns that influence individual and group life
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Sociological Imagination
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The ability to see the societal patterns that influence the individual as well as groups of individuals
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Troubles
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Privately-felt problems that spring from events or feelings in a person's life
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Issues
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Problems that affect large numbers of people and have their origins in the institutional arrangements and history of society
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"Boomerang Generation" or "Accordion Families"
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The pattern whereby many young people, after having left their family home to attend college, are returning home after graduation
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Empirical Discipline
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Conclusions are based on careful and systematic observations
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Debunking
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Looking behind the facades of everyday life; looking at the behind-the-scenes patterns and processes that shape behavior in the social world
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Georg Simmel
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Studied the role of "strangers" in society; suggested that the sociological perspective requires a combination of nearness and distance
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Strangers
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Have a position both inside and outside social groups; they are part of a group without necessarily sharing the group's assumptions and points of view
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Diversity
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A variety of group experiences that result from the social structure of society; a broad concept that includes studying group differences in society's opportunities, the shaping of social institutions by different social factors, the formation of group and individual identity, and the process of social change; includes the study of different cultural orientations, but is not exclusively about culture
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Enlightenment
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A period in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century that was characterized by faith in the ability of human reason to solve society's problems
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Positivism
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A system of thought in which scientific observation and description is considered the highest form of knowledge, as opposed to religious dogma or poetic inspiration
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Alexis de Tocqueville
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Addressed the matter of the ability of a majority to impose its will on everyone else in a democracy, meaning that Americans, despite the emphasis on individualism in American culture, had little independence of mind, making them self-centered and anxious about their social class position
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Emile Durkheim
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Addressed questions of what forces hold societies together and make it stable; thought people in society are glued together by belief systems; viewed society as an entity larger than the sum of its parts; believed that although society is external to individuals, its existence is internalized in people's minds, that is, people come to believe what society expects them to believe
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Social Facts
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Social patterns that are external to individuals
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Anomie
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The breakdown of social norms.
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Karl Marx
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Considered all of society to be shaped by economic forces
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Max Weber
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Theorized that society had three basic dimensions: political, economic, and cultural
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Multidimensional Analysis
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A complete sociological analysis must recognize the interplay between economic, political, and cultural institutions
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Verstehen
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Understanding social behavior from the point of view of those engaged in it
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Organic Metaphor
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The idea of society as an organism or a system of interrelated functions and parts that work together to create the whole
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Evolution
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The process by which new species are created through the survival of the fittest
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Social Darwinism
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The application of Darwinian through to society
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Laissez-Faire
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A "hands-off" approach
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Macrosociology
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Theories that strive to understand society as a whole
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Microsociology
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Theoretical frameworks that center on face-to-face social interaction
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Functionalism
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Interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole; when there is disorganization or dysfunction in a society, it can lead to social change for the better or for the worse
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Dysfunctional
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A part of society that is not working
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Manifest Functions
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The stated and intended goals of social behavior
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Latent Functions
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Neither stated nor intended
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Conflict Theory
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Emphasizes the role of coercion and power, a person's or group's ability to exercise influence and control over others, in producing social order
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Symbolic Interaction Theory
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Considers immediate social interaction to be the place where "society" exists; people give meaning to their behavior, and this is how they interpret the different behaviors, events, or things that are significant for sociological study; relies extensively on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely on in the process of social interaction
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Major Concepts of Emile Durkheim
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Society sui generis, social solidarity, and social facts
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Big Ideas of Emile Durkheim
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Social structures produce social forces that impinge on individuals even when they are not immediately visible; social solidarity is produced through identifying some as "other" or not belonging
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Major Concepts of Karl Marx
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Capitalism and class conflict
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Big Ideas of Karl Marx
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Capitalism is built on the exploitation of laboring groups for the profit of others; class conflict is embedded in the system of capitalism that then shapes other social institutions
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Major Concepts of Max Weber
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Multidimensional analysis and verstehen
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Big Ideas of Max Weber
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Cultural values interact with economic and political systems to produce society; no one factor determines the character of society
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Major Concepts of W.E.B. DuBois
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Color line and double consciousness
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Big Ideas of W.E.B. DuBois
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Racial inequality structures social institutions in the U.S.; those who are oppressed by race develop a dual consciousness, ever aware of their status in the eyes of others but also having a collective identity as African-American
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Feminist Theory
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Analyses of women and men in society intended to improve women's lives
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Functionalism Theory for the Relationship of Individuals to Society
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Individuals occupy fixed social roles
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Conflict Theory for the Relationship of Individuals to Society
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Individuals are subordinated to society
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Symbolic Interaction Theory for the Relationship of Individuals to Society
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Individuals and society are interdependent
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Functionalism Theory for Inequality
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Inequality is inevitable and functional for society
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Conflict Theory for Inequality
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Inequality results from a struggle over scarce resources
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Symbolic Interaction Theory for Inequality
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Inequality is demonstrated through the importance of symbols
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Functionalism Theory for the Possibility of Social Order
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Social order stems from consensus on public values
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Conflict Theory for the Possibility of Social Order
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Social order is maintained through power and coercion
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Symbolic Interaction Theory for the Possibility of Social Order
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Social order is sustained through social interaction and adherence to social norms
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Functionalism Theory for the Source of Social Change
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Society seeks equilibrium when there is social disorganization
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Conflict Theory for the Source of Social Change
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Change comes through the mobilization of people struggling for resources
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Symbolic Interaction Theory for the Source of Social Change
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Change evolves from an ever-evolving set of social relationships and the creation of new meaning systems
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Major Criticisms of the Functionalism Theory
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This is a conservative view of society that underplays power differences among and between groups
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Major Criticisms of the Conflict Theory
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The theory understates the degree of cohesion and stability in society
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Major Criticisms of the Symbolic Interaction Theory
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There is little analysis of inequality, and it overstates the subjective basis of society
