Sociology Chapter 1
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The everyday actor uses _____ knowledge whereas the social analyst uses _____ knowledge.
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practical; scientific
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Howard Becker defines _____ as the study of people \"doing things together.\"
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sociology
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What is a sociological explanation for the overall increase in the time that it takes students to earn a college degree compared to a few years ago?
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fewer course options as a result of statewide budget cuts
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Kai needed a doctor and his friend told him that Dr. Madeira was very good. Kai scheduled an appointment with him the next day. Which perspective would explore how Kai defined the meaning of good?
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symbolic interactionism
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Nasko moved to the United States from Bulgaria at the age of nine. After moving, he felt disoriented because the environment was so strange to him. He experienced
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culture shock
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Teaching students to solve math problems is an example of a _____ function of education.
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manifest
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Who coined the term sociology?
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August Comte
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The _____ perspective explores how society is structured and maintains order.
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functionalist
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Which theory developed as a result of applying conflict theory assumptions specifically to gender inequality?
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feminist theory
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Durkheim suggested that mechanical solidarity created the
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social bonds that held agrarian societies together.
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Max Weber believed that as bureaucratic processes became more and more prevalent in society, people would experience _____ as a result of dehumanizing features of the bureaucracies.
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disenchantment
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In regard to social classes, Karl Marx referred to workers (laborers) as the ______ and owners as the ______.
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proletariat; bourgeoisie
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Which of the following people's teachings would be most associated with symbolic interactionism?
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George Herbert Mead
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Solidad carefully considers how she wants to present herself at her job interview later today. She intends to offer a very different presentation of herself than she did with her friends over drinks last night. Solidad recognizes that the \"part\" she played last night is very different than the one she will play today. With which theoretical paradigm does this statement best align?
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dramaturgy
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_____ is a style of theorizing in which empirical data gathered via specific research projects is connected with larger-scale theories about social structure.
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midrange theory
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Identify which of the following concepts is central to postmodernism.
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deconstruction
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Joe wants to know how changes in North Carolina state laws have related to foster care rates over the last twenty years. Predict which level of analysis Joe will use to research.
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macro
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Sociology overlaps with many other disciplines while also offering a unique perspective. Considering Figure 1.1 in your text, select all of the disciplines with which sociology overlaps.
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political science, economics, history, anthropology, psychology, geography
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In terms of sociological perspectives, a photographer's wide angle lens is most likely to capture which perspectives? Select all that apply.
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functionalist perspective, conflict perspective
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Considering the macro-micro continuum in sociology, order these social phenomena (levels of analysis) from largest to smallest.
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the U.S. educational system, University of South Florida, a University of South Florida sorority house, a University of South Florida sorority president
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sociological perspective
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a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens.
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beginner's mind
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approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way.
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sociology
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the systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior, from large-scale institutions and mass culture to small groups and individual interactions.
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culture shock
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a sense of disorientation that occurs when you enter a radically new social or cultural environment.
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society
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a group of people who shape their lives in aggregated and patterned ways that distinguish their group from other groups.
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social sciences
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the disciplines that use the scientific method to examine the social world, in contrast to the natural sciences, which examine the physical world.
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theories
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in sociology, abstract propositions that explain the social world and make predictions about the future
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paradigms
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a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that make up a way of understanding social reality.
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positivism
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the theory, developed by Auguste Comte, that sense perceptions are the only valid source of knowledge.
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microsociology
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the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and institutions of society.
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macrosociology
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the level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals.
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sociological imagination
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a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces.
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mechanical solidarity
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term developed by Émile Durkheim to describe the type of social bonds present in premodern, agrarian societies, in which shared traditions and beliefs created a sense of social cohesion.
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organic solidarity
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term developed by Émile Durkheim to describe the type of social bonds present in modern societies, based on difference, interdependence, and individual rights.
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scientific method
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a procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting concrete data through observation and experiment.
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structural functionalism
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a paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures.
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social Darwinism
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the application of the theory of evolution and the notion of \"survival of the fittest\" to the study of society.
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anomie
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\"normlessness\"; term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and an increased pace of change.
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collective conscience
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the shared morals and beliefs that are common to a group and which foster social solidarity.
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sacred
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the holy, divine, or supernatural.
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collective effervescence
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an intense energy in shared events where people feel swept up in something larger than themselves.
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empirical
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based on scientific experimentation or observation
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profane
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the ordinary, mundane, or everyday
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solidarity
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the degree of integration or unity within a particular society; the extent to which individuals feel connected to other members of their group
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latent functions
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the less obvious, perhaps unintended functions of a social structure.
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conflict theory
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a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change, and emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change.
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manifest functions
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the obvious, intended functions of a social structure for the social system.
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social inequality
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the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society
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structure
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a social institution that is relatively stable over time and that meets the needs of society by performing functions necessary to maintain social order and stability.
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dysfunction
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a disturbance to or undesirable consequence of some aspect of the social system.
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communism
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a political system based on the collective ownership of the means of production; opposed to capitalism.
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bourgeoisie
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owners; the class of modern capitalists who own the means of production and employ wage laborers.
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means of production
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anything that can create wealth: money, property, factories, and other types of businesses, and the infrastructure necessary to run them.
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proletariat
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workers; those who have no means of production of their own and so are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live
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conflict
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generated by the competition among different class groups for scarce resources and the source of all social change, according to Karl Marx.
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capitalism
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an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and characterized by competition, the profit motive, and wage labor.
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alienation
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the sense of dissatisfaction the modern worker feels as a result of producing goods that are owned and controlled by someone else, according to Karl Marx
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dialectical model
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Karl Marx's model of historical change, whereby two extreme positions come into conflict and create some new third thing between them
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ideology
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a system of beliefs, attitudes, and values that directs a society and reproduces the status quo of the bourgeoisie.
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class consciousness
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the recognition of social inequality on the part of the oppressed, leading to revolutionary action
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false consciousness
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a denial of the truth on the part of the oppressed when they fail to recognize the interests of the ruling class in their ideology
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socialism
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a political system based on state ownership or control of principal elements of the economy in order to reduce levels of social inequality
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feminist theory
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a theoretical approach that looks at gender inequities in society and the way that gender structures the social world
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antithesis
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the opposition to the existing arrangements in a dialectical model.
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thesis
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the existing social arrangements in a dialectical model
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critical theory
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a contemporary form of conflict theory that criticizes many different systems and ideologies of domination and oppression
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queer theory
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a paradigm that proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs and that no sexual category is fundamentally either deviant or normal.
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synthesis
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the new social system created out of the conflict between thesis and antithesis in a dialectical model
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disenchantment
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the rationalization of modern society
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iron cage
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Max Weber's pessimistic description of modern life, in which we are caught in bureaucratic structures that control our lives through rigid rules and rationalization.
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verstehen
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\"empathic understanding\"; Weber's term to describe good social research, which tries to understand the meanings that individual social actors attach to various actions and events.
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praxis
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practical action that is taken on the basis of intellectual or theoretical understanding
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bureaucracies
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secondary groups designed to perform tasks efficiently, characterized by specialization, technical competence, hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, and formal written communication
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rationalization
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the application of economic logic to human activity; the use of formal rules and regulations in order to maximize efficiency without consideration of subjective or individual concerns
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the Chicago School
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a type of sociology practiced by researchers at the University of Chicago in the 1920s and 30s that centered on urban sociology and field research methods
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dramaturgy
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a theoretical paradigm that uses the metaphor of the theater to understand how individuals present themselves to others
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pragmatism
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a theoretical perspective that assumes organisms (including humans) make practical adaptations to their environments; humans do this through cognition, interpretation, and interaction
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Eurocentric
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the tendency to favor European or Western histories, cultures, and values over other non-Western societies
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ethnomethodology
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the study of \"folk methods\" and background knowledge that sustains a shared sense of reality in everyday interactions
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symbolic interactionism
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a paradigm that sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction.
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midrange theory
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an approach that integrates empiricism and grand theory
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deconstruction
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a type of critical postmodern analysis that involves taking apart or disassembling old ways of thinking
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modernism
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a paradigm that places trust in the power of science and technology to create progress, solve problems, and improve life.
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postmodernism
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a paradigm that suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly in flux.
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conversation analysis
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a sociological approach that looks at how we create meaning in naturally occurring conversation, often by taping conversations and examining them.
