SOCIO MIDTERM

science guided by the understanding that "the social matters: our lives are affected not only by our individual characterstics but by our place in the social world"

The ability to look beyond the individual as the cause for success and failure and see how one’s society influences the outcome

helps you understand your place in a complex world

• must understand how the outside forces contribute to their situation
• both history and biography of a situation

small scale perspective

large scale perspective

proposed there are two forces that determine whether a person will commit suicide

• solidarity
• social control

the level of connectedness and integration a person feels to others in the environment

refers the the social mechanisms that regulate a person's actions

• egoistic
• altruistic
• fatalistic
• anomic

suicide that results from a lack of solidarity

suicides that occur when the level of solidarity is really high

suicides that result from a lack of social control

suicides that occur as a result from social unrest

• time of the year: low in winter and high in spring
• profession: police have higher rate
• age: risk increases with age

a theoretical framework through which scientists study the world

• functionalism
• conflict theory
• symbolic interactionism

• a theoretical paradigm that defines society as a system of interrelated parts
• parts work in concert with one another to satisfy the needs of society as a whole

a theoretical framework that views society and an unequal system that brings conflict and change

a theoretical framework that focuses on how people interact with others in their everyday lives

• coined word sociology
• started functionalist paradigm
• social laws, social statics, and social dynamics

statements of fact that are unchanging under given conditions and can be used as ground rules for any kind of society

existing structural elements of society

the change in the structural elements in society

• social institutions are critical for society to function properly
• a society's valies and norms provide the foundation for rules and laws
• focus on macro processes

• applied the theory of Darwin to sociology
• social darwinism

strong societies survive and weak ones become extinct

• viewed society as an organism
• solidarity was a vital component of society
• mechanical and organic solidarity

the state of community bonding in traditional societies in which people share beliefs and values and perform common activities

occurs when people live in a society with a large division of labor

created first department of sociology

• created theories that attempted to explain aspects of human experiences and how social systems interconnect
• if one part of society broke down it had repercussions for entire system
• analyzed inertia of the social system

• wanted to find a middle range theory that bridges the gap between grand theories and the study of individual parts in society
• social realities have both intended and unintended functions

social factors that affect people in society

functions that lead to an expected consequence

functions that lead to unforeseen or unexpected consequences

• does not take into consideration wealth and power on society formation
• emphasizes the social structures of society & supports the status quo

• elite at the top determine the rules for those below
• examine struggles between different groups in society
• focus on macro processes

• analyzed the effects of capitalism
• an economic system in which private individuals own businesses and control the economy

members of the capitalist class

members of the poor working class

a person's lack of understanding of his or her position in society

understanding of one's position in the class system

• focused on inequalities of the sexes
• analyzed the impact of slavery and position of women in society
• conflict paradigm

• initiated study of race
• showed poverty among blacks was largely the result of prejudice and discrimination
• capitalism and problems of history
• double consciousness

• the two worlds that african americans had to live in
• one white and one black

• participated in and wrote about the life of the poor
• initiated the settlement house movement

• 1.Workers would live in the slums to better understand the problems there
• 2.Every person has dignity and worth regardless of race/ethnicity, gender or social class
• 3.Dedication, education, and service can overcome ignorance, disease and other problems often associated with poverty

wrote about the negative effects of capitalism

• its too radical
• centers on the idea that powerful people oppress the weak
• ignores the fact that competition can make individuals work harder

• the root of society comes from its symbols which varies from society to society
• society is fluid
• micro orientation

language, pictures, flags, nonverbal communication, etc.

• founder of symbolic interactionism
• suggested the root of society is symbols that teach us to understand the world
• building blocks of society starts with our mind where we interpret symbols

a person's identity and what makes the person different from others develops

• they have meaning and meaning directs our lives
• helps us understand the people in other societies
• help define a situation & determine what we should do about it

established 3 basic premises that define symbolic interactionism

• 1.Human beings behave toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things
• 2.The meaning of such things is comes the social interaction that one has with others and society
• 3.These meanings are handled in and modified through an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he or she encounters

contagion

rapid, irrational mode in which people do not think rationally or clearly

developed the dramaturgy theory

• a theory of interaction where all life is like acting
• we are constantly trying to manage the impressions that others have of us

the action we use to control what others think of us

scientific procedures that sociologists use to conduct research and develop knowledge about a particular topic

objectivity

the ability to conduct research without allowing personal biases or prejudices influence you

variables that are deliberately manipulated in an experiment

the response to the manipulate variable

variables that are kept constant to accurately test the impact of an independent variable

a relationship in which one condition leads to a certain consequence

the relationship between cause and effect

an indication that one factor might be the cause for another factor

two variables that move in parallel direction

occurs when variables move in opposite directions

occurs when two variables appear to be related but actually have a different cause

investigation conducted by social scientists

• 1.decide on a topic
• 2.review the literature
• 3.develop a hypothesis
• 4.collect data
• 5.analyze results
• 6.share and publish results

• a study of relevant academic articles and information
• lets you know what other researchers have previously discovered on the topic

a suggestion about how variables relate

a comprehensive and systematic explanation of events that lead to testable predictions

concepts and operationalizing variables

abstract ideas that are important to measure

turning abstract ideas into something measurable

an investigation of the opinions or experience of a group of people by asking them questions

• 1.clarify your purpose
• 2.define your population
• 3.choose a sample
• 4.prepare questions
• 5.decide how to collect data
• 6.collect data
• 7.record,analyze, and interpret data

target groups that researches want to get information from

• extreme unwillingness to use resources
• must be practiced because sociologists are usually limited in resources

a subset of the population

the extent that what is learned from a sample can be applied to the population from which the sample is taken

a group of subjects arbitrarily chosen from a denied population

a non-random sample available to the researcher

the likelihood that a non-representative sample may lead to inaccurate results

• to test ideas
• researchers try to control variables to test causes and effects

occurs when people behave differently because they know they are part of an experiment

research conducted in a natural setting

a type of field research where the researchers pose as a person who is normally in the environment

investigations of one person or event in detail

a research method that aims to understand the social perspective and cultural values of a particular group by participation with or getting to know their activities in detail

data that others have already collected and published

the process of using and analyzing data that others have collected

the numbers in the middle of an array of numbers

an average

the midpoint in a distribution of numbers

the most common value in a distribution of numbers

• allows others to read and use your findings in their own research
• expands the base of knowledge

a system of values or principles that guide one's behavior

• 1.professional competence
• 2.integrity
• 3.profrssional and scientific responsibility
• 4.respect for people's rights,dignity,and diversity
• 5.social responsibility

• the process of using multiple approaches to study a phenomenon
• relying on one method could cause you to draw inappropriate conclusions

would examine how an issue functions or has consequences in society

would study how the same phenomenon affect the unequal distribution of goods or rewards in society

focus more on how the issue affected people on the individual level

language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects

objects that are passed on from generation to generation

culture that includes items that you can taste, touch, or feel

culture that includes the nonphysical products of society

a system of speech and/or written symbols used to convey meaning and communication

population size and colonial history

the structure of a language determines a native speaker's perception and catagorization experience

• 1.differences in the structure of language parallel differences in the thinking of people who speak language
• structure of a language strongly influences the speaker's worldview

• achievement and success
• activity and work
• moral orientation
• humanitarianism
• efficiency and practicality
• progress
• material comfort
• equality
• freedom
• external conformity
• science and secular reationality
• nationalism and patriotism
• democracy
• individual personality
• racism and related group superiority

• physical fitness and youthfulness
• sexuality and romance

• rules developed for appropriate behavior based on specific values that are conditional
• can vary from place to place
• provide justification for sanctions

norms that represent a community's most important values

• informal norms
• based on social expectations
• involves etiquette and manners

represent, suggest or stand for something else

• culture passes from one generation to another through language
• enables culture to use info others have learned
• helps spread technology

• symbols we make using our bodies
• differ according to different cultures

a prize or punishment you receive when you abide by a norm or violate it

an act that is socially unacceptable

occurs when a person uses his or her own culture to judge another culture

fear and hostility toward people who are from other countries or cultures

a deliberate effort to appreciate a group's way of life in its own context without prejudice

• occurs when social and cultural changes occur at a slower pace than technological changes
• often occurs when new technology enters and changes the society

occurs when a person encounters a culture foreign to his or her own and has an emotional response to the differences between cultures

represents the values to which a culture aspires

the culture as it really is

conists of groups with a common interest that has distinct values, beliefs and norms

subcultures that express values or beliefs in direct opposition to the dominant group's values

a concept that supports the inherent value of different cultures within society

• the process by which minority groups adopt the patterns of the dominant culture
• can be forced or voluntary

• the study of large-scale society
• focuses on the social structures that exist within a society that andure from one generation to the next

deals primarily with the small interactions of daily life

• patterns of relationships that endure from one generation to the next
• arrangements of systems that people in society interact and are able to live together

the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and material objects that are important enough to be passed on to future generations

any number of people with similar norms, values, and behaviors who frequently interact with one another

small, intimate, enduring groups such as the family and close friends

formal, superficial, temporary groups such as relationships with most class mates

• a group with similar access to power, wealth, and prestige
• importance varies within different societies

the position that you can occupy within the social structure which is closely linked to social class

a position that you earn or do something to attain

a position in society that is assigned

• a status toward which we gravitate
• may be what is most important to us or others

the behavior of a specific status

anticipated behaviors for a particular role

the degree to which a person plays the whole in a manner we expect

a phenomenon occuring when one is forced to choose between the competing demands of multiple roles

the demands with expectations of one role are impossible for us to satisfy

a mark of disgrace associated with a particular status, quality, or person

a stigma that cannot be hidden from others or is no longer hidden from others

a stigma that can be concealed from others

• complexity changes
• become more diverse
• leads to changes in social structure

• hunting and gathering societies
• agricultural societies
• industrial societies
• postindustrial society

• humans lived as hunters and gatherers
• lived in small groups
• status and roles closely linked
• everyone had to be involved in the production of food

• pastoral and horticultural societies
• learned to domesticate plants and animals
• learned to use simple hand tools to till the soil and plant seeds and raise and animals
• invention of the plow

• industrial revolution
• complex machines replace human labor
• technology used to make goods
• developed and improved the standard of living
• less inequality

• society based on services and technology
• seek manufacturing goods and food from other societies
• large surpluses of wealth

• 1.a shift from manufacturing to services
• 2.the centrality of the new science based industries
• 3.rise of new technical elites

• structures that provide for patterned relationships
• roles and statuses are already established
• change with the type of society and culture

• a cultural universe
• exist in various forms

• teach the value of sharing and mutual support
• provide safety and security needs for members
• pass on important values and provide for children and elderly

• transfer knowledge and information of the society to new members
• can be formal or informal

• vary a great deal
• most unify people through an organized system of beliefs

stabalize society and provide a framework for people to live their lives

allow for the consumption, production and transition of goods in an orderly fashion

• bartering
• more advanced societies use money as system of exchange

distribute power in society

• intimate distance
• personal distance
• social distance
• public distance

distance for those with whom we are very close

• distance that ranges from 18 inches to 4 feet
• distance for normal conversation

• distance that ranges from 4 feet to 12 feet
• usually for formal settings

• zone of interaction that is used in highly formal settings
• distance greater than 12 feet

• what the audience sees
• part of ourselves that we present to others

the demeanor that incorporates our true feelings and beliefs

a start that occurs when we realize our act has failed

reaction to embarrassment, either humor, anger, or retreat

shared characteristics such as a race, gender, or age

techniques that involve flattering your boss and agreeing with his or her opinion or avoiding disagreement

techniques that include acting modest about your accomplishments, boasting occassionally about your successes

• 1.adaption and replacement
• 2.orientation and socialization
• 3.production and economy
• 4.social order
• 5.unity and purpose