Sociology

Systematic and scientific study of human behavior, social group, and society.

a quality of mind that provides an understanding of ourselves within context of the larger society.

assessing ideas, statements, and information.

asking questions and question answers. Requires taking a closer look at social world.

a view point or particular way of looking at things. Three perspectives: Symbolic interactionist, Conflict, and functionalist.

Views social meaning as arising through the process of social interaction. Engages in "microlevel analysis" which focuses on day to day interaction of people and group in specific social situations.

Interactionist perspective, involves sounds, objects, colors, events, and language.

interactionist perspective, an individuals self conecpt is largely a reflection of how he or she is perveived by other members of society.

symbolic interactionist perspective, uses analogy of the theater to analyze social behaviors.

Symbolic interactionist perspective, contends that people attach various labels to certain behaviors, individuals, and groups that become part of their social idenity and shape other attitudes about and reponsces to them.

Views society as a system of interdependent and interrelated parts. Within overall structure of the system, each part fulfils a specific function, which contributes to the overall functioning of the entire system.

functionalist perspective, each structure has important components (family, religion, education, politics, economy) These are "interelated and interdependent". Each have important "function" when each are functioning they are at a social equalibirum or balance.

Functionlist perspective, anticipated or intended consequences of social insitutions.

Functionlist, unintended or unrecongnized consequences of social institution. (higher education provies knowlege,(manifest. But it may also be a place for meeting marriage partners (latent).

Functionlist perspective, threathen to disturb social stablity or order ( example: crime).

Views society as composed of diverse groups with conflicitng values and intrests.

According to Marx, conflict are determined by economics and are based on social class and struggles between diffrent values and intrests of bourgeoisie and the proletariat is an evitable. Dominat groups attempt to forice its values and ideology on less powerful. Results in domination and exploitation of the masses (proletriant) by the rich and powerful members of society.

Class conflict in industrilized countries is not so much struggle over the mean of production but rather a result of unequal distribution of authority.

Set of interrelated propositions or statements that attempts to explain some phenomenon.

Use of specific observation to develop a general understanding.

Begins with a general understanding or theory that is then tested through the observation or study of specific situations.

abstract idea of general thought.

defining a concept through the use of other concepts.

How a concept is measured. Such as saying junveniles are 7-18.

extent to which a technique accuratly measures what is purpose to measure.

consistency of measurement.

Represents ways in which concepts vary or differ (sex, rac, age)

a statment that interrelates two or more variable. Such as: "Delinquencey rates are higher among males than females". Two variables=sex, and delinquency rates.

A measure indicating that two variables are related in such a way that a change in one is a accompanied by change in the other.

Relationship in which a change in one variable creates a concomitant change in another variable.

formulate reseach question

Sociologist seek our previous studies to determine what is already known about the problem.

Based on what is already known about the topic, the reseacher develops a hypothesis a propositional statment about the relationship between concepts or variables understudy.

Qualitive, quantitive, and mixed.

Researchers collects the observations, facts, information, to use in testing hypothesis or fufiling research objectives.

Reserachers considers the studys findings and determins what the mean.

Researchers makes generalization and draws conclusion regarding hypotheses or objectives.

identifying new problems for future research.

to observe and interperet data. Interviews, behaviors, trends, patterns are analyzed.

average by adding up all figures and diving by number of cases.

mid point

figure that occurs most often

attempts to answer "what".

answers what and how.

explains social phenomenoa by answering questions, what, how and why.

measures effectivness of a program

emphasizes the use of numbers, statistics to analyze and explain social events and behavior.

analysis of exsisting data

a research that attempts to discover a cuase and effect relationship between two variables.

a variable that brings about change in another variable (cause).

a variable that is changed by independent variable (effect)

variables that may come between interdepent and dependent variables.

Subjects not exposed to the experiment

subjects exposed to the independent variable in an experiment (quantitative research).

research using questionaire or interview (quantiative)

subjects behavior is influenced by the fact that they are being studied.

a research design that uses systematic obervation and focuses on the meaning of people give to their social actions.

A qualitiative technique where the researchers talk with people in an effort to learn as much possible about them and their behavior.

A qualitative method in which the reseracher systematically observes the people being studied while participating with them in their acitivites.

Qualitative research which involves intensive observation of a particular person, group or even.

focuses on micro level. Sociogist using this perspective will use "qualitative" research. Such as: ehnographic interviews, particpant observations, and case study.

macrolevel approach. Manifest, and latent function. Sociologist who use this perspective use quantitative research design. Such as, questionaire, surveys, data collection from represntative samples of large population.

Marolevel analysis. Quantitative research method is used. Secondary analysis, surveys. Conflic perpective research focuses on social diversity, conflict. Theorist attempt to assess the impact of social variable such as, age, sex, race, and socioecnomic status. Often, crime rate, data from other large scale survey.

people who live in a specific geographic territory interact with one another and share many elements of common culture.

people make their living by hunting, fishing, collecting wild food. 10,000-50,000 yrs ago.

depends for its livelihod on domestic animals. 5,000-10,000 yrs ago.

hand tools are used to grow domesticated crops. 5,000-10,000yrs ago.

depends on crops raised with plow, draft animals, intensive agriculture methods. 5,000-1750AD yrs ago.

relies on machinary and advanced technology to produce and distrubute food, information, goods and service. 18-20century.

industires and the manufacture of information and knowlege dominant the economy. Late 20-21 century.

a process in which societies grow more complex in terms of technology, social stucture, and cultural knowledge over time.

The learned set of beliefs, values, norms, and material goods, shared by a group of members.

artifacts, art, archtecture, and other tangible goods, that people creat and assign meaning. (TV, art, technology, malls, supermarket)

mental blue prints that serve as guidelines for group behavior. Language, values, norms, attitudes of group

feeling of confusion, and disorientation, that occurs when a person encounters a vary diffrent culture.

tendency to evaluate the customs of other groups according to own cultural standards.

a perspective in which asks that we evaluate other cultures according to their standards not ours.

group that shares many elements of main stream culture but maintains their own distinctive customs, values, norms, and lifestyle.

group that rejects conventional wisdom and standards of behavior of the majority and provide altternative to mainstream culture.

movement that encourages respect and appriciation for cultural diffrences.

the belief that european culture have contributed the most to human kowledge and are superior to all others.

emphasizes that preeminence of African American culture in human development.

Functionalism shows how the cultural practices of group tend to "fit together" called cultural integration.

according to conflict perpective, the values, beliefs and traditions of a nat ions or society are not necessarilty a product of consensus and "social need".

the interactionist approach focuses on how individuals and groups use symbols to define and interpret reality. People everywhere live in "symbolic worlds".