Terms

common sense

Definitions
things everyone knows are true

sociological perspective

understanding of human behavior by placing it within its broader social context

society

group of people who share a culture and a territory

social location

the group[memberships that people have because of their location in history and society

Aguste Comte

founder of sociology began to analyze the bases of social order. stressed the scientific method should be applied, he did not apply it himself

science

the application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by those methods

sociology

the study of society

Emile Durkheim

He discovered that people are more likely to commit suicide if they have weak ties to others in their community. realized that the role of social intergration is important

C Wright Mills

urges sociologist to get back to social reform. called power elite the top leaders of business, politics, and the military. ideas grew popular among a new

generation of sociologist

applied sociology

the use of sociology to solve problems from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and population Ex: NAACP

constructs theory and test hypothesis, research on basic social life on how groups affect people

explain basic sociology

criticisms of society and social policy

middle ground sociology

analyzing problems, evaluating programs, suggesting solutions, implementing solutions

explain applied sociology

macro level analysis

an examination of large scale patterns of society

micro level analysis

an examination of small scale patterns of society

social interaction

what people do when they are in one anothers presence

nonverbal interaction

communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on

select a topic, define the problem, review literature, formulate a hypothesis, choose research method, collect data, analyze results, share results

what are the steps in the research model?

hypothesis

statement of how variables are expected to be related to one another, often according to predictions form a theory (formation of a theory)

variable

a factor thought ot be significant for human behavior, which can vary from one case to another

research method

one of six procedures that sociologist use to collect data: surverys, participant observaation, secondary analysis, documents, experiments, adn unobtrusive measures

validity

the extent to which an operational definition measures what it was intended to measure

reliability

the extent to which research produces consistent or dependable results

survey

the collection of data by having people answere a series of questions

population

the target group to be studied

sample

the individuals intended to represent the population to be studied

respondents

people who respond to a survey either by interview or by self administered questionnaires

close-ended questions

questions that are followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondent

open-ended questions

questions that respondents answer in their own words

participant observation

research in which the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting

secondary analysis

the analysis of data that have been collected by other researchers

experiment

the use of control and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation

unobtrusive measures

ways of observing people who do not know they are being studied

value free

the view that a sociologist personal values or biases should not be influence social research

values

the standards by which people define what is good, desirable, or undesirable, good, bad, or ugly

replication

repeating a study in order to test its findings

divine right

God Said so, its in the bloodline allowing you to be king, who is the keeped of knowledge went on for 1000 years

renaissance

occured after the dark ages, occured in different areas at different times, a re-birth or awakening

period and people began thinking for themselves and challenging things. Ex: reformers of the church EX: Michealangelo and story of creation, Dante, Joan of arc

university

european monestary ex Gregor Mendel used Pea to show different offspring

Natural sciences, humanities, social sciences

What are the three areas of the university

biology, anatomy, chemistry,geology, physics

List some natural sciences that are empirical adn test things out that occur in nature

english, speech, history, marth, art

list some humanities that are expressions of people

psychology, political sciences, economics, sociology, anthropology

social sciences/human sciences

cognates

different areas of study(specialities), marriage and family, sexology, gerantology, womens studies, thanatology

deviance

peole who dont act with accordance with the norm

education

way people learn colled data

james coleman

he studied the field of education, adn says schools need parental and family involvement

reasons to study sociology

to obtain a cleare picture of how society works, to escape limitation imposed upon you by your own parochialism, clarify your goals, understand social change, know social structure, know social process, become aware of human problems, career prep, satisfy intellectual curiosisty, requirement

parochialism

this is learned and is a narrowing in thinking

reliable and valid

Data needs to be?

questioning, email, phone, interview mail

what are some ways to collect data?

one way mirror, going undercover

what are some methods of observation?

Obtrusive techniques

know you are being studied

Hawthorne effect

when people know they are being studied and causes their behavior to change

unobtrusive techniques

not knowing that you are being studied

physical traces

something left behind to indicate a behavior occured ex: cigarette butts left behind

content analysis

analyzing anything that exists by records ex: how many c sections were done in a hospital

count on, dependable, true,consistant

list what reliable data is?

validity

measures what is intended t be measured

sampling

researching within a univers(population) want to make sure the sample is representative of the entire universe and must be analyzed when the data is presented to you

bias

bad sample can give totally incorrect decision making and conclusions

culture

way of life or blueprint for living

instinct

behavior that is unlearned that all members of a species exihibit

cognitive,material, normative

what are the three components of culture?

cognitive aspects

become a belief system. knowledge and thinking

material aspects

physical artifact produced

normative aspect

things that regulate our norms

norms

normal behaviour

Folkways, Technicways, Mores, law

list the four norms

Folkway

issues between people ex. leaving room turning off light, men buying flower for prom, man driving,

Technicways

issues about material things ex: turning off lights after leaving room, correct way to set a table, flusing toilet

Mores

a norm that is extremely important and not violated. Sacred things taht are not done. Ex: incest, murder

Law

a norm that is codified adn passed by a designated officient in societs ex: speeding ticket

values

an abstraction about what we think is correct and gives us a basis for comparison

honesty, belief in God, sense of humor, personal independance, happiness

list some values

sanctions

enforces a norm (penalty assessed) almost every norm has a sanction

institutions

set of stable norms about a particular function in a culture ex: marriage 1 man 1 woman, government, economy, religion

conformity, adjusted, deviance

list the 3 reactions to culture

conformity

acting in accordance with what the culture indicates

adjusted

acting in accordance and like what you are doing

deviance

people who violate what culture expects from them

subculture

a culture(lifestyele passed onto a group of people) within a dominant culture group of people who have a significant number of divergent trails from a dominant cultuer

cultural relativity

try to understand why they do things as it relates to that culture

technology, ideational, physical/environmental, population/demography, cultural diffusion

list 5 causes to cultural change

ideational

example of this is bill gates, civil rights

physical/environmental

hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes

cultural diffusion

apart, spread out, taking traits from one culture and spread to another culture

culture

language beliefs values norms behaviors and material objects that are passed from one generation to the next

material culture

material objects that distinguish a group of people such as their art, buildings, weapons, utensils, hairstyles, machine, clothing styles and jewelry

nonmaterial culture

symbolic culture groups way of thinking including

beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world, and doing, common pattern of behaviour.all the rules, norms, institutions, social hierarchies, etc., that a group has developed to flourish in a given environment. all the rules, norms, institutions, social hierarchies, etc., that a group has developed to flourish in a given environment.

cultural shock

the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken for granted assumptions about life

ethnocentrism

use of ones own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals of societies generally leading to a negative evalution of the cultures values, norms, and behaviors

cultural relativism

not judging a culture but trying to understand (relate) it on its own terms

symbol

something to which people attach meanings and then use to communicate with others

language

a system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways adn can represent not only objects but also abstract thought

values

the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable good bad beautiful or ugly

norms

expectations or rules of behavior that reflect and

enforce values

sanctions

expressions of approval or disapproval given to people for upholding or violating norms

mores

norms that arent strictly enforced

mores

norms that are strictly enforced because they are though essential to core values or well being of the group

subculture

the values and related behaviours of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; world within a world

counter culture

a group whose values beliefs and related behaviours place its members in opposition to the broader culture

ideal culture

the ideal values and norms of a people adn the goals held out for them

real culture

norms and values people actually follow

cultural universal

a value, norm, or other cultural trait that is found in every group

cultural lag

ogburns term for human behaviour lagging behind technological innovations

technology

tools, skills or processes necessary to make and use those tools

new technology

the emerging technologies of an era that have a significant impact on social life

cultural diffusion

the spreading of ideas or products from one culture to another

Philosphers

thinks about something and if it makes sense, so be it

romans

uses Greek philosophy, created university, created roman senate,

cultural universal

traits all cultures have ex: language, marriage, nutrition

cultural shock

coming into contact with something within a culture that makes you unable to react. ex rape

counter culture groups

groups of people apposed to the culture. ex KKK Arian nation

cultural lag

William F. Osburne One part of a culture does not change with the other part and lags behind

Durkheim definition

scientific study of social facts that humans create

william graham summnar

social darwinism