Download Sociology Unit 1 Review Terms Sociology – the scientific study of

Sociology
Unit 1 Review Terms
1.
Sociology – the scientific study of social behavior and human groups.
2.
Sociological Imagination- “C. Wright Mills” capacity to shift from perspective to
perspective to gain adequate view of society
3.
Social science – related disciplines that study various aspects of human social
behavior
4.
Common sense is not a reliable tool for studying sociology.
5.
Theory – systematic explanation of the relationships among phenoma
6.
When did sociology become separate discipline? 19th century
7. What were some of the rapid social and political changes that happened in
Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries? Industrial revolution, urbanization,
American revolution, French revolution
8. The impact of industrialization- move off farms away from family, etc. (see class
notes also)
9. The impact of urbanization- swelling population, pollution, crime, etc. (see class
notes also)
10. Auguste Comte- father of sociology, concerned with order and change; social
statics and social dynamics; positivism
11. Social Statics- forces for social order and stability
12. Social Dynamics- forces for conflict and change
13. Karl Marx- felt society divided between those who owned means of production;
those who owned only their own labor; conflict primary cause of social change
14. Working Class- Proletariat- owns only the means of their labor
15. Capitalist Class- Bourgeoisie- owns the means of production
16. Herbert Spencer- felt society was a set of interdependent parts that work
together to maintain a system over time- Social Darwinism
17. Social Darwinism- belief that those species of animals including human beings
best adapted to environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted
die out
18. Emile Durkheim- felt people were a product of social environment; shared
beliefs and values held society together; concerned with strains and anomie; did
a large study on suicide
19. Function- positive consequence any element of society has for the maintenance
of a social system
20. Anomie- condition in which social control is ineffective as result of loss of
shared values and sense of purpose in society
21. Max Weber- wanted sociologists to have “value free” research; felt specialized
division of labor was destructive to human vitality; came up with concept of
Verstehen
22. Verstehen- understanding, insight and ability to see world as others see it
23. W.E.B. DuBois – research finds that knowledge is essential in combating
prejudice and developing an egalitarian society; double consciousness
24. Double consciousness – division of an individual’s identity into two or more
social realities
25. Charles Horton Cooley – study of society by investigating smaller units; groups
exist only because the members influence each other’s behavior
26. Jane Addams – social reformer fought for an egalitarian society; prevented
segregation of Chicago public schools; women’s trade union; Hull House
27. Robert Merton- contemporary functionalist perspective sociologist who
clarified the difference between manifest and latent functions
28. Macrosociology – study of large scale phenomena or entire societies
29. Microsociology – study of small groups through experiments
30. Pierre Bourdieu – French; capital sustains individuals & families from one
generation to the next
31. Cultural capital – noneconomic goods; i.e family background & education
32. Social capital – collective benefit of social networks including family & friends
33. Functionalist Perspective- macrolevel view; society is like the human body;
society is composed of interrelated parts that work together to maintain
stability; societal consensus
34. Manifest Function- intended and main function recognized by participants in a
social unit (example: car for transportation)
35. Latent Function- unintended functions hidden, remain unacknowledged
(example: car as sign of wealth)
36. Dysfunction- undesirable consequence of any element in society (i.e crime)
37. Functionalist Perspective- macrolevel view; society is like the human body;
society is composed of interrelated parts that work together to maintain
stability; societal consensus
38. Conflict Perspective- macrolevel; continuous power struggle for scarce
resources in society; society is characterized by social inequality- Marx
39. Marxist view – conflict in terms of class struggle
40. Feminist view – conflict in terms of gender struggles for equality
41. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective- microlevel; society is the sum of the
interactions of people and groups- behavior is learned in interaction with other
people- no identity without communication