What is sociology? The systematic study of human society. What is the sociological perspective? The social perspective is a way of looking at society. It sees society as something over and above the very people who are in that society. Why would one take sociology? Sociology helps create a well-rounded person who knows and understands social expectations. It gives a person more appreciation for diversity and enhances one's life chances. What are 4 benefits of the social perspective? 1. Helps us assess the truth of common sense. 2. Helps us assess both opportunities and constraints in our lives. 3. Empowers us to be active participants in our society 4. Helps us live in a diverse world. Why is having a global perspective important? Where we live makes a great difference in shaping our lives. Societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected through technology and economics. Many problems that we faced in the united states are more serious elsewhere. Thinking globally is a good way to learn more about ourselves.
What two concepts are attributed to Peter Berger? What did Durkheim's studies involve; and what did we learn? 1. Seeing the general in the particular : Sociologists identify general social patterns in the behavior of particular individuals. 2. Seeing the strange in the familiar : Giving up the idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do, and understanding that society shapes our lives. Durkheim's studied suicide among various social groups. The studies determined that the more socially integrated a person is the less likely they are to commit suicide. Conversely the less socially integrated a person is the more likely they will commit suicide. What social changes led to the origins of sociology? 1. Industrialization 2. Urbanization 3. Political revolution 4. a new awareness of society What is positivism? A way of understanding based on science. What are the 3 stages of science in relation to the origin of sociology? 1. Theological 2. Metaphysical 3. Scientific
What do gender and race have to do with the origin of sociology? If we look back on the great minds of history we will find that an overwhelming majority of them are white males. Sociology shows us that we have ignored massive amounts of potential great minds simply due to the way society views non white non male people. What is a theory? A statement of how and why facts are related. In sociology a theory explains social behavior to the real world. What is a theoretical paradigm? A set of fundamental assumptions that guides thinking. What are the three major approaches to sociology? 1. Structural - Functional 2. Social - Conflict 3. Symbolic - Interaction What is the Structural - Functional paradigm? The Basics: A macro level orientation, concerned with broad patterns that shape society as a whole. Views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Key Elements: Social structure refers to any relatively stable patterns of social behavior found in social institutions. Social function refers to the consequences for the operation of society as a whole.
Who are the significant theorists in Structural - Functional Sociology? What is the Social - Conflict paradigm? Auguste Comte Emile Durkheim Herbert Spencer Talcott parsons Robert K. Merton A macro oriented paradigm that views society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and social change. Key elements include: Society is structured in ways to benefit a few at the expense of the majority. Factors such as race, sex, class, and age are linked to social inequality. Dominant group vs. Minority group relations. Incompatible interests and major differences. Who are the significant theorists in Social - Conflict Paradigm? Karl Marx W.E.B. DuBois What is the Symbolic - Interaction paradigm? The Basics: A micro-level orientation, a close up focus on social interactions in specific situations. Views society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals. Key elements: Society is nothing more than the shared reality that people construct as they interact with one another. Society is a complex, ever changing mosaic of subjective meanings. Who are the significant theorists in Symbolic - Interaction paradigm? Max Webe George Herbert Mead Erving Goffman George Homans and Peter Blau
What are some flaws with Structural Functional Sociology? Too Broad, ignores inequalities of social class, race, gender, and focuses on stability at the expense of conflict. What are some flaws with Social- Conflict sociology? Too broad, ignores how shared values and mutual interdependence unify society, pursues political goals. What are some flaws with Symbolic - Interactive Sociology? Ignores larger social structures, effects of culture, factors such as class, gender and race. What are the four forms of truth? 1. Belief or Faith 2. Expert testimony 3. Simple agreement 4. Science - Logical system that bases knowledge on direct systematic observation What are the three frameworks for sociological investigation? 1. Scientific sociology -The study of society based on systematic observation of social behavior. Empirical evidence -- information we can verify with our senses. 2. Interpretive sociology - The study of society that focuses on the meanings people attach to their social world. 3. Critical sociology - The study of society that focuses on the need for change.
What are concepts? A mental construct that represent some part of the world in a simplified form. What are variables? Concepts whose values change from case to case. What is a measurement? A Procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case. What is operationalizing a variable? Specifying exactly what is to be measured before assigning a value to a variable. What is reliability? Consistency in measurement, Does an instrument provide for a consistent measure of the subject matter?
What is validity? Precision in measuring exactly what one intends to measure. Does an instrument actually measure what it sets out to measure? What is cause and effect? A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another. What are independent variables? The variables that causes the change. What are dependent variables? The variable that changes when the independent variable is changed. What is correlation? A relationship by which two or more variables change together.
What is spurious correlation? An apparent, though false, relationship between two or more variables caused by some other variable. What conditions should be considered in order to verify cause and effect? Existence of a correlation. The independent (causal) variable precedes the dependent variable in time. No evidence suggests that a third variable is responsible for a spurious correlation between the two original variables. What is objectivity? A state of personal neutrality in conducting research. What is value-free research? Weber says sociologists should strive to be dispassionate and detached. What is replication? Repetition of research by other investigators, Helps limit distortion caused by personal values.
What are limitations of scientific sociology? 1.Human behavior is too complex to predict precisely any individuals actions. 2.The mere presence of the researcher may affect the behavior being studied. 3. Social patterns change. 4. Sociologists are part of the world they study making value-free research difficult. What is androcentricity? Approaching the topic from the male-only perspective. What is over Gynocentricity? Approaching the topic from the female only perspective. What is overgeneralizing? Using data collected from one sex and applying the findings to both sexes. What is gender blindness? The failure to consider the impact of gender at all.
What are double standards? Using different standards to judge males and females. What is interference? This occurs when a subject under study reacts to the sex of the researcher and thereby interferes with the research operation. What are the 6 ethical guidelines for research? 1. Must strive to be technically competent and fair minded. 2. Must disclose findings in full without omitting significant data and be willing to share their data. 3. Must protect the safety, rights, and privacy of subjects. 4. Must obtain informed consent -- subjects are aware of the risks and responsibilities and agree 5. Must disclose all sources of funding and avoid conflicts of interest. 6. Must demonstrate cultural sensitivity What is an experiment? A research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions. What is a Hypothesis? An unverified statement of a relationship between variables. An educated guess.
What is a placebo? A treatment that seems to be the same but has no effect on the experiment. What is the Hawthorne effect? A change in a subject's behavior caused by the awareness of being studied. What are the steps to an ideal experiment? Specify the dependent and independent variables. Measure the dependent variable expose dependent variable to independent variable Re-measure dependent variable to see if predicted change took place. If no change, modify hypothesis and re-test. What is a control? A control allows one to be certain that the change in the dependent variable was due to the exposure to the independent variable. To do this the researcher must keep aside a group of test subjects that will not be exposed to the independent variable in order to ensure that changes do not occur from a source other then the independent variable. What is survey research? A research method in which subjects respond to a series of statements or questions in a questionnaire or interview.
What is population? The people who are the focus of the research. What is a sample? the part of the population that represents the whole. What is a random sample? Drawing a sample from a population so that every element of the population has an equal chance of being selected. What is a questionnaire? A series of written questions a researcher presents to subjects. What is a close ended questionnaire? A series of fixed responses; easy to analyze but narrows range of responses.
What is an open ended questionnaire? A series of Free response questions; broadens range of responses but harder to analyze. What are interviews? A series of questions a researcher administers in person to respondents. What is participant observation? A research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining in their routine activities. What is secondary analysis? A research method in which a researcher used data collected by others. What are the ten steps to sociological investigation? 1. Select and define topic 2. Review the literature 3. Develop key questions to ask 4. Assess requirements for study 5. Consider ethical issues 6. Select a research methodology 7. Collect the data 8. Interpret the findings 9. State conclusions 10. Publish the findings
Auguste Comte Importance of Social integration during times of rapid change. Emile Durkheim Helped establish sociology as a university discipline. Herbert Spencer Compared society to the human body, organic approach. Talcott parsons Sought to identify tasks that every society must perform. Robert K. Merton Manifest functions are recognized and intended consequences. Latent functions are unrecognized and unintended consequences. Social dysfunctions are undesirable consequences.
Max Weber Understanding a setting from the people in it. George Herbert Mead How we build personalities form social experience. Erving Goffman Dramaturgical analysis George Homans and Peter Blau Social exchange analysis Karl Marx The importance of social class in inequality and social conflict.
W.E.B. DuBois Race as the major problem facing the United States in the twentieth century.