Sociological imagination - the ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of an individuals life
to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces
The Chicago School - Had the most empirical research. Known for its premise: humans' behaviors and
personalities are shaped by their social and physical environments, a concept known as social ecology.
The Looking Glass Self - (Cooley) the self emerges from an interactive social process. We envision how
others perceive us; then we gauge the responses of other individuals to our presentation of self.
The generalized Other - our view of the views of society as a whole that transcends individuals or
particular situations
Functionalism - The theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some
important (or necessary) function to keep society running
Feminism Theory - Emphasizes equality between men and women and want to see women's lives and
experiences represented in sociological studies.
Symbolic Interaction Theory - The micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and
assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions.
Mirco vs. Macro Sociology - Mirco= face-to-face interactions create the social world
Macro= big theories of society
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Sociology - Quant= can be distributed in numerical form
Qual= norms spread over time
Research Methods - approaches that social scientists use for investigating the answers to questions
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Approaches - Quant= seek to obtain info about the social world and can
be put in numerical form
Qual= collect info about social world that can't be put in numerical form
Deductive vs. Inductive Methods - deduct= theory, form hypothesis, make observations, analyze data,
reject/modify theory
induct= starts with the observations then tries to make a theory
Causality vs. Correlation - Causality= thing A is the reason why thing B occurred
Correlation= two things happen around the same time or simultaneous variation occurred between
them
Dependent Variables - the outcome that the researcher is trying to explain (not changed)
Independent Variables - a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the
dependent variable.
Hypothesis - a proposed relationship between two variables
Hypothesis Testing - after assigning independent and dependent variables, stating the hypothesis and
alternative hypothesis, you conduct a study to test your hypothesis to see if it is true.
Material culture - everything that is a part of our constructed, physical environment, including
technology.
Nonmaterial culture - values, beliefs, behaviors, and social norms
Ideology - a system of concepts and relationships; an understanding of cause and effect.
Subculture - the distinct cultural values and behavioral patterns of a particular group in society; a
group united by sets of concepts, values, symbols, and shared meaning specific to the members of
that group and distinctive enough to distinguish it from others within the same culture or society.
High and Low Culture - society tends to value "high" culture over low "pop" culture; for example-
society tends to value the paintings of Van Gogh over graffiti or comic book art, or classical music over
rock or hip-hop.
Media - any formats or vehicles that carry, present, or communicate information.
Hegemony - a condition by which a dominant group uses its power to elicit the voluntary "consent" of
the masses.
Domination - One of Gramsci's ideas; getting people to do what you want them to do by force;
contrasts hegemony.
Media effects - short-term deliberate effect example would be advertising. As a kid, you may have
watched Saturday morning cartoons; watch them now and keep track of the advertisements for
children's food. Long-term deliberate example are public service announcements; generally used by
not-for-profit organizations to educate the public. Short-term, unintended example- teenagers playing
violent video games & then going out to commit crimes almost identical to those in teh games. Long-