BGSU SOC 1010 Exam 1 Study Guide
Latest Updated
Sociology - ANS-the study of human society
The Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills) - ANS-the ability to see the link between
society and self; helps us "make the familiar strange" or to question habits or customs
that seem "natural" to us
Ex: cultural food
Social institutions - ANS-groups of social positions connected by social relations that
perform a social role; networks of structures in society that work to socialize the groups
of people within then
Ex: legal system, labor market, family
Social forces - ANS-human created ways of doing things that influence, pressure, or
force people to behave, interact with others, or think in specified ways
Social structures - ANS-enduring relationships among various groups and trends in
coordinated human behaviors; structures are lasting patterns of behavior and social
organization that maintain, inform, condition, and constrain other behavior
Ex: gender, race, social class
How do social institutions/social structures relate to one another? - ANS-Social structure
determines how social institutions act
Ex: gender structures the family
Thinking like a sociologist: sociological perspectives and the sociological imagination -
ANS-making the familiar strange
Ex: cultural foods
Social construction - ANS-a theory that examines the development of jointly-constructed
understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality
Ex: borders for a country
, Social identity - ANS-how you choose to define yourself; how others define you
Positivism (Auguste Comte) - ANS-a social physics; a way of understanding based on
science; everything is understandable, you just have to know all the variables
Conflict theory (Karl Marx) - ANS-"society can be improved"; argues that society exists
based on competition, not equilibrium; thinks that the working class will become fed-up
with their lack of resources and overthrow the upper class
Ex: money, leisure, partners
Verstehen (Max Weber) - ANS-"understanding"; meant to ensure that sociologists
operate with some level of empathy with their subjects
Structural functionalism - ANS-"things are perfect the way they are"; argues that the
status quo should be maintained; society is a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability
Ex: those who deserve to be admitted into colleges will be
Anomie (Emile Durkheim) - ANS-a sense of aimlessness that arises when we can no
longer expect life to be predictable due to normalessness; is linked to suicide
The Division of Labor (Solidarity) - ANS-the purpose of the division of labor in society is
solidarity; maintains cohesion
Characteristics of suicide (as defined by Durkheim) - ANS-race: white
age: elderly (then, young people)
religion: non-religious
gender: male
social status: rich
Symbolic interactionism - ANS-the nature of symbols; meanings of symbols are socially
constructed
Ex: the peace sign has different meanings depending on your social group
Looking Glass Self (Cooley) - ANS-a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal
interactions and the perceptions of others
Ex: Shrek - Society sees him as a repulsive monster, which shapes his own behavior.
He starts seeing himself as repulsive which causes him to lash out at others, etc.
Generalized Other (Mead) - ANS-understanding the given activity and the actors' place
within the activity from the perspective of all the others engaged in the activity; being
aware of society's role and how you can fill them
Latest Updated
Sociology - ANS-the study of human society
The Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills) - ANS-the ability to see the link between
society and self; helps us "make the familiar strange" or to question habits or customs
that seem "natural" to us
Ex: cultural food
Social institutions - ANS-groups of social positions connected by social relations that
perform a social role; networks of structures in society that work to socialize the groups
of people within then
Ex: legal system, labor market, family
Social forces - ANS-human created ways of doing things that influence, pressure, or
force people to behave, interact with others, or think in specified ways
Social structures - ANS-enduring relationships among various groups and trends in
coordinated human behaviors; structures are lasting patterns of behavior and social
organization that maintain, inform, condition, and constrain other behavior
Ex: gender, race, social class
How do social institutions/social structures relate to one another? - ANS-Social structure
determines how social institutions act
Ex: gender structures the family
Thinking like a sociologist: sociological perspectives and the sociological imagination -
ANS-making the familiar strange
Ex: cultural foods
Social construction - ANS-a theory that examines the development of jointly-constructed
understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality
Ex: borders for a country
, Social identity - ANS-how you choose to define yourself; how others define you
Positivism (Auguste Comte) - ANS-a social physics; a way of understanding based on
science; everything is understandable, you just have to know all the variables
Conflict theory (Karl Marx) - ANS-"society can be improved"; argues that society exists
based on competition, not equilibrium; thinks that the working class will become fed-up
with their lack of resources and overthrow the upper class
Ex: money, leisure, partners
Verstehen (Max Weber) - ANS-"understanding"; meant to ensure that sociologists
operate with some level of empathy with their subjects
Structural functionalism - ANS-"things are perfect the way they are"; argues that the
status quo should be maintained; society is a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability
Ex: those who deserve to be admitted into colleges will be
Anomie (Emile Durkheim) - ANS-a sense of aimlessness that arises when we can no
longer expect life to be predictable due to normalessness; is linked to suicide
The Division of Labor (Solidarity) - ANS-the purpose of the division of labor in society is
solidarity; maintains cohesion
Characteristics of suicide (as defined by Durkheim) - ANS-race: white
age: elderly (then, young people)
religion: non-religious
gender: male
social status: rich
Symbolic interactionism - ANS-the nature of symbols; meanings of symbols are socially
constructed
Ex: the peace sign has different meanings depending on your social group
Looking Glass Self (Cooley) - ANS-a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal
interactions and the perceptions of others
Ex: Shrek - Society sees him as a repulsive monster, which shapes his own behavior.
He starts seeing himself as repulsive which causes him to lash out at others, etc.
Generalized Other (Mead) - ANS-understanding the given activity and the actors' place
within the activity from the perspective of all the others engaged in the activity; being
aware of society's role and how you can fill them
