Summary Sociology Review

Sociology Review In-class activity Sociology - The social science that studies human society and behavior. Social Sciences - The disciplines that study human social behavior or institutions and functions of human society in a scientific manner. Social Interaction - How people relate to one another and influence each others behavior. Social Phenomena - Observable facts or events that involve human society. Sociological Perspective - Looking beyond commonly held beliefs to the hidden meanings behind human actions. Sociological Imagination - The capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote [topics] to the most intimate features of the human self- and to see the relations between the two. Anthropology - The comparative study of past and present cultures. (Is the most similar to sociology in its subject matter.) Psychology - The social science that deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms. Social Psychology - The study of how the social environment affects an individual's behavior and personality. Economics - The study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their needs and wants. Political Science - The study of organization and operation of governments. History - The study of past events. Auguste Comte - - Considered the founder of Sociology. - Focused on two basic areas of study-- social order and social change, -Suggested that certain processes, which he called social statistics, held society together. -Argued that society changes through definite processes, which he called social dynamics. - Today most of his ideas regarding society have been refuted. Herbert Spencer - -Believed that society was a set of interdependent parts that worked together to maintain the system over time. -Believed that Darwin's theory of evolution of biological organisms to describe the nature of society. -Created Social Darwinism Social Darwinism - The perspective that holds that societies evolve toward stability and perfection. Karl Marx - -Believed that the structure of a society was influenced by how its economy is organized. -According to him, the bourgeoisie, or capitalists which owned the means of production, and the proletariat, or workers which owned nothing. -Led to the development of the conflict theory. -Father of Communism. Emile Durkheim - -Shared some ideas in common with Comte and Spencer. -Viewed the role of these interdependent parts in terms of their functions. -Particularly interested in the function of religion in maintaining social order, because he believed that shared beliefs and values were the glue that held society together. -Examined the suicide rates in several European countries. Function - The consequences that an element of society produces for the maintenance of its society system. Max Weber - -Unlike Comte, Spencer, Marx, and Durkheim, he was interested in separate groups within society rather than in society as a whole. -Believed that sociologists should go beyond studying what could be directly observed and attempt to uncover the feelings and thoughts of individuals. -Proposed the principle of Verstehen and the concept of ideal type. Verstehen - Involves an attempt to understand the meanings individuals attach to their action. Ideal Type - A description comprised of the essential characteristics of a feature of society. Theory - An explanation of the relationships among particular phenomena. Theoretical Perspectives - The general set of assumptions about the nature of phenomena. In the case of sociology, it outlines certain assumptions about the nature of social life. Functionalist Perspectives - Broadly based on the ideas of Comte, Spencer and Durkheim. People who employ this view society as a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable social system. Dysfunctional - The negative consequence an element has for the stability of the social system. Manifest Function - The intended and recognized consequence of some element of society. Ex. The automobile is to provide speedy transportation from one location to another. Latent Function - The unintended and unrecognized consequence of an element of society. Ex. The automobile is to gain social standing through the display of wealth. Conflict Perspective - -When people focus on the forces in society that promote competition and change. -Are often interested in how those who possess more power in society exercise control over those with less power. Interactionist Perspective - Sociologists which focuses on how individuals interact with one another in society. These sociologists are interested in the ways in which individuals respond to one another in everyday situations. Symbol - Anything that represents something else. Symbolic Interaction - Interactionists who focus on how people use symbols when interacting. Culture - Consists of all the shared of human groups. Material Culture - The physical objects that people create and use. Ex. automobiles, books, buildings, clothing, computers, and cooking utensils. Non-material Culture - Abstract human creations. Ex. beliefs, family patterns, ideas, language, political and economic systems, rules, skills, and work practices. Society - A group of interdependent people who have organized in such a way as to share a common culture and feeling of unity. Technology - Knowledge and tools people use for practical purposes. Language - The organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system. Values - Shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable. Norms - Shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations. Folkways - Norms that describe socially acceptable behavior but do not have great moral significance attached to them. Mores - Norms with great moral significance attached to them. Laws - Written rules of conduct enacted and enforced by government. Culture Traits - An individual tool, act, or belief that is related to a particular situation or need. Culture Complexes - Individual culture traits combine to form the next level. Culture Patterns - Culture complexes combine to form larger levels. Cultural Universals - Common features that are found in all human cultures. Margaret Mead - An anthropologist who conducted a study on cultural variation, where her purpose was determine whether differences in basic temperament- the fundamental emotional disposition of a person- result mainly from inherited characteristics or from cultural influences. Ethnocentrism - A tendency to view one's own culture and group as superior. Cultural Relativism - Belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards Subculture - Group with its own unique values, norms, and behaviors that exists within a larger culture. Counterculture - Group that rejects the values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns. Robin M. Williams - Identified a set of 15 values that are central to the American way of life. Personal Achievement - -Most Americas value this. -Most evident in the area of employment, where it is often measured in terms of power and wealth. Individualism - -For most this value is the key to personal achievement. -People with this value strongly believe that success comes through hard work and initiative. Work - -Most Americans value this, regardless of the rewards involved. -Is seen as a sign of virtue. -Those without this value are viewed as lazy and immoral. Morality and Humanitarianism - -With this value most tend to view the world in terms of right and wrong. -They are also quick to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Efficiency and Practicality - -People with this value believe that every problem has a solution. -Those with this value tend to judge objects such as new technology on their usefulness and judge people on their ability to get things done. Progress and Material Comfort - -This belief is pained with a belief in the ability of science and technology to make the world a better and more comfortable place. Equality and Democracy - The United States was founded on this value. Freedom - Americans particularly value this because it comes with choices. (Many of these choices are listed in our first amendment." James M. Henslin - Suggested that education, romantic love, and religion be added as additional values.