Sociology exam #1 review –
Questions and Answers A+ Scores
sociology - -the study of human society and social behavior
-Dyad - -the smallest unit of analysis in sociology; two people
-What Sociologists are concerned with - -how and why people as members
of a group act the way they do towards one another
-Auguste Compte - -founding father of sociology; coined the term
"sociology"; argued that reliance on superstition and speculation was
inadequate in understanding society
-It is hard to study people because... - -1. people do not always tell the truth
2. people change their behavior when under analysis
-Emile Durkheim - -functionalist; dealt with problems of social order;
Pioneered the systematic application of scientific principles to sociology; First
to use statistical methods to test hypotheses; Studied suicide
-Karl Marx - -Conflict theorist; concerned with the tension and struggle for
social change; highlighted the roles of dominant and subordinate groups in
civil society
-Max Weber - -Conflict theorist; focused on everyday social behavior;
believed that ideas and values have as much impact on social change as
economic factors
-Harriet Martineau - -Born in 1802; the first female sociologist; translated
Comptes work into english. she believed that Sociology must include analysis
of women's lives; focused on ignored issues including marriage, children,
religious life, race relations
-William E Dubois - -1868-1963; first black sociologist; went to harvard;
focused on issues of race and racial oppression; founded the Atlanta school
of sociology; co-founded the NAACP
-Sociological perspective - -helps us investigate the link between our
experience as individuals and as members of a group
-Three things that are important to BROADER SOCIAL CONTEXT - -You have
to consider the social location of people; you need to look at the relationship
of one group to another; external influences that are internalized
, -social location of people - -in their history and in a particular society;
example- women in Saudi Arabia
-relationship of one group to another - -example Hutus vs Tutsies; children
of mixed marriages
-external influences that are internalized - -things people take in as they are
developing
-wonder - -an idea that you are curious about; first step in sociological
research
-conceptualize your wonder (3 things) - -1. isolate the key elements
2. define the issue/problem
3. narrow your topic down to very specific questions
-theorize - -state why and how concepts are related
-Methods of study - -Basic survey, participant observation, secondary
analysis, documents, unobtrusive measures, and experiments
-Basic survey - -Positive- you can blanket a large number of people
Negative- you dont know if the respondents are being honest or even in your
target demographic
-functionalist - -a. dont want to change anything
b. Macrolevel: not concerned with the individuals role
essentially concerned with how things function
c. view: "society is composed of interrelated parts that work together to
maintain one goal?"
-conflict - -a. there is always a dominant group and a subordinate group
b. macrolevel: not concerned with the individuals role
c. view: "society is characterized by social inequality; social life is a struggle
for scarce resources. Social arrangements benefit some groups at the
expense of others"
d. if someone is wealthy, they did it by making someone else poor.
-symbolic interactionalist - -Microlevel: looking at the small groups and
social networks
view: "society is the sum of the interactions of people and groups. Behavior
is learned in interaction with other people.
-Two kinds of culture - -Material Culture and Non-material culture
Questions and Answers A+ Scores
sociology - -the study of human society and social behavior
-Dyad - -the smallest unit of analysis in sociology; two people
-What Sociologists are concerned with - -how and why people as members
of a group act the way they do towards one another
-Auguste Compte - -founding father of sociology; coined the term
"sociology"; argued that reliance on superstition and speculation was
inadequate in understanding society
-It is hard to study people because... - -1. people do not always tell the truth
2. people change their behavior when under analysis
-Emile Durkheim - -functionalist; dealt with problems of social order;
Pioneered the systematic application of scientific principles to sociology; First
to use statistical methods to test hypotheses; Studied suicide
-Karl Marx - -Conflict theorist; concerned with the tension and struggle for
social change; highlighted the roles of dominant and subordinate groups in
civil society
-Max Weber - -Conflict theorist; focused on everyday social behavior;
believed that ideas and values have as much impact on social change as
economic factors
-Harriet Martineau - -Born in 1802; the first female sociologist; translated
Comptes work into english. she believed that Sociology must include analysis
of women's lives; focused on ignored issues including marriage, children,
religious life, race relations
-William E Dubois - -1868-1963; first black sociologist; went to harvard;
focused on issues of race and racial oppression; founded the Atlanta school
of sociology; co-founded the NAACP
-Sociological perspective - -helps us investigate the link between our
experience as individuals and as members of a group
-Three things that are important to BROADER SOCIAL CONTEXT - -You have
to consider the social location of people; you need to look at the relationship
of one group to another; external influences that are internalized
, -social location of people - -in their history and in a particular society;
example- women in Saudi Arabia
-relationship of one group to another - -example Hutus vs Tutsies; children
of mixed marriages
-external influences that are internalized - -things people take in as they are
developing
-wonder - -an idea that you are curious about; first step in sociological
research
-conceptualize your wonder (3 things) - -1. isolate the key elements
2. define the issue/problem
3. narrow your topic down to very specific questions
-theorize - -state why and how concepts are related
-Methods of study - -Basic survey, participant observation, secondary
analysis, documents, unobtrusive measures, and experiments
-Basic survey - -Positive- you can blanket a large number of people
Negative- you dont know if the respondents are being honest or even in your
target demographic
-functionalist - -a. dont want to change anything
b. Macrolevel: not concerned with the individuals role
essentially concerned with how things function
c. view: "society is composed of interrelated parts that work together to
maintain one goal?"
-conflict - -a. there is always a dominant group and a subordinate group
b. macrolevel: not concerned with the individuals role
c. view: "society is characterized by social inequality; social life is a struggle
for scarce resources. Social arrangements benefit some groups at the
expense of others"
d. if someone is wealthy, they did it by making someone else poor.
-symbolic interactionalist - -Microlevel: looking at the small groups and
social networks
view: "society is the sum of the interactions of people and groups. Behavior
is learned in interaction with other people.
-Two kinds of culture - -Material Culture and Non-material culture
