SOC Exam 1 Study Guide.pdf - Exam 1 Unit 1: Chapter 1: o...

Exam 1
Unit 1:
Chapter 1:
o Sociology- the study of groups & group interactions, societies & social interactions, from
micro (small personal) to macro (large groups)
o
Sociological Imagination- awareness of the relationship b/w a persons behavior &
experience & the wider culture that shaped the persons choices/perception (C.W. Mills)
o
Social Facts- cultural rules that govern social life; ex) laws, morals, values, regions, etc.
o
Social Institutions- (Herbert Spencer) patterns of beliefs & behaviors focus on meeting
social needs; ex) family, schools, work, gov., sports, religion, economy
o
Figuration- process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of an individual & the
society that shaped that behavior
o
Auguste Comte: Coined term sociology, named positivism (scientific study of social
patterns), scientific method with sociology
o
Karl Marx: rejected positivism, Communist Manifesto, wrote on capitalism, class
struggles and communism
o
Georg Simmel: anti-positivism stance, microlevel theorist
o Emile Durkheim: Main Works- rules of sociological method, division of labor in the
society, Suicide; socioreligious forces (not individual or psychological)
o George Herbert Mead: emphasis on social interactions, significant others & generalized
others (social influences on the development on the mind)
o Max Weber: “The Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism”,
o Verstehen- to understand in a deep way
o Antipositivism- view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they
work to represent social processes, cultural norms & societal values
o Quantitative sociology- statistical methods such as surveys w/ large groups
o Qualitative sociology- in-depth interviews, focus groups, &/or analysis of
content sources as the source of its data
o W.E.B. Du Bois : civil rights activist, prolific social scientist, first black graduate from
Harvard, proposed capitalism was the cause of racism
o Functionalism - society is a structure w/ interrelated parts designed to meet
biological/social needs of individuals in society
o Alfred Radcliffe-Brown
o Function- part of recurrent activity play the social life as a whole & the
contribution it makes to structural continuity.
o Dynamic Equilibrium- stable state on which all parts of a healthy society work
together

2
o Robert Merton-
o Manifest Functions -sough consequence of social pressures
o Latent Functions- unrecognized or unintended consequences of a social process
o Conflict Theory- society is a competitions for limits resources, inequalities contribute to
social differences, conflict creates framework for social change
o Symbolic Interactionism- one-one interactions & communications through language
and symbols; daily interactions with others (George Herbert Mead)
o Erving Goffman- Dramaturgical analysis- view society through metaphor/
performance
o Peter L. Berger - Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective
o ‘Aha’ moment- when sociological theory becomes applicable
Chapter 2:
• Empirical Evidence - evidence that comes from direct experience, scientifically gathered
data or experimentation
• Meta-Analysis-