Sociology Chapter Exam Quiz

Sociology Exam 1 Study Guide

• Sociology: The study of human society and behavior, encompassing large-scale institutions, mass culture, small groups, and individual interactions. It relies on systematic research, moving beyond superstitions to test ideas via surveys, interviews, and fieldwork.

Micro Sociology

• Definition: Examines small group interactions to understand their effects on larger societal institutions. Examples include interactions, socialization, and roles.

Meso Sociology

• Definition: Examines the middle ground between micro and macro sociology, identifying two main types of groups (categorical and corporate) as defined by John Turner.
• Categorical Group: A group based on shared attributes like class, race, or gender.
• Corporate Group: A group established for a specific purpose, like a university course.

Macro Sociology

• Definition: Analyzes large-scale social structures and their impact on individuals and groups. This includes social institutions (economics, politics, education, religion) and social inequalities (class, race).

Sociological Imagination

• Definition: The ability to understand the connection between personal experiences and broader social forces. It highlights how society shapes individual behavior and vice versa.

Personal Troubles vs. Social Issues

• Personal Troubles: Private problems affecting individuals arising from personal choices or situations (e.g., job loss due to personal reasons).
• Social Issues: Public problems impacting a large segment of society, influenced by the larger social structure (e.g., unemployment caused by economic recession).

The Nested Model

• Theoretical Model: Explains the interaction between individuals and society by breaking down components like; Self: individual identity, Interaction: individual interactions, Socialization: lifelong process of internalizing norms and roles, Roles: norms and assigned behaviors based on social position, Groups: Collections of individuals with shared roles, and Social Inequality: unequal resource/opportunity distribution among different groups.

Social Institutions

• Definition: Organized social structures that guide behavior and maintain social functioning. Examples include education, family, government, and religion.

Culture

• Definition: Shared values, beliefs, and norms arising from the social institutions.

Society

• Definition: The community encompassing individuals, institutions, and culture.

Symbolic Interactionism

• Definition: A sociological perspective that focuses on the meanings people attach to social interactions, symbols, and behaviors.

Conflict Theory

• Definition: Views society as a power struggle between different groups with conflicting interests. Examples include rich vs. poor, employer versus employee.

Structural Functionalism

• Definition: A theory that views society as a complex system of interconnected parts that work together to maintain stability. Each part contributes to social stability.

Social Facts

• Definition(Durkheim's term): External, objective structures and norms that influence individual behavior (e.g., laws, morals, religious beliefs).

Social Solidarity

• Definition: The cohesion and unity that binds a society or group together.

Collective Conscience

• Definition: Shared beliefs and values that form a moral base for society.

Mechanical Solidarity

• Definition: Social cohesion driven by shared beliefs, values, and similarities, typically seen in smaller, traditional societies.

Organic Solidarity

• Definition: Social cohesion reliant on interdependence between individuals.

Repressive Law

• Definition: Punitive laws aiming to maintain social order by punishing offenders.

Restitutive Law

• Definition: Laws designed to restore equilibrium after an offense, often through restitution or compensation.

Means of Production

• Definition: Physical (non-human) components like tools, land, and machinery used to produce goods and services.

Bourgeoisie

• Definition: The capitalist class owning the means of production.

Proletariat

• Definition: The working class selling its labor to the bourgeoisie in exchange for wages.

Relations of the Means of Production

• Definition: The social relationship between individuals involved in the production process (e.g., employer-employee relationships).

Exploitation

• Definition: The process by which the bourgeoisie profits from proletariat labor—often paying workers less than the value they produce.

Alienation

• Definition: Feeling of disconnection or powerlessness experienced by workers in capitalist societies due to a lack of control over the production process.

Superstructure and Base

• Base: Economic foundation including means of production and relations of production
• Superstructure: Cultural, political and ideological institutions that the base shapes

Class Consciousness

• Definition: Awareness of one's social class and interests, especially among the proletariat.

False Consciousness

• Definition: The working class's failure to recognize its exploitation due to ideologies that obscure class interests.

The Stage of the Social Self

• Preparatory Stage: Imitation of behaviors
• Play stage: Taking on the role of specific individuals (significant others).
• Game stage: Assuming multiple roles and understanding societal expectations (generalized others)

The Thomas Theorem

• Definition: If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. Perceptions of reality shape actions regardless of whether they are factually accurate.

The Looking-Glass Self

• Definition: Cooley's concept proposing that self-perception develops from how individuals believe others perceive them.

Inductive vs. Deductive Research

• Inductive: Bottom-up approach, starting with observations and leading to theories.
• Deductive: Top-down approach, starting with theory and testing it through data collection.

Survey

• Definition: A research method involving questionnaires or interviews to gather data, often from a large sample.

Participant Observation

• Definition: Qualitative research method where researchers immerse themselves in a community or group to gather firsthand information.

Experiment

• Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research:
• Quantitative: Numerical data and statistical analysis, often emphasizing variables.
• Qualitative: Non-numerical data (observations or interviews), aiming to understand experiences and perspectives.

Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables

• Independent Variable: Manipulated variable.
• Dependent Variable: Measured variable. Influenced by the independent variable.
• Controlled Variable: Constant variable preventing influence on results.

Association

• Definition: Describes the relationship between variables. When one changes, the likely change in another. Does not imply cause and effect.

Time-Order

• Definition: Sequence in which events or variables occur. One variable preceding another.

Non-Spuriousness

• Definition: Genuine correlation between variables, without an external influencing factor.

Spurious Correlation

• Definition: A false relationship where an external factor produces a correlation which appears stronger than in reality.

The Belmont Report

• Definition: Ethical guidelines for conducting research on human subjects, emphasizing principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

Causality

• Definition: The relationship where one variable directly leads to a change in another.

Correlation vs. Causation

• Correlation: A relationship between two variables, that doesn't necessarily imply cause and effect.
• Causation: A direct cause and effect relationship between two variables.

Reading Materials

• C. Wright Mills: Sociological Imagination: The Promise
• Tina Wildhagen: “First Generation Student”
• Howard Schuman: Sense and Nonsense about Survey
• Marx & Engels: Communist Manifesto
• Herbert J. Gans: Uses of Poverty
• Peter Kaufman: You Might Be a Marxist
• Allan M. Brandt: Tuskegee
• Stanley Milgram: Obedience to Authority
• Laud Humphreys: Tearoom Sex Study
• Garrett Hardin: The Tragedy of the Commons
• Laura T. Hamilton: Helicopters

Additional Notes on Specific Individuals and Concepts

• (These bullet points provide brief summaries and additional context for specific topics and figures.)*

• Marx: Argued that capitalism alienates workers in four ways: from the product of their labor, the labor process, their human potential, and from other workers.

• Kaufman: Argues that many workers acknowledge economic injustices without fully realizing their Marxist implications.

• Humphreys: Conducted the Tearoom Sex Study, raising ethical concerns about research methods and influencing our understanding of how motivations and factors play a role.

• Hardin: introduced "The Tragedy of the Commons", emphasizing the conflicts that arise when resources are shared among individuals acting in their short-term self-interest.

• Becker: explored the development of marihuana use behaviours.

• Cooley: Developed the "looking glass self" theory.