Introduction to Sociology Essay

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INTRO SOCIOLOGY
Sociology: a systematic study of society
Sociological imagination: learning to think like a sociologist; sociologist doesn’t put the blame fully on one person (thinks outside the box); social forces at work that we don’t see
Personal trouble: ex) can’t find a job Public troubles: ex) group of people can’t find a job
Microsociology: a small look at things ex) between you and friends, roommates, etc
Macro sociology: a big look at things; the “big picture”
Theory: a set of statements used to try to explain something
August Comte: father of sociology (founder); believed research is needed instead of just observations
Herbert Spencer: theory of social survival of the fittest
Capitalists: ex) factory (company) owners
Proletariat: ex) factory (company) owners
Structural Functional (functional analysis/functionalism): sees society as stable/orderly and made up of interrelated parts
Manifest Destiny: intended; thought/expected to happen ex) send kids to school – receive education
Latent Functions: unintended (can be good) ex) send kids to school – learn to share, patriotic, free daycare
Dysfunctions: causes disruptions or trouble ex) send kids to school – bullying, bad habits/words, shootings
Conflict Theory: haves vs. have nots; things in society not equal; competition for scarce resources (property, wealth, prestige) ex) street people becoming politicians
Feminist Theory: true feminists look for equal opportunities between male/female
Symbolic Interactionism: interaction; try to attach meaning to something by interactions with others ex) someone didn’t wave/say hi – he’s mad at me, what did I do when person just distracted
Sociological imagination/perspective: a way of thinking in which we realize that people are not responsible for everything that happens to them ex) race, familial finances
Forms of Truth: Experts, belief/faith, a general consensus in society (something society believes) ex) used to school/teach children at home, now in a school, science
Hypothesis: and if/then statement
Independent Variable: variable that has power to create change
Dependent Variable: variable that may change; dependent on independent variable
Qualitative Approach: research done with words (descriptive, make subject more intrusive)
Quantitative Approach: research with numbers (4 out of 5, 80%)
Validity: the degree to which a measure is accurate and really measures what it claims to measure
Reliability: the consistency with which the same measure produces similar results time after time
Sample: a group of people or things that are representative of the population researchers wish to study
Correlation: the extent of the relationship between variables
Secondary Analysis: examination of data that has been collected by someone else
Hawthorne Effect:
Ethical Principles of Ethical Sociological Research: cause no harm to subject (mental/physical), report all findings, give everyone credit for work, careful not to be swayed if payed (ethical)
Culture: learned and shared behaviors, beliefs, customs, material objects, etc. that characterize a particular group in society
Material Culture: clothing, buildings, architecture
Nonmaterial Culture: laws, beliefs, ideas, customs
Culture Shock: shocked by new experience; different from familiar culture ex) move from city to country and vice versa
Cultural Universals: something all cultures share ex) funeral rights, families, joking
Cultural Transmission: the movement
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