Sociology Study Guide

Sociology Study Guide 1

Chapter 1

Comte’s Hierarchy
Complex Sociology Concrete
Biology
Chemistry Physics
Simple Math/Astronomy Abstract

Sociological Imagination The ability to look beyond the individual as the cause for success and failure and see how one’s society influences the outcome Micro- small scale; focuses our attention on the individual Macro-large scale; point of view in our imagining of the social world
Solidarity- refers to the level of connectedness and integration a person feels to others in the environment.
Durkheim
Social Control- refers to the social mechanisms that regulate a person’s actions.
Egoistic Suicides- suicides that result from a lack of solidarity, occurring among those who have few social connections, feel isolated and alone, and are more likely to fall into despair.
Altruistic Suicides- suicides that occur when the level of solidarity is exceptionally high and when the individual views the group’s interest as superior to all other interests.
Anomic Suicides- suicides that occur as a result of rapid change, usually economic.
Fatalistic suicides- suicides that result from too much social control. Three Major Sociological Paradigms Functionalism- defines society as a system of interrelated parts Ex. Everything works together; macro Conflict Theory- views society as an unequal system that brings about conflict and change. Ex. Who has and who has not; macro Symbolic Interactionist- focuses on how people interact with others in their everyday lives. Ex. How you perceive something; micro
Chapter 2
Sociological Research
1. Decide on a topic
2. Review the Literature
3. Develop a Hypothesis
4. Collect Data
Comparative studies-use data from different sources in order to evaluate them against each other.
Cross-sectional studies- look at one event at a single point in time.
Longitudinal studies- include data from observations over time using a cohort.
Survey- investigation of the opinions or experience of a group of people by asking them questions
Experiments
Participant Observations- a type of field research in which the researcher poses as a person who is normally in the environment.
Interviews
Secondary Data- are data that others have already collected and published

5. Analyze Results
6. Share and Publish Results
Quantitative Data- refer to data based on numbers
Qualitative Data- include words, pictures, photos, or any other type of information that comes to the researcher in a nonnumeric form.
Chapter 3 Material Culture-consists of items within a culture that you can taste, touch, and feel. Nonmaterial Culture- consists of the nonphysical products of society, including our symbols, values, rules, and sanctions.
Robin William’s fifteen dominant values in U.S.
1. Achievement and success
2. Activity and Work
3. Moral Orientation
4. Humanitarianism
5. Efficiency and Practicality
6. Progress
7. Material Comfort
8. Equality
9. Freedom
10. External Conformity
11. Science and Secular Rationality
12. Nationalism and Patriotism
13. Democracy
14. Individual Personality
15. Racism and Related Group Superiority
McDonaldization
1. Efficiency- customers do the employees’ work
2. Calculability- number of task completed on time
3. Predictability- increases reward and decreases risk for both business and consumer
4. Technology/Control- limits humor error
Chapter 4 Primary groups- small, intimate, and enduring Secondary Groups- formal, superficial, and temporary
Status
Achieved Status- position that is earned or does something to attain Ascribed Status- position that is given or assigned Master Status- what is most important to us
Stigma
Discredited stigma- cannot be hidden from others, or is no longer hidden from others Discreditable stigma- can be concealed from others
Societal change- as societies change over time,

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