Sociology Final Exam Study Guide

What is Sociology?

Qualitative Research

Quantitative Research

Participant Observation

Questionnaire

Population

Sample / Representative Sample

Closed Ended / Open Ended

Case Study

Sociological perspective

Correlation

Causation

3 Steps to Determine Causation –

Standard 1: Two variables must be correlated -Standard 2: All other possible factors must be taken into account

Standard 3: A change in the independent variable must occur before a change in the dependent variable can occur

Ex: Church attendance & juvenile delinquency

#1 – Researchers found there’s a negative correlation

#2 – Consider AGE (older adolescents attend church less frequently & older adolescents are more likely to be delinquent) Therefore, NOT casual #3 – Do people stop attending church before they become delinquents or vice versa?

Functionalist Perspective -Approach that emphasizes the contributions made by each part of society

Ex: family, economy, and religion are “parts” of a society. The family contributes to society by providing for the reproduction and care of its new members.

The economy contributes by dealing with production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Religion contributes by emphasizing beliefs and practices related to sacred things.

Latent v. Manifest Function

Dysfunction

Conflict Perspective -Emphasizes conflict, competition, change, and constraint. within a society -Opposite perspective of functionalism Ex: Race, gender, social class, etc.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective -Focuses on the interaction among people—interaction based on mutually understood symbols. Basic Assumptions: -We learn the meaning of a symbol from the way we see others reacting to it. -We learn the meaning of symbols based on our interaction with them. -We use meanings of symbols to imagine how others with respond to our behavior

Culture

Material v. Non-Material

Symbol

Hypothesis of Linguistic Relativity (Sapir- Whorf) -Our perceptions of the world depend in part on the particular language we have learned -Ex: Americans have many words for time Eskimos have 20+ word

Norms

Folkways

Mores

Taboo

Law

Informal v. Formal Sanctions

Positive v. Negative Sanctions

Values

3 Reasons for Cultural Change -Discovery: the process of finding some that already exists

Ex: the earth is round, athletic abilities of females -Invention: the creation of something new

Ex: iPod or technology -Diffusion: the borrowing of aspects of culture from other cultures Ex: foods, Christmas trees, piñatas

Ethnocentrism

Cultural Particulars v. Cultural Universals -Universals: General cultural traits that exist in all cultures

Ex: sports, cooking, courtship, housing, language, medicine, joking, marriage, etc. -Particulars: the unique ways in which a culture expresses universal traits

Ex: differences in caring for children – some cultures have women raise the kids, some have men raise the kids, some share the responsibilities

Subculture

Counterculture

Socialization

Self-Concept -Charles Horton Cooley -An image of yourself as having an identity separate from other people

Hidden Curriculum

Agents of Socialization

Total Institution -Places in which people are separated from the rest of the society and controlled by officials in charge

Ex: Mental hospitals, cults, prisons, and rehabilitation facilities

Resocialization -The process of adopting new norms, values, and attitudes, and behaviors -Elaborate system of rewards and punishments to attempt to give the resident new self-concepts. -Ex: Adopting new norms, values, and beliefs at a rehab Facility; basic training in the U.S. Marine Corps

Desocialization -The process of giving up old norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors Ex: Replacing personal possessions with standard- issue items, the use of a serial number to identify people, and the loss of privacy in prison

Anticipatory Socialization -The process of preparing to accept new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. -It does not generally occur in prisons or mental hospitals because it involves voluntary change. -Often occurs when people are moving from one stage in their lives to another -Ex: Seniors in college—normally seen in jeans and sweatshirts—begin to dress and act more professionally as graduation approach

Reference Group -A group whose norms and values are used to guide behavior; a group whom you identify with. -Reference groups are used as a tool for anticipatory socialization. -Ex: Pre-teens look to teenagers to evaluate themselves and to acquire new norms, attitudes, values, and beliefs.

Social Structure

Achieved v. Ascribed Status

Role Conflict

Role Strain

Group (Primary v. Secondary)

Social Aggregate

Social Category

Conformity

Deviance (Positive v. Negative)

Strain Theory

Innovation

Rebellion

Ritualism

Control Theory

Differential Association Theory

Stigma

Victim Discounting -Process of reducing the seriousness of the crimes that injure people of a lower status -If the victim is “less valuable” – then the crime is less serious and the penalty is less severe Ex: death of minorities or poor

Recidivism

Features of a Minority group -A group of people with physical or cultural traits different from those of the dominant group in society

Ex: Latinos, women, Jewish population, etc. -5 Characteristics:

1. Has distinctive physical or cultural characteristics that can be used to separate it from the majority

2. Is dominated by the majority

3. Minority traits are often believed by the dominant majority to be inferior

4. Members of the minority have a common sense of identity

5. Majority determines who belongs to the minority through ascribed status

Assimilation -The blending or fusing of minority groups into the dominant society

-4 Types:

1. Anglo-conformity – most common form, where traditional American institutions are maintained, and people are accepted as long as they conform 2. Melting Pot – all ethnic and racial minorities voluntarily blend together

3. Tossed salad – traditions and cultures exist side by side

4. Cultural pluralism – See below 5.

Accommodation – extreme form of cultural pluralism such as the Amish or Cubans in Miami

Cultural Pluralism

Genocide

Population Transfer -A minority is forced to move to a remote location or to leaver entirely the territory controlled by the majority Ex: Native American removal or Jewish ghettos in WWI

Subjugation -Process by which a minority group is denied equal access based on everyday practice Ex: de jure or de facto segregation

Discrimination v. Prejudice

Stereotype

Socialization, Groups, and Stratification

Class Consciousness- Identification with the goals and interests of a social class

Coercion- An interaction in which individuals or groups are forced to behave a particular way

Conformity- Behavior that matches the group’s expectations

Group Think- self deceptive thinking that is based on conforming to the group’s beliefs and created by group pressure to conform

In Group- Type of group demands intense loyalty

Looking Glass Self- An image of yourself based on what you believe others think of you

Reference Group- Type of group has norms which guide behavior and which you identify with the most.

Self Concept- An image of you as having an identity separate from others

Social Class- segment of society whose members hold similar amounts of resources and share values, norms, and identifiable lifestyle

Social Exchange- A voluntary action performed in the expectation of getting a reward in reward

Social Interaction- The process of influencing each other as people relate

Social Mobility- The movement of individuals or groups between social classes

Socialization- The process of learning to participate in a group

Status- A position a person occupies within a social structure

Stratification- A ranking of people or groups according to their unequal access to scarce resources

Family

Blended Family- Family is formed when at least one or both parents have children from previous marriages or relationships

Cohabitated Family- Family involves a marriage-like arrangement without the legal obligations of formal marriage

Endogamy- Term describes a marriage within ones own group as required by social norms

Exogamy- practice of marrying outside ones group

Extended Family- family has two or more adult generations of the same family whose members share common house holds

Family- Term for a group of people related by marriage, blood, or adoption

Homogamy- Term for the free choice of who to marry

Matrilocal- Pattern in which married couples live with or near the wives parents

Monogamy- Term for a marriage consisting of one man and one woman at a time

Nuclear Family- Family structure is composed of parents and children

Patrilocal- Term for the pattern in which married couples live with or near the husband’s parents

Polygamy- Term for the marriage of one man to two or more woman at the same time

Same Sex Family- Family involves two people of the same sex raise a child together

Single Parent Family- Family involves an unwed or divorced parent raising a child

Education

Charter Schools- Public schools that are operated like private schools and run by public teachers and administrators

Cognitive Ability- Capacity for thinking abstractly

Cultural Bias- Unfair measurement of the cognitive abilities of people in the same social categories

Educational Equality- Condition in which schooling produces the same results for minority children as it does for other children

For Profit Schools- Schools which run by private companies on government funds

Formal Schooling- Education that is provided and regulated by society

Magnet Schools- Public schools that focus on particular disciplines or areas

Tracking- School districts place students in programs according to their academic ability levels

Voucher System- System in which public school funds may be used to support public, private or religious schools