TEST PREP: Must Know Concepts Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective

1. Sociology The scientific study of society and human behavior. The science of describing social relationships. It is complex and vast in scope.

2. The 3 Questions Sociologists Ask: 1. What is? 2. How are things connected? 3. Why are they connected this way?

3. Social Integration Term to describe how involved – the quantity and quality – of relationships an individual has (social ties) Key concept as highlighted in Durkheim’s research regarding suicide: Categories of people with strong social ties had low suicide rates, whereas more individualistic people had high suicide rates.

4. Global Perspective The study of the larger world and our society’s place in it.

#5. Social marginality “looking from the outside in” The term used to describe the state of being an “outsider” - not part of the dominant group- on an everyday basis. The greater people’s social marginality, the better able they are to use the sociological perspective. *To become better at using the sociological perspective, one must step back from our familiar routines and look at our lives with new awareness and curiousity.

#6. Theory A statement of how and why specific facts are related.

#7. Theoretical Paradigm A basic image of society that guides thinking and research. Structural functional Social conflict Symbolic interaction

#8. Structural Functional Paradigm A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.

#9. Social Structure Any relatively stable pattern of social behavior. Social structure gives our lives shape, whether it be in families, the workplace, or the classroom. ALL social structure – from a simple handshake to complex religious rituals – functions to keep society going.

#10. Social Function Consequences from the operation of society / the results/ impact of social structures

#11. Social dysfunction The undesirable consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society. Please note that people can and often do disagree with what is useful or harmful. What is functional for one category of people (say, factory owners or landlords) may well by dysfunctional for another category of people (factory workers or tenants).

#12. Manifest Functions The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern. Kids go to school to become education – reading, writing, etc.

#13. Latent functions Consequences that are largely unrecognized and unintended. To illustrate, the obvious function (manifest) of education is to provide young people with the information and skills they need to perform jobs. The latent function is the needed childcare for parents during the daytime shift. Another latent function example is college’s function of being a “marriage broker,” bringing together people of similar social backgrounds.

#14. Social conflict paradigm A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.

#15. Macro -sociology The sociological study of large-scale social systems and long-term patterns and processes aka “a macro level orientation”

#16. Symbolic-interaction paradigm A framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals. “down on the street / in the thick of things” rather than the “big picture” approach / an overhead snapshot from a helicopter of a major city

THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!

#16. Microsociology The sociological study of small groups within a larger social system; a close up focus on social interaction in specific situations aka “micro level orientation”