Sociology

Study Guide for Exam 1
Intro to Sociology
Bring # 2 Pencil

Understanding Sociology
Readings: Chapter 1
Article: New York: Plan to Close Prisons Stirs Anxiety in Towns That Depend on Them

Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)- An awareness of the relationship between an individual & the wider society; key element to sociological imagination is the ability to view one’s society as an outsider would.
**Society influences: culture, gender identity, religion & social class.

August Comte- (1798-1857) French philosopher during the Enlightenment; “father of Sociology”. Systematic investigation of behavior needed to improve society, (Sociology). Favored Positivism- a way of understanding based on science: research methods & statistics.
**Asked: “What holds society together?” (Structure) & “Why is there change in society?” (Social dynamic/process)

Emile Durkheim- (1858-1957) French. Behavior must be understood within larger social context. Goal was to recognize sociology as an academic discipline in Universities.
Anomie: loss of direction felt in society when social control of individual becomes ineffective. No structure. Eg: Crime
Suicide- major theme for Durkheim. Studied suicide rates & discovered social factors that contribute to suicide. Key factor in suicide is social integration- the degree to which ppl are tied to their social groups
** Those w/ weaker ties are most likely to commit suicide. Society has an influence on social structure
Egoistic suicide- so connected to status that when status is pulled from them, they commit suicide.
Altruistic suicide- sacrificing yourself for others

Karl Marx- (1818-1883) Revolutionary beliefs, Marxism. Stated that the engine of human history is class conflict. Strong conflict between the Bourgeoisie (those who owned property) & Proletariat (working class who were exploited). Working class should overthrow existing class system. Felt that the struggle between the classes would end only when the Proletariat revolted causing a classless society. Revolution did not happen because of: development of industry changed the economy, raised the standard of living, and creation of unions.

Max Weber- (1864-1920) to comprehend behavior, one must learn subjective (looking at a situation from a person’s perspective) meaning people attach to actions.
Verstehen: understanding; insight. Empathy
Ideal Type: construct for evaluating specific cases
**Did not believe economics was the force of social change. Religion is key, found that Protestant beliefs led to growth of capitalism.
Protestant Ethic: belief that working hard would please god.
Harriet Martineau- (1802-1876) regarded as the first woman sociologist. In 1853 Martineau translated the work of Auguste Comte from French to English. Advocated against slavery, argued for workers rights & fought for changes in education policies against women.
Feminism: equality between men & women in politics, pay & education.

WEB Du Bois- (1868-1963) first AA to earn a doctorate at Harvard. Helped found NAACP. Wrote “The souls of Blacked folks”- Ethnographer. Died in Ghana in 1963.
Double Consciousness: division of an individual’s identity into 2 or more social realities

Functional Perspective- emphasizes the way parts of a society are structured to maintain it’s stability. Relatively stable patterns of social behavior (Eg: law, gov’t), each social structure has social functions.
Manifest Functions: institution are open, stated conscious functions that involve intended & recognized consequences of an aspect of society. Eg: NYPD- Law enforcement; Serve & protect
Latent functions: unconscious or unintended function that may reflect hidden purposes of an institution. Hidden agenda
Social Dysfunction: elements or processes of society that may disrupt the social system or its stability

Social Conflict Perspective-Assume social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups. Sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict & change. Focuses on how social patterns benefits some people while hurting others. Conflict theorists are more “radical” & “activist” than functionalists.
Eg: As women gained more education & earnings, their willingness to accept men domination diminished; therefore men & women’s relationships change, women can meet their own needs outside of marriage, so U.S. divorce rate increase.

Symbolic Interaction Perspective-generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole, micro level. Humans viewed as living in a world of meaningful objects = Culture. Focuses on patterns of social interaction in specific settings.
Nonverbal Communication: can include many gestures, postures & facial expression.
**Applying Symbolic Interaction- Marriage & Divorce in the U.S: Early 1900’s Americans thought of marriage as sacred lifelong commitment, divorce immoral… 1940’s to present; Americans do not see marriage as a life long commitment. Divorce once a symbol of failure is now seen as an indicator of freedom.

Theory- set of statements that seek to explain problems, actions or behaviors. Effective theories have explanatory & predictive power. Theories are not final statement about human behavior.

Scientific Method- systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity (little or no bias) & consistency in researching a problem

1. What is the Sociological Imagination? Which social theorist came up with this concept?
S.I is the awareness of the relationship between an individual & the wider society, by having the ability to view one’s society as an outsider would. C. Wright Mills came up with the concept of the Sociological Imagination.
2. What is Sociology? How does this discipline differ from others?
Sociology is a scientific study of social behavior in human groups, focuses on how societies develop & change. Sociology differs from other disciplines because it takes the broad approach to helping us understand the different societies in which we live, other social sciences focus digs deeper into specific areas of our social surroundings.

3. Who is credited with being the founder of Sociology? What major historical events helped form this discipline?
Auguste Comte is credited for being the founder of Sociology; the industrial revolution helped him form this discipline.

4. According to Emile Durkheim, how does social integration affect suicide?
According to Durkheim, social integration affects suicide because the weaker or the stronger the ties people have to their social groups the more likely they are to commit suicide.

5. According to Marx, class conflict involves which two groups?
According to Marx class conflicts involved the Bourgeoisie (those who owned property) & Proletariat (working class who were exploited).

6. According to Weber, capitalism has its roots in which religion? Why?
According to Weber capitalism had its root in Protestant religion because of the Protestant ethic: which is the belief that working hard would please god.

7. Compare and contrast the three major sociological perspectives?

8. What are the major contributions of WEB Du Bois and Harriet Martineau to the field of sociology?
W.E.B Du Bois and Harriet Martineau made it possible for African Americans, and women to study the field sociology, and become sociologists who work in the field. Fought for changes in educations policies against women and people of color.

9. What are the manifest and latent functions of state prisons?
The manifest function of state prison is to incapacitate and rehabilitate criminals. The latent function of prisons is to provide jobs to residents in the area, inmates provide public services at cheaper costs, and community get more federal aid for funding.

Doing Sociological Research
Readings: Chapter 2;
Film: The Human Behavior Experiments
Variables- measurable trait or characteristics subject to change under different conditions. Vary; changes. Independent variable: variable hypothesized to cause or influence another. Dependent variable: action depends on the influence of the independent variable

Research Methods- detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically

Experiments-artificially created situation that allows researcher to manipulate variables.
*Experimental group is exposed to independent variable
**Control group is not exposed to independent variable

Surveys- study that provides sociologist with information about how people act or think
Interview: researcher obtains information through face-to-face or telephone questioning. Reduce interview bias. Questionnaires: researcher uses printed or written form to obtain information from respondent.
Quantitative Research: collects and reports primarily in numerical form.
Qualitative Research: relies on what is seen in field and naturalistic settings; often focuses on small groups and communities.

Observation-collecting information through direct participation and/or by closely watching a group of community
Ethnography: effort to describe an entire social setting through extended systematic observation

Secondary Analysis- existing sources. Research techniques that make use of previously collected and publically accessible information & data

Random Sample- when every member of a population has the same chance of being selected

Snowball Sample- used to obtain information from hard to reach groups

Social sciences- study of social feature of humans & the ways they interact & change. Eg: Psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, and humanities

Natural sciences- study of physical feature of nature & the ways they interact & change. Eg: Chemistry, astronomy, biology, physics.
Code of Ethics- 1. Maintain objectivity & integrity in research 2. Respect subjects’ right to privacy & dignity 3. Protect subjects from personal harm 4. Preserve confidentiality 5. Seek informed consent 6. Acknowledge collaboration & assistance 7. Disclose sources of financial support
Correlation- exists when change in one variable coincide with change in another. Correlation does not necessarily indicate causation.
Rapport- positive relationship between people; being comfortable with a person

Milgram Experiment- Obedience, under what conditions does a person follow authority. Transformation of human nature can be seduced to do something they’d never thought they’d do. Eg: To understand how the Nazi’s could exterminate & torture the Jews during WW2
Unethical because Milgrim didn’t maintain objectivity & integrity in research (didn’t tell the subjects what the experiment was really about), Honesty.

Zambardo Experiment- How people respond to a certain environment without clear rules. Transformation of human nature can be seduced to do something they’d never thought they’d do. Prison environment illicit the worst from people in positions of power.
Unethical because Zambardo didn’t maintain objectivity & integrity in research (didn’t tell the subjects what the experiment was really about), Honesty. Subjects right to privacy & dignity were violated; subjected the subjects to harm.

1. What are the different types of sampling methods used in research?
Two different types of sampling methods used in research are: random sampling (when every member of a population has the same chance of being selected) and snowball sampling (used to obtain information from hard to reach groups)

2. What are problems researchers encounter when conducting interviews?
Problems researcher encounter when conducting interviews are: unreliable and inaccurate information. Also encounter interview bias.

3. Two groups are used in experimental research, what are they?
Experimental group (exposed to independent variable) and the control group (not exposed to the independent variable.

4. What is the Hawthorne Affect?
Unintended influence of observers or experiments on subject.

5. What are the major ethical concerns for sociologist conducting research?
A. Maintain objectivity & integrity in research
B. Respect subjects’ right to privacy & dignity
C. Protect subjects from personal harm
D. Preserve confidentiality
E. Seek informed consent
F. Acknowledge collaboration & assistance
G. Disclose sources of financial support

6. Describe the observation method. How is this method different from the survey method?
Observation method is collecting information through direct participation and/or by closely watching a group or community. While the survey method is more numerical data and relies on what is seen in the field and naturalistic settings.

7. What are the basic steps to sociological research?
Basic steps to sociological research are:

8. How is secondary data analysis conducted?
Secondary data analysis is conducted by making use of previously collected & publicly accessible information & data.