Sociology Ch 1-2
5th Block Review Guide
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Sociology – study of behavior
o Studies society, social interaction, and culture – DOES NOT FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL
o How people interact with one another
o How social contexts influences a person
Social Theory – a way of looking at how a society operates
o Macro – bigger picture
 Global level/overall
o Micro – smaller picture
 Every day, person to person interactions
o THERE IS NO GRAND THEORY
Functionalism – MACRO THEORY
o Durkheim, Compte (founder of Sociology), Spencer
o Various social institutions and processes in society that exist to keep a certain function is
society running
o Focuses on how things function in our day-to-day life
 Like a clock
o Some functions in society are manifest (intended)
 Example: Manifest function of a car is to get me from point A to point B
o Others are latent (unintended)
 Example: Although a car’s manifest function is to get me from one point to
another, a latent function of a car is me potentially being a part of a higher
social class if I have a nice car
Conflict – MACRO THEORY
o Karl Marx
o Those who possess more power, exercise them over others
o Driving force of all social change is the conflict over scarce resources, and the conflict
created by competing interests
 Example: Teacher vs. Student, Experience vs Less Experience, Man vs Women
(in some societies)
o Feminist Perspective
 Society where men dominate women
 Example: Work environment, men are paid more than women for the
same work
 Example: In some Eastern Cultures, where people want to have baby
boys instead of girls
Symbolic Interactions – MICRO THEORY
o Weber
o How we use symbols to interact with others and create an understanding of realities
o Symbol – something that has a shared meaning i.e., a hand gesture
o Is constantly communicating with one another to create a reality
 Example: We only think Mr. Shifflett is our teacher because society says so
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No one person can define a reality, but society as a whole can
Globalization
o Development of economic, political, and social relationships that stretch worldwide
 Example: Hip-hop, McDonald’s, Cars, Technology
Scientific Method
o Hypothesis – an educated guess, predicts the relationship between 2 variables
(independent and dependent); normally an “if, then” statement
o Variable – a characteristic that can differ from one individual group or situation to
another in a way that is measurable
 Independent Variable
 What you change
 Dependent Variable
 What is being measure cause of the change
o Correlation – exists when a change in one variable is regularly associated with a change
in another
 This DOES NOT show cause and effect, only the overall idea
Research Methods
o Survey – questionnaire
 Gathers opinions from a large group of people
o Sample – small number of people drawn from a larger population, supposed to
represent said large population
o Historical Method – where you examine materials from the past with sociological
interests
Culture
o Everything that is not natural/biological in our world
o Symbols, beliefs, traditions, practices, and ideologies that guide and create everyday life
 If you think of the human body as the hardware, the culture would be the
software
o Mass Culture – shared with a large group of people
 Example: School as a whole
o Subculture – distinctive culture that exists within the larger culture
 Example: Jocks, Scholars, etc.
 Have their own values, norms, language, and symbols
o Material Culture – physical objects that have cultural meanings
 Example: Kid’s style of clothes, brands vs non-brands
o Non-material Culture – Values, beliefs, behavior, social norms of a society
 Example: School spirit
o Cultural Scripts – modes of behavior/understanding that are not universal or natural to
other places
 Example: Patriotism (America) – standing up for the pledge of allegiance
o 5 Components of Culture
 Technology
 Symbols
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Language
Values
Norms
 Folkways
 Mores
 Laws
Cultural Universals – the basic need that all cultures develop
o Art and Leisure
o Basic needs
o Beliefs
o Communication and Education
o Family
o Government and technology
Ethnocentrism
o Belief your culture is the superior culture
Cultural Relativism
o Not comparing your culture, judging a culture on their owns value and beliefs
American Values
o Personal Achievement
o Wealth
o Progress
o Material Comfort
o Work
o Individualism
o Efficiency and practicality
o Morality and humanitarianism
o Freedom
o CHANGING VALUES
 Self-fulfilment – me trying to make myself better/self-development
(positive😊)
 Narcissism – extremely self-centered, only doing things that help you
(negative☹)
 Personality disorder