Online Introductory Sociology
Exam 1 Study Guide
Chapter 1:
The general definition of sociology - the focus of study
The sociological imagination
The sociological perspective – know how to apply it
Social structure/Structuration (it’s Giddens’ own theory)
Consequences of globalization
Latent and manifest functions
Difference between theory and factual research
Know the theorists - Durkheim, Marx, and Weber and what they studied. Knowing this in some detail
now will help throughout the semester because many of the concepts you will read about will be
explained with some of these theories.
Symbolic interactionism (Mead)
Women and sociology
Feminist theory - and how it differs from sociological theory
Functionalism (Parsons and Merton)
Rational choice
Know Harriet Martineau
W.E.B. DuBois
Baudrillard
Postmodernism
Concept of power
Rational action
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Micro and macro levels of understanding
The scientific method- the basic premises and how it relates to sociological research
Chapter 2: Asking and Answering Sociological Questions:
Laud Humphries’ research
The different types of questions sociologists ask and be able to recognize examples (comparative, factual,
theoretical, developmental)
What does good puzzle solving research attempt to do?
The research process - know the steps and their order in the entire process
Correlation and causation - what are they and how do they differ
Variables - independent, dependent, and control (what are they)
Different research designs - ethnography, field research, surveys, experiments, historical analysis, and
life histories
Pilot studies
Populations and samples (also the types of sampling)
Triangulation
Basic statistical measures - central tendency and dispersion (variation), correlation
Reading a data table
Chapter 3: Culture and Society:
What is culture - what does it consist of, etc.
Early cultural research - both sociological (Durkheim) and anthropological
Values, norms, and material goods
What is society?
Date of first human culture
Sociobiology
Role of nature and nurture
How does culture vary worldwide
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Ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, cultural universals, signifiers
Semiotics - what is it
Signifiers
Know the different types of societies - hunting and gathering, pastoral, agrarian, traditional, & industrial
Nation-states
Know the issues surrounding developing nations
Colonialism
Interconnections between the industrialized and developing societies
Newly industrializing economies
Subcultures
Why do cultures differ?
The linguistic relativity hypothesis
Globalization - what is it, its effects, etc.
Chapter 4: Socialization and the Life Cycle:
Definition of socialization - and examples of it
Requirements for socialization to take place
Theories of socialization - Mead, Piaget (know their stages and their order for both)
Agents of socialization - what do they do and recognize examples
Primary and secondary socialization
Social roles (internalization and negotiation)
Identity - social and self
Barrie Thorne’s study of children on gender play
The influence of various agents of socialization - video games, children’s picture books (Weitzman),
television, etc.
Socialization and changes in work
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Gender roles - what are they, how do we learn them, etc.
Life stages - when did the concepts of childhood and adolescence begin (Phillipe Aries), etc.?
Peer groups and age grades
Social reproduction
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