Unit 1: Sociological Perspectives

Unit 1: Sociological Perspectives Ch 1: An Invitation to Sociology Ch 2: Sociologists Doing Research

The nature of sociology Sociology is the scientific study of _______ _______. Social structure is the patterned interaction of people in _______________. A perspective is a particular ___________. The sociological perspective looks at the behavior of groups NOT _____________. So sociologists look at the _________ __________ shared by members of a group or society. They attempt to explain events w/o relying on personal factors – they look for ______________. They don’t speak of an individual, but of ______. Ch 1 – An Invitation to Sociology

Group behavior vs. individual behavior Sociologists assume that social relationships aren’t determined by the particular _________________________ involved. The mixing of the individuals creates a new whole w/ new _____________. People’s behavior w/in a group setting can’t be ____________ from their personal characteristics. Groups range in size from a family to an entire society. No matter its size, all groups encourage _____________. It occurs partly b/c members are taught to ______ their groups’ ways. Members may truly value their groups’ ways or just be giving in to ________ ____________.

Sociological imagination The ability of individuals to see the relationship b/w events in their ________ _____ + the events of their ________. It helps us to understand the effects of events, such as ______________, on our daily lives + challenges conventional social wisdom (ideas that people _____ are true). This enables us to better make our _____________ rather than merely ________. End Section 1

Sociology’s origins in Europe Began during the ________________ in late 19th century Europe. There was a great social upheaval + large #s of people were moving from _______ to _______. Some intellectuals were concerned by the sudden changes. They looked for ways to ____________. These ideas led to the rise of sociology. Auguste Comte (France): “The __________ of Sociology”. Explained his theories in Positive Philosophy. Concerned w/ the ___________________. Believed that for society to advance, social behavior had to be studied _________. He attempted to create a science to do this which he called “sociology”. Positivism is the belief that knowledge should be derived from ____________ ____________. He distinguished b/w social statics which is the study of social ______ + social dynamics which is the study of social _________.

Harriet Martineau (England): Translated Comte’s book into ________. Contributed to research methods + ___________ theory. Saw a link b/w ______ + the oppression of women. Believed that women’s lack of economic power helped keep them _____________________. Herbert Spencer (England): Introduced the idea of Social Darwinism which claims that in order for society to ______, the strongest, most fit members of society should be allowed to flourish + the ______, least fit should be allowed to die – based on the ideas of Charles Darwin. So he opposed ________________. Viewed positively by _____________ b/c he justified their exploitation of the poor.

Karl Marx (Germany): Believed that social scientists should try to __________________, not just study it. Stated that throughout history, societies have always been divided into _________ _________: __________ vs. __________ (haves, middle-class) (have-nots, poor) The Bourgeoisie is the class that _____ the means of production. An individual w/in that class is a capitalist. The Proletariat was the __________________. The Industrial Revolution _____________ b/w the classes. He believed the Proletariat would rise up + overthrow the Bourgeoisie + work for ________________ for all. This would lead to the gov.’t dissolving + a classless society - _________. He thought it would take numerous revolutions for this to happen.

Emile Durkheim (France): Claimed that society exists b/c of a broad consensus (agreement). Believed in _____________ times, societies were based on mechanical solidarity (social dependency based on widespread consensus of values + beliefs, _________________, + dependence on tradition + family). Believed ____________ societies are based on organic solidarity (social interdependency based on a high degree of ____________ in roles). Max Weber (Germany): Claimed humans act based on their understanding of a _________. He believed an understanding of the _______________ of people in groups can be best accomplished through the method of verstehen (understanding social behavior of others by putting yourself in the _____________________). Thought the key influence in industrialization was rationalization (the mind-set emphasizing _______, reason + ________) instead of tradition, emotion, + superstition prevalent in preindustrialized societies.

Sociology develops in the US The greatest development of sociology has taken place in the ____ + most sociologists are from the ______. Jane Addams Focused on the problems caused by the ________________ among the social classes. Co-founded the ____ _____ in Chicago, a place for people (the ill, aged, poor, immigrants, etc) who needed assistance. Also active in ________________ + peace movements. Won the _______________ (1931). W.E.B. DuBois Black educator + ____________ for the rights of blacks in America + abroad. Helped found the __________. End Section 2

Perspective Your perspective is the way you _______ the meaning of an image or event. It’s influenced by your ______________. It draws your attention to some things + ________ it to others. A theoretical perspective is a set of assumptions ______________. It helps its supporters ________ their research. ________ theoretical perspectives usually exist at the same time. Sociology has 3 major theoretical perspectives: ____________ ________________ ____________________

Functionalism An approach that emphasizes the __________ made by each part of society. Parts of society include ________, economy, _________, etc… Functionalists see the parts of a society as an ______________ – a change in one part leads to changes in other parts. For example, a major change in the economy leads to changes in the ________. Assumes that societies tend to return to a state of _______ after some upheaval has occurred. Believes that there is a consensus on ____ (Ex. Most Americans agree on the desirability of democracy + equal opportunity) which promotes a high degree of _______________. Believes that most aspects of a society exist to promote a society’s __________ + ________ (Ex. gov.’ts, families, religions, etc…).

A function is a ___________ made by some part of a society. Manifest functions are __________ + _________ contributions of an aspect of society. Ex. Schools educate students. Latent functions are ___________ + _________ contributions of an aspect of society. Ex. Schools help develop ____________. Not all elements of society make _________ contributions. Dysfunction refers to the __________ consequences of an aspect of society. Ex. Gov.’ts can be very ___________.

Conflict perspective An approach that emphasizes the role of _______, competition, _______, + constraint w/in a society. Basically the ______ beliefs of functionalism. Focuses on the ____________ among various groups in a society or b/w societies. Believe that groups + societies compete in an attempt to preserve + promote their own special ________________. It’s all a contest w/ the main ? being, “_____ ______________?” Those w/ the most power (ability to ________________ of others) get the largest share of whatever a society considers to be __________. Believe that social change occurs as the _______________ among conflicting groups shifts.

Symbolic interactionism An approach that focuses on the __________ among people based on mutually understood __________. Believe that groups exist only b/c their members _______ each other’s __________. A symbol is something chosen to __________ something else. It can be an object, ______, gesture, facial expression, sound, etc… Often it is something _________ used to represent something that is ______ ____________. Believe that we learn the meaning of a symbol from the way we see others ________ to it + that once we learn the meanings of symbols, we base our ______ (or interaction) on them. We then use the meanings of symbols to imagine how others will _________ to our behavior.

End Section 3

How do sociologists conduct research? Like other scientists, sociologists gain knowledge by doing ____________. Unlike most other scientists, sociologists are very ________ in their ability to set up ___________________ to replicate real-life conditions. Sometimes it’s impossible to __________ the necessary conditions + sometimes even if they could, there are __________ preventing them from doing so. There are 2 methods of research sociologists use: ____________ – data based on #s. Makes up about ______% of research published in major sociological journals. _________ – data based on narratives + descriptions. Ch 2 – Sociologists Doing Research

Quantitative research A survey is a research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a ___________ of ?’s. Most ____________ research method in sociology. Ideal for studying ________ #s of people. B/c they can’t study an entire population (a group of people w/ certain ____________________), they must select a sample (a relatively ________ out of the total population under study). A sample must be representative of the ________________. A representative sample is one that accurately reflects the ______________ of the population as a whole. There are 2 ways to ensure the sample is representative of the population: 1. Take a purely __________________. 2. ______________ pick individuals who represent all of the various ________ in the population being studied. May be a questionnaire or an __________. Closed-ended questions are those w/ a limited, fixed set of ______ + open-ended questions are answered in the participants’ own words. See p. 40 for examples.

Closed-ended Survey Research

Secondary analysis is using ______________ _____________ for data collection + research purposes. Types of precollected data include ______ ______ (ex. Census information), company records, voting lists, other scientists’ research reports, etc…. _____________ – rarely used in sociology.

Qualitative research Uses ________________________ data rather than numerical data. Most of these methods are types of field research (research that takes place in a natural, ___________, setting). Case studies are a research method that involves an ____________ of a single group, incident, or community. B/c only a few people are studied, a single case study doesn’t ___________. However, they can generate new hypotheses that researchers can test. Most ___________ used field research method. Naturalistic observation: research method in which the sociologist observes the subject in a ________________ w/o ____________. Researcher must avoid disturbing the people under study b/c they may change their ________ if they are aware of the researcher. In the participant observation research method, a researcher becomes a __________________ being studied. The group may or may not be _________ they are being studied. Know the chart on p.45! End Section 1

Causation The belief that events occur in _________ ways + that 1 event leads to another. Social scientists look for the factors that cause social events to happen. Social events are usually ______________ to be explained by a single factor. Multiple causation is the belief that an event occurs as a result of several factors working in ______________. Ex. What causes crime? _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ Etc… Each factor involved in multiple causation is a __________.

Variable A characteristic that is __________________. Different types of variables: A variable is either quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative variable – a characteristic that can be _____________________. Qualitative variable – a characteristic that is defined by its ______________ _________________ (ex: male/female, single/married/divorced/widowed, etc…) A variable is also either independent, dependent, or intervening. Independent variables – a characteristic that ______________ to occur. These are the variables a researcher can change so they can observe its ______. Dependent variables – a characteristic that _________________. These are variables that change b/c of a change in the independent variable. Intervening variables – a characteristic that _____________________ b/w an independent + dependent variable.

Types of variables: Ex: You don’t spend much time studying + get a bad grade on your sociology quiz. But Ms. Griggs decides to curve the grades (Dream on!). What are the following variables: 1. Independent variable: 2. Is the independent variable quantitative or qualitative? 3. Dependent variable: 4. Is the dependent variable quantitative or qualitative? 5. Intervening variable:

Correlations Sometimes, instead of looking for cause + effect, researchers look for correlations (measures of a ____________ b/w 2 variables or sets of data). ___________ ______________________________. A positive correlation would occur if both variables or . Ex: Grades + IQ A negative correlation would be if one variable + the other . Ex: Grades + absences. It’s easier to show a ___________ than a ____________.

Standards for showing causation Standard 1: 2 variables must be ____________. Standard 2: All other _________ _______ must be taken into account. A spurious correlation is an apparent relationship b/w 2 variables that is actually caused by a __________ that affects both of the other variables. Standard 3: A change in the _____________ variable must occur before a change in the _________ variable can occur. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine which occurs _____. End Section 2

Steps for doing research Sociologists use the scientific method which involves the recognition + formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation + experiment, + the formulation + testing of hypotheses. The steps are: 1. __________ the problem. 2. __________ the literature. 3. __________ hypotheses. - A hypothesis is a testable statement of relationships among variables. 4. __________ a research design. 5. __________ data. - Most sociological data is collected by asking people ?s, observing behavior, + analyzing _____________________. 6. __________ data. - Sometimes it can be ____________ in different ways. 7. ________ findings + conclusions.

Ethics in social research Although there are principles for conducting research, scientists sometimes fail to live up to these principles – whether ________________ them (Ex. Nazi doctors’ experiments on concentration camp prisoners) or ___________ (Ex. The Stanford Prison Experiment). Usually, sociologists routinely protect the rights of research subjects + avoid ___________ or harming them. Conducting ethical research means showing _________; using superior research standards; reporting findings + methods ___________; + protecting the rights, privacy, integrity, dignity, + freedom of ____________________. The ___________________________ has published guidelines for conducting research (It’s in the appendix of your textbook). The researcher must balance the interests of those being _________ against the need for accurate, timely ________. End Section 3

Unit 1: Sociological Perspectives