Unit 1 Sociological Perspectives Ch 1 An Invitation

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

Ch 1 – An Invitation to Sociology • The nature • Sociology is the scientific study of _______ of sociology _______. 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 ______.

• 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 • Began during the ________ in late 19 th century Europe. There was a great social upheaval origins in + large #s of people were moving from _______ to Europe _______. • 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 • The greatest development of sociology has in the US 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. Du. Bois • 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

Ch 2 – Sociologists Doing Research • 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.

• Quantitative • A survey is a research method in which information is research 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 _____. Closedended 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 Advantages • • Closed-ended answers can be more precisely _____. Responses can be easily _____. Statistical techniques can be used to _______ of the data. A ______ of responses can be collected. Disadvantages • • Surveys are ____ to produce + distribute. Responses are ______ to preset answers. Many people don’t respond to surveys, resulting in low cost ________. The way a question is stated may _____ the answer given.

• 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. End Section 1 • Know the chart on p. 45!

• 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, 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