Sociological Theories
This major theoretical framework views society as an interconnected whole, where each part contributes to its equilibrium and smooth functioning.
What is The Functionalist Theory?
Waiting in line patiently for a turn, rather than pushing ahead, is an unspoken rule of conduct in many societies, exemplifying this informal component of nonmaterial culture.
What is a folkway?
The ongoing process by which individuals learn and internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of their society, enabling them to function as members
What is socialization?
When someone looks at widespread unemployment not just as individuals failing to find jobs, but as a result of economic shifts and structural factors, they are employing this way of thinking.
What is The Sociological Imagination?
A sociologist conducting in-depth interviews and engaging in participant observation to understand the complex social dynamics within a specific community is utilizing this general type of research approach.
What are Qualitative methods?
This theoretical framework views societal change as an outcome of power struggles between different groups vying for limited resources and dominance
What is Conflict Theory?
Owning a collection of rare books or a specific brand of luxury goods that indicates a person's cultivated tastes and social standing refers to this form of cultural capital.
What is Objectified cultural capital?
The case of children raised in extreme isolation often highlights how environmental input and social interaction are crucial for developing human traits like communication and complex thought, arguing for the importance of this over biology
What is "nurture"?
This prominent 19th-century social thinker is often associated with the idea that societal organization and historical progression are driven by conflicts between different economic classes.
Who is Karl Marx?
This pair of concepts refers, respectively, to the overarching social patterns and institutions that constrain or enable behavior, and an individual's capacity to act independently and make free choices.
What are structure and agency?
A job applicant might project confidence and professionalism in an interview, even if they feel nervous, demonstrating this theory of social interaction where individuals manage impressions based on their audience.
What is Dramaturgy?
An individual leveraging their network of professional contacts to find a mentor or gain access to exclusive industry events is utilizing this form of capital.
What is Social Capital?
According to Meade, a child reaches this stage of development when they can consider the roles and expectations of multiple others simultaneously within a structured activity, understanding their position relative to the whole group.
What is the Game stage?
This influential scholar's writings on African American women's experiences helped lay early groundwork for understanding how race, gender, and class are interwoven, contributing to future ideas about multiple social disadvantages.
Who is Anna J. Cooper?
A study revealed that students entering a prestigious academic environment often felt marginalized and struggled to fit in due to differences in their upbringing, tastes, and conversational styles compared to their more privileged peers, indicating a lack of this.
What is cultural capital?
This theoretical approach focuses on the micro-level of social life, proposing that individuals create and negotiate meaning through their everyday interactions and interpretations of symbols.
What is Symbolic Interactionism?
This concept explains when societal practices, values, or beliefs become so unquestioned and seem so inherently right that they are perceived as the natural order of things, even though they are socially constructed.
What does doxic mean?
When parents encourage their daughters to play with dolls and their sons with trucks, thereby influencing their children's understanding and enactment of masculinity and femininity, they are engaged in this process
What is gender socialization?
This figure is considered a founder of sociology, famously envisioned a "social physics" for society, and is credited with coining the term for the academic discipline.
Who is Auguste Comte?
This pair of cultural characteristics describes how culture can transform and adapt to new circumstances, while also providing a framework for expected and routine social behaviors.
What are malleable/adaptive and predictable culture?
When a child learns to say "please" and "thank you" after repeatedly hearing their parents use these phrases and seeing positive reactions, they are exhibiting principles of this socialization theory.
What is Social Learning Theory?
This concept describes the process by which a dominant group maintains its societal influence not primarily through coercion, but by subtly influencing the shared values, beliefs, and common sense of a society, making their worldview seem universal and legitimate
What is Cultural Hegemony?
This theory of self-development posits that our self-identity emerges from how we imagine others perceive us and how we interpret their reactions to our behavior.
What is the "Looking-Glass Self"?
Author Adichie warns about the harmful effects of reducing complex individuals or groups to a single, oversimplified characteristic or narrative.
What is a "single story"?
This foundational cultural concept requires understanding two distinct types: one refers to the tangible items produced by a society, and the other to its abstract beliefs, values, and norms. Identify these two types and be prepared to offer an example for each.
What are material and non-material culture?