Sociology - Introduction vocab

Theory

• The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole
• adequately explain social change
• a way to explain different aspects of social interactions and to create a testable proposition, called a hypothesis, about society

social solidarity

• the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, and religion
• looks at society as a competition for limited resources
• micro-level theory that focuses on the relationships among individuals within a society

Micro-level theories look at

• also called structural-functional theory, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society
• micro-level theory that focuses on the relationships among individuals within a society
• very specific relationships between individuals or small groups

Macro-level theories relate to

• also called structural-functional theory, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society
• looks at society as a competition for limited resources
• large-scale issues and large groups of people

Paradigm

• adequately explain social change
• philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them
• patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs

Three paradigms have come to dominate sociological thinking, because they provide useful explanations

• also called structural-functional theory, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society
• large-scale issues and large groups of people
• structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism

Structural Functionalism

• patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs
• The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole
• The way inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power

Conflict Theory

• The way inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power
• One-to-one interactions and communications
• patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs

Symbolic Interactionism

• a way to explain different aspects of social interactions and to create a testable proposition, called a hypothesis, about society
• One-to-one interactions and communications
• The way inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power

Functionalism

• adequately explain social change
• also called structural-functional theory, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society