Sociology is the systematic study of society and social interaction. In order to carry out their studies, sociologists identify cultural patterns and social forces and determine how they affect individuals and groups. They also develop ways to apply their findings to the real world.
organic solidarity social solidarity or cohesion through a complex division of labour and
restitutive law
paradigms philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate
theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them patriarchy
institutions of male power in society
positive stage a stage of social evolution in which people explain events in terms of scientific
principles and laws
positivism (positivist perspective or positivist sociology) the scientific study of social patterns
based on methodological principles of the natural sciences
Protestant ethic the duty to work hard in one’s calling
quantitative sociology statistical methods such as surveys with large numbers of participants
rationalization the general tendency of modern institutions and most areas of life to be
transformed by the application of instrumental reason
reification referring to abstract concepts, complex processes or mutable social relationships as
“things” social action actions to which individuals attach subjective
meanings
social facts the external laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and
cultural rules that govern social life
social reform an approach to social change that advocates slow, incremental improvements in
social institutions rather than rapid, revolutionary change of society as a whole
social solidarity the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared
location, and religion
society is a group of people whose members interact, reside in a definable area, and share a culture
sociological imagination the ability to understand how your own unique circumstances relate to
that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures in particular sociology
the systematic study of society and social interaction
standpoint theory the examination of how society is organized and coordinated from the
perspective of a particular social location or perspective in society structural
functionalism see functionalism
symbolic interactionism a theoretical perspective through which scholars examine the
relationship of individuals within their society by studying their communication (language and
symbols)
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