1.
anthropology: comparative study of various aspects of past and present cultures; usually focuses upon the primitive
2.
applied sociology: the use of sociology to solve problems- from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution
3.
bourgeoisie: Karl Marx's term for capitalists, those who OWN the means of production
4.
class conflict: Marx's term for the struggle between the capitalist (owners) and workers
5.
common sense: those things that "everyone knows" are true; often are misconceptions
6.
Conflict Perspective: Competition for scarce resources; How the elite control the poor and weak (usually negative)- macro analysis
7.
economics: study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their wants and needs
8.
Functionalist Perspective: Relationship between the parts of society; How aspects of society are functional (adaptive, positive spin)- macro analysis
9.
generalization: a statement that goes beyond the individual case and is applied to the broader group or situation
10.
history: the study of the past
11.
natural sciences: the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to comprehend, explain, and predict events in our natural environment (e.g., chemistry, earth science, weather, etc.)
12.
objectivity: total neutrality
13.
patterns: recurring characteristics or events
14.
political science: study of the organization and operation of governments
15.
proletariat: Marx's term for the exploited class, the mass of WORKERS who do NOT own the means of production
16.
psychology: science that deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms; focus on the individual
17.
replication: repeating a study in order to check its findings
18.
science: the application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by those methods
19.
social integration: the degree to which members of a group of society feel united by shared values and other social bonds; also known as social cohesion
20.
social sciences: the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by means of controlled and repeated observations (social studies)
21.
society: a term used by sociologists to refer to a group of people who share a culture and a territory
22.
sociological perspective: understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context
23.
sociology: the scientific study of society and human behavior
24.
Symbolic Interactionism: Use of symbols; Face-to-face interactions- micro perspective
25.
values: the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly
