WGU C273 Introduction to Sociology
Study Guide
Auguste Conte - ✔Suggested we apply scientific method to social world, which is known
as Positivism
Viewed society as a living organism, similar to an animals body - must function together
to function smoothly. (functional analysis)
Herbert Spencer - ✔*Called 2nd founder of sociology
*disagreed with Conte, believed sociologists should not guide social reform
*societies are evolving from lower to higher form
*society's most capable and intelligent members service - the less capable die out
*fittest members produce a more advanced society "The survival of the fittest" or "Social
Darwinism" (credited to Darwin because he applied it to organisms.
Viewed society as a living organism, similar to an animals body - must function together
to function smoothly. (functional analysis)
Karl Marx - ✔*believed the engine of human history is class conflict
*society is made up of 2 classes
*economics is a central force in social change
*Bourgeoisie - capitalist own the means of production, money, land, factories and
machines
*Proletariat - workers;
*workers will unite and bread their chains of bondage
*introduced Conflict Theory
*did not think of himself as a sociologist
Bourgeoisie - ✔Capitalists
they own the means of production - money, land, factories, and machines.
Proletariat - ✔Workers
Emile Durkheim - ✔*succeeded in getting sociology recognized as a separate academic
discipline
*how social forces affect peoples behavior
*Social Integration
when all parts of society full their part it is in a "normal" state, if they do not fulfill their
function it is in an "abnormal" or pathological state. (functional analysis)
Social Integration - ✔Degree to which people are tied to their social groups.
, People with weaker social ties are more likely to commit suicide
Applying Durkheim - ✔Patterns of behavior or recurring patterns or events
Max Weber - ✔*used cross culture and historical materials to trace the cause of social
change and how social groups affect peoples orientation to life
*disagreed with Karl Marx
*Roman Catholics taught to hold on to tradition, protestant taught to embrace change
*Protestant ethic
Protestant Ethic - ✔*looked for sign they were in Gods good grace
*financial success-live frugal lives, saving ant investing money "the spirit of capitalism"
This brought about capitalism
Harriet Martineau - ✔*did writings because women were to focus on church, cooking,
children and clothes
*early female sociologist
*viewed sociology as a path to reform and improve society (stop lynchings, integrate
immigrants, improve working conditions)
W.E.B. DuBois - ✔black sociologist
Jane Adams - ✔Sociologist and social reformer
*came from wealth and privilege
*founded Hull House with Ellen Gates Starr
C. Wright Mills - ✔pushed sociologist to go back to push social reform
Basic (or pure) sociology - ✔sociological research for the purpose of making discoveries
about life in human groups, not for making changes in those groups
Applied Sociology - ✔the use of sociology to solve problems from classroom integration
and family relationships to crime and pollution
Public Sociology - ✔applying sociology for the public good; especially sociological
perspective (how things relate to one another) to guide politicians and policy makers
Theory - ✔general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how
they work; an explanation of how 2 or more facts are related to one another
3 major theories - ✔Symbolic Interaction
Functional analysis
Conflict Theory
Study Guide
Auguste Conte - ✔Suggested we apply scientific method to social world, which is known
as Positivism
Viewed society as a living organism, similar to an animals body - must function together
to function smoothly. (functional analysis)
Herbert Spencer - ✔*Called 2nd founder of sociology
*disagreed with Conte, believed sociologists should not guide social reform
*societies are evolving from lower to higher form
*society's most capable and intelligent members service - the less capable die out
*fittest members produce a more advanced society "The survival of the fittest" or "Social
Darwinism" (credited to Darwin because he applied it to organisms.
Viewed society as a living organism, similar to an animals body - must function together
to function smoothly. (functional analysis)
Karl Marx - ✔*believed the engine of human history is class conflict
*society is made up of 2 classes
*economics is a central force in social change
*Bourgeoisie - capitalist own the means of production, money, land, factories and
machines
*Proletariat - workers;
*workers will unite and bread their chains of bondage
*introduced Conflict Theory
*did not think of himself as a sociologist
Bourgeoisie - ✔Capitalists
they own the means of production - money, land, factories, and machines.
Proletariat - ✔Workers
Emile Durkheim - ✔*succeeded in getting sociology recognized as a separate academic
discipline
*how social forces affect peoples behavior
*Social Integration
when all parts of society full their part it is in a "normal" state, if they do not fulfill their
function it is in an "abnormal" or pathological state. (functional analysis)
Social Integration - ✔Degree to which people are tied to their social groups.
, People with weaker social ties are more likely to commit suicide
Applying Durkheim - ✔Patterns of behavior or recurring patterns or events
Max Weber - ✔*used cross culture and historical materials to trace the cause of social
change and how social groups affect peoples orientation to life
*disagreed with Karl Marx
*Roman Catholics taught to hold on to tradition, protestant taught to embrace change
*Protestant ethic
Protestant Ethic - ✔*looked for sign they were in Gods good grace
*financial success-live frugal lives, saving ant investing money "the spirit of capitalism"
This brought about capitalism
Harriet Martineau - ✔*did writings because women were to focus on church, cooking,
children and clothes
*early female sociologist
*viewed sociology as a path to reform and improve society (stop lynchings, integrate
immigrants, improve working conditions)
W.E.B. DuBois - ✔black sociologist
Jane Adams - ✔Sociologist and social reformer
*came from wealth and privilege
*founded Hull House with Ellen Gates Starr
C. Wright Mills - ✔pushed sociologist to go back to push social reform
Basic (or pure) sociology - ✔sociological research for the purpose of making discoveries
about life in human groups, not for making changes in those groups
Applied Sociology - ✔the use of sociology to solve problems from classroom integration
and family relationships to crime and pollution
Public Sociology - ✔applying sociology for the public good; especially sociological
perspective (how things relate to one another) to guide politicians and policy makers
Theory - ✔general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how
they work; an explanation of how 2 or more facts are related to one another
3 major theories - ✔Symbolic Interaction
Functional analysis
Conflict Theory
