WGU C273 INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLOGY REVISION QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Who was the founder of conflict theory?
Karl Marx (1818 - 1883, theory)
First professor and author of "Suicide" (1897)
Emile Durkheim (1858 - 1917, author)
Coined term "Bureaucracy"
Max Weber (1864 - 1920) coined term?
"Principles of Sociology" (1876) first text book
Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Coined term "sociology" (1838)
Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857) coined what term
Which idea did Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857) introduce
to the field of sociology?
Positivism
Empirical Evidence
Information we can verify with our senses
Macrosociology
Large scale perspective, looking at big phenomena that
affect big portion of population. Social structures and
institutions, whole civilizations/populations. Looking for
patterns and effects the big picture has on lives on small
groups.
Broad social trends in cities, and statistical data (as long
as you're careful about not making wrong interpretations.
,deals with matters like poverty, war, health care, world
economy
Conflict theory
A macroperspective. Which sociological perspective views
society as being made up of groups competing for scarce
resources?
-The idea society is made of institutions that benefit
powerful and create inequalities
Functionalism
Macrosociology. Looks at society as a whole and how
institutions that make up the society adapt to keep society
stable and functioning
Microsociology
Face to face interactions, families, schools, other social
interactions. Interpretive analysis of the society, look at
sample of society and how individual interactions would
affect larger groups in society. Ex. doctor-patient
interactions, or family dynamics
Symbolic Interactionism
Social theory that's a Microperspective.
Focuses on the individual and significance they give to
objects, events, symbols, etc. in their lives.
How would a functionalist theory explain the
complexity of American families in the early twenty-
first century?
The complex patterns of family life permit greater
economic and emotional security for individuals from
diverse backgrounds.
, A controlled setting in which specific variables are
manipulated and the outcomes are measured
Experiments
A series of questions asked of a sample of people
Surveys
Research that takes place while the researcher
actively participates in a setting
Participant observation
The study of data that have already been collected
Secondary analysis
What is the purpose of having ethical standards in
social research?
To protect human subjects
Why is it considered unethical for sociologists to
mislead their research participants?
Because people have the right to give informed consent
before participating in research
What is an example of nonmaterial culture?
Language
Which concept do sociologists use to describe a
group whose values and goals are in opposition to
mainstream culture?
Counterculture
What role do a culture's values play in social
interactions?
Values define a culture's standards for good and bad,
beautiful and ugly, right and wrong.
How does the workplace act as an agent of
socializatoin?
It is an environment where one can acquire new
perspectives of the world.
SOCIOLOGY REVISION QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Who was the founder of conflict theory?
Karl Marx (1818 - 1883, theory)
First professor and author of "Suicide" (1897)
Emile Durkheim (1858 - 1917, author)
Coined term "Bureaucracy"
Max Weber (1864 - 1920) coined term?
"Principles of Sociology" (1876) first text book
Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)
Coined term "sociology" (1838)
Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857) coined what term
Which idea did Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857) introduce
to the field of sociology?
Positivism
Empirical Evidence
Information we can verify with our senses
Macrosociology
Large scale perspective, looking at big phenomena that
affect big portion of population. Social structures and
institutions, whole civilizations/populations. Looking for
patterns and effects the big picture has on lives on small
groups.
Broad social trends in cities, and statistical data (as long
as you're careful about not making wrong interpretations.
,deals with matters like poverty, war, health care, world
economy
Conflict theory
A macroperspective. Which sociological perspective views
society as being made up of groups competing for scarce
resources?
-The idea society is made of institutions that benefit
powerful and create inequalities
Functionalism
Macrosociology. Looks at society as a whole and how
institutions that make up the society adapt to keep society
stable and functioning
Microsociology
Face to face interactions, families, schools, other social
interactions. Interpretive analysis of the society, look at
sample of society and how individual interactions would
affect larger groups in society. Ex. doctor-patient
interactions, or family dynamics
Symbolic Interactionism
Social theory that's a Microperspective.
Focuses on the individual and significance they give to
objects, events, symbols, etc. in their lives.
How would a functionalist theory explain the
complexity of American families in the early twenty-
first century?
The complex patterns of family life permit greater
economic and emotional security for individuals from
diverse backgrounds.
, A controlled setting in which specific variables are
manipulated and the outcomes are measured
Experiments
A series of questions asked of a sample of people
Surveys
Research that takes place while the researcher
actively participates in a setting
Participant observation
The study of data that have already been collected
Secondary analysis
What is the purpose of having ethical standards in
social research?
To protect human subjects
Why is it considered unethical for sociologists to
mislead their research participants?
Because people have the right to give informed consent
before participating in research
What is an example of nonmaterial culture?
Language
Which concept do sociologists use to describe a
group whose values and goals are in opposition to
mainstream culture?
Counterculture
What role do a culture's values play in social
interactions?
Values define a culture's standards for good and bad,
beautiful and ugly, right and wrong.
How does the workplace act as an agent of
socializatoin?
It is an environment where one can acquire new
perspectives of the world.
