Review Notes – Sociology 101 – Morrisville State College – Final Exam

Major Concepts to Review for Final Exam:

Tuesday, Dec 13th, 6pm, Hamilton Hall (gym)
Please bring a pencil!

THE CONCEPTS OF SOCIOLOGY

Introduction

- How are society, science, and self defined?
- What is the smallest "unit of analysis" in sociology?
- What does KARP stand for?
- What is a social role?
- What is a social norm?
- What is a social institution?
- What is the nature of the relationship between self and society?

Chapter 1- The Origins of Sociology

- Who invented the term sociology?
... When?
... Where?
... Why?
- What are the details of the other three founders of sociology (who are they, where are they from, what did they contribute)?
- What were the social conditions that were changing in the 1800s to prompt these sociologists to write about their societies?

Chapter 2 - Culture

- What is the definition of culture?
- What is the difference between Material vs. Non-material culture? How are they connected?
- What is culture shock?
- What is a subculture?
- On the four components of culture:
... What are Symbols?
... What is Language?
... What are Values, Beliefs, and Norms?
... What are Artifacts?
- What social forces and flows create the Globalization of Culture?

Chapter 3 - Socialization

- What is the definition of socialization?
- What is the definition of personality?
- What is the nature vs. nurture debate?
- Who is Phineas Gage?
- What effect does social isolation have on people?
- What are "mirror neurons" and how does the brain filter our perceptions?
- Who/What are our agents of socialization?
- What were Sigmund Freud's ideas about the connection between consciousness and socialization?
- What were Erik Erickson's ideas about the events we face during our lifelong process of socialization?
- What were George Mead's ideas about the connection between self and socialization?

Chapter 4 - Sociology of Everyday Life

- What is Social Status?
(What are: status set, ascribed status, achieved status?)
- What is a Social Role?
(What are: role set, role conflict, role strain, role exit?)
- What does the Social Construction of Reality mean?
- What is the Thomas Theorem?
- What is Ethnomethodology?
- What is Dramaturgy (life as theater)?

Chapter 5 - Social Groups and Conformity

- What is a Social Group (vs. category or crowd)?
- What are Primary vs. Secondary Groups?
- What is McDonaldization (and its 4 principles)?
- What are the six characteristics of a bureaucracy?
- What are four irrationalities (problems) of bureaucracies?
- How can people at the bottom of the bureaucracy effect change?
- What factor does authority play in creating group conformity?
- How likely is it that people will conform in small groups?
- What two types of conformity characterize the reasons why we go along with the group?

End of Chapter 1 - Social Theory and Science

  • What is Structural-Functional Theory?
    (focus word = control; society as body; institutional scale; Durkheim)
  • What is Social Conflict Theory?
    (focus word = power; society as arena; group-scale; Marx)
  • What is Symbolic-Interaction Theory?
    (focus word = meaning; society built from everyday life; micro-scale; Weber)
  • What are the typical methods of Sociological Research?
    (Surveys, Observation, Interviews, Content Analysis)
  • What is the difference between a research method's reliability and its validity?

Chapter 7 - Deviance


SOCIAL ISSUES of SEX, RACE and CLASS

Chapter 6 - Sex, Gender and Society

- What do we mean by the word "sex" (what are the primary & secondary sex traits)?
- What do we mean by the word gender (what are its objective & subjective traits)?
- What is the history of sexuality in America (describe the Victorian period, the early 20th century, and the Sexual Revolution)?
- What is the sexual double standard?
- What is the meant by the "normalization of sexuality" happening today and in what way are we "culturally schizophrenic" about sex?

Chapter 11 - Race and Ethnicity

- What is the definition of race?
- What is the definition of ethnicity?
- What are some objections sociologists have to the notion that the concept of race represents the reality of human differences?
- What defines a sociological minority?
- What consequences does minority status have on groups and individuals?
- What is the difference between individual and institutional discrimination?

Chapter 8 - Social Stratification

- Define stratification.
- How are social stratification categories socially constructed?
- What are the measures of stratification? (Weber, The Loxx)
- What is the difference between Caste, Estate, and Class stratification?
- What is the structural perspective (Davis-Moore) of stratification?
- What is the Conflict (Marxist) perspective of bourgeousie vs. proletariat?
- Why was there no Communist Revolution in the U.S.?
- What are the relative class rankings in the U.S. (lower, middle, upper, etc.)?


GLOBAL SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES

Chapter 15 - Population, Urbanization and Environment
  • What is the world population today and how has it changed over time?
  • What is the J-curve?
  • What are Fertility and Mortality?
  • What is the population growth formula?
  • What is the Demographic Transition? What do the stages on the graph represent?
  • What is cultural lag?
  • What are the effects of high fertility and decreasing mortality in developing countries?
  • Urbanization
    • What is a megacity?
    • What is the history of megacity growth, and where are they growing?
    • What are the urban social issues arising from population growth?
    Socio-Environmental Impacts:
    • What are the logic and limits of growth?
    • What are the causes and consequences of climate change?
    • What are the chief toxic wastes entering our environment from industrial/agricultural uses?

Chapter 16 - Society, Social Change and the Future

  • What do sociologists mean when they talk about "modernity"? What did Max Weber mean by "rationality"?
  • What are the patterns of social change are related to the modern period?
  • What is meant by "mass society"?
  • What do sociologists mean when they talk about "postmodernity"?
  • What are the patterns of social change are related to the postmodern period?
  • What does it mean to "think globally and act locally"?