STANBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

S O C I OL O G Y 1

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Introduction to Sociology

Week 3: Chapter 3-4 Review

CHAPTER 3Ludwig Wittgenstien on fuzzy objects-• “It is difficult to paint a clear picture of a fuzzy

object” (p. 40). Fuzzy objects in the social sciences-• Too many variables create make it difficult to

make predictions with absolute assurance, however, we can frequently predict what most people will likely do under particular sets of circumstances, but we can offer no guarantees.

CHAPTER 3Werner Heinsenberg’s uncertainty principle-• There are important limits on science’s ability to measure and predict the behavior of physical objects.

CHAPTER 3Albert Einstein-• A German physicist who developed the theory of relativity, which states that time, space, and mass are relative to each other and not fixed. He created uncertainty by rejecting Newtonian physics, and his work later led to the creation of the atomic bomb

CHAPTER 3Stephen Hawking-• Developed the theory of singularity, in the beginning the earth was concentrated at a single point making a very small, dense body. His

research was focused on black holes.

CHAPTER 3Topic areas in sociology-• Age, art, collective behavior, religions, race, and

environment.

CHAPTER 3Chaos theory-• A theory that demonstrates that in a complex

system such as the atmosphere, small differences at the beginning of an event can lead to large differences later.

CHAPTER 3Paradigms in sociology-• Functional-• According to functionalism, society is a

system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole.

• Conflict-• Emphasize the social, political, or material

inequality of a social group, that critique the broad socio-political system, or that otherwise detract from structural functionalism and ideological conservativism.

• Symbolic interaction-• a theory that human interaction and

communication is facilitated by words, gestures, and other symbols that have acquired conventionalized meanings.

CHAPTER 3Microsociology-• The study of what PEOPLE do, think and say as

they go about their daily lives.Macrosociology-• The study of large-scale social systems and

long-term patterns and processes. Examples could be a family, economy, culture, and even a society.

CHAPTER 4 Empirical-• Based on things that can be observed by one's

physical five senses.

CHAPTER 4 Max Weber’s inconvenient facts-• pieces of evidence that contradict what you

have always believed and/or want to believe about the social world.

CHAPTER 4 Ethnocentrism- • Believe that your culture is the only correct

culture and thus other cultures are wrong.Culture shock-• the feeling of disorientation experienced by

someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.

Genocide-• The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire

people or nationCultural relativity- • The idea that behavior must be judged relative

to the values of the culture in which it occurs.