Chapter 1

Sociology:An Introduction

• Sociological imaginationSeeing the relationships between social conditions and one’s own situation in life.

• Social conditionsThe realities of the life we create together as social beings.

• Sociology The scientific study of human societies and human behavior in the many groups that make up a society.

• Micro-level sociology An approach to the study of society that focuses on patterns of social interaction at the individual level.

• Macro-level sociology An approach to the study of society that focuses on the major structures and institutions of society.

• Middle-level sociology Studies the effects of communities and organizations on individual lives or behaviors.

• Scientific methodThe process by which theories and explanations are constructed through repeated observation and careful description.

• Human ecologyA sociological perspective that emphasizes the relationships among social order, social is organization, and the distribution of populations in space and time.

• Interactionism A sociological perspective that views social order and social change as resulting from repeated interactions among individuals and groups.

• FunctionalismA sociological perspective that focuses on the ways in which a complex pattern of social structures and arrangements contributes to social order.

• Conflict perspectiveA sociological perspective that emphasizes the role of conflict and power in society.

• PowerThe ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will.