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Chapter 1, Developing A Sociological Perspective. Key Terms. social institutions Established and organized systems of social behavior with a recognized purpose. sociological imagination The ability to see the societal patterns that influence individual and group life.
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social institutionsEstablished and organized systems of social behavior with a recognized purpose. • sociological imaginationThe ability to see the societal patterns that influence individual and group life.
troublesPrivately felt problems that spring from events or feelings in one individual’s life. • issuesAffect large numbers of people and have their origins in the institutional arrangements and history of a society.
social structureThe organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together constitute society. • debunkingLooking beyond the facades of everyday life.
diversityThe variety of group experiences that result from the social structure of society. • EnlightenmentCharacterized by faith in the ability of human reason to solve society's problems.
positivismA system of thought in which accurate observation and description is considered the highest form of knowledge. • humanitarianismRests on the principle that human reason can successfully direct social change for the betterment of society.
verstehenUnderstanding social behavior from the point of view of those engaged in it. • social actionBehavior through which people give meaning.
organic metaphorConception of society as a metaphor, a system of interrelated functions and parts that work together to create the whole. • Social DarwinismApplication of Darwinian thought to society.
applied sociologyUse of sociological research and theory in solving real human problems. • functionalismInterprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole.
manifest functionsStated and open goals of social behavior. • latent functionsUnintended consequences of behavior.
conflict theory Focuses on the grounds of struggle in society—particularly inequalities based on class, race, and gender. • powerA person's or group's ability to exercise influence and control over others.
symbolic interactionTheory that considers society to be socially constructed through constant negotiation and human interpretation. • postmodernismBased on the idea that society is not an objective thing. It is found in the words and images that people use to represent behavior and ideas.