Understanding Society: Key Concepts and Social Dynamics
Key Concepts in Sociology
- The Individual: Refers to a specific subject. The term “individual” need not refer only to a human but to any complete being that belongs to a species, whether animal or vegetable.
- Society: In a broad sense, all individuals who interact with each other, sharing a variety of purposes, behaviors, or cultural features.
- Social Intelligence: We call “intelligence sharing” or “social intelligence” that which emerges as a phenomenon of the interaction between people.
- Social Status:
Personality Psychology: Approaches, Situations, and Cognition
Approaches to Personality
Internalist Approach
This approach dominated the landscape of personality psychology until the 1970s. It argues that:
- Behavior is merely a reflection of internal structures.
- Behavior always has a purpose: an objective.
- Internal structures are the key meaning and define the individual, so they are considered stable.
- Any behavior of the subject will have meaning for their personality.
- The individual is involved in particular situations and is active towards them.
Situationist Approach
This
Read MoreHuman Behavior: Culture, Socialization, and Personality
Culture
Culture is received through education and learning.
- Social: According to Herder, society is a system of relationships that connects individuals. Culture represents social life.
- Plural: Each group possesses specific forms of culture.
- Symbol: Humans have an average vocabulary.
- Learned: The acquisition of culture requires instruction.
- Historical Consciousness: Culture is enriched through time.
Socialization
1. Childhood (Most Important)
- Customs, patterns, and social groups are acquired.
- Bonding occurs
Understanding Economics: Theories, Models, and Research
Economics is the science that studies the most convenient satisfaction of society’s scarce resources to obtain an ordered set of objectives.
Positive vs. Normative Economics
- Positive economics is defined as the science that seeks objective explanations of the functioning of economic phenomena; it deals with what is or could be.
- Normative economics, by contrast, offers prescriptions for action based on personal value judgments and subjective concerns about what should be.
Economics as a Science
The main
Read MoreSocial Psychology: Exploring the Impact of Others
What is Social Psychology?
Social psychology investigates how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
What Do Social Psychologists Study?
Social psychologists primarily study behavior. This includes:
- Observable actions (e.g., running, speaking)
- Subtle actions (e.g., raised eyebrow, smile)
- Written communication
While behavior is publicly verifiable, its meaning can vary based on theoretical perspectives, cultural backgrounds,
Read MoreDescriptive Research: Longitudinal, Transversal, and Correlational Studies
Descriptive Research Objectives
Descriptive research aims to discover and interpret what is. It is used to explore, providing facts, data, and information, paving the way for new theories and research. It analyzes individuals, groups, institutions, materials, etc., to describe, compare, classify, analyze, and interpret.
Longitudinal Studies
Also known as follow-up studies (UK) or panel studies (USA), longitudinal studies are used to describe something over a period of time. They are often used in studies
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