STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 I.      Define sociology and explain the basic insight of sociology.

 II.     Explain the meaning and the importance of the "sociological imagination".

 III.    Contrast the views that Comte, Spencer, and Marx held regarding society and the role of the sociologist.

 IV.     Compare and contrast three major theoretical perspectives of sociology.

 V.      Identify the contributions of theory and research to sociological knowledge.

 VI.     Describe the logic of cause effect between variables; state the conditions necessary for correlation and for causation.

 VII.    Identify the advantages and the disadvantages of laboratory and field experiments.

 VIII.   Distinguish between a population and a sample and explain the connection between them; specify ways to ensure that a sample is representative.

 IX.     Describe the relationship between culture and society.

 X       Distinguish between instincts, reflexes, drives, and culturally learned behavior.

 XI.     Discuss norms and their importance to society.

 XII.    Define ethnocentrism and discuss its consequences for a culture.

 XIII.   Describe cultural relativism and its appropriate use.

 XIV.    Indicate how subcultures and countercultures relate to the dominant culture.

 XV.     Summarize the ways in which culture affects human interaction and the ways humans change culture.

 XVI.    Define socialization.

 XVII.   Describe the ways in which biological pre-dispositions and social influence are intertwined.

 XVIII.  Discuss the concept of "self" and how it develops.

 XIX.    Describe Cooley's three-part theory of the looking-glass self.

 XX      Describe Mead's theory of the formation of self through symbolic interaction, role-taking, and the generalized and particular other.

 XXI.    Identify the key agents of socialization.

 XXII.   List the characteristics of a group that distinguish it from an aggregate or category.

 XXIII.  Contrast the features of primary and secondary groups.

 XXIV.   Identify ways in which individuals conform to groups.

 XXV.    List the functions of ingroups and outgroups.

 XXVI.   Explain the importance of reference groups.

 XXVII.  Characterize formal organizations.

 XXVIII. Define deviance as a sociological concept.

 XXIX.   Discuss the concept of stigma.

 XXX     Identify means of social control and how they work.

 XXXI.   Characterize Merton's five-part typology of deviance.

 XXXII.  Explain why mental disorder is classified as a form of deviance.

 XXXIII. List four functions of deviance.

 XXXIV.  List four dysfunctions of deviance and their effects on society.

 XXXV.   Define social stratification.

 XXXVI.  Explain the concept of social mobility.

 XXXVII. Describe how sociologists use socioeconomic status (SES) as a measurement of social position.

 XXXVIII.Explain how stratification systems are maintained.

 XXXIX.  Discuss social stratification in the United States.

 XL      Identify the social classes in the United States and the features of each.

 XLI.    Specify some of the factors that are correlated with social-class membership.

 XLII.   Explain the two ways poverty is defined and indicate which groups in the United States are most likely to experience poverty.

 XLIII.  Cite biological evidence in discussing differences between the sexes.

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I.      The Sociological Viewpoint

         A.      The Study of Social Life

         B.      The Development of Sociology

         C.      Major Perspectives ¿ Conflict, Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism

         D.      The Uses of Sociology

 II.     Sociological Analysis

         A.      Basic Concepts of Social Research: variables, table reading and interpretation

         B.      Major Research Methods

 III.    Culture

         A.      The Normative Component

         B.      The Symbolic Component

         C.      Cultural Variations

 IV.     Socialization and Social Control

         A.      Nature and Nurture

         B.      Development of the Self

         C.      Agents of Socialization

         D.      Role Theory

 V.      Social Groups

         A.      Concepts of Social Organization

         B.      Formal Organizations

 VI.     Deviance

         A.      Nature of Deviance

         B.      Explanations of Deviance

 VII.    Social Stratification

         A.      Stratification Systems

         B.      Social Mobility

         C.      American Class Structure

         D.      Theories of Social Class

 VIII.   Inequalities of Gender and Age

         A.      Biological and Socio-cultural Differences

         B.      Sex Roles and Sexism

         C.      Social Effects of Aging

         D.      Ageism and Its Consequences

 IX.     Race and Ethnic Relations

         A.      Concepts of Race and Ethnicity

         B.      Prejudice and Discrimination

         C.      Minority Relations