Page 16 - Sociology and You

Studying sociology can open doors for you.
Study Skills
To get the most out of any course you take, you must be active in learning the material. All fields of study have their own terminology, and sociology is no different in that respect. However, in sociology, understanding the cen- tral concepts is confounded by the fact that many of the terms used by soci- ologists are often also used in everyday language with different meanings. Because it is important for you to understand such definitional differences, sociological concepts are carefully defined throughout the textbook.
Learning the Skill
To understand the central concepts used in sociology:
◆ Identify the terms that sociologists use to represent specific scientific
concepts. You must be careful at this point, because many of the words that sociologists use are also used in everyday language. You may mis- takenly think that you already understand a word, when, in fact, its sci- entific meaning is different.
◆ Be sure that you understand the words that are used to define a socio- logical term.
◆ Try to put the definition in your own words. If you cannot do this at first, keep working at it until you can. But be careful not to lapse back into everyday usage of the term.
◆ Understand the context in which the term is used, not just its specific definition.
◆ Practice using sociological terms with their scientific meanings. Practicing the Skill
Read the following paragraph and then answer the questions below.
Prejudice is a widely held preconception of a group and its individual members. These preconceptions are often based on strong emotions and unchallenged ideas. Consequently, they are difficult to change, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Prejudice involves an either/or type of logic: A group is either good or bad, and it is assumed that each of the members of that group possesses the characteristics attributed to the group. Prejudice, then, involves an overgeneralization based on biased or insufficient information. While prejudice refers to an attitude, discrimi-
HB-2 Sociology Handbook