L3-5

• What are the empirical-analytical disciplines associated with?


  Understanding nature and making predictions
• What does Rational Choice Theory (RCT) help explain?

  Why people act or behave as they do
• What is strategic interdependence in game theory?

  Others' choices affect an individual's best choice
• What are the three pillars of Rational Choice Theory?

  Beliefs, preferences, and strategies
• What are the four groups of criticisms on RCT according to Ward?

  1. Heretics' critique on bounded rationality
  2. Sociologists' critique on social structure
  3. Psychologists' critique on rational actions
  4. Political science critique on assumptions and predictions
• What is the basic premise of Rational Choice Theory?

  Social behavior results from individual actions
• What drives the "desire for more" in Rational Choice Theory?

  Rational choices for the best outcome
• What are the limitations of Rational Choice Theory?

  Not all actions are rational; limited choices
• What does symbolic interactionism focus on?

  Meanings individuals attach to objects and interactions
• Who was an influential figure in symbolic interactionism?

  George Herbert Mead
• What role do gestures play according to Mead?

  They are important in communication
• What is Mead's central concept in symbolic interactionism?

  The self, composed of self-awareness
• What are the three stages of gestures according to Mead?

  1. Play stage: Identification of key figures
  2. Game stage: Extrapolation from roles
  3. Generalized other stage: Cultural norms and values
• What is the first principle of symbolic interactionism?

  Meaning is an important element of existence
• What is the second principle of symbolic interactionism?

  People mold their symbolic references through socialization
• What is the third principle of symbolic interactionism?

  There is a cultural dimension in symbolic development
• What are the two critiques of symbolic interactionism?

  1. Insiders' criticism: Ambiguity of major concepts
  2. Outsiders' critique: Limited view of social power
• What does structural functionalism see society as?

  A complex system promoting solidarity and stability
• Who developed structural functionalism?

  Talcott Parsons
• What is social structure in structural functionalism?

  A stable pattern of social behavior
• What are social functions in structural functionalism?

  Consequences of social patterns for society
• How did Robert Merton expand the concept of social function?

  By arguing that structures may have many functions
• What are manifest functions?

  Recognized and intended consequences of social patterns
• What are latent functions?

  Unrecognized and unintended consequences of social patterns
• What is social dysfunction?

  A pattern that disrupts society's operation
• What are the premises of the structural-functional approach?

  1. Functions can be small or substantial
  2. Functions are dynamic and can change
  3. Functions work to keep the system operational
• What must a system do to survive according to structural functionalism?

  Adapt to changes to maintain equilibrium
• What are the four imperatives for societies to maintain equilibrium (A.G.I.L.)?

  1. Adaptation: Mobilizing resources
  2. Goal Attainment: Setting and implementing goals
  3. Integration: Maintaining solidarity
  4. Latency: Preserving culture and values
• What is the institutional approach in political science?

  A study of political institutions' identity
• What is the traditional institutional approach described as?

  Descriptive-inductive, formal, legal, historical-comparative
• What does the descriptive method in the institutional approach involve?

  Exploring specific events and institutions
• What does the inductive method in the institutional approach entail?

  Drawing inferences from repeated observations
• What does the formal method in the institutional approach study?

  Formal governmental organizations
• What does the legal method in the institutional approach include?

  The study of public law
• What does the comparative method in the institutional approach emphasize?

  Understanding institutions through comparison
• What does the classical institutional approach espouse as a theory?

  Political value of democracy
• What does historical institutionalism trace?

  Progress of socio-economic behaviors through history
• What are the three kinds of institutionalism?

  1. New Institutionalism: Sociological view on institutions
  2. Old Institutionalism: Effects of institutions on economies
  3. Historical Institutionalism: Progress through history
• What does the Human-Environment System (HES) refer to?

  Interaction of human and environmental systems
• What is the HES approach in social sciences?

  An interdisciplinary approach integrating knowledge