Sociology Very Basics - Sociology Mains Optional for UPSC 2026 PDF Download

 Page 1


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
 
 
Visit our website www.sleepyclasses.com or 
our YouTube channel for entire GS Course FREE of 
cost Also Available: Prelims Crash Course || Prelims Test 
Series 
Page 2


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
 
 
Visit our website www.sleepyclasses.com or 
our YouTube channel for entire GS Course FREE of 
cost Also Available: Prelims Crash Course || Prelims Test 
Series 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Sociology Very Basics ..................................................................... 1 
1. Sociology Very Basics ...................................................................... 1 
Page 3


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
 
 
Visit our website www.sleepyclasses.com or 
our YouTube channel for entire GS Course FREE of 
cost Also Available: Prelims Crash Course || Prelims Test 
Series 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Sociology Very Basics ..................................................................... 1 
1. Sociology Very Basics ...................................................................... 1 
www.sleepyclasses.com 
Call 6280133177 
Available on App 
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Store 
1 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
  1.  Sociology Very Basics  
• Notes for First Video Lecture 
• Certain Terms I want you to know before we begin 
Subjectivity 
• Related with individual (also called subject) and the individual's intentions and interpretations of the 
phenomenon 
 
Objectivity 
• Concept of being true independently from individual subjectivity caused by perception, emotions, or 
imagination. 
Think about this quote 
• Do social structures determine an individual's behaviour ordoes human agency 
• 
Here „Agency' refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and make free choices, 
• 
Whereas „Structure' relates to factors that limit or affect the choices and actions of 
individuals (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, etc.) 
Positivism 
• 
Assumption that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge aims to conduct sociology in 
broadly the same manner as natural science. An emphasis on empiricism and the scientific method 
Antipositivism 
• 
Also called interpretivism 
• 
It proposes that the social reality cannot be studied with the scientific method of investigation applied 
in Natural Sciences 
Investigation of the social reality requires a different approach. 
Empiricism 
• 
The view that generalizations are valid only if they rely on evidence that can be observed directly or 
verified through our senses. 
 
Determinism 
• 
The belief that a particular thing dictates societal patterns. 
Functionalism 
• 
A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to 
promote solidarity and stability 
Conflict Theory 
• 
Theories that assume society is in a constant state of social conflict with only temporarily stable 
periods and that social phenomena are the result of this conflict. 
Page 4


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
 
 
Visit our website www.sleepyclasses.com or 
our YouTube channel for entire GS Course FREE of 
cost Also Available: Prelims Crash Course || Prelims Test 
Series 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Sociology Very Basics ..................................................................... 1 
1. Sociology Very Basics ...................................................................... 1 
www.sleepyclasses.com 
Call 6280133177 
Available on App 
Store and Play 
Store 
1 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
  1.  Sociology Very Basics  
• Notes for First Video Lecture 
• Certain Terms I want you to know before we begin 
Subjectivity 
• Related with individual (also called subject) and the individual's intentions and interpretations of the 
phenomenon 
 
Objectivity 
• Concept of being true independently from individual subjectivity caused by perception, emotions, or 
imagination. 
Think about this quote 
• Do social structures determine an individual's behaviour ordoes human agency 
• 
Here „Agency' refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and make free choices, 
• 
Whereas „Structure' relates to factors that limit or affect the choices and actions of 
individuals (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, etc.) 
Positivism 
• 
Assumption that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge aims to conduct sociology in 
broadly the same manner as natural science. An emphasis on empiricism and the scientific method 
Antipositivism 
• 
Also called interpretivism 
• 
It proposes that the social reality cannot be studied with the scientific method of investigation applied 
in Natural Sciences 
Investigation of the social reality requires a different approach. 
Empiricism 
• 
The view that generalizations are valid only if they rely on evidence that can be observed directly or 
verified through our senses. 
 
Determinism 
• 
The belief that a particular thing dictates societal patterns. 
Functionalism 
• 
A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to 
promote solidarity and stability 
Conflict Theory 
• 
Theories that assume society is in a constant state of social conflict with only temporarily stable 
periods and that social phenomena are the result of this conflict. 
www.sleepyclasses.com 
Call 6280133177 
Available on App 
Store and Play 
Store 
2 
 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
• 
Karl Marx?s conflict theory that in any capitalist society there is eternal conflict between the owners 
of the means of production and the workers. 
Achieved Statuses 
• 
Statuses obtained as a result of individual eff orts. 
Ascribed Statuses 
• 
Statuses conferred on an individual at birth or on other occasions by circumstances beyond the 
individual?s control. 
Alienation 
• 
The process by which people lose control over the social institutions they themselves invented. 
Anomie 
• 
The feeling of some individuals that their culture no longer provides adequate guidelines for 
behavior; a condition of “normlessness” in which values and norms have little impact 
Social stratification 
• 
The division of society into levels, steps, or positions that is perpetuated by the major institutions of 
society such as the economy, the family, religion, and education. 
Social Structure 
• 
The stable, patterned relationships that exist among social institutions within a society. 
Capitalism 
• 
An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, in which resource 
allocation depends largely on market forces. 
Bourgeoisie 
• 
The term used by Karl Marx to describe the owners of the means of production and distribution in 
capitalist societies. 
Proletariat 
• 
The label used by Karl Marx to describe the mass of people in society who have no other resources 
to sell than their labor. 
Caste System 
• 
A rigid form of social stratification based on ascribed characteristics that determine its members? 
prestige, occupation, residence, and social relationships. 
Class System 
• 
A system of social stratification that contains several social classes and in which greater social 
mobility is permitted than in a caste or estate system. 
Race 
• 
A category of people who are defined as similar because of a number of physical characteristics. 
Page 5


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
 
 
Visit our website www.sleepyclasses.com or 
our YouTube channel for entire GS Course FREE of 
cost Also Available: Prelims Crash Course || Prelims Test 
Series 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Sociology Very Basics ..................................................................... 1 
1. Sociology Very Basics ...................................................................... 1 
www.sleepyclasses.com 
Call 6280133177 
Available on App 
Store and Play 
Store 
1 
 
Sociology Very 
Basics 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
  1.  Sociology Very Basics  
• Notes for First Video Lecture 
• Certain Terms I want you to know before we begin 
Subjectivity 
• Related with individual (also called subject) and the individual's intentions and interpretations of the 
phenomenon 
 
Objectivity 
• Concept of being true independently from individual subjectivity caused by perception, emotions, or 
imagination. 
Think about this quote 
• Do social structures determine an individual's behaviour ordoes human agency 
• 
Here „Agency' refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and make free choices, 
• 
Whereas „Structure' relates to factors that limit or affect the choices and actions of 
individuals (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, etc.) 
Positivism 
• 
Assumption that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge aims to conduct sociology in 
broadly the same manner as natural science. An emphasis on empiricism and the scientific method 
Antipositivism 
• 
Also called interpretivism 
• 
It proposes that the social reality cannot be studied with the scientific method of investigation applied 
in Natural Sciences 
Investigation of the social reality requires a different approach. 
Empiricism 
• 
The view that generalizations are valid only if they rely on evidence that can be observed directly or 
verified through our senses. 
 
Determinism 
• 
The belief that a particular thing dictates societal patterns. 
Functionalism 
• 
A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to 
promote solidarity and stability 
Conflict Theory 
• 
Theories that assume society is in a constant state of social conflict with only temporarily stable 
periods and that social phenomena are the result of this conflict. 
www.sleepyclasses.com 
Call 6280133177 
Available on App 
Store and Play 
Store 
2 
 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
• 
Karl Marx?s conflict theory that in any capitalist society there is eternal conflict between the owners 
of the means of production and the workers. 
Achieved Statuses 
• 
Statuses obtained as a result of individual eff orts. 
Ascribed Statuses 
• 
Statuses conferred on an individual at birth or on other occasions by circumstances beyond the 
individual?s control. 
Alienation 
• 
The process by which people lose control over the social institutions they themselves invented. 
Anomie 
• 
The feeling of some individuals that their culture no longer provides adequate guidelines for 
behavior; a condition of “normlessness” in which values and norms have little impact 
Social stratification 
• 
The division of society into levels, steps, or positions that is perpetuated by the major institutions of 
society such as the economy, the family, religion, and education. 
Social Structure 
• 
The stable, patterned relationships that exist among social institutions within a society. 
Capitalism 
• 
An economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, in which resource 
allocation depends largely on market forces. 
Bourgeoisie 
• 
The term used by Karl Marx to describe the owners of the means of production and distribution in 
capitalist societies. 
Proletariat 
• 
The label used by Karl Marx to describe the mass of people in society who have no other resources 
to sell than their labor. 
Caste System 
• 
A rigid form of social stratification based on ascribed characteristics that determine its members? 
prestige, occupation, residence, and social relationships. 
Class System 
• 
A system of social stratification that contains several social classes and in which greater social 
mobility is permitted than in a caste or estate system. 
Race 
• 
A category of people who are defined as similar because of a number of physical characteristics. 
www.sleepyclasses.com 
Call 6280133177 
Available on App 
Store and Play 
Store 
3 
 
 
     Gender 
T.me/SleepyClasses 
• 
The social, psychological, and cultural attributes of masculinity and femininity that are based on 
biological distinctions. 
Social Mobility 
• 
The movement of an individual or a group from one social status to another. 
Open society 
• 
A society that provides equal opportunity to everyone to compete for the role and status desired, 
regardless of race, religion, gender, or family history. 
Communism 
• 
An economic system similar to socialism in which all the means of production would be owned by 
everyone and all profits would be shared equally by everyone. 
Crime 
• 
Behavior that violates a society?s legal code. 
Deviance 
• 
Behavior that fails to conform to the rules or norms of the group in which it occurs. 
Rebels 
• 
Individuals who reject both the goals of what to them is an unfair social order and the 
institutionalized means of achieving them. 
• 
They propose alternative societal goals and institutions. 
Institutions 
• 
Institutions, according to Samuel P. Huntington, are "stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior“ 
Patriarchy 
• 
The belief that men are superior to women and should control all important aspects of society. 
Patriarchal Family 
• 
A family in which most family affairs are dominated by men. 
Matriarchal family 
• 
A family in which most family aff airs are dominated by women. 
Patrilineal system 
• 
A family system that traces kinship through the males of the family. 
Matrilineal system 
• 
A descent system that traces kinship through the females of the family. 
Matrilocal residence 
• 
Marital residence rules that require a newly married couple to settle down near or within the wife?s 
mother?s household