Sociology and Sociological Theories

The Founders of Modern Sociology

Weber, Durkheim, and Marx

The Founder of Social Psychology

Mead

The Development of the Self (3 stages)

Preparatory Stage (0-2)
Play Stage (2-6)
Game Stage (7+)

What is the Preparatory Stage?

(0-2) Children learn to use language and symbols, but only mimic those around them

What is the Play Stage?

(2-6) Children learn to play the roles of others in pretend games such as "playing doctor"

What is the Game Stage?

(7+) Children begin to understand the "generalized other" (generalized attitude of a large social group)

According to Mead- what is thinking?

An ongoing discussion between the "I" and the "me"

According to Mead- what does the actual self consist of?

A balance of "I" and "me"

What is "I"?

One's personal identity and individuality. Arises in response to "me".

What is "me"?

Our interpretations of how the "generalized other" views us. Develops through interactions with others.

What theory is Mead responsible for?

Symbolic Interactionism

What theory is Weber responsible for?

Conflict Theory (along with Marx)

What are the beliefs of Weber that formed the basis of symbolic interactionism?

1. ideas and beliefs have powerful effects on society
2. people base their actions on their personal interpretation of the meaning of the world around them.

What did Weber believe?

That modern societies are becoming increasingly rational and bureaucratic

What are bureaucracies?

agencies of non-elected officials that administer the laws of society.
(department of agriculture, department of justice, department of labor, etc.)

What is rationalization?

societies that trend toward increasing efficiency and away from traditional religious standards of spirituality and morality

What did Weber believe when it came to modern societies?

1. Modern societies could have more than 1 source of conflict- not just a conflict of income
2. several factors can moderate people's reactions to inequality such as agreement with authority figures, high rates of social mobility, and low rates of class difference
3.The DEFINING transformation of WESTERN cultures was increasing rationalization
4. rationalization also promotes the proliferation of highly impersonal bureaucracies.

What theory is Marx responsible for?

Conflict Theory (along with Weber)

What is a class consciousness?

a social condition in which members of a subordinate social class are actively aware of themselves as a group being exploited by the wealthy

What is a false consciousness?

when members of a subordinate class see themselves as individuals instead of members of an exploited group. Lack of class consciousness awareness.

What were Marx's assertions?

1. Capitalism is an economic system that encourages private ownership in order to produce profit and wealth
2. Private owners are incentivized to minimize the wages of their workers- creating a cycle of increasing inequality
3.The workers realize they are being exploited which leads to worker revolutions
4. Capitalism is replaced with socialism, an economic system in which the means of production are collectively owned to benefit all members of society equally (in theory).

What is an anomie?

a mismatch between the wider social standards and the standards of individuals or smaller groups within that wider society

What is manifest?

something that was intended or obvious

What is latent

something that was unintended or less recognizable

What did Durkheim want sociology to be separate from?

psychology and political philosophy.

What were Durkheim's assumptions?

1. post industrial societies are quite complex
2. these societies require many different types of people working together with an intricate division of labor to make society function
3. a dynamic equilibrium results in social structures working synergistically towards societal solidarity, result in a common consciousness that exerts a strong coercive influence on individual actors.
4. societies that have thrived for generations have evolved healthy, self-regulating, and self- correcting mechanisms
5. dysfunctions in societies are caused by anomie.

What is a common consciousness?

the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to average citizens of the same society.

What is a glass ceiling?

a metaphor representing an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy

What is a glass escalator?

refers to the way men are often fast tracked to advanced positions when entering a primarily "pink collar" profession.

What sociology level is Feminist Theory?

macro-level AND micro-level

What is Feminist Theory?

a variety of perspective on the treatment of women vs. men in society

How many waves can feminism be divided into?

Three waves:
1. around the 1900s
2. 1960s, 1970s
3. since the 1980s

What is first-wave feminism?

Around 1900s,
focused on women's suffrage: the right to vote, own property, to have equal rights within marriage, and to work for wages

What is second-wave feminism?

1960s, 1970s,
focused on women's social liberties: gender equality, equal pay, sexual de-stigmatization, and reproductive rights.

What is third-wave feminism?

Since 1980s,
focused on intersectionality, the study of how different social identities such as gender, race, class, etc. interact amongst each other

True or False:

The MCAT will often lump exchange theory and rational choice theory together as the "exchange-rational" theory

True

What is Exchange Theory?

How individuals respond to rewards and punishments with the goal in mind to maximize rewards and minimize punishments

Where was Exchange Theory borrowed from?

Behavioral Psychology

What is Rational Choice Theory?

How individuals make decisions by comparing the costs and the benefits with the goal in mind to maximize benefits and reduce costs

What is Rational Choice Theory borrowed from?

Economic Theory?

What level theory is both Rational Choice and Exchange Theory?

micro-level

What is a social construct?

anything that appears natural or obvious to the people that accept it but it is largely the invention of a given society

What is socialization?

the dynamic ongoing process by which an individual internalizes the values, beliefs, and the norms of their society and learns to function as a member of that society

What does socialization explain?

how social constructs are maintained, reaffirmed, and passed along to future generations

What level theory is Social Constructionism?

micro-level OR macro-level

What do social constructionists believe in?

1. that "reality" is not inherent, but socially constructed
2. there is no "natural" reason that constructs necessarily have to be the way they currently are in any specific culture

What is a major focus of social constructionists?

the study of how individuals and groups participate in the construction of social reality