Sociology Midterm 2

What is sociology?

Scientific and systematic study of society

Sociological Imagination

Awareness of the relationship between a persons behavior and experience a wider culture that shaped their choices and perceptions

Micro-level

Studying small groups and individual interactions

Macro-level

Studying trends among and between large groups and societies

Micro-level Examples

• self

• interaction

• socialization

• roles

• groups

Macro-level Examples

• social inequity

• social institutions

• culture

• society

What is a theory?

An abstract systematic explanation of social reality

What is Assimilation Theory

Immigrant groups will become like the majority population as the passage of time brings a decrease in ethnic differences

Hypothesis

• Developed and derived from theories

• Statements or predictions about specific relationships between variables (cause and effect)

• testable

What is structural functionalism?

• Sees society asa structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the needs of individuals in that society

• social institutions- patterns or beliefs focused on meeting social needs

• function:

• manifest the consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated

• latent:

• unsought consequences of social processes 

• critisims 

What is conflict theory?

Looks at society as a competition for resources

• social institutions reflect this competition for resources because there are inherent inequalities which help maintain unequal social structure

• criticism- many social structures are stable or change gradually rather than abruptly as conflict theory suggests 

Conflict Theory Assumptions

• Group interests are a basic element of life 

• The powerful use their power to keep themselves in power

• Inequalities and the coercion/exploitation of the disadvantaged by the powerful always leads to conflict between the advantage and disadvantage

• The understanding of society or institutions requires analyzing the political economy

• The conditions of social organization, domination, and exploitation have alienating, repressive, and frustrating effects on individuals

• SyHuman beings are the architects of social organization and history

Symbolic Interactionism

• Humans interact with things based on the meaning ascribed to those things 

• The ascribed meaning of things comes from our interactions with each other and society

• The meanings of things are interpreted by a person when dealing with things in specific circumstances

• constructivism

  • Extension of symbolic interaction theory

  • Proposes that reality is what humans construct it to be

Symbolic Interactionism- Social Subjectivity

• recognition in

  • a group

  • an assigned role

  • an acquired role

  • a public role

  • personal identity

Structural Functionalism in Sports

• Focuses on sports as a social system which means

  • People are socialized through sports

  • Sports are a vehicle for assimilation

  • There is a relationship between sports and other institutions

Functions of Sport in Sociology

• Socio-emotional

• Socialization

• Integrative

• Political

• Social mobility

Conflict Theory in Sports

• Argues that sports reflect and reinforce societal arrangements, so they perpetuate class and power differentials 

• Researchers using this theory focus on stratification within sports

Conflict Theory in Sports- Deviance

• Rules= instruments of the ruling class

• Deviance= actions that do harm to others, regardless of the rules that are in place

Symbolic Interactionism in Sports- Achievement

• Symbolic interactionism assumes that achievement is not objective

  • Only exists when someone acts a certain way and the observer judges it to be an achievement

• Achievement must also occur in the appropriate context to be considered an achievement

  • ex. running fast is a talent, but not an achievement until someone participates in a race