Soc Midterm

Auguste Comte

- French philosopher

- Father of sociology

- Wanted to discover "Basic Law of Society"

- Laws of society, stability and solidarity

- Three contributions to sociology:

1. In his quest to determine the laws of society he discovered two important forces worthy of study: social stability and social change
2. He came up with the name "sociology" - "the study of the processes of championship
3. Argued that sociologists should serve in leadership roles

Emile Durkheim

- French sociologist

- Can also be classified as father of sociology

- Strongly influenced by Comte's dream of establishing sociology as a science

- Made sociology a discipline

- Unlike Comte, Durkheim gathered data to test basic sociological theories about social order

- Social integration and solidarity

- Suicide research (first to proposed that suicide could be attributed not only to the temperament of the individual, but also to social influences)

- Believed we act, feel, and think the way we do b/c of society

William Chambliss

- conducted study of "Saints and Roughnecks" in 1973, apart of the labeling theory

- demonstrated the power of labeling

- apart of interpersonal interactions and defining deviance

Ervin Goffman

- Canadian sociologist

- Invented the Dramaturgical approach

- He recommend studying everyday interactions as if we are all actors on a stage seeking to successfully put in a performance

Richard Quinney

- Conflict theorist who suggested that the ruling classes label as deviant any behavior that threatens their power base
- says the criminal justice system serves the interests of the powerful

Karl Marx

- emphasized the role that power and control over resources played in how social order is established and maintained

- Viewed our creative capacity to transform raw material into products (ex: to take clay and make a pot)

- Thought human history is the progressive unfolding of human creativity in the form of new technology through which we establish our relationships on the natural world and with each other

Max Weber

- Offered a more general theory of power that was less wedded to capitalism and ownership of the means of production

- Argued that although social class and its associated control over material resources may determine who has power in most instances, these are not the only possible foundations of power (other included social status and organizational resources)

Ida Wells-Barnet

- She broadened the understanding of social behavior beyond the main POV

- Forced on the principles of equality and opportunity for women and African Americans

- Advocated for women's rights, especially the right to vote

- Note: She was an African American woman

Jane Adams

- Social reformer who worked to improve the lives of the working class

- In 1889 she founded Hull House in Chicago, the first private social welfare agency in the U.S., to assist the poor, combat juvenile delinquency and help immigrants learn to speak English

- Work to help immigrants

W.E.B du Bois

- Combined emphasis on the analysis of the everyday lived experience with a commitment to investigate power and inequality based on race

- American American sociologist

Edwin Sutherland

- He not only developed differential association theory, but was the first to study and give a name (white collar crime) to crimes that occur among the middle class in the course of their work

- Also know as cultural transmission theory

- apart of interpersonal interactions and defining deviance

Charles Horton Cooley

- used the term "looking-glass self" (was a sociological approach to self!) to explain that we see ourselves as we imagine others see us

- we learn who we are by interacting with others (looking glass self)

George Herbert Mead

- i is the acting self; me is the socialized self (was a sociological approach to self!)

- Developed Symbolic Interactionism

- Believed development of individual was a social process as were the meanings individuals assigned to things

Clay Shirky

- The idea that the Internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals

Ferdinand Tönnies

- He was a sociologist and philosopher, famous for having presented the Theory of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (translated as community and society) firstly in 1883
- It described how a growing population and the rise of urban centers led to modern societies that are characterized through more impersonalized interactions between their members
- The decline of small, traditional communities also led to more personal choice for individuals and increased social diversity

NOTE: gemeinschaft and gesellschaft

Gerhard Lenski

- his approach describes how societies have changed over the pass 10,000 years, with an emphasis on the importance of technology in shaping any society
- society is defined by level of technology
- focused on the level of technology to understand how society is organized

Travis Hirschi

- created social control theory (functionalist persepctive)

- pertains to functions of crime and deviance

Henri Tajfel

- created social identity theory

Pierre Bourdieu

- several forms of capital or social currency stem from our membership in different groups

How did sociology as a discipline come into existence?

- Grew in midst of social upheaval

- The advent of the Industrial Revolution and urbanization in the early 19th century led to changes in how we think and act

- Aristocracy was on the decline while democracy was spreading

- The old rules that provided for social order no longer applied

- Sociology arose as a means to understand and control the social forces that shaped our lives

What are the different steps in the research process and what are the parts of research design?

Research Process:
1. Defining the problem
2. Reviewing the literature
3. Formulating the hypotheses
4. Collecting and analyzing data
5. Developing the conclusion

Research design: a detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically
1. surveys
2. observations
3. experiments
4. use of existing sources

Thomas theorem

- created by sociologist W.I. Thomas (how does interaction shape our worlds)

- "What we perceive as real is real in their consequences"

- More simply: how we see the world shapes what we do

- We act on the basis of perception, and our perception is a consequence of the interactions we had w/others

Sociological imagination

- Our exploration of the interdependent relationship between who we are as individuals and the social forces that shape our lives

- Explore the interdependent relationship between who we are as individuals and the social forces that shape our lives

Sociology

- Is the systematic study of the relationship between the individual and society and of the consequences of difference

- As a discipline it is committed to investigate and understand the full scope of out interdependence

- Tool to understand why we thing and act the way we do

Micro sociology

Sociological investigation that stresses the study of small groups and the analysis of our everyday experiences and interactions

Macro sociology

Sociological investigation that concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations

Scientific method

The systematic observation of empirical, this-wordly evidence to asses and refine ideas about what happens and why

Code of ethics

the standards of acceptable behavior developed by and for members of a profession

- Professional competence: Use appropriate research techniques in proper ways

- Integrity: Be honest, respectful, and fair

- Professional and Scientific Responsibility: Adhere to the highest scientific and professional standards

- Respect for People's Rights, Dignity, and Diversity: Be unbiased and nondiscriminatory, respecting the dignity and worth of all people

- Social Responsibility: Contribute to the public good

Value neutrality

Max Weber's term for investigators during research. He says as part of this neutrality, they have an ethical obligation to accept research findings even when the data runs counter to their own personal views.

Feminist methodology

- a set of systems or methods that treat women's experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources, that promote social science for women (think public sociology, but for a specific half of the public), and that take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter

- theoretical orientation influences the questions they ask or fail to ask

- this had also drawn attention to researchers' tendency to overlook woman in sociological studies

Participant observation/ethnography

- A form of observational research

- The study of an entire social setting through extended systematic research

- a qualitative research method in which a researcher attempts to deeply understand a given group of individuals and their practices by becoming intensely involved in their cultural environment, usually over an extended period of time

Hawthorne effect

The unintended influence that observers of experiments can have on their subjects

Secondary analysis

A variety of research techniques that make use of previously collected and publicly accessible information and data for the purpose of new analysis

Content analysis

The systematic coding and objective recording of data, guided by some rationale

Validity

The degree to which measure or scale truly reflects the phenomenon under study

(Note: Sociologists must pursue research results that are both valid and reliable)

Reliability

The extent to which a measure produces consistent results

(Note: Sociologists must pursue research results that are both valid and reliable)

Causality

The notion that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another

HOWEVER CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION
Ex: Studies show that people who watch tv more live longer, because we have more tvs in American and a high life expectancy then people in African

Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which a change in one coincides with a change in the other

Agency

Our freedom as individuals to think and act as we choose

Role exit

- Terms used by sociologist Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh

- Used to describe the process of disengagement from a role that is central to one's self-identity in order to establish a new role and identity

Four stages of role exit:
1. Doubt - person experiences frustration, burnout or doubt with an accustomed status and the riles associated with that social position
2. Search for alternatives - persons who is unhappy with their career may take a leave of absence
3. Leaving - such as a person leaving their job
4. Creation of a new identify - they may leave behind objects

Primary and secondary group

- Term created by Charles Horton Cooley

- Primary groups: Small groups characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation

- Secondary groups: Formal, impersonal groups created by accomplish specific, shared goals

Role

- One of the elements of social structure!

- Social role: set of expected behaviors for people who occupy a given social status

- Ex: if you are a parent (status) you ate expected to provide food, clothes, and shelter for your child (role)

- Difference between statues and role: a statues is something you are, and a role is something you do (you occupy a statues and play a role)

Role strain

- the difficulty that arises when role expectations within the same social status clash

- addresses tension within a single statues

- Ex: a college student trying to balance the time they have writing a paper for literature class, studying for a sociology exam and going to a work study job on campus

In-group and out-group

Groups are one of the elements of social structure!

- In-group: a category for people who share a common identity and sense of belonging (ex: a teenage clique, "populars" & "jocks")

- Out-group: a category of people who do not belong or do not fit in (ex: "brains")

Negative feelings towards an out-group are not based on a sense of dislike, but favoritism for the in-group and absence of favoritism for the out-group- One of the elements of social structure!

Status (ascribed, achieved, master)

Statues is one of the elements of social structure!

Statues: The social positions we occupy relative to others

Ascribed status: A social position assigned to a person by society w/o regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics (typically takes place at birth: age, race/ethnicity, sex, etc. are all examples)

Achieved statues: A social position that is within our power to change (ex: pianist, college graduate, sorority members, etc. b/c they were all accomplishments, something you earned)

**Achieved statuses are earned, ascribed statuses are imposed**

Master status: A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person's general position in society (NOTE: NOT ALL STATUES ARE CREATED EQUAL) (ex: someone with phd)

Social institutions

- systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals
- an integrated and persistent social network dedicated to ensuring that society's core needs are met
(element os social structure)

Reference group

- any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior
- Ex: a college student that joins a fraternity or sorority may pattern their behavior after their fellow Greeks
- have two basic purposes:
1. they serve a normative function by setting and enforcing standards of conduct and belief
2. they perform a comparison function by serving as a standard against which people can measure themselves and others
(element of social structure)

Coalition

- a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose
- a temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal
- they are formed when people w/diverse backgrounds come together to achieve a common goal
- frequently occurs in political movements
(element of social structure)

Bureaucratization

- a formal organization built on the principle of maximum efficiency
- process by which a group increasingly relies on technical-rational decision making
- Max Weber identified it as the ideal type: an abstract model of the essential characteristics of a phenomenon
- Weber believed this allowed for max efficiency
- Five corse characteristics of bureaucratization:
1. Division of labor - alienation and trained incapacity
2. Hierarchy of authority
3. Written rules and regulations - continuity
4. Impersonality - equal treatment
5. Employment based on technical qualifications - rise to incompetence
(element of social structure)

McDonaldization

- George Ritzer's term describing the spread of bureaucratic rationalization and the accompanying increases in efficiency and dehumanization
- definition: the process by which the principles of efficiency, calculability, predictably, and control shape organizations and decision making, in the US and around the world
- Ritzer argues McDonaldization can be found everywhere, ex: sporting events
(element of social structure)

Iron law of oligarchy

- from bureaucracy of oligarchy
- Sociologic Robert Michels idea
- the principle that all organizations, even democratic ones, tend to develop into a bureaucracy ruled by an elite few (called an oligarchy)
(element of social structure)

Socialization

- the lifelong process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture
- we absorb culture through interactions w/ parents, teachers, friends, etc.

Agents of socialization (all the different ones)

groups or social contexts within which processes of socialization take place (family, school, peer groups, mass media & technology, workplace, religion & the state)

Family: first people who put their stamp on us
School: begin to interact and work together
Peer groups: teach us social norms
Mass media & technology: social norms, learn what typical family should look like, message from society
Workplace: learn how to speak w/boss and act professional
Region and the state: formal rule and regulations
**Socialization occurs throughout the life course!**

Socialization through the life course/life course approach

stages from birth through death:
childhood (birth-12)
adolescence (13-17)
transitional adulthood (18-29)
middle years (30-65)
older years (65+)

- process of socialization occurs throughout the life course
- life course approach: a research orientation in which sociologists and other social scientists look closely at the social factors that influence people throughout their lives, from brith to death.

Ageism

prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person's age

Gerontology

the study of aging and the elderly

Face-work

- altering our presentation of self in order to maintain a proper image and avoid public embarrassment
- thus, we are trying to "save-face"/face-saving behavior
- often do this when we feel flustered or rejected
- term created by Goffman goes into dramatical approach
- ex: say if a person does bad on an exam, they might say "this professor sucks"
- trying to maintain positive self-image
(element of socialization)

Impression management

- altering presentation of self to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences
- term created by Goffman goes into dramatical approach
(element of socialization)

Dramaturgical approach

- a view of social interaction in which people are seen as actors on a stage attempting to put on a successful performance
- created by Erving Goffman
- he is trying to say as we preform our roles each of us seek to convey impressions of who we are to others, even as those others are doing the same w/us

Bureaucracy (Weber)

a formal organization built upon the principle of maximum efficiency

Gemeinschaft (Tönnies)

a close-knit community, often found in rural areas, in which strong personal bonds unite members

Gesellschaft (Tönnies)

consists of a large, impersonal, task-oriented society, typically urban, in which individuals have a limited commitment to the group

Mechanical solidarity (Durkheim)

social bonds present in premodern society; people in a simple agricultural society were bonded together by shared traditions, beliefs, and experiences

social cohesion based on shared experiences, knowledge and skills in which things function more or less the way they always have (there is minimal divison of labor)

In this circumstance, the same person that cuts down trees to build your home, is the same person building your house

Organic solidarity (Durkheim)

social bond in modern day society; people bond together based on tasks performed, interdependence, and individual rights

social cohesion based on mutual interdependence in the context of extreme division of labor

In this circumstance, the same person that cuts down trees to build your home, isn't the same person building your house

Looking Glass self (Cooley)

- Created by Charles Cooley
- Argues we becomes ourselves in response from reactions we receive from others
- A theory that we become who we are based on how we think others see us

The I and Me (Mead)

- Created by George Herbert Mead
- "I" - the acting self that exists in relation to me
- "me" - the socialized self that plans actions and judges performances based on the standards we have learned from others
- the "me" plans, the "I" acts, and the "me" judges
- Ex: in a classroom discussion, our "me" knows, based on past experience, that the professor expects participation and will reward it when it comes to grade time. So our "I" gathers up the courage to speak, and once it is over our "me" accesses how it went and gives freed-back for future circumstances.

(One of the sociological approaches to self)

Deviance

is behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. (violating common social norms, Ex: wearing jeans to a formal wedding)

But why do we do it? The civil rights movement was an act of deviance, but they were standing up for what they believed in.

Deviant people are usually stigmatized (term coined by Erving Goffman), for example terms like "ex-convict" or "recovered alcoholic" can stick to a person in life, causing them to be a greater target with police and can limit their opportunities, such as jobs.

Forms of Deviance: Crime

Conformity

is a more horizontal form of social control that involves abiding by the norms of our peers even though they have no direct authority over us. (FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL!)

Obedience

one the other hand (compared to conformity), is a vertical form of social control that involves doing what a person in a position of authority over you says you should. Good example of this is the Stanley Milgram experiment. (FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL!)

Informal and formal social control

Informal social control: involves the use of interpersonal cues, either positive or negative, through everyday interactions to enforce norms. Ex include: smiles, laughter, crossed arms, frowns, etc.

Formal social control: involves the imposition of sanctions, whether positive or negative, by officially recognized authorities in order to enforce norms. Ex of authorized agents include: police officers, judges, school administration, managers, etc.

Differential association

Edwin Sutherland's term to indicate that people who associate with some groups learn an "excess of definitions" of deviance, increasing the likelihood that they will become deviant

or

A theory of deviance that holds that violations of rules results from exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts

Cultural transmission (in relation to crime)

Theory created by Edwin Sutherland, and is a school of criminology that argues that criminals behavior is learned through social interactions. Ex: such learning include the techniques of lawbreaking, how to break into someones car.

(individual is exposed to favorable criminal acts, promoting thus behavior, such as smoking and drinking)

Social disorganization theory

a theory created by Philip Zimbardo that asserts crime occurs in communities with weak social ties and the absence of social control

or

The theory that physical signs of decline in a community or neighborhood indicate a corresponding breakdown of social order within which crime and deviance are likely to thrive

Signs of physical decline: abandoned cars, litter, graffiti, and drug paraphernalia

Stigma/stigmatization

- term created by Erving Goffman
- labeling individuals as less than whole persons due to some attribute that makes them different
- deviant people are usually stigmatized
- ex: terms like "ex-convict" or "recovered alcoholic" can stick to a person in life, causing them to be a greater target with police and can limit their opportunities, such as jobs.

Anomie (Durkheim)

- lack of social integration --\> loss of direction feel when social control of their behavior becomes ineffective, state of normlessness that typically occurs during a period of profound social change and disorder
(Deviance, a part of Durkheim's Functions of crime and deviance theory)

Interpersonal interaction and defining deviance (interactionist perspective)

NOTE: they believe that deviance is something we learn or something attributed to us by others

- Sutherland's Cultural Transmission Theory: Created by sociologist Edwin Sutherland. It proposed that, just as individuals are socialized to conform to society's basic norms and values, so also are they socialized to learn deviant acts. We are not born to be wild, we learn to be wild. (he draw on the cultural transmission school)

- Social Disorganization theory: Created by social psychologist Philip Zimbardo. The theory that attributes increases in crime and deviance to the absence or breakdown of communal relationships and social institutions, such as family, school, church, and local government. Uses Broken Windows hypothesis: the theory that physical signs of decline in a community or neighborhood indicate a corresponding breakdown of social order within which crime and deviance are likely to thrive.

- Labeling Theory: Also known as societal reaction approach. Created by sociologist William Chambliss. Determined why certain people are viewed as deviants. An approach to deviance that attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while other engaged in the same behavior are not. Study conducted by Willian Chambliss about Roughnecks and Saints. Conclude that peoples perception of the students was rooted in their social class.

Functions of crime and deviance (functionalist perspective)

- Durkheims Functions of Deviance Theory: thought no act was inherently criminal. He believed deviance serves a positive social function: can bring us closer.

- Merton's strain Theory: expanded on Durkheim's theory. He suggested that a disconnect can exist between a society's goals and the means people have to attain them. This created the strain theory of deviance: theory of deviance as an adaptation of socially prescribed goals or of the means governing their attainment, or both.

- Hirschi's social control Theory: a theory of deviance that posits that the social bonds we share w/other members of society lead us to conform to societies norms (this is not purely functionalist)

Conflict & power and criminality (conflict perspective)

- Sociologist Richard Qinney claims that criminal justice system serves the interests of the powerful.
- Conflict perspective focuses on differential justice: variations on the way social control is exercised over different groups (race, social class, gender, etc.)

Differential justice

variations in the way social control is exercised over different groups

Crime (index, victimless etc. but also think of deviance & power in relation to the law)

- crime is higher in areas with younger population
- crime is more likely to occur in economic downturn, because people are desperate (typing to provide)

Anticipatory socialization

processes of socialization in which a person rehearses for future positions, occupations, and social relationships

Ex: High school student experience a bit of Anticipatory socialization when they prepare for college. They many seek information from friends and family, or rely on campus websites.

Resocialization

the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors

or

the process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's new life

Resocialization results from the explicit efforts to transform an individual as happens in reform schools, therapy groups, prisons, religious conversion settings, and political indoctrination camps. The process of resocialization typically involves considerable stress for the individual.

Total institution

a setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society and manipulated by an administrative staff

an institution that regulates all aspects of a person's life under a single authority, such as a prison, a mental hospital or a convent

Characteristics of a total institution:
- All aspects of life are conducted in the same place under that control of a single authority
- Any activity within the institution are conducted in the company of others in the same circumstances--for example, army recruits or novices in a convent
- The authorities devise rules and schedule activities without consulting the participants
- All aspects of life within a total institution are designed to fulfill the purpose of the organization. Thus, all activities in a monastery might be centered on prayer and communion with God

Groups

Two or more people, united by a shared sense of identify or purpose, who interact with each other over time in ways that distinguish them from outsiders

Different types of groups:
- In-Groups & Out-Groups
- Reference Groups
- Coalitions

(Social structure and Interactions chapter)

Social networks

A web of relationships through which people interact both directly and indirectly to accomplish formal and informal goals

Networks consist of two principle elements: nodes and relationships

Nodes consist of individuals and relationships are the connection between them

(Social structure and Interactions chapter)

Social institutions

an integrated and persistent social network dedicated to ensuring that society's core needs are met

Sociologist have tended to focus on five major institutions that serve as key elements of the larger social structure: Family, education, religion, economy, and government

Focusing on institutions enables us to see the different ways in which societies fulfill these needs

Ex: it is within the context of families that we ensure the society's continued existence by producing the next generation

(Social structure and Interactions chapter)

Homophily

Our tendency to establish close social network relationships with others who share our same knowledge, beliefs, practices, and characteristics

(Social structure and Interactions chapter)

Scientific management theory (Taylor)

- Theory of management that measures all aspects of the work process to eliminate any inefficiencies

- Establish by Frederick Winslow Taylor

- One of the impressions Max Weber's bureaucracy model is that there is only one right way to organize a firm; however, this theory proves there are other ways!

(Social structure and Interactions chapter)

Human relations approach (Mayo)

-Emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation in a bureaucracy and tends to focus on the informal structure of the organization

- Established by Mayo

(Social structure and Interactions chapter)

Significant other

An individual who is most important in the development of self, such as a parent, friend, or teacher

(Socialization chapter)

Generalized other

The attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior

Culture

Everything humans create in establishing our relationships to nature and with each other

In order words it encompasses all we say, know, and make in our effort to survive and thrive

Ex: language, knowledge, material creation, and rules for behavior

Society

The structure of relationships within which culture is created and shared through regularized patterns of social interaction

Society provides the taken-for-granted structure within which we interact

It enables and constrains the culture we construct

Cultural universal

A common practice or belief shared by all societies

Sociobiology

The systematic study of how biology affects human social behavior

Norms (formal and informal)

Norm: established standard of behavior

Formal: generally has been written down and specifies strict punishments for violators. Ex: laws

Informal: A norm that is generally understood but not precisely recored. Ex: how to ride an elevator, how to pass someone on a side walk, how to behave in a college classroom, etc.

Values

A collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper--or bad, undesirable, and improper--in a culture

Mores

Type of norm:
- norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society, often because they embody core values
- Ex: US has strong mores against murder and child abuse, and those who violate will be subject to severe punishment

Folkways

Type of norm:
- norms governing everyday behavior, who's violation raises little concern
- Ex: someone not saying please and thank you, or cutting the line

Real norms versus ideal norms

Real norms: rules of conduct generated from people's actual behavior

Ideal norms: guidelines for behavior that people agree should be followed

Ideal norms reflect what we collectively say ought to be, and real norms reflect what actually is

Ex showing the difference: the posted speed limit reflects the ideal norm, but the truth is that most people exceed that speed limit regularly, which is the reflection of the real norm