SOC 300 Exam 2

The division of labor and the traditional family structure

The division of labor and the traditional family structure

Political and economic factors that produce and reproduce gender inequality.

The division of labor

No matter how much work a woman does (or doesn’t do) at home, a housewife's social and economic status is derived from her husband. Consequently, her labor is considered to belong to him, not to her.

Gilman and Marx

The metaphor of the corset reflects that the constraints placed on women originate outside her.

• Gilman views these as external pressures

• Gilman’s metaphor of the corset is similar to the Marxist notion of false consciousness.

Gilman intellectual perspectives

A Marxist emphasis on the economic and political basis for gender inequality

A symbolic interactionist emphasis on how these gender differences are reinforced and institutionalized through the process of socialization

A sociobiological emphasis on the evolutionary advantages or roots of gender differences.

Gilman's intellectual influences and core ideas include her multidimensional theory of gender inequality, which combines elements of Marxism, symbolic interactionism, and social Darwinism.

Gilman vs. Marx division of labor

Marx sees the conflict, or class struggle, being between the bourgeoisie (the owners) and the proletariat (the workers); Gilman sees the conflict, gender struggle, between men and women

Duality and Individuality

“Individuality” is created out of a synthesis of two seemingly
contradictory forces

In standing against someone or something, we are able to forge our individuality and develop our potential.

Duality of fashion

Fashion signals both your individuality and your attachment to specific social groups. It is rather built on two opposing forces: differentiation/individuality and conformity/imitation.

WEB Dubois ideas

Double Consciousness- Refers to a split or separation of the self from being both “black” and “American.”

The Color Line- The color line refers to the divide between races, often invisible but sometimes physical

The Veil- Prevents white people from seeing black people as Americans, and from treating them as fully human. Whites take the white world for granted, and they have no need to come to know the black world.

Mead and Weber

Mead- Social Institutions are organized forms of social activity that allow individuals to act socially by taking into account the attitudes of others

Weber- He saw social institutions as systems of power that are used to control individuals and maintain social order.

I and Me

I- "I" represents the spontaneous, impulsive part of the self,

Me- "me" represents the socialized self, internalized expectations from others; so, an example would be

The “I” reacts or answers to the “me,” the phase of the self of which one is conscious.

"I" wants to yell at a rude customer at work, but "me" remembers the company policy to stay professional and calmly responds instead .

Play and Game Stages

The "play stage" and "game stage" are two distinct phases in a child's development of self-awareness, where the play stage involves taking on different roles through pretend play, while the game stage involves understanding and following rules within organized games, allowing children to grasp the perspective of the "generalized other" and develop a more complex sense of self

Distributive Justice

The fair distribution of resources, goods, and opportunities among members of a society. It's concerned with how to allocate resources in a way that takes into account factors like wealth, income, and social status.

When employees performing the same job duties receive the same salary, regardless of gender or race.

Blau and Weber

Power arises from an imbalance in social exchange, where one individual or group has greater access to valued resources or skills that another needs, creating a power dynamic based on the principle of reciprocity, where the person with greater need becomes more dependent on the other, thus granting them power within the exchange relationship; essentially, power is derived from the ability to provide something others need and cannot easily get elsewhere.

"power" is the probability that one actor within a social relationship can carry out their own will, even against resistance from others; essentially, the ability to impose one's will on another despite potential opposition, encompassing a broad range of influence methods from persuasion to coercion.

Goffman’s Dramaturgical Approach

Views social interactions as theatrical performances, where individuals actively manage their self-presentation ("impression management") to create desired impressions on others based on the social context and audience, essentially acting out different roles depending on the situation, much like actors on a stage

When applied to virtual communication, views online interactions as theatrical performances where individuals carefully manage their "self" by presenting a specific image to others through their online behavior, similar to how actors on a stage would perform for an audience, with the goal of controlling the impression they leave on others across different digital platforms and interactions

Goffman and Mead

Goffman- The idea that people consciously or subconsciously influence how others perceive them. Goffman's theory is based on the idea that people put on an act when in front of others, but are more authentic in private. He believed that people adjust their behavior depending on whether they are in public or private.

Mead- Self-identity develops through three stages: preparatory, play, and game. In each stage, a person's understanding of others' perspectives evolves, shaping their "I" (individual response) and "me" (social self). The "me" is the socialized aspect of the individual, while the "I" is the present and future phase of the self.

Bourdieu’s Habitus and Social Space

Habitus- A person's habitus is shaped by their cultural background, personal history, and group culture. It influences and shapes their social actions

Social Space- A structure of perceptions, dispositions, and actions that structures an individual’s experience of and orientation to the social world.

Habitus is itself structured by one’s position in social space, as determined by the volume and types of capital possessed.

Bourdieu’s Capital

Economic Capital- a person's material wealth and financial assets that can be converted into money or institutionalized as property rights Ex.

Cultural Capital-Skills, knowledge, or cultural artifacts that enhance status or credibility

Social Capital- the resources available to people through their social networks

societal constraints placed on women

Gilman used corsets as a metaphor for ______.

True

Gilman considered the traditional family structure to be exploitative.

Duality

______ refers to the intersection of two apparently contradictory forces.

social interaction

Simmel argues that money as a medium of exchange transforms the nature of ______.

trade schools; higher education

For black students, Booker T. Washington advocated for ______, while Du Bois advocated for ______.

Meaning

______ is a response to a gesture developed within a social act. 

True

Mead believed that social progress would occur as people developed a more universal discourse.

how another person responds to that gesture

According to Mead, the meaning of a gesture lies in ______.

pragmatism, behaviorism, evolutionism

Which three theoretical traditions significantly influenced Mead’s body of work?

individualist and nonrationalist

According to the authors’ metatheoretical model, Mead’s work is predominantly __________ in orientation.

“me”

Mead defines the _______ as an organized set of attitudes of others that a person takes on.

1. Pragmatism, we can see this on his ideas of knowing and known

2. Behaviorism, we can see this on his theory of self-control and social control

3. Evolutionism, we can see this on his theory of significant signals

Define the three significant theoretical influences on Mead’s work, making sure to show how they surface within Mead’s work. 

significant signals are signs that we use to communicate. An example would be a stop sign, everyone knows what it is and it's communicating to us to stop.

Define significant symbols and provide a concrete contemporary example of the concept.

generalized social attitudes that continually emerge through coordinated interaction between individuals and groups

Mead defined society as ______.

Self Control comes from learning through social control, the norms and expectations influence our self-control. 

Discuss Mead’s view of the relationship between self-control and social control.

the work we do to present an appropriate image of our self to others

Goffman defines impression management as ______.

the rituals that structure social life

Goffman was influenced by Durkheim’s emphasis on what aspect(s) of modern society?

Mead's ideas of role-taking, the concept of self (The I and Me), and significant gestures all lead to Blumer's idea of symbolic interactionism

Explain how George Herbert Mead’s work informs Blumer’s own work on symbolic interactionism.

Meaning is derived from social interaction.

Which of the following is one of the basic premises that informs Blumer’s understanding of a symbolic interactionist approach to social life?

True

Blumer’s approach to symbolic interactionism builds on Mead’s concept of significant gestures.

Herbert Blumer

Which scholar coined the term “symbolic interactionism”?

The study of social life is like a drama performance. There is a front stage and a backstage, the front stage is your desired image and the backstage is your more relaxed real self. This is like portraying yourself on social media, you only post the good stuff and keep the real stuff hidden.

Explain Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to the study of social life. How can you apply this approach to virtual communication in the twenty-first century? Examples to explore could include text messaging, Facebook messaging, Snapchat, and more.

an internal conversation wherein the individual takes the attitude of the other

Blumer emphasizes interpretation in his analysis, which he defines as ______.

True

Goffman explored how social arrangements themselves shape the organization of the self.

False

Blumer argues that actors behave based on prescribed by roles and norms.