WGU Introduction to Sociology - C273

Auguste Comte

Comte Jesus

Suggested we apply scientific method to social world, which is known as Positivism

Viewed society as a living organism, similar to an animals body - must function together to function smoothly. (functional analysis)

Herbert Spencer

*Called 2nd founder of sociology

*disagreed with Comte, believed sociologists should not guide social reform

*fittest members produce a more advanced society "The survival of the fittest" or "Social Darwinism" (credited to Darwin because he applied it to organisms.

Viewed society as a living organism, similar to an animals body - must function together to function smoothly. (functional analysis)

Karl Marx

Conflict leaves marx

*believed the engine of human history is class conflict

*society is made up of 2 classes

*economics is a central force in social change

*Bourgeoisie - capitalist own the means of production, money, land, factories and machines

*Proletariat - workers;

*introduced Conflict Theory

*did not think of himself as a sociologist

Bourgeoisie

Capitalists. Own the means of production - money, land, factories, and machines.

Proletariat

Workers

Emile Durkheim

Functionile Emile.

*succeeded in getting sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline

*how social forces affect peoples behavior

*Social Integration

*Saw society as organism

when all parts of society full their part it is in a "normal" state, if they do not fulfill their function it is in an "abnormal" or pathological state. (functional analysis)

Social Integration

Degree to which people are tied to their social groups.

Applying Durkheim

Patterns of behavior or recurring patterns or events

Max Weber

Weber didn’t waver in his religion

Symbolic interactionism, rationality, bureacracy.

*used cross culture and historical materials to trace the cause of social change and how social groups affect peoples orientation to life

*disagreed with Karl Marx

*Roman Catholics taught to hold on to tradition, protestant taught to embrace change

*Protestant ethic

Protestant Ethic

• Looked for sign they were in Gods good grace

• Financial success, live frugal lives, saving and investing money "the spirit of capitalism"

• This brought about capitalism

Harriet Martineau

*did writings because women were to focus on church, cooking, children and clothes (domestic)

*early female sociologist

*viewed sociology as a path to reform and improve society (stop lynchings, integrate immigrants, improve working conditions)

W.E.B. DuBois

black sociologist

Da boys are racist (conflict)

NAACP

Jane Addams

Sociologist and social reformer (justice and change)

*came from wealth and privilege

*ACLU, child labor

*founded Hull House with Ellen Gates Starr

C. Wright Mills

pushed sociologist to go back to push social reform

sociological imagination

Basic (or pure) sociology

Sociological research for the purpose of making discoveries about life in human groups, not for making changes in those groups

Applied Sociology

Use of sociology to solve problems from classroom integration and family relationships to crime and pollution

Public Sociology

Applying sociology for the public good; especially sociological perspective (how things relate to one another) to guide politicians and policy makers

Theory

General statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how 2 or more facts are related to one another

3 major theories

Symbolic Interaction

Functional analysis

Conflict Theory

Symbolic Interaction

Words are labels, every day interactions, shared meanings.

Theoretical perspective where society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world and communicate with one another.

Analyze how social life depends on the ways we define ourselves and others. Study face to face interactions, examine how people make sense of their live and place in it.

i.e. sister vs girlfriend, brother vs boyfriend

George Herbert is one of the founders

Functional Analysis (functionalism, structural functionalism)

Theoretical from work in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that when fulfilled contributes to society's equilibrium; also known as functionalism and structural functionalism

Society is made up of a whole unit of interrelated parts that work together.

Sociologists that had functional analysis theories

Auguste Conte

Herbert Spencer

Emiline Durkheim

Robert Melton

Robert Melton

Dismissed comparing society to a living organism, but maintained the essence of functionalism

Used the terms functions, dysfunctions, manifest, latent, and latent dysfunctions

Function

Refer to beneficial consequences of people's actions (help keep a group in balance) i.e. family running a farm

Can be manifest or latent

Dysfunctions

harmful consequences of people's actions (they undermine the systems equilibrium

manifest

an action is INTENDED to help some part of the system

latent

An UNINTENDED consequence that help a system adjust

Latent Dysfunctions

Actions UNINTENTIALLY hurt a system

Conflict Theory

Society composed of groups that compete with one another for scarce resources

On surface shows cooperation, under the surface struggles for power

Karl Marx - founder of conflict theory witness the Industrial Revolution

8 steps of Research Model

1 - Select topic

2 - Define problem

3 - Review literature

4 - Formulate hypothesis

5 - Choose research method

6 - Collect data

7 - Analyze results

8 - Share results

Validity

Extent an operational definition measures what it is intended to measure

Reliability

Extent a research produces consistent or dependable results

Research Methods

1-Surveys

2-Participant Observation

3-Case Studies

4-Secondary Analysis

5-Analysis of Documents

6-Experiments

7-Unobtrusive measures

Research Model Surveys

Collection of data by having people answer a series of questions and selection a sample

Narrow population (a target group to be studied (high school males)

Select a sample (individuals intended to represent the population to be studied)

Ask natural questions

Establish rapport

Random Sample

Sample where everyone in target population has same chance of being included in the survey

Stratified Random Sample

A sample from selected subgroups of the target population (freshmen and seniors)

respondants

people who respond to a survey

Types of survey questions

-Closed ended - questions followed by a list of possible answers

-Open ended - respondents answer in their own words

Research Model Participant Observation

Researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening

For example, if your campus has a crisis intervention center, you may be able to observe victims of spouse abuse from the time they report the attack through their participation in counseling. With good rapport, you may be able to spend time with them in other settings. This, in turn, may give you insight into how to improve college counseling services.

Research Model Case Studies

Intensive analysis of a single event, situation or individual

Research Model Secondary Analysis

The analysis of data that has been collected by other researchers

Research Model Analysis of documents

examine books, newspapers, diaries, bank records, police reports, immigration files, lets.. also includes video and audio recordings

Research Model Experiments

Use of controlled and experimental groups and dependent and undefended variables to test causation

Experimental Group

The group subjects in an experiment who are exposed to the independent variable

Control Group

Subjects in an experiment who are not exposed to the independent variable

Independent Variable

A factor that causes a change in another variable

Dependent Variable

A factor that is changed by an independent variable

Research Model Unobtrusive Measures

Ways of observing people so they don't know they are being studied

Culture

The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and material objects that characterize a group and are passed from 1 generation to the next

Material Culture

Material objects that distinguish a group of people. i.e. art, jewelry, buildings, utensils, machines, hairstyles, cotton

Non-material Culture

A groups way of thinking and doing-

beliefs, values and other assumptions about the world

it's common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction, also called symbolic culture

Culture Shock

The disorientation that people feel when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their "taken-for-granted" assumptions of life

Ethnocentrism

Belief that own culture is the most superior,

use of own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluation of their value norms and behaviors

Cultural Relativism

Not judging a culture but trying to understand it on it's own terms

Quantitive Analysis

Measures traits or behaviors that can be numerically calculated

Qualitative Analysis

Deals with traits or behaviors that cannot be assigned a number.

Ethics

Rules of principles or behaviors

Macroanalysis

Focuses on broad, or large-scale, patterns in society (for example, communities, organizations, and so on).

Functional and conflict theorists perform macrolevel analyses.

Microanalysis

Examines smaller-scale patterns of social life, such as individual relationships.

Symbolic interactionists are associated with microlevel analyses.

Sociological Perspective

Assumes there is a significant relationship between individual or group behavior and their social setting

Stresses the social context in which we live

Opens unfamiliar worlds and offers a fresh look at familiar worlds

Looks at social location, the place people occupy because of who and where they are in society

Pluralistic Society

A society that embraces many different religious, racial, ethnic, and special interest groups. The United States is considered to be a pluralistic society.

Charles Horton Cooley

known for his theory of the "looking-glass self."

symbolic interactionism

Jean Piaget

known for identifying four stages of development in reasoning.

George Herbert Mead

Too much mead and you become child like.

Sense of self, imitation. Symbolic interactionism.

known for pointing out the importance of play in learning to take the role of the other.

six major emotions:

Anger

Disgust

Fear

Happiness

Sadness

Surprise

Self Concept

The idea or mental image one has of oneself, which includes an idea of one's strengths, weaknesses, and status.

agents of socialization.

People and groups that influence our behaviors, attitudes, emotions, and self concept

anticipatory socialization

learning to play a role before entering it.

Social interactions are tuned to be acceptable and in line with the culture of an organization.

Childhood (birth-12)

Children are guided toward physical, emotional, and social development by their parents, who also ensure protection, comfort, and care.

Adolescents (13-17)

Adolescents face difficult issues as they try to understand who they truly are and identify their place in society. They sometimes develop their own standards of clothing, hairstyles, language, music, and other markers of identity.

Young adulthood (18-29)

During young adulthood, self-identity becomes more stable; this is often a period of high optimism.

Middle-aged (30-50)

Middle-aged adults are often sure of what they want and desire to work toward those goals; however, they tend to face challenges at this point in life, such as divorce, job layoffs, and debt, that may keep them from their goals. This is one of the most trying periods.

Late Middle Years (50-65)

People take a different view of life during this period. Individuals frequently feel dissatisfied with their lives and try to reevaluate what they should be doing.

Older years (66 and beyond)

People begin to have a sharpened awareness of shortening time. This may be combined with potential frailty and illness. Impending death becomes a consideration.

Deviance

any violation of norms, whether minor or serious.

Howard S. Becker

It is not the act itself that makes it deviant; it is society's reaction to the act.

Ervin Goffman

When a person is believed to have deviated from his or her culture's norms, other members of the culture may strongly disapprove. This powerful disapproval is called social stigma

Differential Association: Edwin Sutherland

We learn to deviate or conform to the norms according to the different groups we associate with.

People are not mere pawns; individuals help produce their own orientation and shape their own selves.

Example:

Members of the Mafia intertwine ideas of manliness with violence. For them, killing is a measure of manhood. Some killings are done to enforce norms. Violation of omerta, the Mafia's vow of secrecy, can never be tolerated, because it threatens the very existence of the group. This also indicates how relative deviance is. Although killing is deviant in mainstream society, not to kill when rules are broken in a Mafia gang is the deviant act.

Control Theory: Walter Reckless

Everyone is propelled toward deviance, but two control systems work against the motivation to deviate:

Inner controls are our capacity to withstand temptations toward deviance; they include morality, integrity, fear of punishment, and desire to do and to be good.

Outer controls are people or influences that encourage us to conform to the rules. Parents or other loved ones, role models, and the police are examples of external influences over a person's behavior.

Travis Hirschi noted that strong bonds to society lead to more effective inner controls.

Example: Drug use is an interesting example of deviance. Suppose you are invited to a party and everyone is using marijuana. They invite you to do some with them. Reflect on the conflict you may feel here. The enticement is to take the drug to fit in with your friends, your peer group, and the setting, and also to satisfy your curiosity. The rejection of such behavior comes from your conscience, the thought of your parents, the fear of arrest, and your knowledge of the danger of using drugs.

Labeling Theory

Society describes certain people with labels, such as "mentally ill" or "delinquent" or "genius." Those labels affect the perceptions of others and those who are labeled, thus channeling them into deviance or conformity.

Labels given to people affect the way they perceive themselves and how others perceive them. People begin to behave as if their labels are accurate.

As a result of behaving in ways that fit their labels, people's opportunities can develop or disappear.

Degradation

In some cultures, deviant behavior leads to degradation ceremonies, where the offender is forced to live with insults every day and is marked as shameful. College hazing is an example of this, as is a recent trend by some judges to force petty criminals to publically declare their deviance by holding signs on street corners describing their crimes.

Imprisonment

Today, some deviants are considered unfit to live among law-abiding citizens and are imprisoned. A private-corporation business in building and maintaining prisons and jails thrives in the United States as a result.

Medicalization

Medical professionals attempt to medicate many forms of deviance, believing that deviance comes from mental illness and is not simply a behavioral problem. From Ritalin to Haldol to Zoloft, chemical behavior control is a booming business. Medications are sometimes necessary and useful but have often been used as population control and not as treatment.

Group

people who have something in common and who believe that what they have in common is significant; also called a social group

aggregate

individuals who temporarily share the same physical space but who do not see themselves as belonging together

category

people, objects, and events that have similar characteristics and are classified together

primary group

a small group characterized by intimate, long-term, face-to-face association and cooperation

secondary group

compared with a primary group, a larger, relatively temporary, more anonymous, formal, and impersonal group based on some interest or activity

voluntary associations

groups made up of people who voluntarily organize on the basis of some mutual interest; also known as voluntary memberships and voluntary organizations

iron law of oligarchy

Robert Michels' term for the tendency of formal organizations to be dominated by a small, self perpetuating elite

in-group

a group toward which one feels loyalty

out-group

group toward which one feels antagonism

reference group

a group whose standards we refer to as we evaluate ourselves

social network

the social ties radiating outward from the self that link people together

clique (cleek)

a cluster of people within a larger group who choose to interact with one another

bureaucracy

a formal organization with a hierarchy of authority and a clear division of labor; emphasis on impersonality of positions and written rules, communications, and records

-separate levels

-a division of labor

-written rules

goal displacement

an organization replacing old goals with new ones; also known as goal replacement

alienation

Marx's term for workers' lack of connection to the product of their labor; caused by workers being assigned repetitive tasks on a small part of a product—this leads to a sense of powerlessness and normlessness; others use the term in the general sense of not feeling a part of something

self-fulfilling stereotype

preconceived ideas of what someone is like that lead to the person's behaving in ways that match the stereotype

hidden corporate culture

stereotypes of the traits that make for high-performing and underperforming workers