Studied by 12 people
What Is sociology
The study of the function of human society
Macro
Large scale questions about society
Micro
Smaller questions about individuals
Conflict theory/ Marxism
Macro level, society is made up of competing groups struggling for control, societal relationships are exertions of power
Functionalism
Macro level ideas, social structure are at the core of society, religion, family etc
Symbolic interactionslism
Micro level ideas, the world is made up of symbols that we interpret to communicate, we assign meaning to interaction and objects
What are the two types of identity?
Individual identity and group identity
6 factors that shape identity
Gender, ethnicity, sexuality, location, nationality, class
What does socialisation teach us
Norms, values, sanctions, taboos, folkways, mores
Socialisation
The process of learning to fit into society
Nature VS Nurture
Nature is the hereditary and genetic factor of identity and nurture is the environment variables
Looking glass self - Charles Cooley
Individuals when they base their sense of self on how they believe others view them
I and Me - George Herbert mead
Me represents learned societal behaviours and expectations and I represents an individual’s identity based on the response to those social behaviours and expectations
Dramaturgy - Erving Goffman
Assumed a place moment and audience to whom the identity is being presented
Stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor stage, Pre- operational stage, concrete operational stage, formal operational stage
Agents of socialisation
(Both direct and indirect) family, peers, education, media
gender (general)
Male and female- biological, sociological theory has many different theories on gender not necessarily just male or female, beauty standards and gender roles in culture, socialisation
Culture
The way of life of a whole society, involves shared beliefs, norms etc. these features influence the ways that society members live their lives
Culture 2
Everything in human society that is socially rather than biologically transmitted
Cultural universals
Patterns or traits globally common to all societies
Ethnocentrism
To evaluate and judge another culture based on one’s cultural norms, it is believed a certain level of it is needed for people to be emotionally to their way of life and promotes solidarity within one culture
Cultural relativism
The belief that no one culture is better than another and the practice of judging a society by its own standards
Cultural imperialism
The deliberate imposition of one’s own cultural values on another culture
Culture shock
Ethnocentrism can be so strong that when confronted with different things in a new culture one might be disoriented or frustrated
Xenocentrism
The belief that another culture is superior to one’s own
High culture
The culture of the elite usually referring to artistic endeavours such as music, theatre, art, writing and architecture
Low culture
Forms of popular culture that have a mass appeal
Folk culture
Tradition, historical continuity and a sense of place and belonging
Popular culture
Culture based on the tastes of oridnary people rather than the educated elite
Functionalism and culture
society and culture more important than individual
Exists before individua is born and continues after they die
Characterised by social order rather than chaos, people’s behaviour is patterned and predictable
Value consensusculture bonds people so they interact successfully
Functionalism and culture - pre industrialised society
Pre industrialised society, religions had extreme power over individua behaviour
These societies had high levels of solidarity
(Indigenous Australian communities)
Functionalism and culture - modern societies
industrialisation and urbanisation have potential to undermine value consensus
Social order generally maintained because of social institutions that continue to socialise people in shared cultures
Functionalism and culture - criticisms
exaggerates positives, ignoring element of conflict
Little acknowledgement that people play an active role in shaping culture
Exaggerates degree to which culture is shared (australia - diverse social classes and ethnic groups)
Marxism and culture
views culture as shaped by the ruling class
Cultural ideas and values are dominated by ruling class ideology
Social institutions such as religion, education, and media reinforce ruling class culture
Lower social classes may perceive their own low status as natural and blame themselves
Marxists argue that cultural hegemony perpetuates class inequalities in society
Neo Marxism
question the idea of culture as simply being an ideology
Argued that individuals in capitalist societies developed a dual consciousness, viewing the world through the lens of ruling class ideology while also recognising the unfairness of their own experiences of low wages and exploitation, shedding light on the role of culture in perpetuating social inequalities
Means that ruling class idea never reach all, some members of working class will challenge this
Although some aspects of culture will be shared others will not and different classes have different cultures
Marxism criticism
overemphasises social class as the main source of conflict in modern societies other things may also be important causes in inequality
Patriarchy
Assumed the working class are passive victims or puppets of ruling class culture and ideology
Interactionism in culture
not just shared norms, values etc but is also produced by individuals as they interact
Approach Is known as micro theory, emphasis on actions of individuals not social structure
Potential for individuals to change the culture of society by acting differently
Interactionism criticism
Neglects wider structural features of society such as class or gender
Subcultures
Subcultures are any group that exist within dominant, mainstream culture
Subculture have shared ideology, shared asthetic and shared vernacular
Countercultures
Countercultures are a group whose values and norms deviate from or are at odds with those of dominant culture, usually viewed as negative or dangerous but not necessarily, the hippie movement
Class and identity
Objectively speaking it refers to economic differences between social groups. Some sociologists see wealth as the key to defining social class but others put more emphasis on income which is often closely linked to their occupation
Understanding class key idea 1
Class is differences in wealth or ownership of means of production
, the things required to produce wealth, land raw materials,machinery, capital
Divide between bourgeoise and proletariat who do not own means of production therefore work for the bourgeoise
Bourgeoise
The capitalist ruling class
Proletariat
everyone else
Understanding class key idea 2
people who share similar socio economic status also share similar educational backgrounds and experiences lifestyles and outlooks
There is also a distinct inequality between social classes in terms of life chances such as infant mortality life expectancy the educational achievement of their children and the distribution of poverty and wealth
Understanding class key idea 3
3 ideas of capital
Economic capital - consisting of income and wealth based on jobs savings and home ownership
Social capital- involving social contacts friendships with certain people from different occupations
Cultural capital - which is based on one’s leisure activities wether someone is participating in high or low culture activities
Middle class identity
Broad way to describe non manual workers, rely on education and intellectual abilities, 4 types of middle class groups - professionals such as doctors and lawyers, managers, self employed owners of small businesses and white collar or clerical workers. Shared values of career successs and mortgages and living in the suburbs
Working class identity
Manual workers, indenting with each other, strong sense of social divide, unions- them against us vibes,
What is a family
The people you live with who you also bond with and in almost all cases are related to you - parents, kids, extended relatives
Nuclear family
Made of two generations (parents and kids)
Extended family
Nuclear family plus other relatives
Other types of families
Single parent, same sex parents, blended families, defectors families
Family of orientation
The family a person grows up in
Family of procreation
The family we create for ourselves (when first child is born)
Changing families
Reasons and types of family, statistics etc
Functionalism and family
Nuclear family functions for greater good of society- massive contribution to maintenance of social order and stability, functionalists argue it is beneficial to both adults and kids who receive emotional satisfaction associated with married and family life, they see it as serving an important purpose as it contributes smoooth running of society and the personal development of individuals
Talcott parsons
Family is main centre of socialidation, personalities are made not born, fathers play instrumental role responsible for economic welfare and living standards of family, believe mothers play expressive role of nurturing, providing emotional support and socialising children
Sociologic imagination
Sociological imagination is an outlook on life that involves an individual developing a deep understanding of how their biography is a result of historical process and occurs within a larger social context.
Identity
The fact of being or knowing what a person is
Norms
Something that is usual typical or standard
Values
individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another
Sanctions
a reaction (or the threat or promise of a reaction) by members of a social group indicating approval or disapproval of a mode of conduct and serving to enforce behavioral standards of the group.
Taboos
a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding associations with a particular person, place, or thing.
Folkways
the learned behaviour, shared by a social group, that provides a traditional mode of conduct.
Folkways are informal rules and norms that, while not offensive to violate, are expected to be followed
Mores
Mores are norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance. Mores include gossiping, stealing, lying, bullying, and breaking a promise
Sex and gender
Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that comprise sex and how those attributes are expressed. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people
Material and non material culture
The material aspects of a culture like art or food and the non material aspects like traditions and language
The beginnings of sociology
The term sociology was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, The term sociology was first used by Frenchman Auguste Compte in the 1830s when he proposed a synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity, as a way to study and try to understand the changes to society brought on by the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
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