AICE Sociologists

Anderson (1938)

Describes societies as "imagined communities" as they are mentally constructed by physical boundaries, systems of government and customs.

Merton (1957)

Suggested objects can function in two ways (Manifest and Latent functions). Manifest function refers to the purpose for which they exist. Latent function refers to a hidden purpose (ex: materials functioning as status symbols)

Merton (1938)

Anomie- Suggests that without order and predictability, behavior becomes risky and confusing

Goffman (1959)

Argues that norms are more open to negotiation and interpretation than roles or values, meaning they quickly adapt to change.

Billikopf (1999)

Russia- When a man peels a banana for a lady, it means he has romantic interest in her

Wojtczak (2009)

Victorian Britain- women lived in a state that was a little bit better than slavery. Notes that their sole purpose was to marry and reproduce

Mead (1934)

I (Unsocialized self) + Me (Socialized self)- Claims that the social context in which behavior occurs conditions how people behave.

Cooley (1909)

Mirroring- Suggest that in the majority of social encounters, other people are used as a looking glass self

Wilson (1979)

Biogrammars- Claims that human behavior is strongly influenced by 'biological programming' or 'biogrammars'

Parsons (1959)

Family roles- Argued that family roles are organized to reflect the belief that women play an expressive role (caring for others), while men play the instrumental role (focus on providing for family)

Meins et al (2002)

Suggests that a genetic instinct for babies to become attached to their primary care giver exists, which can be affected by environmental factors

Berger and Luckman (1967)

Suggests a sense of detachment from the ones teaching socialization. This is due to secondary socialization being characterized by 'formality and anonymity'

Hughes et al (2002)

Subcultures- The models we use for appraising and shaping our attitudes, feelings and actions

Bowles and Gintis (2002)

Argues that there is a correspondence between school norms and workplace norms. Schools prepare students for adult work by socializing them.

Potter (2003)

Short-term effects of mass media include imitation, desensitization and learning

Philo et al (1982)

Argues that the media determines how something will be debated

Durkheim (1912)

The media has a "boundary-marking function"- promotes acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior to strengthen perceptions of expected behaviors

Swatos (1998)

Argues that religions are going through important changes that are making them more "female friendly"

Althusser (1972)

Ruling class is able to control/influence the repressive state apparatuses (RSAs) and ideological state apparatuses (ISAs)

Garfinkel (1967)

Demonstrated the weak nature of our beliefs about social order by disrupting daily routines and observing how upset, confused and angry people became

Schutz (1962)

Argues subjective meanings give rise to an apparently objective social world

Wrong (1961)

Criticized an "over-socialized conception of a man", rejecting the idea that human behavior is governed by the effects of socialization.

-States people are able to exercise a degree of freedom from the influences of a social environment

Giddens (1984)

Developed structuration- outlines the importance of both structure and action

Adorno and Horkheimer (1944)

Argues that ruling class ideology is passed on through the culture industry that creates forms of popular culture (ex: films and magazines)

Dugan (2003)

Power is active- Suggesting that power involves the 'capacity to bring about change'

Lukes (1990)

Power is passive- Argues that power involves 'do nothing' by making others believe nothing has to change

Weber (1922)

Distinguishes two types of power: Force/coercive power- People are forced to obey under the threat of punishment
Consensual power (authority)- People obey because they believe it right to do so

Foucault (1983)

Argues that power in modern societies is different from power in past societies because it is 'difficult to see' (opaque)

Miller (1962)

Working-class subcultures are different from the wider culture due to them being defined through trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy

Crompton (2003)

Occupation is a good measure that allows us to determine simple class groupings (working, middle and upper class)

Goldthorpe et al (1968)

Emergence of new working class that has developed new forms of identity (home-centered and instrumental)

Devine (1992)

Suggests there are important differences between the new working class and the middle class

Brooks (2006)

Management- Combines career progression, decision-making, power and control over others and organization of work routines

Self and Zealey (2007)

Income inequality- 21% of the UK's total wealth is owned by the wealthiest 1%

Davies et al (2008)

The world's richest 1% own 40% of the total world wealth

Connell et al (1987)

We are not born as 'men' or 'women'; we become 'men' and 'women' through the social construction of gender identities

Lips (1993)

Argued differences in male and female identities do not occur biologically but historically and cross-culturally

Connell (1995)

Suggested 2 forms of dominant gender: Hegemonic masculinity (traditional forms of masculinity) and Emphasised femininity (female identities were traditionally by how they would accommodate to men)

Kitchen (2006)

Complicit femininity- women regarded as passive, emotional beings whose identity is defined by male needs and desire

Schauer (2004)

Suggests four forms of masculinity: Subordinate, subversive, complicit and marginalised masculinities

Willot and Griffin (1996)

Notes marginalised masculinities develop among the long-term unemployed working class

Oakley (1972)

Suggests female identities were shaped in childhood

Chambers et al (2003)

Argues female identities continually struggle with the problem of 'producing a femininity securing male approval'

Froyum (2005)

Suggests that assertive femininities are adopted to resist male power without actually threatening to overthrow it

Hollows (2000)

"Girl power" identities- suggests these emphasize 'sex as fun' and importance of female friendship

McRobbie (1996)

Termed the desire of personal freedom and expression as 'individualism, liberty and the entitlement to sexual self-expression'

Evans (2006)

Points female individualism as a part of new gender regime that frees women from traditional constraints (ex: pregnancy)

Ossorio (2003)

Argues the simple biological notion of race is wrong, there is no solid evidence of genetically different racial groups

The Center for Social Welfare Research (1999)

stated that identity is in some sense ethnic because we all have diverse origins; related to how we are related and treated by others

Winston (2005)

Ethnic identities develop when people see themselves as different from others due to shared cultural background and history

Song (2003)

Ethnic identities are often expressed through distinctive markers such as common ancestry and memories of a shared past

Wimmer (2008)

An important aspect of ethnic identities is how they are defined to other ethnic groups by constructing a sense of difference

Anderson (1985)

Life span of women in the 70s- women in the mid-18th century were expected to die 12 years before their last grandchild was born; women in the 1970s were expected to live 25 years after their last grandchild was born

Philippe Aries (1962)

Childhood in the modern sense did not exist in the middle ages; children were not seen different from adults

Hood-Williams (1990)

3 types of adult control of children: Space, time and bodies

Postman (1994)

Argues childhood has changed with the growth of television, computers and videos; period of childhood innocence has shortened

Eisenstadt

Teenage years are a difficult period because they involve status anxiety

Rampton (2002)

suggests identity construction in postmodern societies involves assembling or piercing together a sense of identity from many changing opinions

Peele (2004)

Recent global economic changes have resulted in a blurring of traditional class identities

Savage (2007)

Argues the meaning of class categories has changed

Benyon (2002)

contemporary global societies are experiencing a crisis of masculine identity caused by long-term unemployment, loss of traditional male empowerment, lower educational achievement relative to girls, rise of female-friendly service industries