Sociology: Exam 1

Sociology

Defintion: Scientific (systematic) study of human social life, groups and societies

• Uses tools to critically assess human society and interaction

• It’s an attempt to understand

The Sociological Imagination - C. Wright Mills

“The Promise of Sociology”

• Personal troubles into public issues

• We make personal decisions but still pushed by society

• Intersection of history and biography

Social structure has …

Agency within confined limits

Peter Berger

Seeing general patterns in behaviors of particular individuals

Goal of Sociology

Understand the connections between what society makes of us and what we make of ourselves

Structuration

What we do gives shape to and is shaped by society

Benefits of Sociological Perspective

• Helps us critically assess “common sense” ideas

• Helps us see oppurtunities and constants in life

• Empowers us to be active participants in society

• Helps us live in diverse world

  • Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism

Ethnocentrism

Judging others based off personal cultural standards

Cultural Relativism

Trying to understand/evaluate the why

• Relative based on culture

Global Perspective

• Where we live helps shape the lives we lead

• Societies are becoming more interconnected

• Social problems in the US and more serious in poorer countries

Theoretical Approach

Basic image of society that guides thinking and research

Paradigm

A way of viewing the world

Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

• 1838 - He created the term “Sociology”

• Applied scientific approach to study of society

  • Need to understand the history to understand the science

• Comparative research

Comparative Research

Comparing different societies in different places that exist at the same time OR comparing past vs. present societies

Basics for Sociological Imagination - Social Structure

Institutions

• Religion, education, economic, family, political

• They are all interconnected

Groups

• Primary - closest friends and family

• Secondary - acquaintances

Status and roles

Culture

• Values and beliefs

Early Theorists - Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• He studied social fact

• Organic solidarity

• Studied social constraint, isolation and anomie in relation to social change and human behavior

Social Fact

Tangible things of society

Organic Solidarity

Society was a body that needs all its parts to function in harmony

Anomie (normlessness)

Society loses control over its norms

Social Functions - Manifest

The original intent

Social Functions - Latent

Other, unintended things that exist

Social Functions - Dysfunctions

Things that just don’t work

Early Theorists - Karl Marx (1818-1883)

• Developed materialistic conception of history

• Focused on inequalities

• Predicted capitalism would evolve into socialism

Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat (Marx)

Owners of resources vs. the exploited working class

Early Sociologists - W.E.B DuBois (1868-1963)

• 1st significant African American sociologist

• Tried understanding life inside struggling communities by immersing himself and observing

• Double conciousness and the color line

Double Conciousness

Constant evaluation of how others view you through a specific lens

The Color Line

Capitalism should blur this line

• Basically there shouldn’t be any racism

Early Sociologists - Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)

• The “Science of Society”

• She translated Comte’s work into Enlgish

• Advocated for female education, slavery, workers rights, marriage and race equality

Early Theorists - Max Weber (1864-1920)

• He saw power in economy, ideas and values

• He believed in turning to science for answers

• Wanted to know why people do what they do

Functional Analysis: Main Question

What function does _ serve to stabilize society

Functional Analysis: Definition

Society composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to societies equilibrium

Functional Analysis: View

Macrosociological - examines large scale patterns of society

Functional Analysis: Focus

Relationships among parts of society; how the parts are functional or dysfunctional

Functional Analysis: Key Terms

Structure, function, dysfunction, equilibrium

Conflict Theory: Main Question

What are the inequalities

Conflict Theory: Definition

Society composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources

Conflict Theory: View

Macrosociological - examines large scale patterns of society

Conflict Theory: Focus

Struggle for scarce resources by groups in a society; how elites use their power to control weaker groups

Conflict Theory: Key Terms

Inequality, power, conflict, competition, exploitation

Symbolic Interationism: Main Question

What is real

Symbolic Interationism: Definition

Society composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another

Symbolic Interationism: View

Microsociological - examines small scale patterns of social interaction

Symbolic Interationism: Focus

Face to face interaction and how people use symbols to create social life

Symbolic Interationism: Key Terms

Symbols, interaction, meanings and definition

Scenario: Industrailization and urbanization changed marital roles and led to redefinition of love, marriage, children and divorce. What sociological perspective is this?

Symbolic interactionism

Scenario: As social change erodes the traditional functions of the family, family ties weaken and divorce rate increases. What sociological perspective is this?

Functional analysis

Scenario: When men control economic life, the divorce rate is low because women find few alternatives to a bad marriage; the high divorce rate reflects a shift in the balance of power between men and women. What sociological perspective is this?

Conflict theory

Steps of Research Methods

1. Define research problem

2. Review evidence

3. Make problem precise

4. Work out research design

5. Collect data

6. Analyze the data

7. Report findings

Qualitative Research Methods

• Micro view

• Often rely on personal and/or collective interviews, accounts or observations of a person or situation

Quantitative Research Methods

• Macro view

• Draw on objective and satistical data and often focuses on documenting trends, comparing subgroups or exploring correlations

Research Method - Ethnography

• Participant observation of interviews

• Must interact but keep role as objective observer

• Ex: William Foot Whyte and “Cornerville”

Research Method - Survey Design

• Questionnaires

• Personal or phone interviews

• Sampling

Bandura and the Bobo Doll

He tested how children would act after they watch adults beating up and yelling at the doll

• He created the Social Learning Theory

Secondary Analysis

• Using what is already there

• Easier and quicker

Historical Analysis

• Oral history or written accounts

• Doesn’t always fit researchers needs

• Might not be right

Triangulation

Using multiple methods in a single piece of research

Institutional Review Boards

• Fully disclose all findings

• Share work for future research

• Ensure subject safety and anonymity

• Disclose unding source

Culture

Values, beliefs, norms and material goods characteristic of a given group

• One of the kost distinctive properties of human social association

Nonmaterial Culture: Values

Ideas held by individuals or groups about whats desirable, proper good and bad

Nonmaterial Culture: Norms

Rules of conduct that soecify appropriate behavior in a givenr ange of social situations

Ethongraphy Strengths

• Generates richer and more in-depth information

• Provides broader understanding of social processes

Ethnography Limitations

• Can be used to study only relatively small groups of communities

• Findings may only apply to groups or communities studied; may not be easily generalizable

Survey Strengths

• Efficient collection of data on larg numbers of individuals

• Allows precise comparisons made among respondant answers

Survey Limitations

• Material gathered may be superficial

• Repsonses may be what people want to believe, not what they actually believe

Experiment Strengths

• Influences of specific variables can be controlled by investigator

• Usually easier for subsequent researchers to repeat

Experiment Limitations

• Many aspects of social life can;t be brought into lab

• Responses of those studied may be affected by experimental situation

Nonmaterial Culture: Language

A system of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts

• Primary vehicle of meaning and communication in society

Nonmaterial Culture: Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

People who speak different languages have very different perspectives of reality

Material Culture

• Artifacts and material goods

• Signifiers

Signifiers

Any vehicle of meaning understood by society

• Includes aspects of culture like language, clothing, food, etc

• Study of semiotics

Human Nature is a Misleading Term

• Human behaviors vary depending on the culture

• Only humans rely on culture rather than instinct to ensure survival

Culture and Society

• Neither society or culture could exist without the other

• Culture is the glue that binds society together

  • Conformity

Conformity

Ways of life taught by institutions (socialization)

• Social control

Social Control

We punish/reward (sanction) behaviors

• Others learn from our mistakes

3 Aspects of American Culture

• Values: Widespread belief in merits of indivudal achievement and equal oppurtunity

• Values influence norms: We expect people to work hard

• Focus on acquiring modern material artifacts

How Does Human Culture Develop?

• Human culture and biology are closely intertwined

• Important to understand how culture is related to physical environment

Nature vs. Nurture

• Wide range of cultures resulting from environmental factors

• Humans rely on culture rather than instict to ensure survival

• Sociologists job to understand nurture

• Sociobiology

Sociobiology

Scientific study of biological and evolutionary basis of social behavior in humans

• Generally seen as too simplistic to explain human behavior

Nature and Nurture Interaction: Instinct

Fixed pattern of behavior that has genetic origins

• Capability for abstract thoughts without instinct

Abstract Thought

Allows for us to live in the moment and look ahead

• May have led to diminished set of instinctual responses

Nature and Nurture Interaction: Biological Determinism

Belief that differences we observe between groups of people are explained by biological causes

• Resist the ideas that genetics predetrmine individual’s social life

Cultural Diversity: Cultural Universals

Aspects of culture that are found virtually in all societies

• Ex:) Marriage, family, humor, art, taboos

Cultural Diversity: Subcultures

Groups whose norms and values differ from those of “mainstream”

• Countercultures

Countercultures

• Form of subculture that exists within a wider society

• Largely reject the values and norms of the majority

Cultural Diversity: Assimilation (melting pot)

Process where minority groups merge into the mainstream culture

Cultural Diversity: Multiculturalism (salad bowl)

Idea that we live in a highly diverse society but must still function as a society

Cultural Diversity: Culture Shock

Feeling of uneasiness when encountering a new culture

• Ex:) Study abroad

Technology and Culture: Gerhard Lenski

• Level of technology is crucial in determining what cultural ideas and artifacts emerge

• Observes a sociocultural evolution

Hunting and Gathering Societies

• Existed for vast majority of human society

• Sex roles were fairly equal (socially)

• Less formal leaders, more focused on cooperation

• High infant mortality rate

• Focus on religion and spirituality

Pastoral and Agrian Societies

They gave way to much more efficient way of producing food

Pastoral Societies

Animal domestication

Agrarian Societies

Developed from horicultural societies to raise crops

Traditional Societies (“Civilizations”)

• Large societies around cities

• Use of writing, science and development of art

• Usually imperial - conquest was normal

Insutrialization and Modern Society

• Introduction of steam power (1775)

• More influence by political authorities

• Better transportation and communication

• Nation states

• Higher living standards

• Longer life expectancy

Nation States

Government has sovereign power withing a defined territorial area

• Population are citizens who know themselves as part of a single nation

Industrialization and Colonialism

• Early industrializers colonized other countries for economic gain and political power

• Emerging economies

Emerging Economies

Consist of developing countries that have begun to develop a strong industrial base

• High rates of economic growth

• Ex:) Hong Kong and Singapore

Globalization and Local Cultures

The rise of nationalism

Nationalism

Set of beliefs and symbols expressing indetification with a national community

• This was in reponse to globalization