Sociology

Sociology - Definition

The systematic study of human society.

Sociological Perspective - Berger (1963)

Helps us to see general social patterns in the behavior of particular individuals (the general in the particular).

Sociological Perspective - "Strange in the familiar"

Encourages us to realize that society guides our thoughts and deeds.

Sociological Perspective - C. Wright Mills (1959)

Enables people to comprehend the whole of human society, its personal and public dimensions, historical and contemporary, and its influence on human lives.

Origins of Sociology - Time Period

Developed during the 17th and 18th centuries due to three major social changes.

Origins of Sociology - Social Change 1

The rise of a factory-based industrial economy.

Origins of Sociology - Social Change 2

The emergence of large, thriving cities in Europe.

Origins of Sociology - Social Change 3

Political changes including a rising concern with individual liberty and rights (symbolized by the French Revolution).

Structural-Functionalism - Definition

A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.

Structural-Functionalism - Social Structures

Guides our lives and shapes society.

Structural-Functionalism - Social Functions

Consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole.

Structural-Functionalism - Key Figure

George H. Mead (1863–1931).

Structural-Functionalism Example - Family

Provides primary socialization.

Structural-Functionalism Example - Education

Operates as a meritocracy.

Structural-Functionalism Example - Religion

Promotes collective conscience.

Structural-Functionalism Example - Crime

Provides social regulation.

Social Conflict Theory - Definition

A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change.

Social Conflict Theory - Main Goal

To understand society and reduce social inequality (such as class conflict, gender conflict, and race conflict).

Social Conflict Theory - Key Figure 1

Karl Marx (1818–1883).

Social Conflict Theory - Key Figure 2

Harriet Martineau (1802–1876).

Social Conflict Theory - Key Figure 3

Jane Addams (1860–1935).

Social Conflict Theory - Key Figure 4

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963).

Symbolic-Interactionism - Definition

A framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals.

Symbolic-Interactionism - Key Figure 1

Max Weber (1864–1920).

Symbolic-Interactionism - Key Figure 2

George Herbert Mead (1863–1931).

Symbolic-Interactionism - Key Figure 3

Erving Goffman (1922–1982).

Symbolic-Interactionism - Key Figure 4

George Homans (1910–1989).

Symbolic-Interactionism - Key Figure 5

Peter Blau (1918–2002).

Macro-Level Orientation

Focuses on broad social structures that shape society as a whole (includes Structural-Functionalism and Social-Conflict theory).

Micro-Level Orientation

Focuses on patterns of social interaction in specific settings (includes Symbolic-Interactionism).

Complementary Perspectives - Purpose

Used alongside main paradigms because each paradigm is limited in comprehensively describing society on its own.

Cross-Species Perspective

Considers similarities and differences between human social behavior and that of other animals to gain insights into human society.

Cross-Cultural Perspective

Deals with the comparative nature of customs and standards of behavior within a community or system.

Statistical Perspective

Based on the frequency of occurrence of an attitude or practice within a society.

Historical Perspective

Deals with social issues from the point of view of historical attitudes, values, practices, and contexts.

Religious Perspective

Considers the effects that religious doctrines, scriptures, and spirituality have on individuals and society.

Feminist Perspective

Concerned with gender differences and the limitations associated with traditional, male-dominated theories of society.

Auguste Comte - Title

Father of Sociology.

Auguste Comte - Coined Term 1

Coined the term "sociology."

Auguste Comte - Positivism Definition

A philosophical school holding that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive (a posteriori fact derived from reason/logic from sensory experience and scientific methods).

Auguste Comte - Three Stages of Society

1. Religious, 2. Metaphysical, 3. Scientific.

Herbert Spencer - Analogy

Compared society to a living organism with interdependent parts.

Herbert Spencer - Social Darwinism

Suggested society corrects its own defects through "survival of the fittest," naturally leaning toward homeostasis or balance.

Herbert Spencer - View on Government Interference

Believed social problems work themselves out when the government leaves society alone (fittest succeed, unfit fail).

Herbert Spencer - Legacy

Writings were the source of the Functionalist view.

Karl Marx - View on Society

Claimed social conflict, class conflict, and competition mark all societies, and economics determines differences between bourgeoisie and proletariat.

Karl Marx - View on Economics

Believed a society's economic system decides people's norms, values, mores, beliefs, and other social institutions.

Karl Marx - Co-authored Work

Co-authored The Communist Manifesto with Friedrich Engels.

Emile Durkheim - Objectivity & Social Facts

Stressed studying sociology objectively through "social facts" (observable evidence like institutions, status, norms, urbanization) rather than subjective experience.

Emile Durkheim - Famous Books

Author of On the Division of Social Labor, The Rules of Sociological Method, Suicide, and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.

Emile Durkheim - Normative Theory of Suicide

Proposed 4 types of suicide: egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic.

Emile Durkheim - Anomie Definition

A state of normlessness resulting from the lack of society's influence or moral guidance on an individual's passions and emotions.

Max Weber - Verstehen Method

Method where sociologists inquire into people's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions regarding their own behaviors to obtain an "interpretive understanding."

Max Weber - Anti-Positivism

Promoted anti-positivism, arguing researchers should be subjective when representing social processes, cultural norms, and societal values.

C. Wright Mills - Sociological Imagination

How individuals understand their own and others' pasts in relation to history and social structure.

C. Wright Mills - Power Elite

Explained how a few individuals within government, military, and corporate worlds hold most wealth and power within the country.

Sociological Research - Case Study

An in-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual using documents, records, interviews, or observations.

Sociological Research - Ethnography

An extended observation of the social perspective and cultural values of an entire social setting, involving objective observation of a community.

Sociological Research - Field Research

Research gathering primary data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or survey (stepping into new environments).

Sociological Research - Interview

A one-on-one conversation between the researcher and the subject to conduct surveys on a topic.

Sociological Research - Participant Observation

Method where researchers join people and participate in a group's routine activities to observe them within that context.

Sociological Research - Secondary Data Analysis

Study of completed work of other researchers (historians, economists, periodicals, newspapers, etc.) from any period in history.

Sociological Research - Survey

Data collection method where subjects respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions (often a questionnaire).

Culture - Definition

A concept encompassing social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits.

Material Culture

Physical, tangible objects that distinguish a group of people.

Non-Material Culture

A group's way of thinking and doing (intangible).

Culture Characteristic - Way of Life

It is shared by members of a society; shapes how we act, think, and feel.

Culture Characteristic - Human Trait

Only human beings rely on culture for survival (other species display limited capacity).

Culture Characteristic - Product of Evolution

As the human brain evolved, culture replaced biological instincts as our primary strategy for survival.

Elements of Culture

Includes social organization, customs & tradition, language, religion, arts & literature, forms of government, and economic systems.

Social Organization - Definition

A pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups.

Social Status - Definition

The position that a person occupies within the social structure (closely linked to social class).

Ascribed Status

Social position conferred at birth or received involuntarily over which the individual has no control.

Achieved Status

Social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort.

Master Status

The most important status that a person occupies.

Social Role - Definition

The behavior expected of a specific status.

Conflict and Strain Theory - Proposed By

William J. Goode.

Role Strain - Definition

Occurs when there is tension/stress within a SINGLE role (e.g., student stressed by student government and homework simultaneously).

Role Conflict - Definition

Occurs when there is tension among MULTIPLE roles that are mutually exclusive (e.g., working mother torn between duties as a mother and employee).

Hunting-and-Gathering Societies

Small, simple societies that hunt and gather food; few possessions, highly egalitarian, very low inequality.

Horticultural and Pastoral Societies

Grow crops with simple tools (horticultural) or raise livestock (pastoral); larger, wealthier, and have more inequality than hunter-gatherers.

Agricultural Societies

Grow great numbers of crops using plows, oxen, and advanced devices; wealthier with higher degrees of conflict and inequality.

Industrial Societies

Feature factories and machines; wealthier with a greater sense of individualism and somewhat lower inequality than agricultural societies.

Postindustrial Societies

Feature information technology and service jobs; higher education is especially important for economic success.

Gemeinschaft (Community) - Theorist

Ferdinand Tönnies.

Gemeinschaft (Community) - Definition

Personal social ties and in-person interactions defined by traditional social rules, cooperation, and moral obligations (driven by emotions/sentiments; common in rural/peasant societies).

Gesellschaft (Society) - Theorist

Ferdinand Tönnies.

Gesellschaft (Society) - Definition

Impersonal, indirect social ties guided by formal values, rationality, efficiency, and self-interests (carried out via chain of command, letters, written rules; urban/modern).

Norms - Coined By

Graham Sumner (coined folkways and mores).

Norms - Definition

Societal rules enforced by members of a community; can be formal or informal.

Formal Norms

Laws; system of rules recognized and enforced by a country/community via penalties (e.g., Bill of Rights).

Informal Norms

Unwritten rules divided into folkways and mores.

Folkways

Informal rules/norms that are expected to be followed but are NOT offensive to violate (e.g., kissing elder's hand, following proverbs/"kasabihan").

Mores

Informal unwritten rules that, when violated, result in severe punishments and social sanctions (e.g., cheating, drug use, gossip, disrespecting parents).

Taboo

A social group's absolute ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something considered excessively repulsive, offensive, or sacred (e.g., blasphemy, incest, halal food, homosexuality).

Socialization - Definition

The process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society (encompasses learning and teaching).

Socialization Agents - Definition

Combination of social groups and institutions providing the first experiences of socialization.

First Agent of Socialization

Family.

Second Agent of Socialization

First School Experience.

Other Agents of Socialization

Peer Groups, Workplace, Religion, Government, Mass Media.