soc122 exam 1

Structure

Patterned social institutions and relationships that shape behavior and opportunities

Agency

The ability of individuals to act and make choices within structural constraints

Culture

Shared values beliefs and norms that guide behavior

Structure vs Agency

Structure shapes choices but individuals can also change structure

Nested model

Individuals exist within culture which exists within structure shaped by history

Stratification

Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities in society

Roles

Expected behaviors associated with social positions

Institutions

Organized systems like family education and government that structure society

Social change

Significant alteration of social structure and culture over time

Massey definition of social change

The sum of many individual changes in changing social contexts

Persistent identity

Society maintains core identity while specific meanings change over time

Characteristics of social change

Occurs over time affects many people and is multi-causal

Multi-causal change

Social change results from multiple interacting forces

Gradual change

Social change typically occurs slowly rather than suddenly

Presentism

The assumption that the present is the most advanced stage of society

Biological evolution

Genetic change over time through mutation and natural selection

Sociocultural evolution

Change in learned behaviors culture and social organization

BE vs SE

Biological is slow and fixed sociocultural is fast and flexible

RAM vs ROM analogy

Sociocultural evolution is flexible like RAM biological evolution is fixed like ROM

Genetic inheritance

Transmission of traits through DNA

Cultural inheritance

Transmission of behaviors and knowledge through learning

Adaptability

Ability to change quickly in response to environment

Socialization

The process of learning norms values and behaviors from society

Agents of socialization

Institutions like family school media and religion that teach behavior

Primary socialization

Early life learning typically in family

Secondary socialization

Learning that occurs later through institutions

Resocialization

Learning new norms after major life changes

Expanded emotional range

Humans developed emotions like guilt shame pride to maintain group cohesion

Basic primate emotions

Aggression aversion and satisfaction

Human emotions

Include pride shame guilt happiness and hope

Internal social control

Regulating behavior through internal feelings like guilt and shame

External social control

Regulation through laws rules and punishment

Emotions and cohesion

Emotions help maintain group unity and cooperation

Group size problem

Larger groups increase safety but also conflict and resource strain

Norms

Rules that guide behavior and maintain group stability

Sanctions

Rewards or punishments that enforce norms

Formal sanctions

Official punishments like laws

Informal sanctions

Social approval or disapproval

Verbal grooming

Using communication to maintain social bonds

Human language

Complex symbolic communication allowing abstract thought

Symbolic communication

Using symbols to represent ideas

Abstract thinking

Ability to think beyond immediate reality

Theory of mind

Ability to understand others thoughts and intentions

Cognitive development

Growth in ability to think understand and interpret

Higher order thinking

Thinking about what others think in multiple layers

I (Mead)

The spontaneous individual part of the self

Me (Mead)

The socialized part shaped by society

Generalized other

Internalized understanding of societal expectations

Self

The identity formed through social interaction

Preparatory stage

Early stage of imitation without understanding roles

Play stage

Child takes on roles of others

Game stage

Understanding multiple roles and social rules

Individualist self

Identity based on independence and inner feelings

Collectivist self

Identity based on group roles and interdependence

Horizontalism

Social interaction based on equality

Verticalism

Social interaction based on hierarchy

Independent identity

Self defined by personal traits and goals

Interdependent identity

Self defined by relationships and roles

Inequality and identity

Greater inequality leads to more individualism

Specialization

Division of labor into specific roles

Division of labor

Allocation of different tasks to different people

Socializing agents consistency

More consistency leads to collectivism more conflict leads to individualism

Centralized power

Control concentrated in one authority promoting collectivism

Decentralized power

Power spread out promoting individualism

Urban society

Cities promote individualism due to weaker ties

Rural society

Rural areas promote collectivism due to stronger ties

Global exposure

Interaction with other cultures increases individualism

Gender roles

Expectations for behavior based on gender

Ideology

System of ideas shaping beliefs about society

Functionalism

Theory that society is a system of interconnected parts seeking stability

System

A set of interrelated parts working together

Functional requisites

Basic needs all societies must meet to survive

Reproduction

Replacing members of society

Socialization function

Teaching norms and values

Economic function

Producing goods and services

Political function

Maintaining order and governance

Cultural function

Maintaining shared values

AGIL

Adaptation Goal attainment Integration Latency

Adaptation

Obtaining resources from environment

Goal attainment

Setting and achieving priorities

Integration

Coordinating relationships between parts

Latency (pattern maintenance)

Maintaining culture and motivation

Cultural system

Values beliefs and meanings

Social system

Roles and statuses

Personality system

Individual motivations and desires

Behavioral system

Physical actions and needs

Exogenous change

Change caused by external forces like environment or technology

Endogenous change

Change caused by internal contradictions in society

Functional strain

Pressure on the system that forces adaptation

Strain

Imbalance between parts of a system

Differentiation

Increasing specialization of social structures, different parts doing different things

Adaptive upgrading

Improving efficiency of systems

Structural change

Major change in core values of society

Incremental change

Small gradual adjustments in system

Equilibrium

Balance within the social system

Homeostasis

System’s ability to maintain stability through adjustment

Disequilibrium

Loss of balance in the system

Cultural lag

When culture changes slower than technology

Institutional mismatch

When institutions change at different rates

Parsons view of change

Change is gradual adaptive and maintains system stability