SOC 1 - Midterm

UCLA - Professor Speer

sociology

the scientific study of the social world

social world

everything that humans do that is related to other people

structural perspective

the view that social structures and contexts shape how individuals think and act

structural perspective

top down view

top down view

structural perspective

berger, mills

structural perspective

mills’ sociological imagination

structural perspective

social structures

established ways of thinking and acting

social world analogy

we are in a giant building where we are all wandering around, but no one has the entire picture of what we are in or looking at

structural perspective

berger, mills

social contexts

structures are stable. contexts are more variable (can differ from time and place).

rules

* ways of acting and thinking that are, in some sense, mandatory.
* the most obvious way we can see the influence of the social world on us as individuals
* we have written rules and social norms
* enforced through social control (Berger 1963).

social norm

unwritten, general expectations for how individuals should act

social control

what social norms are enforced through

power

* the ability of a person or group to carry out their will despite resistance by others
* thinking about it from the structural perspective, some of us have a better ability to get people to do what they want than others
* less of a “thing” more of a relationship between people
* unequally distributed across society (like wealth or income)
* based on location, resources, etc one may have more or less of it
* creates inequality, hierarchy
* discussed in sociology relatively, not definitively or absolutely.
* has various sources

socialization

the process by which a person becomes a member of a social group/society

identity

socialization and society can shape our desires, who/what we want, and our _____.

primary, secondary

phases of socialization

phases of socialization

primary, secondary

primary socialization

* socialization occurring really young (birth - 3-4 years old)
* main actors during this stage: family, primary guardians
* influenced by broader society, filtered through caregivers (and their personalities)
* critical part of primary socialization: learning language, symbols

secondary socialization

when you enter a new social sphere of your life (or social group you weren’t previously apart of), you become socialized here, too

* ex: going to preschool, making your first social media account
* must learn new ideas and terminologies (ex: grades, GPA, etc)
* this might include re-learning (or unlearning) going against things taught in primary socialization

karl marx’s conflict theory, Emile Durkheim’s theory of solidarity

structural perspective examples

Marx’s conflict theory

* looks at society through a structural lens


* Look at society and sees individuals being in different locations within a class structure
* What individuals do is shaped by their position in this class structure
* There are conflicts between people within these different classes
* What benefits 1 group comes at the expense of another

Durkheim’s theory of solidarity

* Looks at the larger organization of society and sees inequality (like Marx)... but different focus


* Looks at occupational (jobs, work) structure and divisions there
* Because individuals are in certain occupations, we rely on other occupations to survive.
* Ex: Teacher relies on doctor
* This holds society together, the fact that we’re different
* Inequality holds society together. We are interdependent.

interactionism

bottom up view

bottom up view

interactionism

interactionism

the view that individuals, through their interactions, produce the social world

* Basic assumption of this perspective: Human beings are guided by our thoughts
* Behavior has a meaning behind it, especially the meaning you attach to your actions
* Reacting based on understanding and interpretations

Not just our own, but our *shared* interpretations and understanding

symbol

an action or object that indicates a specific meaning(s)

* All of our communication with other people involves the use of symbols.
* Everything we say, or not say (non-verbal cues), etc.
* We’re not just responding to the action… we’re responding to the *meaning* that it has
* Ex: facial expressions, emojis, body language

symbols

communication in a meaningful sense will always involve the use of _____.

symbolic interaction

interaction that involves the use of symbols and their interpretation

* Most of your life, when you interact with others, you’re participating in this.

definition of the situation

an interpretation (understanding) of social experiences

* By definition, we mean the definition that *we* assign to it
* We as individuals are making sense of our experiences
* *Includes an understanding of who the other people are (and their relationship to us)*
* *Meanings of other people’s actions*
* *Expectations of how to behave*


* Shared between people 

interactionism

says that we (individuals) are the ones to make social groups

individuals

all that we observe in the social world flows out of the actions of _____

goffman’s dramaturgical theory

example of interactionism

example of interactionism

erving goffman’s dramaturgical theory

goffman’s dramaturgical theory

a theory that examines social interaction as similar to acting (in a play, movie, or film)

dramaturgical

“the art of acting” or “the craft of being an actor”

the presentation of self in everyday life

* where goffman’s dramaturgical theory was presented


* This is a book about how we present ourselves to others.
* It has very little to say about psychology of the self (ex: self concept, self esteem).
* About what we’re doing to present ourselves to others, to get others to see us in a particular way

part, performance, audience

3 key concepts in goffman’s dramaturgical theory

performance

a person’s activity in a situation that influences the impressions of others

* Includes intentional things: dress, words
* Includes unintentional things: facial gestures, automatic bodily functions (ex: burps), slip-ups (ex: accidentally misinforming someone)
* Involve expressions
* We express ourselves in different ways.
* We do this through the use of signs/symbols/objects.
* This indicates the social part that we are playing.
* People are observing these things and forming impressions in their minds
* We are aware of this, to some extent (Goffman says).
* Because of this, there can be, to some extent, deliberate, intentional effort to control it
* We try to control how other people see us.
* Ex: “Dressing for Success” (for interviews)
* Sometimes we try to make *bad* impressions 
* Ex: Armed robbers (want to appear dangerous)
* Ex: playing dumb, weak

part

a pre-established pattern of action

* Linked to a performance 
* When we are performing, we have some idea of the _____ we are supposed to be playing. We act in a certain way to reinforce it in the view of others.
* Very often performances are of _____ that we don’t simply play on a single occasion, but many occasions
* Ex: in a parent-child relationship, you play the part of a child.
* For years! A lifetime, even!
* Going to your parents and insisting YOU are the parent would not work, it would be odd 
* Can include things to purposefully impact the way people see us, or they may be unintentional.

audience

the people who witness a particular performance

team performance

two or more people who are co-operating to influence the impressions they make on other people

*Ex: customer service workers (trying to altogether*

*make a favorable impression on the customer)*

*Ex: families telling their children to “be on your best*

*behavior” - trying to stage a joint performance*

\

work, home

_____ = performing

_____ = relaxed

backstage

your home is often a _____ to work.

social constructionism

the perspective that reality is socially constructed

social constructionism

berger, luckmann, roy

social construction of reality

the historical process by which our experiences become put into categories and treated as things

social construction of reality

roy

the Thomas theorem

came up with the definition of the situation (in a different way from interactionism)

* The idea that people have an understanding of their social experience


* “If men define situations as real, then they are real in their consequences”
* Why? People will act in ways that are shaped by that belief.
* Thomas & Thomas

vary in extent to which they have some basis in *physical* reality, Vary in extent to how they are perceived as part of nature

how real are social constructions? how do they vary?

the seven-day week, race, money

examples of social constructions

bill roy’s *making societies*

* Focus on Anglo-European societies


* Links social construction to *power* 
* Changes in our perception of reality are shaped by power struggles with those in power
* Examples of time as social construction

male-female dichotomy

traditional view of gender

traditional view of gender

male-female dichotomy

dichotomy

there’s only two options and those two are opposite in nature

women in the workplace, second-wave feminism, challenge to the binary

challenges to the traditional view of gender

challenges to the traditional view of gender

women in the workplace, second-wave feminism, challenge to the binary

sex is biological, gender is socially produced

older sociological view on sex and gender (Roy)

older sociological view on sex and gender

sex is biological, gender is socially produced (roy)

new sociological view on sex and gender

sex and gender are socially produced

sex and gender are socially produced

new sociological view on sex and gender

socially constructed

the idea that humans are neatly divided into male bodies and female bodies is…

Fausto-sterling

“sex is a continuum, not a dichotomy”

(social construction of sex)

(ex: intersex people)

intersex

people born with sexual characteristics that do not fit neatly into “male” or “female” categories

gender categories

labels placed on individuals to classify them, based (in part) on sex characteristics

third genders

gender categories that are distinct from men and women (and are widely accepted)

* Sex characteristics don’t fully determine placement in gender category 

third genders

example of a variation in gender categories across cultures

challenge to gender binary

example of a variation in gender categories over time

gender norms

The expectations for how individuals in different gender categories should feel, look, and act

gender norms

In various societies, there’s a tendency to treat _____ _____ as features of human nature.

beauty standards

variation in gender norms across cultures

pink/blue, beauty standards

variation in gender norms over time

gender identity

an individual’s subjective sense of their gendered self

transgender

Individuals whose gender identity does not match the gender category they were assigned to at birth

transgender

opposite of cisgender

cisgender

people whose gender identity does match the identity assigned at birth 

* Term even newer than transgender
* Allows us to describe/label/define more clearly the gender experience

gender expression

ways that individuals present their gender to others

gender expression

gender norms shape...

gender expression

Our beliefs that men and women are different lead us to behave in ways that enforce that men and women are different, our…

social constructionist view on race

Human beings are not naturally divided into “races” or different racial groups

* **Differences in appearance** do not correspond to different racial groups 
* Still, “races” were created due to observed, sortable differences in appearance
* Human beings developed their own ideas of race
* Once these ideas are institutionalized, these ideas are seen as “real”
* Now, race has very real consequences because it’s come to be seen as “real”
* The notion of race connects appearance and ancestry, and wrongly assumes that by looking at someone we can tell where their ancestors came from
* **Genetic differences** (like seen on a DNA test) do not line up with our commonly understood views of race in the world today
* Measures gene similarity to people in different parts of the world
* The categories themselves are constructed by the geneticists/researchers
* Therefore they are not actually evident of race and its existence 

race

a way of categorizing people based on the belief that humankind is divided into distinct types based on appearance and ancestry

racial category

a label that is used to classify individuals based on the idea of race

white, black, asian

racial category example

racial category

Because of this type of category, now there is a minimization of differences between people within the same category and the amplification of the differences between those of differing categories

racial identity

an individual’s subjective sense of the racial category/ies that they fit within

one drop rule

the belief that one drop of black blood meant that a person was fully black

* Racist idea developed in the 19th C U.S.
* Rule applied to people that were descended both from Europeans and from Africans
* Allowed white people to draw clear boundaries of who counts as white 
* *Became the dominant legal rule for defining who is black in the US*
* You are WHITE or BLACK. You cannot be both. 
* Draws clear distinctions and excludes anyone with ANY black ancestry from the category of WHITE.

one drop rule, multiracial identity

variation in racial categories

multiracial identity

an individual’s subjective belief that they are a member of 2 (or more) races

multiracial identity movement

* Challenged idea that race is mutually exclusive (including one-drop rule)


* Led to change to “check all that apply” on Census in 2000

US vs Brazil

example of variation in racial categories between countries

example of variation in racial categories between countries

Who is Black? The US vs Brazil

* Based more on ancestry (US) vs more appearance (Brazil)
* Bounded (US) vs Gradient Categories (brazil)

history

broader historical/social context

biography

lived experience within a period, shaped by the larger context (we shape it as well)

private sphere

home and friends, seen as the proper place of women

public sphere

work and politics, seen as the proper place of men

Goffman’s dramaturgical theory

* We can look at social life as similar to being in a play, similar to acting


* Performance, parts, personal front, setting, idealization etc

railroads

standardized clock time

standardized clock time

railroads

setting

ex: classroom, chairs, walls, scenery