SOC 101 Exam 1

Social Fact

anything produced collectively by people that exerts a force upon us

ex. norms, beliefs, language, laws, money

sociology

the science of society

data

systematical collected sets of empirical observations

research questions

quires about the world that can be answered empirically

sociological research methods

scientific strategies for collecting empirical data about social facts

qualitative research methods

tools of sociological inquiry that involve careful consideration and discussion of the meaning of numerical data

qualitative research methods

tools of sociological inquiry that involve examining numerical data with mathematics

sociological sympathy

the skill of understanding others as they understand themselves

research ethics

the set of moral principals that guide empirical inquiry

sociological theory

empirically based explanations and predictions about relationships between social facts

social patterns

explainable and foreseen similarities differences among people influences by the social conditions they live in

standpoints

points of view grounded in lived reality

• aren’t just opinions or any sort of lived experiences, peoples social location and relationship to power

  • ex. social class, race, gender, age

public sociology

the work of using sociology to make the world better

sociological imagination

the capacity to consider how people lives, including our own, are shaped by the social facts around us

C. Wright Mills

introduced the sociological imagination (terrible and magnificent)

Emilie Durkheim

social facts, named something that hadn’t been named yet

Harriet Martineau

wrote first book on sociological research method

• we require sociological sympathy

W.E.B Du Bois

statistic, using mathematical approach to data analysis

• social science to advocate for Black Americans

I and Me (George Herbert Mead)

me is the object of thought: me in the mirror/our personal person

I is the subject of the thought: how we fell, making judgement, thinks how we want to be perceived

• dual thinking

looking glass self and Charles Horton Cooley

the self that emerges asa consequence of seeing ourselves as we think other people see us

1. you imagine how you appear to the other person

2. you imagine the judgement of the other person

3. you feel some guilt, shame or happiness

• ex. your parents saying your shy, so youre shy

theory of mind

the recognition that other minds exist followed by the realization that we can try to imagine other mental states

• white lies

mirror neurons

cells in our brain that fire in similar ways whether we’re observing or performing an action

• can respond to emotions

  • watching someone who us happy can make us feel happy

in-depth interviews

research method that involves an extended conversation between the researcher and a research subject

• semi structured, confidentiality, pseudonym

coding

process in which segments of text are identified as belonging to relevant categories

self-fulfilling prophecy

a prediction that causes itself to come true simply because you expect it to happen and unconsciously change your behavior to make it a reality

• you don’t think your date like you so you can;t cold and because you seem closed off the rejection happens

laboratory experiment

research method that involves a test of hypothesis under carefully controlled conditions

variable

any measurable phenomenon that varies

• independent: one that hypothesized to influence the dependent variable or to cause effect

• dependent: one thats hypothzied to be influenced by the independent variable

experimental group

undergoes the experience that researchers believe might influence the dependent variable

control group

does not undergo the experience that researchers believe might influence the dependent variable

casual claims

assertions that a independent variable is specifically responsible for a change in a dependent variable

correlational claims

assertions that changes in an independent variable correspond to changes in dependent variable but not in a way that can be proven casual

self narrative

a story we tell about the origin and likely the future of ourselves

• source of our self concept

  • addiction stories and them hitting rock bottom

social construct

influential and shared interpretation of reality that will vary across time and space

Ann Swidler and culture in settled vs unsettled times

settled; our beliefs, values, and norms are well established

unsettled: our beliefs, values, and norms are rapidly changed, unfamiliar, unpredictable

• think covid 19

culture

language, beliefs, values, behaviors and material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next

• taken for granted and naturalized

• learned and interlined

• influences all aspect of our life but we are generally unaware of it

socialization

lifelong learning process by which we become members of our cultures

• how we learn our groups culture

• culturally competent to understand and navigate our cultures with ease

social construction

process by which we layer objects with ideas, fold concepts into one another and build connections between them

symbolic structure

constellation of social constructs connected and opposed to one another in overlapping networks of meaning

social networks

webs of ties that link us to each other and, through other people’s ties, to people to whom we’re not directly linked

social ties

conections between us and other people

homophily

our tendency to connect with others who are similar to us

culture as values thesis

idea that we’re socialized into culturally specific moralities that guide our feelings about right and wrong

• religion and diet

culture as rationale thesis

idea that we’re socialized to know a set of culturally specific arguments with which we can justify why we feel something is right or wrong

• social inequality

cultural relativism

practice of noting the differences between cultures without passing judgment

ethnocentrism

assuming ones own culture if superior to the cultures of others

social network analysis

research method that involves the mapping of social ties and exchanges between them

social identity theory

social identities

socially constructed categories and subcategories of people in which we place ourselves or are placed by others

in group bias

preferential treatment of members of our own group and mistreatment of other

how are identities socially constructed

our sense of self, traits, and social roles are shaped by those around us and the relationships we have built with others and they aren’t inborn

what did Henri Tajfel study ?

distinction, postive distinction and in group bias

minimal group paradigm

tendency of people to form groups and actively distinguish themselves from others for the most trivial of reasons

• Klee vs Kandinsky group and them giving money to their own group

Patricia hill collins and controlling images

pervasive negative stereotypes that serve to justify or uphold inequality

• make social injustice appear to be natural normal and inevitable

intersectionality and Anna Julia Cooper/Kimberle Crenshaw

recognition that our lives are shaped by multiple interacting identities

• women/race/age

steps to socially construct an identity

Invent- establish human feature as a basis of identity

divide- decide what will differentiate people within identity subcategories

stereotypes- give identity subcategories different symbolic meanings

perform- do social identities in accordance with stereotypes

rank-elevate some identity subcategories over others

psychological wage

noneconomic good given to one group as a measure of superiority over other groups

• The working class in the U.S. is historically divided

by race. Poor white people see themselves as better

than Black people. They might be poor, but they feel

status for being not Black.

- Consequences of the psychological wage of

whiteness: Relative to other countries, the working class in

this country has not united to challenge economic

exploitation, because they are divided based on

race.

- Poor and wealthy white people have incentive to

protect racial hierarchy.

- Poor white people to protect their

psychological wage of whiteness.

- Wealthy white people to prevent the working

class from organizing and challenging the

hoarding of wealth

blood quantum rule

law limiting legal recognition of American Indians to those who have at least a certain. level of Indigenous ancestry

conscious consumption

phenomenon of spending elaborately with the sole purpose of displaying ones wealth

distinction

active efforts to affirm identity categories and place ourselves and others into sub categories

• positive distinction: claim members of own group are superior

sexual orientation and WWII

urbanization- new urban centers provided an unprecedented level of freedom

industrialization- shift of economy, heterosexual sex was for survival (women also began to become les dependent on men)

WWII- people dying lead to homoetoric encounters

race and diving

began with colonialism in 1400s (invited race to justify colonialism)

From 1790-1952, racial categorization as white was central to becoming a naturalized US citizen. So people wanted to be categorized as white and U.S. Supreme Court made decisions on individuals’ racial categories.

November 1922: Takao Ozawa, originally from Japan, argued that he should be considered white because his skin was white and that race shouldn’t matter for citizenship. U.S. Supreme Court said that best science of the day said Caucasians are white, he’s not Caucasian, so he’s not white.

February 1923: Bhagat Singh Thind, a South Asian immigrant, argued that based on best science of the day, Indians were of the Aryan or Caucasian race, and therefor white. U.S. Supreme Court said science didn’t matter and whiteness was subjective. Whiteness was what the common white man said it was and he was not white.

Intersectionality and General Motors lawsuit

argued company wasn’t hiring black women they were unfairly barred from employment at the company

• hired white women and black men and the women lost their case

folkways

loosely enriched norms

• raising your hand in class to speak

mores

tightly enforced norms that carry moral significance

• not cussing or using inappropriate language in class

policies

rules that are made and enforced by organizations

• creighton poliices (may align with the law but you have to follow them to be a student here)

how do we follow social rules

social sanctions- reactions by others aimed at promoting conformity

• accounts- an excuse that explain our rule breaking bu also affirms that the tule is good and right

Herbert Blumer and symbolic interactionism

theory that social interaction depends on the construction of reality

• meaning, social interaction and interpretation (wedding rings)

Erving Goffman and Dramaturgical theory

life is accomplished through everyday actions, rituals and routines that are analogous to a theatrical perforce

• face/front face, backstage, front stag, team work

Harold Garfinkel and ethnomethology

study of how people use background assumptions to make sense of life

• acting like a guest in your own home

ethnomethods

deep embedded common understandings of how the world operates and of how people ought to act

presentation of self

personhood id a multiplicity of roles that we strategically embody when participating in different social worlds

marked and unmarked identify

marked- The marked category is any identity or feature that deviates from the default norm and is actively highlighted, accented, or specialized (woman)

unmarked- The unmarked category is the hidden norm, baseline, or default setting in society (man)

interpersonal discrimination

prejudicial behavior displayed by indivudlas

• wide range from hate crimes to rude treatment

field experiment

type of experiment that involves a test of a hypothesis outside the lab

indigenous mythologies

approaches to research partnerships with indigenous communities that respect their ways of being, knowing, and learning

• aim to be relevant, reciprocal and responsible

microagression

a everyday verbal, behavioral, or environmental slight or insult that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative views toward people from marginalized group

breaching

purposefully breaking a social rule to test how others respond

deviance and social construct

violation for norms

• behaviors, not action is inherently deviant

five sociological theories of deviance

strain theory, differential association theory, social disorganization theory, neutralization theory and labeling theory

structural functionalism and Durkheim

society is a system of necessary, synchronized parts that work together to create social stability

• serves to bring social change

• prompt collective conscience

strain theory and Robert K. Merton

idea that defiance is caused by a tension between widely valued goals and peoples ability to attain them

• innovation leads to deviance

differential association theory and Edwin Sutherland

idea that we need to be recruited into and taught criminal behavior by people in our social networks

• you see your friends being deviant you’ll be deviant

social disorganization theory ad William Julius Wilson

idea tha deviance is more common in dysfunctional neighborhoods with insecure social networks, family instability, few job opportunities, poor performing schools etc don’t offer residents the recourse that need to follow rules

Neutralization theory

idea that deviance is facilitated by the development of culturally resonant rationales for rule breaking

• denial of responsibility: its not my fault

• denial of injury: allowed because no one got hurt

• denial of victim: they were asking for it/they deserve it

• condemnation of condemners: youre just as bas as me

• appeal to higher loyalties: I did it for greater good

Labeling theory and Howard Becker

theory about how labels applied to us influence our behavior

• primary deviance: devance that first attracts the label

• secondary: further deviance in. response to label

collective concise

scoiety’s shared understanding of right snf song

anomie

weakening of or alienation from social rules

conflict theory

idea that societies aren’t chacrateized by shared interests but by competing ones

• concerned with social inequality

social inequality

condition in which wealth, power, and prestige are most readily available to people with privileged social identities

survey research

research method in which respondents are asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to collect analyzable data

sample

subset of population

generalizability

term used to describe data that are applicable to the whole population from which the sample is drawn, not just to the sample itself

historical sociology

research method that involves collecting and analyzing data that reveal facts about past events, with the aim of enhancing sociological theory