Social Sciences - NMAT (Learnfast)

Sociology

systematic and objective study of human society and social interaction

Basic assumption

all human behaviors are shaped by society and social circumstances

Focus of sociology

not on the individual act but in the social environment and circumstance in which the act takes place

Task of sociology

To study human groups

helps the specialized sciences in their tasks; obtains more data used for analysis of groups

Culture

shared products of a human group or society.

Culture can be ?

nonmaterial and material

Nonmaterial culture

values, languages, beliefs, traditions

Material Culture

physical objects, machines, books, clothing, artifacts, money

Subculture

includes features of the main culture and cultural elements not found in other groups

counterculture

subculture that challenges values, beliefs, ideals, and other elements of the dominant culture

Value

an idea shared by the people in a society about what is good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.

Norms

expectations of how people are supposed to act, think or feel in specific situations

Folkways

norms that have little strength and may within limits, be easily broken

Mores

strongly held norms that are considered essential and which are strictly enforced

Laws

norms enacted by the state to regulate human conduct

Cultural Diversity

contrary to cultural universals, though societies share commonality in some aspects in culture, each culture carries a distinct and different element.

Cultural relativism

holds that one cannot truly understand and evaluate cultural, social, and psychological facts except in terms of the larger

culture and society of which they are a part.

Ethnocentrism

tendency to evaluate other cultures in terms of one's own and to consider one's own as superior

Xenocentrism

belief that views, styles or products of other cultures are better than those of one's own

Cultural changes

results when there is cultural integration

sources of cultural changes

innovation, invention, cultural diffusion

Innovation

production of a new culture trait

better than before

benefits a number of people

Invention

creation of new products

Cultural diffusion

cultural traits are transmitted from one group or society to another

Cultural integration

occurs when cultural traits are logically consistent with one another, but may be logically inconsistent or neutral in relation to one another

Social status

socially defined position in a group or society

master status

dominates others and determines a person's general social position

Achieved status

status that can be gained by a person's direct effort usually through competition

Ascribed status

a social position to which a person is assigned according to standards

Social roles

behavior expected of someone with a given status

Role set

set of roles associated with a single status

Role expectation

society's definition of the way a role ought to be played

Role performance

the way a person usually plays a role

Role conflict

situation where opposing demands are made on a person

Role strain

personal stress caused by such a demand

3 types of societies

Mode of Subsistence

Social structure

Socialization

Hunting and gathering

oldest and simplest societal type

nomadic way of life and primitive technology

family is the primary concern and there is little specialization

Horticultural societies

cultivate cereal grains and eat wild plants and animals as supplement

form permanent communities

Pastoral societies

capturing, breeding, taming of animals as food source

same time as horti soc

Agrarian societies

plow - larger surplus

social changes: further strat, est. of bureaucracies, rise of cities and the development of a money economy

Industrial societies

machinery

Post-industrial societies

offices replaced factories

computer took over machines

Gemeinschaft

individual relationships are based on common feelings, kinships or memberships in the community

Gesellschaft

rational order, neutral involvement, and obligations to institutions are dominant

Mechanical solidarity

members are held together because they perform similar roles and share the same values

Organic Solidarity

members are held together because they perform very specialised roles and are dependent on each other

Communal solidarity

little division of labor

family is the most important unit

personal and long lasting

Associational solidarity

there is division of labor and roles are highly specialized

family loses influence and many of its activities are replaced by other institutions

impersonal and short lived relationships

Socialization

the process through which people acquire personality and learn the ways of a society or group

occurs via social interaction

Social interaction

the process in which people act toward or respond to others in a mutual and reciprocal way

Socialization a product of

biological interplay

parent-child interaction

social learning

the Self and human nature

Takes the form of

exchange relationships

cooperation

conflict

competition

coercion

Exchange relationships

a person or group acts in a certain way toward another in order to receive a reward in return

Cooperation

act together to achieve common interests or goals

Kinds of cooperation

spontaneous

traditional

directed

contractual

Spontaneous cooperation

mutual aid

Traditional cooperation

spontaneous cooperation that becomes fized in a society's customs

Directed cooperation

directed by a third party in a position of authority

Contractual cooperation

formal agreement to cooperate on a certain way with the duties of each clearly spelled out

Conflict

struggle for a commonly prized object or value

arise because benefits and rewards are limited

Competition

governed by rules that make the goal being sought more important than the defeat of any opponents

Coercion

tendency for one person or group to force its will on another

Social group

two or more people who have a common identity and some feeling of unity and who share certain goals and expectations about each other's behavior

Primary and secondary group

primary group: small, personal and unspecialized; members communicate effectively, openly and intimately

Secondary groups: larger, more specialised groups ; members interact in a limited, impersonal way

Ingroup

groups to which people belong and feel loyal

Outgroup

groups to which we don't belong and which are regarded with suspicion and as less worthy than their own

Social disorganization

breakdown of social institutions

result when deviance is practiced by large numbers of people over long periods of time

undermined the belief in the value of basic social institutions or when it produces conflict that cannot be contained

aberrant behavior vs. nonconforming behavior

accept validity of social rules but break them for some personal

nonconforming: hope to attract attention to their rule-breaking behavior in an attempt to cause the rule to be changed

socially approved deviance vs. socially deviance

Inability to conform vs. failure to conform

insanity, physical and mental incapability or illness disable one to conform without punishment

deviance

behaviour that violates the social norms of a group or society

Four types of deviant adaptations

innovation

ritualism

retreatism

rebellion

Innovation - deviance

accepting goals but rejecting society's means of achievement

Ritualism

accepting the means but not the goals

Retreatism

rejecting both the goals and the means

rebellion

rejecting the goals and the means and instituting new ones

Social control

means or ways to condition or limit the actions of people to make them want to conform to social norms

Internal social control

internalization is one's acceptance of norms as part of one's identity.

most effective

External social control

involves the use of social sanctions which may be applied informally - through actions of others

formally - agents , like law enforcers, etc.

Social inequalities

slavery

caste

estate

Slavery

extreme system of stratified inequality in which freedom is denied to one group

Caste

system of stratified inequality in which status is largely determined at birth and people are locked into their parent's social positions

Estate

stratification associated with type of agrarian society similar to feudalism

Class systems

most common type of stratification ; relatively open

Bourgeoisie

upper classes, have access to the means of production

Proletariat

lower classes; provide labor to production

Social stratification

an enduring pattern based on the ranking of people in social positions according to their access to desirables

Three dimensions of power (MAX WEBER)

wealth

power

prestige

Theories

Functionalist

conflict

Lenski's theory

Functionalist

inequality is not only required to the functioning of society but is also inevitable

Conflict - theory

social inequality is not a necessary part of the operations of societies, rather, the desirables of the society are in limited supply and the powerful determine which groups of people will fill which jobs and who will get what reqrds

Lenski's theory

power based on econ and political leadership .are important in the functioning of the society

Social mobility

movement of a person from one status or social class to another

TYPES

upward

downward

horizontal

Varieties

Intergenerational mobility: change in social position between generations

Intragenerational mobility; occurs in the same generation

Minority group

group whose bio and social traits cause them to become the object of prejudice and discrimination

Ethnic group

socially distinguished from other groups, with own subculture and shared feeling of peoplehood

Race

share physical traits and are genetically distinct

Prejudice

judgement of people in terms of stereotypes or generalizations

Discrimination

unfair or unequal treatment of individuals or groups