SOC 220 Final Review

Sociology 220 w/ Baylee Hudgens

sociology

the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior; study of the social world

sociological imagination

the ability to see the connection between the larger world and our personal lives

troubles

the problems that occur within an individual's life and directly relevant only to the person they affect and those they interact with

issues

broader problems that occur due to certain aspects of the overall social structure or the organizations of society

structure

the social patterns through which a society is organized

biography

the events in an individual's life

social structures

shape people's actions through rules and resources; created by people

history

broader social changes that occur and shape the organization of society

resources

things we may have or that we acquire which are valuable and allow us to accomplish goals

status

a person's or group's socially determined positions w/in a larger group or society

ascribed status

statuses that are assigned by society (ex: race, age)

achieved status

statues that are a result of people's efforts (ex: education, job)

roles

sets of expectations about the behavior and attitudes of people who occupy a certain social status (ex: parent, doctor, teacher)

groups

two or more people with similar values and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis

norms

rules and expectations which guide the behavior of group members

networks

series of social relationships that link a person directly to other individuals and indirectly to even more people (ex: social media)

institution

enduring practices and rules that organize a central domain of social life (ex: media, government, family)

practices

an action or behavior that we habitually engage in (ex: attending class, going to the gym)

agency

our ability to act given the structural rules and resources that impact our behaviors

formal rules

established regulations and procedures that must be followed (ex: Purdue GPA requirement)

theories

explanations for the existence of certain social conditions or patterns of behavior; NOT absolute truths about the world

structural functionalism

views society as a system of independent parts; compares society to the body of an organism

manifest functions

functions that are intended and formally recognized

latent functions

functions that are unintended or hidden

dysfunction

unintended consequences of functional institutions

conflict perspective

views society as the result of social changes and social conflict

social conflict

the struggle between groups with different interests and power in society

exploitation

the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work

social problem (objective)

a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world

social problem (subjectivist view)

social problems defined in terms of people's subjective sense that something is or is not a problem; issues are problems since people believe them to be problems

social problems

a condition or behavior within a society that negatively impacts a large number of people

social construction

the process of assigning meaning to the world (ex: association of blue w/ boys and pink w/ girls)

social problems process

studies how and why certain conditions become constructed as social problems

claim

a statement asserting that a condition is troubling or harmful

claimsmaking

asserting that a condition should be perceived as a social problem

troubling condition

conditions that become the subjects of claims

step 1: claimsmaking

people make claims that troubling conditions should be seen as a social problem

step 2: media coverage

media reports on claims made by claimsmakers

step 3: public reaction

public opinion focuses on the claim; measured through surveys or polls

step 4: policymaking

lawmakers and others with power create new ways to address the problem

step 5: social problems work

new policies are implemented by agencies and groups whose work is related to the social condition

step 6: policy outcomes

reactions to the social problems process

two parts of claimsmaking

what is the claim?

who is making the claim?

grounds

statements about the nature of the problem

warrants

reasons for taking action/doing something about a troubling condition

conclusions

statements that specify what should be done or what action should be taken to address the troubling condition

typifying example

description of a particular instance of the condition; chosen to demonstrate seriousness

statistics

numbers that suggest the scope of a problem; used to communicate precision and accuracy in measuring the condition

audience

the people whom claimsmakers seek to persuade with their claim

valence issues

social conditions that nearly everyone will agree are significant social problems (ex: child abuse or elder abuse)

position issue

social conditions that people disagree about; these are controversial topics (ex: abortion and gun control)

audiences can be ___, or divided by certain social categories; ex: race, gender, age

segmented

social problems marketplace

the public forum where claims are presented and discussed

societalization

the process by which claims attract national attention

2 parts of claimsmaking

1. What is the claim?

2. Who is making the claim?

insider claimsmakers

claimsmakers who have easy access to publicity and people in positions of power (ex: lobbyists, government officials)

outsider claimsmakers

people who lack easy access to publicity and to people in positions of power (ex: activists)

activists

people who work hard to change society; use protest when trying to change society

protest

explicit criticism of other people, organizations, and the things they say or do; a way to express contempt and outrage over existing practices

social movement

sustained efforts carried out by groups to change some aspect of society; use "extra-institutional" methods; engage in tactics/strategies outside of mainstream/institutional politics

social movement organization (SMO)

a complex, or formal, organization which identifies its goals with the preferences of a social movement or a countermovement and attempts to implement those goals (ex: National Organization for Women)

countermovements/opposing movements

a movement that makes contrary claims simultaneously to those of the original movement;

diagnostic frame

determines the nature of the problem and who or what is to blame for the problem; grounds

motivational frame

gives a reason for acting to remedy the problem; warrants

prognostic frame

indicates what actions should be taken to remedy the problem; conclusions

framing

assigning meaning or to relevant events and conditions in ways that are intended to mobilize potential adherents and constituents, to garner bystander support, and to demobilize antagonists

frame alignment

the process of aligning individual beliefs with the goals of a social movement organization (SMO)

frame bridging

used when the activist group wants to recruit people who already have their frame, but they are not involved with the movement

frame amplification

used to "reinvigorate or clarify" a frame someone already has (ex: make it "louder" to them"); can be done with catchy slogans or graphic images

frame extension

used to recruit individuals who have a completely different frame from the movement w/ the goal of expanding the movement's frame so that it includes the individual's frame

frame transformation

used for recruiting people who have a frame that contradicts the movement's frame

empirical credibility, experiential commensurability, narrative fidelity

components of frame resonance

frame resonance

the effectiveness or mobilizing potency of proffered framings

empirical credibility

how well does the framing match what is going on in the world?

experiential commensurability

does the framing match the lived experiences of the targeted audience?

narrative fidelity

does this framing match the culture of the targeted audience? the degree to which a story matches our own beliefs and experiences

frame disputes

disagreements between activists within the same movement regarding how the issue should be viewed

potential beneficiaries

people who would benefit directly from SMO goal accomplishments

resource mobilization

collecting and assembling resources for a social movement

resources

the "stuff" needed to make a social movement happen

human, material, social-organizational, cultural, moral

types of resources

human resources

labor, expertise, skills, and experience, as well as leadership

material resources

financial and physical capital, including monetary resources, property, office space, equipment, and supplies

social-organizational resources

structures that mobilize people such as social ties and networks, affinity groups, and coalitions

cultural resources

the tacit and taken-for-granted symbols, beliefs, values, identities, and behavioral norms of a group of people that orient and facilitate their actions in everyday life

moral resources

legitimacy, authenticity, solidary support, sympathetic support, and celebrity

from within a movement/community itself or from outside a movement

where do resources come from?

self-production, aggregation, cooptation, patronage

ways resources can be acquired

self-production

resources created by the movement itself

aggregation

collecting resources and putting them together for movement uses

cooptation

borrowing resources from existing organizations

patronage

the provision of considerable resources from a specific person or group

political opportunity

changes in the political system which may indicate it is (or is not) a good time to act

destabilizing events

events which may upset existing rules and practices of political institutions (ex: war, economic crises)

repression

actions which raise the cost of protest

cognitive liberation

an awareness that there is an opportunity to act collectively and a belief that the action will succeed

cultural opportunities

when there is a shift in popular ideas/beliefs/values that makes it possible to change how a troubling condition is addresses

moral shocks

when an event or situation raises such a sense of outrage in people that they become inclined towards political action

tactical innovation

the development of new social movement tactics

ownership

when the claims and frames of a movement or SMO become understood as the best way to view an issue