Sociology Midterm #2
Term/Concept
So/sociology
Definition: study of human society and behavior, from large-scale institutions to mass culture to small groups and individual interactions
Work can be systematic
Science can begin testing superstitious ideas
Soc. revolves around surveys, interviews, fieldwork
Micro sociology
Definition: examines small group interactions to see how they impact larger institutions in society
E.g., self, interaction, socialization, & roles
Meso sociology
Definition: studies stuff in the middle; there are two types of groups, according to John Turner (categorical & corporate)
E.g. class, race, & gender
Categorical Group
Definition: are all located in them (society, money, gender), & can be inside the corporate group
Corporate Group
Definition: formal or explicit purpose (e.g., our course)
Macrosociology
Definition: examines large-scale social structures to determine how they impact groups & individuals
E.,g. Social Institutions (Economics, Politics, Education, & Religion), Social Inequality (class, race & gender), Culture, Society
Agency
Definition: The capacity of individuals to act independently and make their own free choices.
Culture
Definition: The shared beliefs, values, norms, practices, symbols, and behaviors passed down through generations within a society.
Structure
Definition: The social institutions, organizations, and systems that create a framework within which individuals live and interact. This includes patterns of behavior shaped by these institutions.
Sociological Imagination
Definition: The ability to see the connection between personal experiences and larger social forces, recognizing how society shapes individual behavior and vice versa.
Personal Troubles vs. Social Issues
Personal Troubles: Private problems that affect individuals directly, stemming from personal choices or situations (e.g., losing a job due to personal reasons).
Social Issues: Public problems that affect a large group of people within society, shaped by the larger social structure (e.g., unemployment caused by economic recession).
The Nested Model
A theoretical model for understanding how individuals and society interact, where:
Self: The individual identity.
Interaction: The process by which individuals engage with others.
Socialization: The lifelong process through which individuals learn and internalize social norms and roles.
Roles: Expectations and behaviors assigned to individuals based on their social position.
Groups: Collections of individuals with shared roles and identities.
Social Inequality: The unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across different groups.
Social Institutions: Organized social structures (e.g., education, family, government, religion) that guide behavior and societal functioning.
Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and norms that emerge from the social institutions.
Society: The larger community consists of individuals, institutions, and cultures.
Symbolic Interactionism
Definition: A sociological perspective that focuses on the meanings people attach to social interactions, symbols, and behaviors.
Conflict Theory
Definition: A perspective that views society as a struggle for power between different groups, particularly those with conflicting interests (e.g., rich vs. poor, employer vs. employee).
Structural Functionalism
Definition: A theoretical framework that views society as a complex system of interrelated parts, each contributing to social stability and functioning.
***Social Facts
Definition: Durkheim’s term for the external, objective structures and norms that influence individual behavior, such as laws, morals, and religious beliefs.
***Social Solidarity
Definition: The cohesion and unity that binds a society or group together.
***Collective Conscience
Definition: The shared beliefs and values that serve as a moral foundation for society.
***Mechanical Solidarity
Definition: Social cohesion based on shared beliefs, values, and similarities, often seen in small, traditional societies.
***Organic Solidarity
Definition: depending on people to get things done.
Repressive and Restitutive Law
Repressive Law: Punitive laws aimed at maintaining order by punishing offenders.
Restitutive Law: Laws designed to restore equilibrium after an offense, often through restitution or compensation.
Means of Production
Definition: The physical, non-human elements (such as land, tools, machinery) used to produce goods and services.
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
Bourgeoisie: The capitalist class that owns the means of production.
Proletariat: The working class which sells its labor to the bourgeoisie in exchange for wages.
Relations of the Means of Production
Definition: The social relationships between the people involved in the production process (e.g., employer-employee relationships).
***Exploitation and Alienation
Exploitation: The process by which the bourgeoisie profits from the proletariat's labor, often by paying them less than the value they produce.
Alienation: The feeling of disconnection or powerlessness experienced by workers in capitalist societies due to their lack of control over the production process.
***Superstructure and Base
Base: The economic foundation of society, including the means of production and relations of production.
Superstructure: The cultural, political, and ideological institutions the base shapes.
Class Consciousness and False Consciousness
Class Consciousness: The awareness of one’s social class and interests, particularly the proletariat’s understanding of their position in the capitalist system.
False Consciousness: The working class often fails to recognize its exploitation because of an ideology that obscures its true interests.
The Stage of the Social Self
Stage 1: The preparatory stage: imitation
Stage 2: The play stage (taking the role of the significant other)
Stage 3: The game stage (taking the role of multiple others and the generalized
other)
The Thomas Theorem
Definition: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” This means that people act based on their perceptions of reality, whether or not those perceptions are accurate.
The Looking-Glass Self
Definition: A concept by Charles Horton Cooley that suggests we develop our self-concept based on how we believe others perceive us.
Three Stages:
We imagine how we appear to others.
We imagine their judgment of us.
We develop feelings about ourselves based on these perceived judgments.
Inductive vs. Deductive Research
Deductive: A top-down approach that starts with a theory or hypothesis and tests it through data collection.
Inductive: A bottom-up approach where research begins with observations, patterns, or data, leading to the development of a theory.
Survey
Definition: A research method involving questionnaires or interviews to collect data, often from a large sample.
Participant Observation
Definition: A qualitative research method where the researcher immerses themselves in the community or group they are studying, participating in daily activities to gather firsthand insights.
Experiment
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research
Quantitative: Research that involves numerical data and statistical analysis.
Qualitative: Research that involves non-numerical data, such as interviews or observations, focused on understanding meaning and experiences.
Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables
Independent Variable: The variable that is manipulated or changed in an experiment.
Dependent Variable: The variable measured or affected in response to the independent variable.
Controlled Variable: Variables that are kept constant to prevent them from influencing the results.
Association
Definition: Association refers to the relationship or connection between two or more variables. In sociology, this often means that when one variable changes, another variable tends to change in some way without implying causality.
Time-Order
Definition: Time order refers to the sequence in which events or variables occur
Non-Spuriousness
Definition: A situation in which two variables are genuinely correlated without being caused by an external, intervening variable.
Spurious Correlation
Definition: A false relationship between two variables caused by an external factor, making the correlation appear firmer.
The Belmont Report
Definition: A set of ethical guidelines for conducting research involving human subjects, emphasizing respect for persons, beneficence (doing good), and justice.
Causality
Definition: The relationship between two variables where one directly causes the other to change.
Sample and Population
Correlation vs. Causation
Correlation is a relationship between two variables that does not necessarily cause the other.
Causation: A direct cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.
Reading
C. wright Mills - The Sociological Imagination: The Promise
They found out that we can understand and connect with our society. The definition of sociological Imagination.
Tina Wildhagen - “First Generation Student”
They used the concept of social inequality to judge the potential performance of the first-generation student.
Group and role of how African Americans impact their society in Philadelphia
Howard Schuman- Sense and Nonsense about a Survey
Marx & Engels - Communist Manifesto (Mean of production concept)
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
Bourgeoisie: The capitalist class that owns the means of production.
Proletariat: The working class which sells its labor to the bourgeoisie in exchange for wages.
Herbert J. Gans - Uses of Poverty- The poor pay all
It is not essential to have poor people in our society, but if we were to eliminate that fact, we would have to improve it.
Peter Kaufman - You Might be a Marxist
Key Themes:
Society is divided into two main classes:
The bourgeoisie (owners of production)
The proletariat (workers who sell their labor)
Capitalism prioritizes profit, leading to worker exploitation.
Economic systems determine social and political institutions.
False Consciousness & Ideology
Many workers fail to recognize their exploitation due to false consciousness, a concept describing how dominant ideologies (e.g., the American Dream) prevent them from seeing systemic inequalities.
People often blame individuals (e.g., “laziness” or “bad choices”) rather than capitalism itself for economic struggles.
Alienation
Marx argued that capitalism alienates workers in four ways:
From the product of their labor (they don’t own what they create)
From the labor process (they perform repetitive, unfulfilling work)
From their human potential (they become mere cogs in a machine)
From other workers (competition prevents solidarity)
Class Struggle & Revolution
Marx predicted that workers would eventually recognize their exploitation and overthrow capitalism, leading to socialism and communism.
Kaufman suggests that many people acknowledge economic injustices, making them "Marxists" without realizing it.
Important Information & Takeaways
Kaufman uses real-world examples to illustrate how economic structures shape individual experiences.
He challenges people to question their views about capitalism and inequality.
Howard S. Becker- Becoming a Marihuana User
We act based upon meaning: “If you do not know how it feels to get high, then you won't want to get high.”
The motivation to use Marijuana comes from learning to use it than actually doing it
Learning the technique
Recognizing the effects of being high
Learning to enjoy what being high feels like
People’s experience when using it (the company they're around, etc.) effects if they will use it again
All behavior can be studied developmentally, by analyzing the changes in meaning as they occur
Allan M. Brandt - Tuskegee Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Milgram - If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You?
Rigid ethical systems cannot resolve the issue of obedience,
Situational ethics: one examines the situation and then makes a choice among competing evils
Navigate conflict between obeying authority and following conscience
Disobedience should be a last resort when such strong moral obligation
If everyone felt responsible for consequences of actions, society would not work
Those who are psychologically unable to disengage themselves from the situation of the experiment are still morally responsible for their actions
Laud Humphreys - The Tearoom Sex Study
A man named Laud Humphreys conducted a study where he would stand by “Tearooms” while a “Tearoom Trade” or fellatio was happening in bathroom stalls and stand by as a “watch queen” who watches and coughs if a stranger or a police car was approaching
He did this so that society could “gain a more objective understanding of who these men are and what motivates
them to seek quick, impersonal sexual gratification.n”
After talking to and following subjects, he found the following
54% were married and living with their lives
38% were married and had tension with their marriages. Most of them or their wives were catholic. Since the birth of their first child, intercourse was rare. So their encounter had to be quick and impersonal
24% were bisexual or homosexual, happily married, well-educated, and so on
24% were single and covert homosexuals
14% were part of the gay community and interested in homosexual relationships (which corresponded to society’s stereotypes at the time)
Humphreys’ study helped persuade police departments to stop arresting people for these victimless crimes
In turn, this sparked public outrage, as many individuals thought their privacy was invaded and social standing was ruined, and people believed the Sociology Department at Washington University was out of line for this
Garrett Hardin – The Tragedy of the Commons
Summary:
The "Tragedy of the Commons" economic theory was introduced by Garrett Hardin in 1968. It discusses how individuals acting in their self-interest can overuse and deplete a shared resource, even though this behavior is detrimental to the group's long-term well-being. The theory is commonly used to understand environmental problems, resource management, and societal dynamics. Hardin’s work explores the tension between individual interests and collective needs and how the lack of regulation or cooperation can lead to resource depletion.
Key Topics:
The Commons: The term "commons" refers to resources shared by a group, such as pastureland, fisheries, or the atmosphere. These resources are accessible to everyone but have finite limits.
Self-Interest vs. Collective Good: The central conflict in the Tragedy of the Commons is that individuals often pursue their interests (e.g., increasing livestock for personal gain) without considering the collective consequences (overgrazing and depletion of the pasture).
Overuse and Depletion: The tragedy occurs because individuals, acting independently and rationally based on their interests, deplete the resource. Although this outcome is detrimental to the entire group, each individual only faces a small cost for their actions, encouraging continued overuse.
Externalities: The consequences of individual actions that affect others but are not directly reflected in the individual’s cost or benefit. The Tragedy of the Commons occurs when those individuals do not account for the external costs of individual actions (e.g., the depletion of resources).
Lack of Regulation: Hardin argues that commons are susceptible to overuse and destruction in the absence of regulation or private ownership. Government intervention, community agreements, or privatization can mitigate this.
Laura T. Hamilton – Helicopters
Social class is a big factor is how parents support children i college
Importance of families as agents of socialization and conduits for reproduce social class/norms across generations
Helicopter parenting: Hovering, readiness with supplies, assistance, guidance; not assume others could handle anything
Mothers do most work in helicopter parents → like a competitive with oneself and others
Professional helicopters vs pink helicopters: want success academically/career vs socially
Pink helicopters usually obsessed with gender roles and stereotypes
Joel Best – Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics