sociology

Micro vs. macro sociology

• Micro-sociology: 

  • Small scale perspective

  • the study of small group behaviour and interactions (individual interactions or small groups)

• Macro-sociology

  • Large scale perspective

  • the study of society as a whole

  • Social structures, institutions in whole civilizations, societies or populations

Sociological imagination

• Belief that every problem faced by an individual has roots in society as a whole and is faced by many others

Schools of thought in sociology (the 3 perspectives)

• Structural Functionalist Perspective (Macro)

• Social Conflict Perspective (Macro) 

• Symbolic Interactionism Perspective (Micro)
  
  

Prejudice vs. stereotype vs. discrimination 

• Prejudice

  • An opinion

  • Judging someone without knowing them, on the basis of what they look like or what group they belong to 

  • An individual judgment about or active hostility towards another social group (biased thinking)

Stereotypes

• An assumption

• False/generalized beliefs about a group

• Thinking all people who belong to a certain group are the same and labelling them without regard for individual differences

Discrimination

• The act of treating groups or individuals unfairly based on their race, gender, or other common characteristic (action against a group of people)

• Systemic discrimination: systems that favour some groups over others. The discrimination is unintentional or not fully understood (ex. A physically disabled job candidate may not be able to accept a job because the building is not wheelchair-friendly) 

• Overt discrimination: intentional actions that are taken against an individual or group because of some discriminating characteristic they possess  (ex. An employer refuses to hire a woman for a traditionally male job, even though she is more qualified)

Social stratification 

• Is a system in which society categorizes people, and ranks them in a hierarchy based on factors like wealth, income, education, family background, and power.

  • Society views the people with more resources as the top layer of the social structure of stratification 

  • Other groups of people with fewer resources, represent the lower layers

  • An individual’s place within this stratification is called socioeconomic status (SES)

Socialization:

• Categories of socialization 

  • Primary socialization = learning the basic skills required to survive in society - typically by the family

  • Secondary socialization = learning how to act appropriately in group situations

  • Anticipatory socialization = learning how to act in new situations

  • Resocialization = the process of learning NEW norms, values, attitudes, and behaviours. This occurs each time we learn something contrary to our previous experiences. 

    • Ex. a prisoner learns new behaviour while he/she serves a sentence; joining a military; joining a cult

Agents of socialization 

• The specific individuals, groups, and institutions that enable socialization to take place

  • Help us learn about our social world

• The Family (primary socialization)

• School

• Peer groups: individuals of roughly equal age and similar social characteristics

• Mass Media: (movies, radio, television, printed & electronic media)

• Workplace

• Religion

Abnormal socialization: isolates & feral children

• Isolates:

  • Children raised in near isolation within a human household

  • Isolates are called the ‘forbidden experiment’  because they offer insight into the influence that environment has on an individual’s development. Psychologists could never ethically isolate individuals for long periods of time in an experiment so isolates are the only ones who can provide this information.

• Feral children:

  • Through accident or deliberate isolation, have grown up with limited human contact 

  • Have often been seen as inhabiting a boundary zone between human and animal existence 

  • Feral children take on the behaviour of the species that raise them and can perfectly imitate their sounds and gestures 

Conformity 

• Adjusting our thoughts and behaviors to be consistent with a group standard

Norms

• Socially understood rules and standards that indicate behaviors, ideas, and values that are expected and accepted

Subcultures: Who are ‘The Bronies’? 

• Definition: 

  • A small group of people within a larger group who share a common system of values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviours, and lifestyle that are different from those of the dominant culture

• The Bronies 

  • Adult fans of the show My LIttle Pony

    • They make art, music, animations, fan fiction, and have meetings

Characteristics of a cult

• Psychological coercion (manipulation) to recruit, indoctrinate (teaching a person to accept a set of beliefs uncritically), and retain its members 

• It forms an elitist society that isolates itself from the rest of society

• Its founder/leader is self-appointed, dogmatic (strong expression of opinions as if they’re facts), and very charismatic

• The cult believes that ‘the end justifies the means’ when working to get money and recruit people
  
  

• Its wealth doesn’t benefit its members or society