SOC 100 STUDY

Chapter 2: Socialization and the Life Course

• Socialization

  • Begins at birth and continues throughout life.

  • Ensures cultural continuity across generations.

  • Social Reproduction: The capacity of social institutions, values, norms, and structures to continue from one generation to the other.

Resocialization and Desocialization

• Resocialization: Adopting new norms and values.

• Desocialization: Shedding old values, norms, and habits.

Social Interactions

• Erving Goffman: Focused on the sociology of everyday life.

  • Everyday interactions reflect shared understandings of norms, customs, and cultures.

  • Daily life exemplifies small, repetitive behavior patterns that reflect status and social roles, adhering to rules and cultural norms.

• Types of Interactions:

  • Focused Interactions: Engaging with intent.

  • Unfocused Interactions: Awareness of others without intention to engage.

• Dramaturgy:

  • A sociological perspective that uses theatrical metaphors for analysis.

  • Front Stage Region: Engaging in formal social roles.

  • Back Stage Region: Relaxing and regrouping away from formal roles.

• Interactional Vandalism: Disregarding conversational rules, particularly when a lower status individual interacts with a higher status individual.

Early Childhood Development

• George Herbert Mead: Emphasizes self-development.

  • Children lack self-awareness and perceive themselves as part of their environment.

  • As they grow, they begin to view themselves as distinct and recognize how others perceive them.

• The Generalized Other: Concept of societal expectations that children learn to understand.

• Charles Horton Cooley:

  • Development of self via interactions with others - The Looking Glass Self.

  • Social situations act as a mirror, reflecting others' reactions.

• Jean Piaget:

  • Proposed 4 stages of cognitive development:

    • Sensorimotor Stage (Infant - 2 years): Learning through senses and actions.

    • Preoperational Stage (2-6 years): Language development; struggling to understand others' feelings.

    • Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years): Developing logic and rational thought; understanding causation.

    • Formal Operational Stage (Adolescence onward): Engaging in deductive reasoning.

• Primary Agents of Socialization:

  • Family, Schools, Friends, Media, Work.

Stages of the Life Cycle

• Childhood

• Teenage

• Young Adult

• Middle Age

• Later Life

Groups, Networks, Organizations

• Social Groups: Two or more individuals interacting regularly based on a common bond.

• Social Aggregates: A collection of people in proximity without interaction.

• Primary Groups: Characterized by close emotional attachments.

• Secondary Groups: More transactional relationships.

• In-groups and Out-groups:

  • In-group: Identify and feel belonging.

  • Out-group: Feel contempt or antagonism.

• Reference Groups: Used for self-evaluation.

• Group Dynamics:

  • Dyads and Triads: Basic group structures; triads offer more stability as group size increases.

  • Groupthink: Desire for consensus overrides critical thinking.

• Organizations:

  • Groups with identifiable memberships aimed at collective action towards common goals.

• Equal Rights Amendment: States equality under law regardless of sex.

Crime and Deviance

• Deviance: Nonconformity to societal norms or group values.

  • Deviance can vary across cultures; not all deviance is criminal.

  • Sanctions: Positive or negative reactions to behavior; can be formal or informal.

• Criminal Actions: Violate established laws by political authorities.

• Sociobiological Explanations:

  • Body types: Ectomorph (skinny), Mesomorph (muscular), Endomorph (fat).

• Durkheim’s Anomie and Crime:

  • Deviance serves an adaptive function by challenging norms; can introduce innovative ideas.

  • Deviance supports existing social norms and solidifies them.

• Robert Merton’s Strain Theory:

  • Relative deprivation influences deviance; perceived dissatisfaction based on societal rewards versus one's own.

• Labeling Theory:

  • Deviancy is a result of societal application of labels rather than solely the act itself.

  • Distinction between primary deviance (initial act) and secondary deviance (accepting the deviant label).

• Control Theory:

  • Rational action; societal controls prevent deviance: Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, Beliefs.

Broken Windows Theory

• Suggests disordered areas encourage crime; ignoring petty crimes leads to serious crimes.

Critical/Conflict Theory

• Economics and inequities lead to class conflicts.

• Laws reflect ruling class interests rather than normative order.

• Focused policing on street-level crimes over white-collar crimes exposes systemic bias.

Types of Crime (FBI Uniform Crime Reports)

• Violent Crimes

• Property Crimes

• White Collar Crime

• Organized Crime

• Victimless Crime

• Hate Crimes

Incarceration Rates in the USA

• Influenced by:

  • War on drugs

  • Rigid sentencing policies

  • Prison privatization

  • Racial disparities

  • Poverty and lack of opportunity

Social Stratification

• Charles de Montesquieu: "If we only wanted to be happy..." - reflects social comparisons in happiness.

• Definition: Form of inequality structured in society based on various factors: income, race, religion, gender.

• Caste vs. Class Systems:

  • Caste System: Rigid social hierarchy; limited mobility; e.g., Indian caste roles (Brahmins, Kshatrias, Vaishyas, Shudras, Dalits).

  • Class System: Economic-based hierarchy with potential for movement.

• Karma and Dharma: Guiding principles in the Hindu caste system; karma reflects actions and their consequences, while dharma denotes duties in one's caste.

• Theories on Social Class:

  • Marx: Two-class focus (Bourgeois/Proletariat) with inherent conflicts.

  • Weber: Complex class system considering multiple factors (class, status, power).

• Inequality in the US: Rising class gaps; defined poverty threshold for families.

  • Federal poverty threshold for 2024:

    • 1 Person: $15,060

    • 4 People: $31,200

Poverty Measurement

• Varies by country; OECD defines poverty as income below 50% of median family income.

Social Mobility

• Definition: Capacity to move within or between class positions.

• Intragenerational Mobility: Movement within one generation.

• Intergenerational Mobility: Movement across generations.