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An Introduction to Sociology (Sociological Perspective & Theory) Sociology as a profession • Sociology is a social science. • The sociological field is primarily research-based, meaning that sociologists conduct research on people on a wide variety of topics. • The American Sociological Association has members who study in over 40 areas Sociology & Careers • Fields that Sociologists go into: – Academics – Teaching/Research – Criminal Justice – Demography & City planning – Marketing – Corporate Sociology – Research & Evaluation • Example: Health care, hospitals employ sociologists to determine… – Patterns of health and illness within a population – How factors such as race, gender, and social class affect health The Sociological Perspective • Sociology – The systematic study of human society • Human interaction • Group behavior • Trends, patterns of populations • The “nurture” of the nature/nurture debate • At the heart of the discipline is a point of view called the sociological perspective • Seeing the connection between large scale social forces and our individual behaviors • Micro – Macro link Where did this concept come from? •

What striking transformations took place in 18th and 19th century Europe that drove the development of sociology? • Rise of a factory-based economy • Explosive growth of cities • Change in family structure • Health/sanitation concerns • New ideas about democracy and political rights Periods of change or crisis makes everyone feel off balance, encouraging the use of the sociological perspective to “ground” us.

Sociology as a Science Auguste Comte (1798–1857) – French social thinker who is known as the founder of the term “sociology”. He wrote about Sociology in 1838 to describe a new way of looking at the world. – Comte turned to Science as a model • Positivism – understanding the world based on science. Prior to – religion or superstition often guided people’s thoughts

Sociological Imagination – The unrest of the 1930’s (Great Depression) and then again in the 1960s (race relations, post-world war II) sparked sociological thinking once again. – C. Wright Mills wrote the Sociological Imagination in 1959 • Using the sociological imagination helps people understand their society and how it affects their own lives • • • • • •

Personal troubles (micro) vs. Public Issues (macro) Man --- Society Biography --- History Self --- World People are falsely conscious of their social positions without understanding the societal (macro) perspective-> uneasiness Intersection of micro/macro unveils the whole picture

The Sociological Perspective: Seeing the Strange in the Familiar • Looking sociologically requires us to give up the familiar idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do in favor of the initially strange notion that society guides our thoughts and actions. • Invisible forces are at play. Invisible forces of society • Our culture teaches us what is good/bad, acceptable/unacceptable, normal/abnormal • Why do women typically shave their legs in the U.S. and not men? • Why is it unheard of to eat cats or dogs, when eating cows, pigs, lamb are quite common in the U.S.? • Why is it that the average age of marriage in the U.S. is about 26 years old, when just a few years ago the average age was 24? Questions to ponder… Even though we can act independently, invisible forces (our culture) tell us what’s appropriate. The Sociological Perspective: Seeing Personal Choice in Social Context • Durkheim’s Study of Suicide – studied records of suicide in Europe

– Found higher suicide among: • whites, men, Protestants, unmarried, and wealthier people – Lower rates among: • women, Catholics, Jews, married and people of color. What do these people have in common? France, late 1800’s, govern records

His conclusion: Reflects Social Integration – the degree to which people are tied to their social group. – Social Ties influence choice of suicide Reflects greater freedom  

Human behavior is not as individualistic as we may think. Why do people resist the idea that they act in socially patterned ways?

Also a cultural construct

Sociological Theory Sociological Theory – A statement of how and why specific facts are related – Analytical tool used to understand, explain & predict social behavior • Example: The Big Bang Theory • Example: The gym will be less busy on weekday afternoons… – “A testable statement” Theoretical Approach, Paradigm – A basic image of society that guides thinking and research; mental framework or worldview • Agreed upon by many • It serves as a roadmap/GPS. Macro-level orientation (Grand theory) Broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole Micro-level orientation – Micro-level sociology shows how individuals construct and experience society • The difference between looking at the entire forest vs. one tree (or a few trees) This approach looks for each structure’s social patterns function to keep society going, at least in its present form The Structural-Functional Approach • Macro

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A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability Social Functions – The consequences of a social pattern for the operation of society as a whole Robert K. Merton (1910–2003) – Distinguished between kinds of functions Manifest Functions – The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern Latent Functions – The unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern

Even dysfunctional things can be reframed to see the function-What are the manifest and latent functions of our poverty in our society?

The Social-Conflict Approach • Macro • A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change • Social-conflict approach is used to look at ongoing conflict between dominant and disadvantaged categories of people • Associated with Karl Marx Highlights how the following factors are linked to inequality Class, race, ethnicity, gender, age

The Symbolic-Interaction Approach • MICRO • Symbolic-interaction Approach – A framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals • Associated with Max Weber – Weber was a proponent of anti-positivism, which was the belief that studying people shouldn’t be done through systematic, scientific methods, but instead through in-depth case studies Society is the reality people construct for themselves as they interact with one another. How do millions of people weave their lives together into the drama of society?

Paradigm Application Religion

Structural-Functional

Social-Conflict

Symbolic-Interactionist

Structural-functionalists would see religion as a stabilizing force in society. It benefits society by teaching people to behavior in certain approved ways.

Social-conflict theorists would see the inequality that occurs within the practice of religion (example: men traditionally held more prestigious roles than women, Gay men and women may not be welcomed in certain religious affiliations) and between religions (example: Some faiths are marginalized because others are more entrenched into the culture/have more power)

Symbolic-interactionists would look at the interactional components of how someone learns about and practices a religion. What are the symbols involved and how does someone grown to learn what they mean? How does practicing a faith affect one’s identity or social bonds?

Sociological Research (The Science of Sociology) Scientific Sociology • Science – A logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation – The Scientific Method • Scientific Sociology – The study of society based on systematic observation of social behavior – Empirical evidence – Comte – “Positivism” • •

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Differentiating Empirical Evidence from Common Sense or folk wisdom “Folk Wisdom” – Knowledge that comes from being in the world – Oral traditions, difficult to trace origins • Proverbs, songs, sayings, memes – Usually are not judgments based in research Can be unreliable, inconsistent • Sometimes they exist with their opposites Examples of folk wisdom: – Opposites Attract vs. Birds of a Feather flock together – You only live once vs. Better safe than sorry – Patience is a virtue vs. He who hesitates is lost We’ll use the one the suits our needs most

True or False? 1. Because of the rapid rise in the divorce rate in the United States, U.S. children are much more likely to live in single-parent households now than they were a century ago. 2. Most Roman Catholics oppose birth control. 3. Most people on welfare have several children and spend a lifetime on welfare. 4. Compared with men, women touch each other more while they are conversing. 5. Monogamy (as opposed to polygamy) is the more accepted marital practice worldwide. All of the previous statements were FALSE. Surprised? Research gives us insight into topics that we personally do not have enough information to truly know about. Sometimes those findings can oppose common sense!

Research Methods

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A systematic plan for doing research Four methods of sociological investigation – Experiments – Surveys – Participant observation – Existing sources

Testing a Hypothesis: The Experiment • A research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions Pretest----------> X ---------> Posttest Measure Time 1 Measure Time 2 Exposure to Independent Variable Measure the initial value of the dependent variable Expose the dependent variable to the independent variable Measure the dependent variable again to see what change, if any, took place

Asking Questions: Survey Research • Survey – A research method in which subjects respond to a series of statements or questions in a questionnaire or an interview • Questionnaire • Interview Sample – this class. Different sampling strategies. Purposive, random Asking Questions: Survey Research • Usually you cannot survey every single person, so you must choose a smaller group to represent the larger group • Target is a population • Study a sample • Sampling strategies vary and yield more or less representativeness. Random sampling is best. Field Research: Participant Observation • Participant observation, Ethnography – A research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities • Exploratory and descriptive Fieldwork Using Available Data: Secondary Data Analysis

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Sociologists make use of existing sources – Data collected by others (databases) – Written records (diaries, court records) – Visual texts (movies, tv) – Material culture (artifacts like art or common possessions)

Most widely used data are gathered by government agencies

Methods – Pro’s & Con’s Experiments

Surveys

Observation

Existing Docs

Advantages

Causes & Effect possible Replicable

Surveys yield large samples Interviews allow for indepth answers

Allows for natural behavior Usually inexpensive

Saves time and expense of data collection Can do historical work

Disadvantages

Artificial setting Difficult to eliminate variables Sometimes immoral for humans

Low response rate Interviews can be timeconsuming

Timeconsuming Replication diff. Researcher has to balance researcher and participant roles

Limited by what is available

Research Code of Ethics • Awareness that research can harm as well as help subjects and communities • American Sociological Association – Established formal guidelines for conducting research – Institutional Ethics Review Boards oversee all research that deals with human subjects

Research Ethics • Protection of participants – Cleared of Physical and Psychological harm

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Protection of privacy – Confidentiality or anonymity Research is Voluntary – Informed Consent Reduce Deception – Debriefing (clueing the participants in after the research is over) Value neutrality, or objectivity, is a main goal of the scientific method.

Correlation and Cause • Correlation – A relationship in which two (or more) variables change together • Cause and Effect – A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another • •

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Scientists refer to the cause as – Independent Variable And the effect as – Dependent Variable – Understanding cause and effect is valuable • Allows researchers to predict how one pattern of behavior will produce another Test a specific hypothesis – A statement of how two or more variables are related – An educated guess about how variables are linked – usually an if-then statement Spurious or False Correlation – When two variables change together but neither one causes the other Examples of Spurious Correlations: Ice cream sales & Number of drownings Average salary & Price of liquor Shoe size & Reading ability for children Number of homicides & Number of churches **Tea drinking & Lung Cancer (negative correl.)

– In each of these cases, there is a third variable that factors into the relationships between variables. – Ice cream & Drownings - Weather/Climate – Average salary & Price of liquor - Location – Shoe size & Reading ability for children - Age – Number of homicides & Number of churches – Population Density – **Tea drinking & Lung Cancer – Smoking To be sure of a real cause-and-effect relationship, we must show:

1. Variables are correlated 2. The independent (causal) variable occurs before the dependent variable 3. There is no evidence that a third variable has been overlooked, causing a spurious correlation

Culture What is Culture? • Culture – a shared way of life o The ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s shared way of life • Society vs Culture o Society refers to a geographic region and the people within in o A society has a culture. Subculture • Subculture o Cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population o Some are stronger than others as far as how people identify with them o The Amish o Runners o Yankee’s fans o Hispanic-Americans o Muslims o Hipsters Not meant to denote “less than”

Contested Culture • Counterculture o Cultural patterns that strongly oppose or reject those widely accepted within a society o Actively defy larger society by having radically different symbols, values, language, & norms • Hippies • The Amish Reminds us that not everyone blindly follows cultural dictates (robots) People use their culture actively and creatively (agency) What is Culture? • Though our culture can feel “natural”, no way of life is “natural” to humanity • As humans we learn about culture over our lifetimes • “People need to eat, but culture teaches us what, when, and how” • Sometimes we learn this through formal paths, but we also learn culture through informal ways.

Explicitly – “Say thank you” or unconsciously, we internalize the culture

Cultural Universals • Customs and practices found in every culture, to varying degrees, worldwide. • The only difference is that each culture expresses each custom or practice quite differently • George Murdock (Cultural Anthropologist) made a list of 67 (1945) –see next slide

The Elements of Culture • Though cultures vary greatly, they have common elements o Symbols o Language o Values o Norms • Sharing any or all of these is a sign of cultural unity – or a shared reality Symbols • Symbols o Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture o Gestures, signs, objects, signals, and words • Red = Stop • Thumbs up = Good job • Scarlet Letter “A” = Adultery, Sin • American flag = United States, patriotism, freedom, etc… Thumbs up vs up yours Okay symbol vs. Japan=money and Greece = insulting anal expression Arbitrary

Entering an unfamiliar culture reminds us of the power of symbols • Culture Shock • Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life • Culture shock is really the inability to “read” meaning in unfamiliar surroundings • Perhaps these symbols are harder to read since they • originate outside of the U.S. Ankh- Egyptian “life”; Celtic (Irish) Claddagh – token of love, friendship & Loyalty, Anchor means sailor traversed the Atlantic ocean, “hamsa” used by muslims and Jews as a defense against the

evil eye; Greek flag – greek orthodoxy, stripes represent freedom; flag of the soviet union/communist flag – hammer (working class) and sickle (agricultural workers) Language • A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another • “Heart of the symbolic system” • Key to Cultural Transmission o The process by which one generation passes culture to the next Values and Beliefs • Values o Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living • Hard work &Achievement • Progress • Equality • Freedom • Truthfulness • Material comfort Norms • Norms: Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members o Mores (“more-ayz”) or taboos • Norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance • Usually tied to deep-seated values o Folkways • Norms for routine or casual interaction Rules for conduct, anything against this is seen as negative or deviant. •

People respond to each other with sanctions o Rewards or punishments that encourage conformity to cultural norms o Violation of norms can lead to punishment o Conforming to cultural norms can lead to rewards

Deviation from the norm, usually brings strong reactions. Threatens the social fabric. Ethnocentrism • Ethnocentrism o The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture o “Cultural Imperialism” o Often takes the form of “my way is better”

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Cultural Relativism o The practice of judging a culture by its own standards o Requires openness to unfamiliar values and norms o Means that you attempt to understand another culture Eating insects is common in many countries, e.g. Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Mexico, China, Brazil, Ghana, Thailand

Ever Changing Culture • Innovation comes in many ways… o Discoveries – Learning about something that’s been there o Inventions – Creating a new item o Diffusion – When cultures spreads beyond the borders of its original culture as a result of Globalization

Society and Social Interaction Social Construction of Reality • Habitualization: “any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern” (Berger and Luckmann 1966) • Thomas theorem: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (Thomas and Thomas 1828) • Things about our culture appear to be fact, but we forget that they were created by humans. Social Interaction • Social interaction o The process by which people act and react in relation to others o Social interaction is a complex negotiation that builds reality • Status o Generally, refers to “prestige” but for this topic, it refers to: o A social position that a person holds • Status set o All the statuses a person holds at a given time  Changes over life Ascribed and Achieved Status • Ascribed status o A social position a person receives at birth or takes involuntarily later in life  Matters about which we have little choice • Achieved status o A social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort Master Status • A status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person’s entire life o May occupy most of one’s time o May be how others identify a person  Examples: Parent, Stu...