Introduction To Sociology Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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Sociology Exam 1 Study Guide  Definitions o Sociology: the study of human society and social behavior o Social Behavior: human behavior done in reaction to, in relationship to, or in reference to one or more other people o Status: a position we occupy that defines our relationship to someone else  Master Status: most important status as perceived by others, usually based on occupation  Achieved Status: you did something to get there, not always positive  Ascribed Status: you find yourself there, by birth or involuntary later in life o Roles: behavior that you do in relationship to a status. PLAY a role.  Role Conflict: having two roles that demand expectations to be met – mother/student  Role Strain: competing demands coming from within the same role o Groups: people who regularly and consciously interact, share a common culture, involves status and role changes over a long time o Aggregates: bunch of folks in the same place at the same time o Social Institutions – large pieces of interaction that serve a purpose for society o Society – a population that occupies the same territory, is subject to the same political authority and participates in a common culture o Culture: all the shared products of society  Material Elements: desks, buildings, cars  Non-material Elements: norms, values, sanctions, symbols/language (give us an identity)  Norms: rules o Shape and direct behavior o Become aware of them if we’re breaking them o Others response indicates seriousness of the infraction

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o Norms are contextual – they are dependent on the time and place Folkways: informal rules o Minor infractions or sanctions Mores: more formal/serious o More severe negative sanctions Taboos: the most serious Values: general notions/feelings of what’s good/bad, right/wrong

o Sanctions  Positive – rewards to conformity  Negative – punishments for non-conformity o Ethnocentrism – the universal tendency to depreciate the ways of people from other societies as wrong, old fashioned, or immoral and think of the ways of one’s own group as superior (as the only right way) o Cultural Relativism – looking at the practices and beliefs of another culture relative to that culture  Sociological Imagination – C. Wright Mills o Making a connection between the “big picture” and the individual o “How does society shape our individual experiences (and our perceptions of those experiences?) o Self NOT autonomous, independent, unique o We need to pay attention to the larger social forces that make us who we are  Personal Troubles = private matter  Public Issues = public matter  Theoretical Perspectives o Macro: the big picture – understanding behavior at the structural level  Society  Culture  Institutions o Micro: a small picture – understanding behavior at the individual level

 Communication styles in dyads o The structural and the individual are in interaction  Order Model a.k.a. Structural Functionalism o Macro Theory – Emile Durkheim o Starting point:  All societies have functional requirements (basic needs) that must be met  Functionalists study the needs and the processes by which they are met  Tie the family to other social institutions o Society = one entity with different parts that work for the good of the whole o Each part has a function (functionalism) o If a part becomes non-functional, it will cease to exist  Order model Emphasis  Cohesion, consensus, cooperation, reciprocity, stability, persistence  The contributions of, and equilibrium among society’s institutions o Asks what is the nature of the social bond?  Conflict Model a.k.a. Critical Theory o Macro Theory – Karl Marx o Conflict. Not order. Any order that exists is enforced by those in power o Competing interests. Not consensus. Power. Not equally distributed.  Who has the power?  How is it used?  Consequences? o Inequality. Resources and rewards are unevenly distributed  Serious consequences in individuals lives o Who benefits?  Social systems are not neutral  Some groups benefit from existing conditions o Change is promoted  If it eliminates oppression and exploitation

 Activists orientation o Asks what divides us, how does it happen, what are the consequences?  Symbolic Interactionism o A micro approach  Up close, everyday, ordinary  Small group interaction  World is constructed through symbols  Meaning is contextual  Reality based on subjective interpretation  The Thomas Theorem o That which we treat as real becomes real in its consequences  Sociological Methods of Knowing o General Characteristics  Systematic: deliberate/organized  Need to define what things mean  Comprehensive: big picture o Group Effort: when studies replicated = more complete view o Specific Methods  1. Experiments  I.V. = cause  D.V = effect  2. Surveys  Mail o Least expensive o More anonymous o More time to respond o Can do a lot in a short time o Disadvantage – low rate response  Phone Interviews o People may not have time  Face-to-face o In depth, in person o Very costly

o Can clarify questions and answers o Generally “truer” responses  3. Observations – nothing changed by researcher  Detached: need to make assumption (different relationships)  Participant: affect group behavior  4. Existing Sources  Census  New Media  Film Sources (footage)  5. Previous Studies  Benefit from other’s insights and findings  Build on existing knowledge  Types of Groups o Primary Groups  Small, informal  Extended interaction  Intimate, face-to-face  Emotional ties and attachments  Mutually supported o Secondary Groups  Larger  Temporary  Superficial  More impersonal and formal  Task oriented  Sherif and Sherif’s Study o Division of Labor o A ranking of group members o Rules were set and punishments were made o A group of symbols (in-group & out-group) o A tendency to work together to complete tasks  CREATES SOCIAL CONTROL  The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis – Sapir & Whorf

o Words predispose us to perceive the world in certain ways o Culture is a lens/filter = it organizes what we see

Study Guide: Sociology Exam 2  Socialization – the lifelong social experience by which we become fully human and develop our human potential and learn culture o To learn culture means to learn what’s right and wrong, positive and negative sanctions, language and symbols  The Social Self: George Herbert Mead o Stages of Personal Development  Self- develops only with social experience  We imagine ourselves in another’s shoes: “I am who I think you think I am”  By taking the role of the other we become self-aware  Infants = have no self but are acquiring a self  Toddlers = imitation stage o Internalized the feelings of significant others  Ages 4-7 = play stage o Play a variety of social roles o “taking the role of the other” o Seeing ourselves as others see us and this prepares us for life later on  Age 8 = game stage o Structured activities with rules (sports) o The Generalized Other  Acquiring and internalizing the cultural norms and values of our society which we then use as a reference in evaluating ourselves  Society’s Socialization Agents o Family  Primary agent of socialization  Imparts the ways of society  What is/what is not important, appropriate, moral, beautiful, correct o The child learns  The meaning of objects – Bible, poison, police officer’s badge  Relative worth of different groups

o Schools  Prep for adult roles  Teach appropriate skills, traits, and attitudes  Impersonal  Emphasis on order and control  Media – helps us to define sociopolitical reality  Anticipatory socialization – learning that helps a person achieve a desired position  Ideological Social Control o Controls our ways of thinking, feeling o Control what we know and don’t know o Individuals impose controls upon themselves (most effective) o What we’re told is what we know and that shapes our ideas and behavior  Direct Social Control o Control of physical behavior o Historically:  Forced sterilization of women (poor, women of color, mentally disabled)  Tuskeegee syphilis studies: African American men weren’t told they had syphilis and were not given the cure when it was found  Forced institutionalization of women o Recently:  Drugs – to control children, people in mental institutions, the elderly in nursing homes NOT ALL SOCIAL CONTROL IS BAD!  Social Foundations of Deviance o Deviance varies according to cultural norms  Prostitution, beekeeping o People become deviant as others define them that way  Talking to yourself o The definition and application of norms reflect power and inequality  Public speech: mayoral candidate vs. homeless person

o Deviance is a relative term  No one is always and everywhere deviant  Deviance is socially created  Norms change = what’s deviant changes CONTEXT MATTERS!  Deviance from Order Model o Deviance is functional  Integral part of healthy societies  Affirms values and norms  Defines/sustains notions of morality  Clarifies moral boundaries  Brings people together  Deviance from Conflict Model o Who/what is labeled deviant depends on who holds power o Deviants = tend to be powerless o Norms, especially laws, reflect interests of the rich/powerful o Power can avoid label “deviant” o The belief that norms and laws are natural and good masks their political character  Legalization of pot  Specific Theories o Biological Theory: Caesare Lambroso  Criminals = common physical characteristics  Problems = same features throughout population o Psychological Approach  Deviance = unsuccessful socialization  Solutions = change individuals mind o Problems with these  Focus on individual  Deviance is gene based (for biological theories)  Ignores social construction of deviance  Cultural Transmission Theory (a.k.a. Differential association): Edwin Sutherland (S.I.) o One learns to be a criminal

o Culture transmitted within group o Group norms and values run contrary to society o If you want to understand a behavior, step into the environment and examine it from the inside  Strain Theory (a.k.a. differential opportunities): Robert Merton (functionalist) Institutional Means Accept Reject Cultural Goals Accept Conformity Innovation Reject Ritualism Retreatism Those who seek new goals through new means: rebellious     o

Conformity – suit + tie, briefcase (do what you’re supposed to) Innovation – armed robbery (do what you can to get by) Ritualism – dead end job (don’t care about money, just the job) Retreatism – shooting-up drugs (given up on society’s views) Weaknesses/strengths o W – deosn’t explain the deviance of the non-poor o W – assumes success = wealth o S – locates poverty/criminality in the social structure NOT the individual

 Culture of Poverty: Edward Banfield o Wider scale than cultural transmission o Poor  values  deviance o Poverty = norms + values contrary to society o Poor socialization differently o Severely criticized approach  Assume that people are socialized differently  Research = NOT SO  Ignores that non-poor do deviance  Labeling Theory (SI & Conflict): Howard S. Becker & Edwin Lemert o The explanation of deviant behavior that stresses the importance of society in defining what is illegal and in assigning deviant status to

particular individuals, which in turn dominates their identities and behaviors  All “do” deviance  Rule breaking not deviant  Need label  Speaks to issues of power  Powerful can avoid criminal label  Primary and Secondary Deviance o Primary Deviance  The original illegal act proceeding the successful application of the deviant label  An act committed by someone where:  Self not seen as deviant  Not viewed by others as deviant o Secondary Deviance  Deviant behavior that is a consequence of the successful application of the deviant label. It is behavior results from the labeling process  Label of a deviant is attached  Others see you as deviant  You see yourself as deviant  You act the deviant  Thomas Theorem  Forces Transforming the Economy o Technology  Robots, ATM, voicemail, software (word processing, computer assisted design, medical diagnoses, payroll, inventory control) o Globalization  Expanding markets worldwide o Capital Flight  Investment choices that move money from one place to another  Offshoring  Outsourcing – medical care b/c it’s cheaper

o Shift to service and information jobs  Agriculture  Manufacturing  service and collection, storage and dissemination of information o Contingent Employment  Permanent, life-time  temporary, contract, part-time  No expectation for life-time jobs anymore o Other trends a.k.a. “doing more with less”  More overtime  Part time  Experience workers let go and replaced with lower wage new people  Replacing workers with temps no benefits  Older worker let go  rehired through work agencies for less money  System Blame vs. Person Blame o Doing person blame  Frees system from blame (justice, economy, education), don’t look at the big picture  Established order protected from criticism  Systems of inequality go unexamined and unquestioned o Doing system blame  Social problems have systemic AND individual origins  Equates people to robots which we aren’t  Absolves the individual from responsibility for his/her actions o Why put more focus on system blame?  Person blame is the prevailing notion  Sociology deals with the social determinants of behavior NOT the individual  Consequences of the concentration in media ownership o Poor  government, criminal justice system o Criminals or anyone who has had a criminal record – jail, jobs o Mentally or developmentally impaired – institutionalization o Political dissidents – MLK Jr, monitoring, gays, lesbians, transgender, bisexuals, housing, civil rights

o Please note: in as much as we experience social control to varying degrees, we can also exercise social control as well  Social and Personal Consequences of Economic Transformation o Millions of workers and families affected each year o Job and benefits insecurity o “replacement” jobs usually less money, fewer perks o Decline of middle class (mfg. job-less) o Loss of status, self-esteem o Divorce rate increases o Increases likelihood alcohol, spouse and child abuse o Health issues o Scapegoating: blame people for the problems and don’t take into account the system o A dollars and cents approach to the economy is not enough. Economics issues need to be understood in their social context  Changes in Demographics o Immigration  New immigrants: history of being seen as a threat  Fears increase during hard times  Negative impact on low wage earners/poorly skilled workers  In the long run: good investment for society  Generally: “illegals” here looking for work  No work  they go home o Aging population  Growing population  Inadequate income from pension  High cost of healthcare  Social Differentiation o Categorizing by some personal attribute o NOT ranked  Seated by hometown  Social Stratification (decidedly MACRO) o Ranking in a hierarchy

o Superior or inferior o Refers to structured social inequality  Four Principles of Social Stratification o 1. SS is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences  Tied to privilege  Life chances: chances (throughout one’s life) to experience the good things (of life) o 2. SS persists over generations  Parents pass positions to children  Social Mobility: change in one’s position in the social hierarchy o 3. SS is universal but variable  It’s everywhere  WHAT and HOW much vary  Caste vs. class system o 4. SS involves beliefs  That legitimate inequality  Order Model: Davis and Moore (1945) o Stratification is functional o Incentive and rewards o Positions differ in importance o If important = more rewards o Unequal rewards = right people in right jobs  Conflict Model: Melvin Tumin (1953) – critique of Davis and Moore o How do we assess importance of any occupation? o Do rewards reflect the contributions to society?  Oprah Winfrey o We are born into inequality = consequences for people o False consciousness =  System as is should be Are the most important jobs the most highly rewarded?

Deficiencies Theories of Stratification  Biological Inferiority (poverty, social policy, and Social Darwinism) o Mental Inferiority = based on I.Q. testing o Problem – I.Q. testing not a legit measure  Overlooks contribution of social class  Person-blame approach o Poor people are poor because there is something wrong with them  Cultural Deficiency o Poor = different norms and values o Socialized differently o Person-blame approach o Research shows this is a myth o Note: most people are temporarily poor  E.g. widow, divorce, remarriage o Solution to poverty = change the opportunity structures in society Structural Theories  Institutional Discrimination o Unequal treatment structured into society’s institutions  E.g. Polity-poll tax, Education-school funding, Economy-glass ceiling, Family-DOL  Political Economy of Society – Capitalism is not a neutral system o Issue is with the primacy of maximizing profit  Pay < value of labor = profit  Profit  Investment = more wealth - $$makes$$  Profit enhanced by a surplus of labor  depresses wages  Replace workers with robots/move offshore

Final Exam Study Guide  Class o Order Model  Income, occupation, and education (central role)  Class specific preferences  Upper upper – “old rich”, exclusive o Keep wealth in the family o Marry other wealthy people  Lower upper – “new rich”, self-made o Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates o Have money but don’t have the bloodline  Upper middle – high prestige, professional, execs o Not necessarily wealthy but well educated o College Professors  Lower middle – white collar, clerks, police  Upper lower – blue collar, high school education  Lower lower – unskilled, less than a high school education o Conflict Model  It’s about power and money (where you live, education)  Domination and subordination  Control one has over one’s work, the work of others, decision making, and investments  Race o Order Model (give the “nod” to the conflict model)  As groups assimilate = racism will “correct itself”  Focus on orderly integration  Concerned with minorities adaptation into society o Conflict Model (look at economy & polity)  Structural factors that exclude/restrict racial minorities (look at the roots)  Who benefits from racial stratification? o Symbolic Interactionism (day to day environment)  Daily interactions = social reality

 Beliefs and behaviors are learned  unaware how behavior creates inequality  we don’t examine everyday assumptions, attitudes, and behavior  can challenge behaviors that perpetuate racism o Social Construction of Race  Physical differences were used to group individuals and then meaning was attached to each group o The Bias Theory  A theory that blames prejudice for the secondary status of minority groups o Cultural Deficiency Theory  Minority groups inferior cultural values lack of acceptance of mainstream values explain their lower social setting o Biological Deficiency Theory  Minority groups lower social standing is explained by their genetic inferiority when compared to the dominant group – no scientific evidence to support this theory  Gender o Definitions  Sex = biological, born with  Gender = the personal traits/social positions o Order Model  Emphasis on gender roles and functionality  Over time: sex-based division of labor institutionalized  Gender is constructed  Talcott Parsons: Gender & Complementarity  Socialization teaches gender identity and skills needed for adult life  Instrumental jobs/roles  Boys = rational, competitive  Providers  Roles and jobs more highly rewarded (public sphere)  Expressive jobs/roles  Girls prepared for child rearing

 Emotional work (bond groups, make connections)  Not so highly rewarded (private sphere)  Integrates society: structurally (what people do) and morally (what people believe)  Parsons assumes:  Females better at expressive functions  Males are better at instrumental functions  Ignores personal strains/social costs of rigid g...