Introduction to Sociology: Study Guide
Sociology Exam 1: Study Guide
Chapter 1: Understanding Sociology
Sociology
The scientific study of social behavior in human groups.
- Focus on:
- How relationships influence attitudes/behaviors
- How societies develop and change
- Focus on:
The Sociological Imagination
An awareness of the relationship between the individual and society – the key is to view society as an outsider would (Mills).
- Looks beyond a limited understanding of human behavior
- View the world in a critical way
- See things through a broader lens
- Looks beyond a limited understanding of human behavior
Science
A body of knowledge obtained by methods based on systematic observation.
- Two types: natural science and social science
Sociology and Society
Sociology studies the influence society has on people’s attitudes and behaviors.
- Seeks to understand ways in which people interact with and shape society
- Examine social relationships scientifically
- Sociologists have a long history of advising government agencies
- Don’t accept “everyone knows it” as fact
- Each piece of information must be tested, recorded and analyzed
Sociological Theory
A set of statements that seek to explain human behavior – not final statements!
Early Thinkers
Auguste Comte
- Systematic investigation of behavior to improve society
- Coined the term “sociology”
Harriet Martineau
- Studied social behavior in the US and Britain
- Emphasized the influence of societal factors on social problems
Herbert Spencer
- Studied “evolutionary” change in society
Emile Durkheim
- Behavior must be understood within a larger social context
- Anomie: loss of direction within a society when social control of individual behavior becomes ineffective
Max Weber
- To comprehend behavior, one must learn the subjective meaning people attach to actions
- Ideal type: construct for evaluating specific cases
Karl Marx
- Society divided between two classes that clash in pursuit of interests
- Worked with Engels
- Emphasized group identification and associations that influence one’s place in society
- Working class should overthrow the existing class system
Modern Developments
W.E.B. Du Bois
- Black sociologists assisted the struggle for a racially egalitarian society
- Knowledge is essential in combating prejudice
- In-depth studies on urban life
- Focused on religion on a community level
- Double consciousness: division of identity into two or more social realities
Pierre Bourdieu
- Capital sustains individuals and families from one generation to the next
- Cultural capital and social capital
Major Theoretical Perspectives
- Functionalist
- Conflict
- Interactionist
Functionalist Perspective
Emphasizes the way parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability.
Talcott Parsons
- Viewed society as a vast network of connected parts
- Each helps to maintain the system as a whole
- Manifest functions: institutions are open, conscious, stated functions that involve intended and recognized consequences of a society
- Latent functions: unconscious or unintended functions that may reflect hidden purposes of an institution
- Dysfunctions: elements of processes of a society that may disrupt a social system or its stability
Conflict Perspective
Assumes social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.
The Marxist View
Conflict is part of everyday life in all societies.
- Conflict theorists are more “radical” and “activist” than functionalists
The Feminist View
- Feminist perspective: sees inequality in gender as central to all behavior and organization
- Often allied with conflict theory
- Proponents tend to focus on the macro level
- Broadened social behavior by extending analysis beyond the male point of view
The Interactionist Perspective
Generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole.
- Humans viewed as living in a world of meaningful objects
- Nonverbal communication: includes gestures, facial expressions and postures
The Sociological Approach
Gains the broadest understanding of society by drawing on all major perspectives, noting where they overlap or diverge.
- Each perspective offers unique insights into the same issue
- Researcher’s work always guided by his/her theoretical viewpoint
Applied and Clinical Sociology
- Applied sociology: use of sociology with the intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organization
- Clinical sociology: facilitating change by altering social relationships or restructuring social institutions
- Basic sociology: seeks profound knowledge of fundamental aspects of social phenomena
Discussion Questions
- In your own words, what does it mean to understand the intersection of man and society, biography and history?
- How does Mills differentiate “troubles” and “issues”? How are they related?
- Many of you will be saddled with student debt upon graduation. Explain this using a sociological perspective.
Chapter 2: Sociological Research
Sociological Research
Scientific method: organized series of steps that ensure objectivity and consistency in research.
Defining the Problem
- Operational definition: explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow researchers to assess the concept
Reviewing the Literature
- Refining the problem under study
Forming the Hypothesis
- Hypothesis: speculative statement about the relationship between two variables
- Variable: measurable trait that is subject to change under different conditions
- Independent variable: variable hypothesized to influence another
- Dependent variable: action depends on the influence of the independent variable
- Causal logic: involve relationships between conditions or variables and a particular consequence, with one event leading to the other
- Correlation: exists when change in one variable coincides with change in another
- Does not necessarily indicate causation
Selecting the Sample
- Sample: selection from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population
- Random sample: when every member of a population has the same chance of being selected
- Snowball samples: participants recruited through word of mouth or by posting notices on the internet
Ensuring Validity and Reliability
- Validity: degree to which the measure reflects the phenomenon being studied
- Reliability: extent to which the measure provides consistent results
Developing Conclusions
- Supporting hypothesis
- Studies don’t always give data supporting the hypothesis
- Control variables: factor held constant to test the impact of the independent variable
- Supporting hypothesis
Major Research Designs
- Design: detailed plan or method for obtaining scientific data
- Surveys
- Observation
- Experiments
- Existing sources
- Design: detailed plan or method for obtaining scientific data
Surveys
- Provides information about how people act/think
- Quantitative data
- Interview: face-to-face or over-the-phone questioning
- Questionnaire: printed or written down
Observation
- Direct participation/watching a community
- Qualitative research: relies on what is seen – small group
- Sociologist joins group to get an accurate sense of how it operates
- Ethnography: efforts to describe an entire social setting through extended systematic observation
Experiments
- Artificially created situation
- Experimental group: exposed to independent variable
- Control group: not exposed to independent variable
- Hawthorne Effect: unintended influence of observers on subject
- Artificially created situation
Use of Existing Sources
- Secondary analysis: makes use of previously collected and publicly accessible data
- Content analysis: systematic coding and recording of data guided by some rationale
Ethics
- Code of ethics
- Objectivity/integrity
- Subject’s right to privacy/dignity
- Protect from personal harm
- Preserve confidentiality
- Informed consent
- Acknowledge collaboration and assistance
- Disclose sources of financial support
- Code of ethics
Feminist Methodology
Greatest impact on this generation.
- See work and family as integrated
- Drawn attention to the fact that studies overlook women
- Involve/consult subjects more
- Oriented towards seeking change
Discussion Questions
- What are social facts? Provide examples.
- Durkheim argues that social facts about a society are sui generis? What does he mean?
Chapter 3: Culture
Culture
Learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, objects and behavior.
- Include ideas, values, customs and artifacts of a group
Society
A large number of people that live in the same territory, independent of those outside the area and have a common culture.
- Common culture simplifies day-to-day interactions
- Cultural universals: common practices and beliefs
Ethnocentrism
Tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life is the norm or superior to others.
Cultural Relativism
Viewing people’s behaviors from the perspective of their own culture.
Culture Around the World
- Innovation: introducing new ideas/objects to a culture
- Diffusion: cultural item spreads from group to group
- McDonaldization: fast food industry principles dominate certain sectors of society
- Technology: increased the speed of cultural diffusion and transmission
- Material culture: physical/technological aspects of daily life
- Nonmaterial culture: ways of using material objects as well as customs, beliefs, philosophy, etc.
- Culture lag: periods of maladjustment when nonmaterial culture struggles to adapt to new material conditions
- Resistance to technological advancements can produce cultural lag and challenge the survival of isolated cultures
Cultural Variation
- Subcultures: segment of society that shares distinctive patterns of mores, folkways and values that differ from the larger society
- Counterculture: subculture that deliberately opposes the larger culture
- Culture shock: feeling disoriented, uncertain, out of place or fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture
Elements of Culture
Language
Abstract system of words, meanings and symbols for all aspects of a culture.
- At the foundation of every culture
- Can lead to different interpretations and is culturally defined
Nonverbal Communication
Use of gestures, facial expressions and other visual images.
- Learned – differs by culture
- Symbol: gestures, objects and words that form the basis of human communication
Norms
Established standards of behavior maintained by a society.
- Formal: written down, with strict punishments
- Laws: governmental social control – formal norms
- Informal: generally understood but not precisely recorded
- Formal: written down, with strict punishments
Types of Norms
- Mores: norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society
- Folkways: norms governing everyday behavior
- In many societies, folkways exist to reinforce patterns of male dominance
Acceptance of Norms
- People don’t follow norms in all situations
- Behavior that appears to violate society’s norms may adhere to a group’s norms
- Norms may be violated because they conflict with other norms
- Acceptance of norms is subject to change
- Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norms
- Positive sanctions: pay raise, medal, words of gratitude
- Negative sanctions: fines, threats, imprisonment
- People don’t follow norms in all situations
Values
- Values: collective conception of what is good/proper or what is bad/improper
- Influence people’s behavior
- Criteria for evaluating others
- Values may change
Dominant Ideology
Set of cultural beliefs/practices that maintain powerful interests.
- Social interests
- Economic interests
- Political interests
Chapter 4: Socialization and the Life Course
Socialization
The lifelong process in which people learn appropriate values, attitudes and behaviors.
Personality
A person’s typical patterns of attitudes, needs, characteristics and behavior.
Interaction of Heredity and Environment
Shape human development.
- Cases of extreme isolation and neglect show stunted development
- Primate studies: Harlow showed isolation had a damaging effect on monkeys
The Self and Socialization
Self
Distinct identity that sets us apart from others.
- Not static – continues to develop and change
Cooley: Looking-Glass Self
- View of ourselves comes from contemplation of personal qualities and impressions of how others perceive us
- Looking-glass self: the self is a product of social interactions with other people
Mead: Stages of the Self
Preparatory Stage
Children imitate people around them.
- As they become older, children become more adept at using symbols
Play Stage
Children develop skills in communication through symbols and role taking occurs.
- Role taking: mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that imagined viewpoint
Game Stage
Children of 8 or 9 consider several actual tasks and relationships simultaneously.
- Generalized others: attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account
- Self begins as a privileged, central position in a person’s world
- As the person matures the self changes and begins to reflect greater concerns about the reactions of others
- Significant others: individuals most important in the development of the self
Goffman: Presentation of the Self
- Impression management: individual learns to slant presentation of the self to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences
- Also known as the dramaturgical approach
- Face-work: need to maintain proper image of self to continue social interaction
- Impression management: individual learns to slant presentation of the self to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences
Summary
- All looking at how personality is “socially” acquired and how we manage the self
Cooley
- Emphasizes the process in which we create the self
Mead
- Focuses on how the self develops as we learn to interact with others
Goffman
- Focuses on the ways in which we consciously create images of ourselves for others
Agents of Socialization
- Family
- Cultural influences
- Impact of race and gender
- Gender roles: expectations regarding proper behavior, attitudes and activities of males and females
- School
- Teaches values and customs of larger society
- Traditionally socialized children into conventional gender roles
- Peer groups
- As children grow older, peer groups increasingly assume roles of Mead’s significant others
- Workplace
- Learning to behave appropriately within the occupational setting is a fundamental aspect of human socialization
- Religion and state
- Government regulations and organized religion impact the life course by instituting rites of passage
The Life Course
- Rites of passage: means of dramatizing and validating changes in a person’s life
- Life course approach: looking at social factors that influence people throughout their lives
Characterizing Socialization
- Anticipatory socialization: person rehearses future occupations and social relationships
- Resocialization: discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones during transitions in one’s life
- Total institutions: extreme moments of resocialization
Discussion Questions
- According to Goffman, how do we manage our “self”?
- How do we display ourselves when engaging with others?
- Do you think we can ever really avoid presenting a “face”?
Chapter 5: Social Interaction, Groups and Social Structure
Social Interaction and Reality
- Social reality: response to someone’s behavior based on the meaning attached to their actions
- Ability to define social reality reflects group’s power within society
- Subordinate groups challenge traditional definitions and begin to perceive, experience reality in a new way
- Social reality: response to someone’s behavior based on the meaning attached to their actions
Elements of Social Structure – Status
- Social structure: the way society is organized into predictable relationships
- Status: socially defined positions within a large group or society
- A person can hold more than one status at the same time
Ascribed and Achieved Status
- Ascribed status: status one is born with
- Achieved status: status one earns
- Master status: status that dominates over other statuses and determines a person’s general position in society
- In the US, ascribed statuses such as race and gender can function as a master status
Social Roles
- Social role: set of expectations for people who occupy a given status
- Role conflict: when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social positions held by the same person
- Role strain: difficulties arising when the same social position imposes conflicting demands and expectations
Social Institutions
- Social institution: organized pattern of behavior and belief centered on basic social needs
Functionalist View
- Replacing personnel
- Teaching new recruits
- Producing goods and services
- Preserving order
- Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose
Conflict View
- Major institutions help maintain privileges of most powerful individuals and groups within a society
- Institutions have inherently conservative natures
- Operate in gendered and racist environments
Interactionist View
- Social institutions affect everyday behavior
- Social behavior conditioned by roles and statuses
Social Networks
- Social network: a series of social relationships that link a person directly to others, and indirectly to even more people
- Networking: involvement in social network; valuable skill when job hunting
- Social network: a series of social relationships that link a person directly to others, and indirectly to even more people
Social Structure in Global Perspective
- Modern structures are complex
- Durkheim, Tonnies
- Modern structures are complex
Durkheim
Division of Labor
- Mechanical solidarity: collective consciousness that emphasizes group solidarity – all individuals perform the same tasks
- Organic solidarity: collective consciousness that hinges on the need society’s members have for one another
Tonnies
- Gemeinschaft: small community in which people have similar backgrounds and life experiences
- Gesellschaft: large communities in which people are strangers and feel little in common with other community members
Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies
- Formal organization: group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency
- In the US, formal organizations fulfill an enormous variety of personal and societal needs
- Ascribed status tends to influence how we see ourselves within formal organizations
- Formal organization: group designed for a special purpose and structured for maximum efficiency
Bureaucracy
Component of formal organizations that uses rules and hierarchical rankings to achieve efficiency.
- Ideal type: construct for evaluating specific cases
- Emphasized basic similarity of structure and process found in dissimilar social institutions
Ideal Type
Division of Labor
- Specialized experts perform specific tasks
- Can remove connection workers have to the bureaucracy
- Alienation: condition of estrangement from the surrounding society
Hierarchy of Authority
Each person is under the supervision of a higher authority.
Written Rules and Regulations
- Provides continuity and ensures uniform productivity
- Goal displacement: when rules and regulations overshadow larger goals of organization and become dysfunctional
Impersonality
Bureaucratic norms that people perform duties without personal consideration to people as individuals.
Bureaucratization as a Process
Bureaucratization: process by which a group, organization or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic.
Oligarchy
Rule by a few.
- Iron law of oligarchy: even a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few
- Ideal type: construct for evaluating specific cases
Discussion Questions
- How does the code of the street guide behavior in the inner city? (Draw from Wednesday’s lecture and from material in chapter 5)
- Can being poor in the inner city be seen as an “ascribed status”?
- What is the role/importance of social institutions in shaping behavior in this account? (Provide examples)
Chapter 6: The Mass Media
Sociological Perspectives
- Mass media: print and electronic means of communication that carry messages to widespread audiences
- New forms of mass media have changed people’s viewing and listening habits
- Cultural convergence: flow of content across multiple media and the accompanying migration of media audiences
Functionalist View
The Media
- Socialize us
- Enforce social norms
- Confer status
- Promote consumption
Agent of Socialization
Media Increases Social Cohesion
By providing a common view of culture.
- Provides a collective experience for members of society
Enforcer of Social Norms
- Media often reaffirm proper behavior
- Plays a critical role in sexuality
- Can glorify disapproved behavior
Conferral of Status
- Singles out one person, making them significant
Promotion of Consumption
Media Advertising
- Supports the economy
- Provides information
- Underwrites the cost of media
- Contributes to consumer culture – creates “needs” and unrealistic expectations
Dysfunction: The Narcotizing Effect
Narcotizing effect: phenomenon in which the media provides such massive amounts of coverage that the audience becomes numb and fails to act on it.
Conflict View
- Conflict theorists emphasize the view that media reflects/exacerbates the division of society
- Gatekeeping: how material must travel through a series of checkpoints before reaching the public
- Gatekeeping less dominant on the internet
Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality
- Dominant ideology: set of beliefs/practices that maintain powerful interests
- Stereotypes: unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that don’t recognize individual differences within that group
Feminist View
- Share conflict theorists’ view that mass media stereotype and misrepresent social reality
- Women underrepresented
- Perpetuate stereotypical views of gender
- Emphasis on traditional sex roles and normalize violence against women
- Cautiously optimistic about new media
- Share conflict theorists’ view that mass media stereotype and misrepresent social reality
Interactionist View
- Especially interested in shared understandings of everyday behavior
- Examine media on a micro level to see how they shape day-to-day social behavior
- Especially interested in shared understandings of everyday behavior
Chapter 7: Deviance, Crime and Social Control
Social Control
- Social control: techniques and strategies for preventing deviant behavior in a society
- Parents
- Peer groups
- Companies
- Government
- Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norms
- The death penalty is the ultimate formal sanction
- Subject of controversy centered on the effectiveness of this sanction as social control
- The death penalty is the ultimate formal sanction
- Social control: techniques and strategies for preventing deviant behavior in a society
Conformity and Obedience
- Conformity: going along with peers who have no special right to direct behavior
- Obedience: compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure
The Milgram Experiment
Experimenter instructed people to administer increasingly painful electric shocks.
Informal and Formal Social Control
- Informal: used casually to enforce social norms
- Formal: carried out by authorized agents
- Interplay between formal and informal social control can be complicated, especially if informal social control encourages people to violate norms
Law and Society
- Some norms are so important to a society that they are formalized into laws
- Law: governmental social control
- Legal order reflects values of those in a position to exercise authority
- Control theory: our connection to members of society leads us to systematically conform to society’s norms
- Law: governmental social control
- Some norms are so important to a society that they are formalized into laws
What is Deviance?
Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society.
- Involves violation of group norms
- Social definition within a particular society and at a particular time
Deviance and Social Stigma
Stigma: labels society uses to devalue members of a social group.
Deviance and Technology
Technological innovations can redefine social interactions and standards of behavior related to them.
Sociological Perspectives: Functionalist
Durkheim’s Legacy
- Punishments established within a culture help define acceptable behavior and contribute to stability
- Anomie: loss of direction felt in society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective
Merton’s Theory of Deviance
- Anomie theory of deviance: how people adapt in certain ways by conforming to or by deviating from cultural expectations
- Conformist
- Innovator
- Ritualist
- Retreatist
- Rebel
- Anomie theory of deviance: how people adapt in certain ways by conforming to or by deviating from cultural expectations
Interactionist Perspective
Cultural Transmission Theory
- Humans learn how to behave in social situations, whether properly or improperly
- Differential association: process through which exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts leads to the violation of rules
Social Disorganization Theory
Increase in crime and deviance attributed to the absence or breakdown of communal relationships and social institutions.
- Some claim social disorganization theory seems to blame the victim
Labeling Theory
Attempts to explain why some people are viewed as deviants and others are not; also known as societal reaction approach.
- Societal reaction approach: response to an act, not the behavior, determines deviance
Social Constructionist Perspectives
- Deviance is a product of the culture we live in
- Focus on the decision-making process that creates the deviant identity
Conflict Theory
- People with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their needs
- Differential justice: differences in the way social control is exercised over different groups
- People with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their needs
Feminist Perspective
- Adler and Chesney-Lind argue existing approaches to deviance and crime developed with men in mind
- Society tends to treat women in a stereotypical fashion
- Cultural views and attitudes towards women influence how they are perceived and labeled
- Adler and Chesney-Lind argue existing approaches to deviance and crime developed with men in mind
Crime
- Violation of criminal law with formal penalties
- 6 types defined by sociologists
- Victimless crime: willing exchange of widely desired but illegal goods and services
- Professional crime: make a career out of illegal activities
- Organized crime: group that regulates relations between criminal enterprises
- White-collar/technology crime: crime in business/use of technology for crime
- Hate crimes: hatred of race, sexual orientation, etc. motivates crime
- Transnational crime: occurs across multiple national borders
Discussion Questions
- Why did community, school and police perceive the Saints and the Roughnecks in the way that they did?
- What factors may affect how delinquency and crime are perceived and defined?
- How can labeling theory be used to explain the life outcomes of both of these two groups?