Unit 1: Foundations of Sociology

Du Bois

'Double-consciousness' focuses on a feeling of 'twoness' where the experience of one's identity is fragmented into several contradictory facets; in this case, it is the identities of African Americans being Black and being American.

Marx

A central figure in sociology who pioneered the conflict approach to sociology which understands social groups as competing with one another.

variable

A factor that can vary or change from one case to another.

bureaucracy

A formal organization that has defined terms of membership, written governance, and written communication, as well as a division of labor, responsibility, and accountability.

Functionalist Perspective

A functionalist perspective will look at how the division of resources helps a society maintain itself.

Spencer

A hands-off theorist who applied Darwin's theory of social evolution to society.

Durkeheim

A key figure who advocated studying social facts the way scientists study physical facts.

Weber

A key figure who studied modernization in society, the movement from traditional to capitalist societies.

function

A process in society that contributes to the social system and its stability.

dysfunction

A process in society that disrupts the social system or reduces its stability.

theory

A set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and sometimes predict social events.

sample

A subset of the population observed for the purposes of making inferences about the nature of the larger population of interest.

ethnography

A systematic study of people and cultures, where the researcher observes the people or society being studied from the point of view of the subject being studied.

hypothesis

A tentative statement of the relationship between two or more concepts.

direct observation

A type of field research in which the researcher observes what is being studied.

participant observation

A type of field work in which the researcher observes and participates in the activity being studied.

quantitative

A type of research focusing on data that can be measured numerically (typically emphasizing complex statistical techniques.

qualitative

A type of research focusing on observations or descriptions and using these to analyze underlying meanings, patterns, or themes of social relationships.

Addams

An activist who promoted sympathetic knowledge, knowledge that comes from identifying with others.

social interactions

Any kind of communication between people that is understood to have meaning.

operational definition

Defines a trait or characteristic in terms of a process, test, or unit of measure that is needed to determine its existence, duration, and quantity. It makes a hypothesis about a characteristic testable.

Harriet Martineau

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), who is credited with bringing sociology to England thanks to her translations of Auguste Comte's works, pushed for the analysis and understanding of all aspects of a society. She especially highlighted such issues as women's lives, marriage, children, domestic and religious life, and race relations, which earlier sociologists had ignored or dismissed as insignificant. As an active supporter of women's rights and the emancipation of slaves, Martineau also argued for the importance of sociologists actively trying to fix the problems of society.

sociological imagination

The term coined by C. Wright Mills to describe a way of understanding the world that involves thinking about things from different perspectives and putting personal circumstances into a wider context. C. Wright Mills, who coined the term the sociological imagination* in 1959, defined it as "the vivid awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society." Mills argues that sociological imagination involves changing one's perspective and requires "the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the intimate features of the human self—and to see the relations between the two" (Mills, 1959).

latent function

The unconscious or unrecognized consequences of an action within the framework of a social group.

double consciousness

W.E.B. DuBois' concept of a feeling of "twoness" where the experience of one's identity is fragmented into several contradictory facets, making it hard to develop a sense of self.

How does the work of both Karl Marx and Max Weber set the field of sociology apart from anthropology? a. Both deal with modern rather than pre-modern societies. b. Both deal with social conflict rather than social cooperation. c. Both deal with the sociological imagination, which is not found in anthropology. d. Both see the general in the particular, which is not found in anthropology.

a. Both deal with modern rather than pre-modern societies. Correct. Both theorists helped define sociology as oriented towards the study of modern societies.

Question 2 What is the best summary of George Herbert Mead's theory of social interactions? a. No one is born knowing how to communicate with one another, and people have to learn what symbols mean and how to use them. b. People interact based on conflict between their statuses in life. c. Each person occupies a specific place in society that contributes to the operation of their social group. d. The unintended consequences of interactions create the basis of society's problems.

a. No one is born knowing how to communicate with one another, and people have to learn what symbols mean and how to use them.

Question 9 The requirement that all participants in a study be aware of potential risks is known as __________. a. informed consent b. exploitation of participants c. confidentiality d. participant care

a. informed consent

Question 12 Auguste Comte employed which of the following philosophical systems which studied society through a scientific lens? a. positivism b. social Darwinism c. double consciousness d. rationalization

a. positivism

Which of the following is the best example of a situation in which the sociological imagination would have some insight? a. A shopper chooses to go to a store that's further away because she likes the produce better at the farther market. b. A student recognizes that she may be avoiding studying because her peers make her feel unaccepted when she gets a good grade. c. A man suffering from cancer is unable to get the medicine he needs because he cannot afford it. d. A reader chooses to read a dystopian novel over a romance because she just broke up with her boyfriend.

b. A student recognizes that she may be avoiding studying because her peers make her feel unaccepted when she gets a good grade. Correct. Someone's personal decision to study might be influenced by larger social structures, such as her peer group.

A feminist perspective is closest to which other major sociological perspective? a. Functionalism b. Conflict perspective c. Symbolic interactionalism d. None of the above

b. Conflict perspective Correct. Feminism does not primarily see gender as part of how a society creates balance but instead as part of how certain social groups oppress or exploit others, a perspective close to that of conflict theory.

Which of the following perspectives would focus on the social inequalities that exist in capitalist societies? a. Functionalist perspective b. Conflict perspective c. Symbolic interactionist perspective d. Feminist perspective

b. Conflict perspective Correct. The conflict perspective, pioneered by Karl Marx, often focuses on the conflicts in a capitalist society, though it can take up other types of social conflict and inequality.

Lesson 2 Summary

Here is a list of key concepts in this lesson: · Comte: the founder of sociology and positivism who wanted to develop a systematic study of society · Martineau: the person who brought sociology to England and furthered it by focusing on issues in the domestic sphere · Marx: a central figure in sociology who pioneered the conflict approach to sociology which understands social groups as competing with one another · Spencer: a hands-off theorist who applied Darwin's theory of social evolution to society · Durkeheim: a key figure who advocated studying social facts the way scientists study physical facts · Addams: an activist who promoted sympathetic knowledge, knowledge that comes from identifying with others · Weber: a key figure who studied modernization in society, the movement from traditional to capitalist societies · Du Bois: 'double-consciousness,' for du Bois, focuses on a feeling of 'twoness' where the experience of one's identity is fragmented into several contradictory facets; in this case, it is the identities of African Americans being Black and being American.

Lesson 4 Summary

Here is a list of the key concepts in this lesson: · Applied sociology is the use of the discipline with the intent of yielding practical applications to solve problems. · Clinical sociology is the subfield of applied sociology which is dedicated to changing social relationships through therapy or restructuring social institutions. · Sociology can be applied to real-life situations in the areas of education, health care, social services and community programs.

Lesson 3 Summary

Here is a list of the key concepts in this lesson: · Functionalism: focuses on the functions and dysfunctions of social structures; functions and dysfunctions can be both manifest and latent · Manifest functions are the stated intentions or purposes of an institution. · Latent functions are the results of an institution that were not intended. · Conflict perspective: the idea, based on the work of Karl Marx, that groups compete in society · Symbolic interactionist perspective: a focus on how the everyday interactions among people create meaning · Feminist perspective: a perspective that considers the role gender plays in social power dynamics

Lesson 1 Summary

Here is a list of the key concepts in this lesson: · Sociologists see the "general" in the "particular." · Social facts are ways of thinking and behaving which are external to us and constrain us as individuals. · The sociological imagination is recognition of how social forces shape individual behavior.

bias

In statistics, bias is a feature of the statistical technique or inputs, which causes the study results not to accurately reflect reality.

Jane Addams

Jane Addams (1860-1935), along with Ellen Gates Starr, co-founded one of the first settlement houses in the United States, called the Chicago Hull House. Settlement houses were community centers that offered services to marginalized groups of people, such as immigrants and the poor. In addition to being funded by wealthy donors, Hull House was staffed by college students who lived with, assisted, and learned about these minority groups. Addams also focused on improving the issues of child labor, juvenile justice, industrial safety, working hours, women's rights, and ethnic minorities' rights. She was a proponent of sympathetic knowledge, which is knowledge that is gained from interacting directly with those groups being studied, such as by living or working among them. Addams helped found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

symbols

Objects, words, or actions that stand for something else.

statistically significant

Occurs when the differences between the groups being studied are the result of factors other than chance.

informed consent

One of the most important rules that govern research on humans; it requires that participants in a study are aware of all of the potential risks, health, emotional, that could result from their participation.

rationalization

Replacing traditional motives, values, and emotions for social action with rational, calculated ones, a replacement that leads to more efficient social institutions.

descriptive research

Research that describes a problem or situation. Seeks to describe social phenomena, such as the characteristics of a nation, the values of affluent rural households, or the behavior of shoplifters.

explanatory research

Research that explains why a social phenomenon occurs. Seeks to explain how or why some social phenomena occur.

mechanical solidarity

Social bonds in small traditional societies which are based on common values.

positivism

The application of the scientific approach to the social world in order to understand it.

Conflict Perspective

The conflict perspective focuses on how groups compete for social prestige and resources.

correlation

The extent or degree of statistical association among two or more variables.

Comte

The founder of sociology and positivism who wanted to develop a systematic study of society

population

The group (usually of people) about whom we want to be able to draw conclusions.

social Darwinism

The name given to theories about society which claimed to apply concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology.

Martineau

The person who brought sociology to England and furthered it by focusing on issues in the domestic sphere

Hawthorne effect

The phenomenon that refers to a change in a subject's behavior in an experiment or study because they know they are being observed.

causation

The relationship of cause and effect between variables.

manifest function

The stated, intended consequences of an institution, action, or social group.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

The symbolic interactionist perspective focuses attention on the way meaning is communicated in society through symbols, gestures, writing, and language.

Question 3 How might a functionalist classify the popularity and prominence of football in American society? a. Football exacerbates the worst divisions of society, such as between rich athletes and blue collar workers, and maintains the subordinate role of minorities in society. b. Football is almost a religious institution that uses rituals to reinforce common American values, such as competition, and it serves as an outlet for aggression in order to help maintain social cohesion. c. Football encourages gender differences, especially since it is a sport almost exclusive to male athletes. d. Football increases friendship networks, both between players and spectators, and reflects the social structure of our society.

b. Football is almost a religious institution that uses rituals to reinforce common American values, such as competition, and it serves as an outlet for aggression in order to help maintain social cohesion.

Rationalization was introduced by which thinker? a. Karl Marx b. Max Weber c. W.E.B. du Bois d. Émile Durkheim

b. Max Weber Correct. Weber introduced rationalization, the idea that rational or economic goals replace traditional or emotional incentives for people's behavior.

Question 10 A sociologist analyzing the language of job ads from the early twentieth century looking for gender bias would be an example of which type of research? a. field research b. content analysis c. secondary analysis d. participant observation

b. content analysis

Question 5 A researcher tests a sample of elementary school children in the United States on their reading abilities and also counts the number of books in their homes. He finds that those children who have books in their home have better reading skills. What is this an example of? a. Hawthorne effect b. correlation c. causation d. variables

b. correlation

Question 6 Which of the following is an advantage of field research? a. It has breadth. b. Information can be gathered relatively quickly and easily. c. It can offer a lot of detail about a topic. d. It provides objective information about people and society.

c. It can offer a lot of detail about a topic.

Which of the following perspectives would focus on the social significance of rituals like handshakes, hugs, or high fives? a. Functionalist perspective b. Conflict perspective c. Symbolic interactionist perspective d. Feminist perspective

c. Symbolic interactionist perspective Correct. Symbolic interactionists are focused on everyday social interactions.

Question 11 Luciana is a sociologist who studies the experience of first-generation Latinx families in St. Louis. She is asked by a non-profit to consult on how to decrease the stigmatization faced by prisoners upon their release from prison. What ethical issue does Luciana potentially face? a. accurately reporting results b. attribution c. expertise d. informed consent

c. expertise

Question 8 The ability to recognize the societal forces that influence individual behavior and attitude is known as __________. a. materialist conception b. organic solidarity c. sociological imagination d. applied sociology

c. sociological imagination

Question 1 Whose ideas are the basis for the conflict perspective? a. Auguste Comte b. Jane Addams c. Herbert Spencer d. Karl Marx

d. Karl Marx

Question 4 Why are operational definitions of variables necessary for research? a. Operational definitions are not usually used in sociological research. b. Each variable needs to be identified as dependent or independent so that the researcher can know which variable is affecting the other. c. Operational definitions are only necessary in experiments. d. Variables need established operational definitions so that they can be measured and the data can be analyzed.

d. Variables need established operational definitions so that they can be measured and the data can be analyzed.

Question 7 If you wanted to compare the attitudes of Virginia residents towards gun control with the attitudes of Oregon residents, which research method would you choose? a. experiment b. ethnography c. participant observation d. survey

d. survey

applied sociology

· A term that describes professionals who use sociological theories and methods outside of academic settings in order to produce social change. · The use of the discipline with the intent of yielding practical applications to solve the problems we face

clinical sociology

· An applied practice of sociology that focuses on health intervention, such as working with medical practitioners, community health services, social policy and public health campaigns. · Dedicated to changing social relationships through means such as therapy or restructuring a social institution to better serve the needs of the people using it.

Herbert Spencer

· Another early contributor to the discipline of sociology, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) differed from Comte because he did not necessarily want to improve society; he only wanted to understand it. Drawing on Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Spencer applied the theory of evolution to societies to explain how they evolve over time. He believed that societies went through natural evolutions, and therefore sociologists should not interfere and try to reform them. · Spencer's hands-off approach to societal problems appealed to many people in power during his time. He believed that through the concept of "survival of the fittest," it was natural for some people to be poor and others to be rich. His ideas are called social Darwinism because of his application of Darwin's theories to societies. Spencer fell out of favor and has mostly been forgotten.

Auguste Comte

· Considered the founder of sociology as a method of study, Auguste Comte (1798-1857), was different than his philosophical predecessors, such as Confucius and Plato. Rather than just thinking about the nature of society, Comte was concerned with studying how society operates and how to improve it. Comte believed that society and human social interactions can be studied like any other natural phenomena. · Comte's new approach of studying society in a scientific way is called positivism*. He wanted to understand the laws by which society operates based on scientific observations, much in the same way that physics operates according to certain basic laws. Positivism asserts that humans must understand the world around them by using observable facts derived from direct experiences with the senses. By using the scientific method* to systematically test theories, Comte shaped the basis of sociology as a discipline. In fact, Comte believed that sociology would be the last true scientific field, since it applied the scientific knowledge and methods of established fields (especially biology, chemistry, and physics) to predict and even control human behavior.

Karl Marx

· German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883), one of the central figures in the development of sociology, explored the importance of conflict within a society. The author of The Communist Manifesto, along with Friedrich Engels, Marx argued that material factors, such as money and things, are key to determining historical change. This belief, called the materialist conception of history, led Marx to analyze the economic outcomes of the Industrial Revolution within the context of the societal conflict it brought about. · Conflict, according to Marx, is the driving force behind social change. He viewed every major period in history through the lens of materialism; humans' relationships with one another were determined by how goods were acquired and distributed. Capitalism was defined by a class conflict between a profitable, exploiting class (the bourgeoisie) and a laboring, exploited class (the proletariat). The conflict between these two classes was, to Marx, very clear during the Industrial Revolution, during which business owners reaped the rewards of mass production and technological innovation, while their laborers suffered under appalling working and living conditions. Marx's ideas are the basis for a key theoretical perspective in sociology called the conflict perspective. · Marx discussed the economic system of capitalism in great detail, acknowledging that it allows for incredible maximization of production and profit, but criticizing the fact that it comes at the expense of too many people who give up ownership of the material goods (things) they have created. The loom worker, for example, does not own the fabric she has created. Marx dreamed of an ideal society in which the public would own the means of production, meaning everyone would share in the productivity and profit capitalism creates. There would be no social classes to starkly divide the rich and the poor. Much of his writing had an influence on later social movements, and many of his ideals are still appreciated today among certain social activists.

Max Weber

· Max Weber (1864-1920), another highly influential sociologist, accepted some of Marx's ideas but disagreed with others. Rejecting the materialist conception of history, he believed that the rationalization of social and economic life was the primary force of modern development—far more so than class conflict. Rationalization is replacing traditional or emotional motives for social action with rational ones, that is the desire to increase production or lower costs. This replacement leads to more efficient social institutions. Weber compared Western society with other societies (such as China and India) and attributed the vastly different developments to cultural and religious differences, pointing to Christianity as a major reason for capitalism's success in the Western world. · Weber's studies also focused on the efficiency of bureaucracy, a system in which everyone has different, hierarchical roles in order to allow a large organization to run smoothly. Bureaucracy is an important contributor to and outcome of the rationalization of society. Additionally, Weber argued that sociologists should pay attention to the various ways in which individuals pursue goals in order to understand social action, or actions that people perform in response to others. His theory of social action assumes that we change what we do depending on the social context and how it will affect others. If we perceive that our actions might cause an undesirable reaction, we alter them accordingly. · The concept of Verstehen (vare-shtay-in) in sociology is also attributed to Weber. Meaning "to understand" or "grasp by insight," Weber believed this kind of understanding was necessary in studying human behavior (Tucker, 1965). The best way to relate to someone, Weber believed, was by putting yourself in the other person's shoes, in order to understand that person's feelings and motivations. For a sociologist, this would mean immersing himself in the social group he is studying, such as staying at a homeless shelter, in order to understand that group from its point of view, rather than projecting his own values and perceptions onto the situation.

Émile Durkheim

· One of the most influential sociologists in the history of the discipline was Comte's fellow countryman Émile Durkheim (1858-1917). He seized on the idea that social behavior could be studied as a science. He argued that, in order to do this properly, scientists needed to study social facts the way they would study physical objects or events in nature. Social facts are external circumstances or events that have an effect on the way individual people behave, such as the use of dollars as currency in the United States. While human beings created dollars, no one individual can live and conduct business in the United States if he or she refuses to use the dollar. Durkheim claimed that many aspects of the economy, religion, and the government are social facts, exerting social constraint over people, influencing and binding their behavior to the confines of the society they are a part of. Furthermore, he found that certain disruptions or distortions of the bonds between an individual and their group can be challenging for the individual and even result in suicide. · Like many early sociologists, Durkheim was interested in the difference between modern and traditional societies. He described the social bonds that connect people in small traditional villages as mechanical solidarity, connections based on the similarity of beliefs and values. Contrasting with mechanical solidarity, according to Durkheim, was organic solidarity, the social bonds among people in modern cities who specialize in different jobs but who rely on each other. Durkheim's ideas form the basis of the sociological perspective called functionalism, a recognition that different aspects of society work together to form a complex whole.

social facts

· T External circumstances or events that have an effect on the way individual people behave, such as economy, religion, or government. · Durkheim defined social facts* as "types of behavior and thinking external to the individual" which have "a compelling and coercive power"

sociology

· The academic study of social behavior using empirical investigation and analysis to draw conclusions about social order, disorder, and change. · Sociology* can best be summed up as the systematic study of social life and human society. · Sociology developed as a field in the nineteenth century when thinkers began to ask how we might move from seeing the world as a series of unrelated individual choices, to uncovering and making visible the social structures that shape those choices.

W.E.B. DuBois

· The first African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University, W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963) focused on individuals' social identities, particularly within the context of the experiences of African Americans. He coined the term double consciousness, which he defines as a feeling of twoness in which one's identity is fragmented. He further elaborates that it is "this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity" (DuBois, 1903). This double consciousness is especially present in African Americans, whose identity is split between being an American citizen and being a Black who carries the weight of his or her historic oppression. · DuBois pointed to the color line—the division between Whites and nonwhites that is supported by laws and customs—as one of the most glaring problems in American society, highlighting the socioeconomic disadvantages that made it more difficult for African Americans to succeed. DuBois was also a proponent of social reform, applying his ideas by helping found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and advocating on behalf of the struggling African-American community.

organic solidarity

Émile Durkheim's explanation for the way in modern societies rely on differentiation to form social bonds. Different parts of society function as a whole, much like an organism.