Sociology Chapters 4, 5, and 6

Preparatory Stage (Birth - 2 years)

"I" is dominant. Children mimic behaviors of others.

How might you nonverbally communicate each of the following?

"I'm angry with you!" turn your back, point "I'm confused." Hand gestures "Don't come any closer." hand up - stop "You're cute!" - bat eyelashes

Social structure

An organized pattern of behavior that governs people's relationships Makes life orderly and predictable Includes statues, roles, groups, organizations, and institutions.

Most people are influenced to conform by group pressure.

Asch's research: People will agree with obviously false judgments. Zimbardo's prison research: People will perform assigned roles in a group. Milgram's research: People will cause pain to others if ordered to do so.

Describe the role for each of these statuses:

Attorney: Defend Son: Obey Waiter: Serve Mother: Nurture

Parenting Styles

Authoritarian parents use their power to control a child's behavior. Authoritative parents set reasonable limits but are warm and responsive. Permissive parents set few rules but are usually warm and responsive. Uninvolved parents are indifferent and focus on their own needs.

The role of Nature

Biologists focus on the role of heredity, emphasizing the role of nature.

Status examples include

Brother or sister, friend, son, daughter, parent, grandparent, college student, registered voter, employer, employee, significant other, spouse

Looking-glass self develops in phases

Perception: We imagine how we appear to others and how they perceive us Interpretation: We imagine how others judge us. Response: We experience self-feelings based on what we think others think.

Popular Culture and the Media

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to avoid TV for children younger than 2. 68% of children under 2 view 2 to 3 hours of TV daily. Children ages 6-18 spend 7.5 hours per day using electronic devices. High media use tends to lower grades and personal contentment.

Social Interaction

The process by which we act toward and react to people around us Central to all human social activity Affected by elements of social structure People respond based on what they think is at stake for them. People influence each other's behavior.

We use impress management in

The setting: physical space Appearance: clothing, hairstyles, props Manner: how we act

Aging

We are likely to spend 20% of our lives in retirement. Aging requires adapting to another series of new roles.

Nature and Nurture conclusion

We can conclude that nature and nurture interact in the socialization process and both are important to development.

Shortcomings of Bureaucracies

Weak reward systems Rigid rules Goal displacement: a preoccupation with rules and regulations rather than achieving objectives Alienation: isolation, meaninglessness, powerlessness Communication problems

Gender Roles in interaction

Women and men speak about the same amount. Women are more likely to do conversation "maintenance work." Men's speech reflects conversational dominance.

Status set

a collection of social statuses that an individual occupies Changes throughout the life course Statuses are always relational—linked to other statuses. Employer—employee Parent—child

A primary group is

a relatively small group of people who engage in intimate face-to-face interaction over an extended period of time. Examples: families and close friends

Sociobiology is a

a theoretical approach that applies biological principles to explain the behavior of animals, including human beings

Agents of socialization

are the persons, groups, or institutions that teach us what we need to know to participate effectively in society.

Social Exchange Theory

assumes that social interaction is based on maximizing rewards and minimizing costs Interactions are most satisfying when there is a balance.

Formal organizations

complex and structured secondary groups deliberately created to achieve specific goals Include voluntary associations and bureaucracies

social groups

consists of two or more people who interact with one another and who share a common identity. Examples: family, friends, athletic team

Socialization is a never ending process

continuing from infancy throughout adulthood. Infants need constant care in order to develop physically, intellectually, and socially.

Iron Law of Oligarchy

domination by a small group of individuals Dehumanization

Symbolic interaction theory

examines how people communicate knowledge, ideas, beliefs, and attitudes and how they interpret situations.

Dramaturgical analysis

examines social interaction as if it were a stage where people act out different scenes Impression management: suppressing unfavorable traits and stressing favorable ones Front stage: where the actual performance takes place Backstage: a place, concealed from the audience, where people can relax or prepare

Janis's research

focused on why people in groups may make disastrous and irrational decisions.

All of the different categories of groups are

ideal types—general traits that describe a social phenomenon. Ideal types are composite pictures. Specific descriptions of reality can vary.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

if we define something as real it can become real If we assume young people will get into trouble, they probably will.

Ethnomethodologists study

interaction by analyzing conversations and violating rules.

Role strain

involves incompatible demands among roles within a single status Examples: an employee with more than one boss; nurses who must be both compassionate and firm

Nonverbal communication

involves messages sent without using words. Transmits feelings and emotions Includes silence, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, touch, and personal space

Impression management

involves presenting ourselves in a favorable light by controlling settings, appearances, and manner.

A bureaucracy

is a formal organization that is designed to accomplish goals and tasks by large numbers of people in the most efficient and rational way possible.

A reference group

is a group of people that shape our behavior, values, and attitudes. We do not have to be members of our reference groups.

A social network

is a web of social ties that links an individual to others. Networks may be tightly knit and have clear boundaries or large and impersonal with fluid boundaries. The Internet includes many interlocking social networks such as Facebook.

A voluntary association

is created by people who share a common set of interests and who are not paid for their participation. Examples: book clubs, charity organizations Vary in organizational structure Usually not as formal as other organizations

Emotional labor

is the management of feelings to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display. Women are more likely than men to have jobs where they are required to perform emotional labor.

A secondary group

is usually large, formal, impersonal, and a temporary collection of people that pursues a specific goal or activity. Examples: classes, work groups, volunteer organizations

Doublespeak

language that pretends to communicate but really doesn't Euphemisms: unofficial words or phrases that avoid an unpleasant reality Gobbledygook: overwhelms with big words

Sociobiology argues that

nature determines who we are including: Gender identity Levels of aggression

The social construction of reality

occurs as people perceive and understand through social interaction. Monday is Monday because people agree that it is. Race is constructed differently in different societies.

Total institutions

places where people are isolated and required to learn new roles

Role conflict

the frustration and uncertainties a person experiences when confronted with the requirements of two or more statuses Examples: being a supervisor and a friend; being a mother, student, employee, and volunteer

Socialization

the lifelong process of social interaction in which the individual acquires a social identity and ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that are essential for effective participation in a society

McDonaldization of Society

the organizational principles that underlie McDonald's dominate more and more sectors of society.

Erving Goffman analyzed social life as

theater

Cross-cultural data show

very different conditions for children. Research suggests that the environment can influence biology. Alcohol abuse can cause genetic damage. Childhood trauma influences the developing brain.

Parkinson's Law

work expands to fit the time available

Boomerang children:

young adults moving back into their parents' home

Role

behavior that is expected of a person in a particular status A student is expected to read, take notes, write papers, and attend class. Roles are based on mutual obligations. A professor must grade the papers written by the students.

Advertisers effect

Advertisers are increasingly targeting young children. Girls are young as 6 are using cosmetic products.

Is it authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, or uninvolved?

Allowing the child to do whatever he/she wants: Permissive Getting angry when child does not do as instructed: Authoritarian An alcoholic parent ignoring children: Uninvolved Withdrawing a privilege after a child fails to follow guidelines: Authorative

An achieved status

An achieved status is a position that we have through choice—friend, athlete.

Ascribed status

An ascribed status is a position that we are born into—female, African American.

Role taking

: learning to take the perspective of others Children acquire the ability to role take through a series of stages.

How might you manage the setting, appearance, and manner for these situations?

A job interview A difference of opinion with a professor A first date

Is it role conflict or strain?

A man finds it difficult to be a politician because he doesn't like public speaking: role strain A mom cannot take time off from work to go to her daughter's soccer match: role conflict A friend asks a student for assistance in cheating: role strain

How might ethnomethodologists question the assumptions of ...?

A restaurant - general rules A supermarket - interaction A family dinner - observation

Identify each as a primary or secondary group.

A single mom and her child: primary group Your sociology class: secondary group A married couple: primary group The McDonald's Corporation: secondary group

Status

A social position Examples: student, professor, son, mother, employee Statuses can be ranked but do not always imply differing amounts of prestige.

What are the potential costs and benefits of these interactions?

A student and professor: learn/teach A first date: incompatibility - compatibility A friendship: share, betray

Play Stage (2 - 6 years)

Children begin to understand language and symbols. Significant others: the people who are important in one's life and greatly impact socialization Child acts out imagined roles. Anticipatory socialization: the process of learning how to perform a role they don't occupy

Looking-Glass Self

Concept introduced by Charles Horton Cooley A self-image based on how we think others see us

Ways we cope with role conflict and strain

Deny the problem. Compromise or negotiate. Set priorities. Compartmentalize Refuse more roles. Exit a role or status.

Master status

Determines a person's identity Highly visible Shapes a person's entire life Examples: gender, race

School:

Enhances cognitive development Transmits knowledge Teaches us to think in different ways Teachers may create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students perform according to what is expected of them.

Why Socialization?

Establishes our social identity Teaches us role taking Controls our behavior Internalization: process of learning cultural behaviors and expectations so deeply we accept them without question Transmits culture to the next generation

Characteristics of Bureaucracies

High degree of division of labor and specialization Hierarchy of authority Explicit written rules and regulations Impersonality Qualification-based employment Separation of work and employment

Cross-cultural variations

Holding hands Personal space Specific gestures

Harlow Studies

In a series of controversial experiments conducted in 1960s, Harlow demonstrated the powerful effects of love. By showing the devastating effects of deprivation on young rhesus monkeys, Harlow revealed the importance of a mother's love for healthy childhood development. His experiments were often unethical and shockingly cruel, yet they uncovered fundamental truths that have heavily influenced our understanding of child development.

Game Stage (6 and older)

Involves the ability to understand the connections between roles. In a game a child learns to understand and anticipate the actions of others. Generalized other: people who don't have close ties to the child but who influence her or his internalization of norms and values

Children that are isolated or institutionalized

Isolated or institutionalized children do not develop the characteristics considered "normal" or "human."

Identify whether it is ascribed or achieved

Latino: ascribed Bartender: achieved Father: achieved Nurse: achieved Adolescent : ascribed

In Groups

Members of an in-group share a sense of identity that excludes outsiders.

Nature/Nurture Debate

Nature - Human development is innate, biological, physiological; due largely to hereditary and is largely fixed. Nurture - human development is learned, psychological, social, cultural, due largely to environment and is fairly changeable

Research on television and violent games

No research evidence shows that television causes violence. A correlation has been found between playing violent electronic games and behavior problems.

Out Groups

Out-groups are people who are viewed and treated negatively because they are seen as having values, beliefs, or other characteristics different from one's own.

Online communication

Over 80% of adult Americans use the Internet. We communicate through e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, webcams, and social networking. The biggest digital divide is among social classes.

Family as socialization agents

Parents teach children social roles and rules. Parenting occurs through reinforcement and managing the environment.

Mead's three stages of developing sense of self

Prep stage (under age 2): No distinction between self and others; self-centered, self-absorbed Play stage (2 to 6): Distinguish between self and others; imitates significant others, learns role-taking, assumes one role at a time "lets pretend", other play that teaches anticipatory socialization Game Stage (6 and older): understands and anticipates multiple roles, connects to societal roles through generalized other

Resocialization

Process of unlearning old ways of doing things and adopting new attitudes, values, norms, and behaviors Voluntary or involuntary

Play:

Promotes cognitive development Keeps children out of trouble and enhances their social development Strengthens peer relationships

Socialization throughout life

Recognition of childhood as a distinct stage of development is relatively recent. Most (but not all) American children enjoy happy and healthy lives. Parents are finding it difficult to monitor adolescents without micromanaging. Parental expectations are important in adolescence. Socialization continues into adulthood as individuals adapt to a series of new roles including work and parenting.

Peers:

Reinforce desirable behavior or skills Serve as positive role models Teach new skills Encourage high-risk behaviors

According to George Herbert Mead

Self is composed of the "I" and the "Me." I: creative, impulsive, imaginative, spontaneous Me: internalized social roles

Siblings, Grandparents, Peer Groups

Siblings can be supportive or bully and abuse younger brothers and sisters. Grandparents often pass on family rituals and provide support and encouragement. A peer group refers to people who are similar in age, social status, and interests.

Sociological Explanations of Socialization

Social Learning Theory: People learn new attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors through social interaction. Direct socialization: learning through reward and punishment Indirect socialization: learning through modeling and imitation

Symbolic Interaction Theories

Social interaction shapes socialization. Social interaction develops the self: an awareness of one's social identity.

Nurture

Social scientists focus on the role of learning, socialization, and culture, emphasizing the role of nurture.

Peter Principle

promotion to one's level of incompetence

Groupthink

refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgments that results from in-group pressures.

Status inconsistency

refers to occupying social positions that create conflict because they are ranked differently. A person who is both a student and an instructor may experience status inconsistency.

Reference groups

shape an individual's self-image, behavior, values, and attitudes. We may already belong to a reference group (family) or we may hope to belong (active participants in future occupation).

Statuses and roles are organized around

shared expectations and goals. Norms specify rights, duties, and sanctions. A formal hierarchy indicates who is in charge.

Ethnomethodology

studies how people construct and learn to share definitions of reality that make interaction possible People make sense of their everyday lives through observing conversations and general rules.

Feminist theories

study interaction according to gender roles Many feminist scholars maintain that interaction often involves a dominant-subordinate relationship in which men are usually dominant.

Role performance

the actual behavior of a person who occupies a status Individuals enact roles differently. An extrovert will play the role of student differently from an introvert.

Role set

the different roles attached to a single status A student may interact differently with a professor and a fellow student. A nurse will interact differently with a doctor, another nurse, and a patient.