Sociology- Chapter 5

Describe the Post industrial Society

Development of technology has caused the greatest change in our society. Post industrial society: A society based on information, services, and high technology, rather than on raw materials and manufacturing.

Describe leaders in relation to changing situations

Different situations require different types of leadership. Ex. Suppose you are leading a dozen backpackers n the mountains and it's time to make dinner. A laissez-faire style would be appropriate if the backpackers had brought their own food, or perhaps a democratic style would appropriate if everyone is expected to pitch in. Authoritarian leadership, you telling ikers how to prepare their meals, would create resentment.

Define dyad

Dyad: the smallest possible group, consisting of two persons.

Describe societies overall and their role in shaping humans

Each society sets boundaries around its members. It's framework of statuses, roles, groups and social institution establishes the prevailing behaviors and beliefs. These factors set the stage for relationships between men and women, racial groups, the young and the elderly, the rich and poor, and so on.

Define Agricultural society

In this new agricultural society (A society based on large scale agriculture) people developed cities and what is known as culture such as art, music, literature, etc.

What did industrialization change?

Industrialization brought an abundance of goods, and as workers on what we call basc rights, a surprising change occurred-- the pattern of growing inequality was reversed. Home ownership became common as did the ownership of cars and variety of consumer goods. Today's workers enjoy a high standard of living in terms of health care, food, housing, material possession, and access to libraries and education.

Define the agricultural revolution.

Invention of the plow changed social life forever. Agricultural revolution: The second social revolution, based on the invention of the plow, which led to agricultural societies. Allowed more people to engage in activities other than farming.

Define Category

Is simply a statistic. Consists of people who share similar characteristics, such as all college women who wear glasses or all men over 6 feet tall. The individuals who make up a category don't think of themselves as belonging together, and they don't interact with one another. (People, objects and events that have similar characteristics and are classified together)

Define sociological perspective

Is that the type of society we live in is the fundamental reason for why we become who we are.

Do we truly live in a small world?

It is reasonable to assume that we do not live in a small world where everyone is connected by six links.

What is the basic component of the post industrial society?

Its basic component is information (Teachers pass knowledge to students, physicians sell their expertise on the body, bankers sell their skills with money, etc.) The individuals above, unlike those that worked in factories, don't produce anything, rather, they transmit or apply information to provide services that others are willing to pay for.

Describe the "we" and "them" division

The "we" and "they" division of the world can twist people's perception to such an extent that harming others comes to be viewed as right. Ex. After 9/11, Al Qaeda became americans' number one out group.

Describe the lives of workers within the industrial society?

The city held massive supplies of desperate labor, people who had been thrown off the lands that their ancestors had farmed as tenants for centuries. Homeless, they faced the choices of stealing, starving, or being paid the equivalent of a loaf of bread for a day of work. Workers had few legal rights. They could not unionize and they didn't have the right to safe working conditions. If they protested, they were fired. Strikes were illegal and strikers were arrested or beaten.

What led to social inequality within the industrial society?

The efficiency of the steam engine was another push toward even more social inequality.

Define Domestication Revolution

The first social revolution, based on the domestication of plants and animals, which led to pastoral and horticultural societies.

What significance did inequality play within this society?

When some people managed to gain control of the growing surplus of resources in agricultural societies, inequality became a fundamental feature of life in society.

Describe the comparison between ourselves and our reference groups

When you see yourself as measuring up to a reference group standards, you feel pleased. But you can experience inner turmoil if your behavior or aspirations does not match the groups standards. (ex. If you want to join the military but your parents are pacifists, you would feel deep conflict)

Who may a reference group be made of?

Your reference group may include you family, neighbors, teachers, classmates, co-workers or the members of your church, synagogue, or mosque.

What or who is responsible for shaping who we are today?

Your social experiences shaped you into what you have become. It was your family that laid down your basic orientation to life.

Define Society and describe what it does

people who share a culture and a territory. → Sets the stage for our life experiences.

Define Clique

A cluster of people within a larger group who choose to interact with one another.

Define Triad

A group of three people; The addition of a third person changed the group. With three people, interaction between the first two decreases. This can create strain. Although the intensity of interaction is less intriad, they are inherently strong and give greater stability to a relationship.

Define Small group

A group small enough for everyone to interact directly with all the other members. Small groups can be either primary or secondary. (a wife, husband, and children make up a primary small group, as do workers who take their breaks together)

Define Out group

A group toward which one feels antagonism.

Define In group

A group toward which one feels loyalty.

Define Reference group

A group whose standards we refer to as we evaluate ourselves.

Define Hunter and Gathering societies

A human group that depends on hunting and gathering for its survival. → Have few social divisions and little inequality. → Sometimes men do hunting, women do gathering. Sometimes men and women gather plants and men and women hunt animals.

Define horticultural societies and describe what they developed

A society based on cultivating plants by the use of hand tools. Because they no longer had to abandon an area as the food supply gave out, they developed permanent settlements.

Define Industrial Society

A society based on the harnessing of machines powered by fuels. A society where good are produced by machines, instead of by the brute force of humans or animals.

Define Pastoral Society

A society based on the pasturing of animals.

Define Biotech society

A society whose economy increasingly center on modifying genetics to produce food, medicine, and materials. As society is transformed, it sweeps us along with it. The transformation we are experiencing is so fundamental that it will change eben the ways we think about the self and life.

What do triads produce?

A triad also produced someone who is a mediator, the person who tries to settle disagreements between the other two.

Describe the change of power in the industrialized society

Abolition of slavery occurs, the shift from monarchies to more representative political systems occurred, greater rights for women occurred and the right to vote became a thing.

Define Expressive Leaders

An individual who increases harmony and minimizes conflict in a group. Also known as a socioemotional leader.; is likely to crack jokes, offer sympathy, or do other things that help to life the group's morale.

Define laissez-faire leaders

An individual who leads by being highly permissive. (Offer freedom; only help when asked and make few suggestions) Page 148 for experiment.

Define Authoritarian leader

An individual who leads by giving orders

Define democratic leader

An individual who leads by trying to reach a consensus.

Define instrumental leaders

An individual who tries to keep the group moving toward its goals; also known as task-oriented leader. ; remind the group of what they're trying to accomplish.

What happens as a group grows?

As a group grows, the members lose their sense of intimacy and become more formal with one another. No longer can the members assume that the others are "insiders" who agree with their views. Now they must take a larger audience into consideration instead of merely "talking" they begin to "address" the group. Ex. At a party people breaking into small groups is inevitable. Because the addition of each person rapidly increases connections, conversation becomes more difficult. The guests break into smaller groups in which they can look at each other directly and interact comfortably with one another.

Describe groups and their changing in numbers and what that affects

As a small group grows larger, it becomes more stable, but its intensity, or intimacy, decreases. As each new person comes into a group, the connections among people multiply. As groups grow, they also tend to develop a more formal structure. For example, leaders emergy and more specialized roles come into play.

What occurred in relation to power within pastoral and horticultural societies?

As individuals passed down their possession, wealth grew more concentrated. So did power, and some individuals became chiefs. Where people were located within the hierarchy of a society became vital for determining what happened to them in life.

What was the major trend of the post industrial society?

Away from manufacturing and toward selling information and services

Describe why hunting and gatherer societies are the most leisure like

Because their needs are basic and they do not work to store up material possessions, hunters and gatherers have the most leisure of all groups.

Did this society lead to a fourth revolution? If so, describe the microchip and its way of transformation.

Changes have led to a fourth social revolution. (Ex. We can call people around the globe) The microchip is transforming relations among people and is uprooting our old perspective and replacing them with new ones.

Define Secondary group

Compared with a primary group, a larger, relatively temporary, more anonymous, formal, and impersonal group based on some interest or activity.

Define Aggregate

Consists of individuals who temporarily share the same physical space but who do not see themselves as belonging together. (Ex. shoppers standing in a checkout line; drivers waiting at a red light)

Can a group you don't belong to be a reference group?

Even a group you don't belong to can be a reference group. (Ex. If you are thinking about going to graduate school, graduate students or members of the profession you want to join may form a reference group. You would consider their standards as you evaluate your grades or writing skills.)

Describe the experiment done with college students in a booth

Experiment with college kids in booth and the one in the other booth you can't see has a "seizure"; Those who thought they were in a dyad rushed out to help. If in a triad, 80 percent went to help and were slower in leaving the booth. In six person groups, only 60 percent went to see what was wrong and they were even slower. Experiment above has flaws because people have norms and values that can trump the diffusion of responsibility.

Define Primary Groups

Family and friends are primary groups. Primary group: A small group characterized by intimate, long term, face to face association and cooperation. Primary group gives you an identity, a feeling of who you are.

Group size influences...

Group size influences our attitudes and behavior.. Even our willingness to help one another.

Define group think

Group think: A narrowing of thought by a group of people, leading to the perception that there is only one correct answer and that to even suggest alternatives is a sign of disloyalty. As group members begin to think alike, they become convinced that there is only one right viewpoint, just a single course of action to follow. They take any suggestion of alternatives as a sign of disloyalty.

Define Shaman in relation to Hunting and Gathering societies

Groups typically have a shaman, an individual thought to be able to influence spiritual forces. (Real definition: A tribe's healing specialist who attempts to control the spirits thought to cause a disease.)

In what way did the hunting and gatherer societies split?

Hunting and gathering societies branched into two directions, each with different means of acquiring food. (Some found they could tame the animals they hunted, while others found that they could cultivate plants)

What is Six Degrees of Separation?

Idea that each one of us are connected to every other person by social chains of no more than 6 people. On average, everyone in the united states is separated by just six individuals. Found to be un true

Describe society in relation to behavior

Lays the broad framework for our behavior and influences the ways we think and feel.

Describe the Small World Phenomenon and Milgram's experiment proving it.

Milgram addressed a letter to "targets". He sent the letter to the "stars: who did not know these people. He asked them to send the letter to someone they knew on a first name basis, someone they thought might know the "target". The recipients were asked to mail a letter to a friend or acquaintance they might know as the target and so on. Although none of the senders knew the targets, the letters reached the designated individual in an average of just six jumps.

Describe why hunting and gathering societies are the most egalitarian

Of all societies, they are the most egalitarian. Because what they hunt and gather is perishable, the people accumulate few personal possessions. Consequently, no one becomes wealthier than anyone else.

What are people who don't know each other separated by?

On average, People who don't know one another are dramatically separated by social barriers. Besides geography, the barriers that divide us into separate small worlds are primarily those of social class, gender, and race-ethnicity.

Describe the Asch experiment in relation to peer pressure

Our peers have no authority over us. Only the influence that we allow. Asch experiment: Cards with lines. 6 of the 7 are actors who give wrong answers on purpose. Results: 33 percent gave into the group half the time, providing what they knew to be wrong answers. Another 40 percent gave wrong answers, but not as often. 25 percent stuck to their guns and gave the right answer. Shows that the group is so powerful that people are willing to say things that they know aren't true.

Define the term "Anomie"

Our society is huge and dominating, sometimes even threatening and oppressive. This can create a bewildering sense of not belonging. Durkheim called this condition anomie.

Describe pastoral societies

Pastoral societies occupy spaces where low rainfall makes it impractical to build life around growing crops. Groups that took the pastoral turn remained nomadic: They followed their animals to fresh pasture.

Describe common traits of leaders

People who become leaders are perceived by group members as strongly representing their values or as able to lead a group out of a crisis. Leaders tend to be more talkative, outgoing, determined, and self confident. Some traits seem to have no bearing on the ability to lead. (ex. Taller people and those judged as better looking tend to become leaders)

Define Groups

People who have something in common and who believe that what they have in common is significant; also called a social group.

To what extent do reference groups influence us?

Reference groups exert tremendous influence on us. (Ex. If you want to become a rock musician, you might get elaborate tattoos.)

What do secondary groups provide us with?

Secondary groups are the way we get our education, make our living, spend our money, and use our leisure time.

What do secondary groups fail to do? What results from this?

Secondary groups often fail to satisfy our deep needs for intimate association. Secondary groups tend to break down into primary groups. At school and work we from friends. Our interaction with our friends is so important that we sometimes feel that if it weren't for them, school or work "would drive us crazy".

What developed within Pastoral and horticultural societies?

The more dependable food supply allowed groups to grow larger. With it no longer necessary for everyone to work at providing food, a division of labor developed. (Some people began to make Jewelry and other tools which led to a surplus of object and in turn stimulated trade.)

Can instrumental leaders and expressive leaders play the same role?

These roles tend to contradict one another, so it is difficult to play both of them. Instrumental leaders tend to create friction as they prod the group to get on with the job. Their actions often cost them popularity. Expressive leaders stimulate personal bonds and reduce friction, are usually more popular.

Describe the power of authority in relation to the Milgram Experiment

Shock experiment (Turn up the voltage everytime they get an answer wrong) The purpose of the experiment was to find out at what point people refuse to participate. He found that some teachers broke into a sweat and protested that the experiment was inhumane and should be stopped. But when the experimenter calmly replied that the experiment must go on, this assurance from an authority was enough for most teachers to continue, even though the learner screamed in agony.

What do small groups provide to a society?

Small groups help prevent anomie by standing as a buffer between the individual and the larger society. By providing intimate relationships, small groups give us a sense of belonging, something that we all need.

Contradictions that lead to inner turmoil are common because of two chief characteristics of our society... describe these.

Social diversity and social mobility. These expose us to standards and orientations that are inconsistent with those we learned during childhood.

What is the sociological significance of in groups?

Sociological significance of ingroups: they shape our perception of the world, your view of right and wrong and your behavior.

Define leader

Someone who influences other people.

What do primary groups formed from secondary groups serve as?

The primary groups we form within secondary groups serve as a buffer between ourselves and the demands that secondary groups place on us.

What does the dividing of the world between "we" and "Them" create?

The sense of belonging that some groups give you can bring positive consequences, such as our tendency to excuse the faults of people we love ang to encourage them to do better. But the dividing the world into a "we" and "them" also leads to discrimination, hatred, and even murder.

Define Social Network

The social ties radiating outward from the self that link people together. Social network includes your family, friends, acquaintances, people at work and school. Social network is like spider web, you are at the center, with lines extending outward.

Define the Industrial Revolution

The third social revolution, occurring when machines powered by fuels replaced most animal and human power.

Define Group Dynamics

The ways in which individuals affect groups and the ways in which groups influence individuals.

Do hunting and gatherer societies have leaders?

There are no rulers, and most decisions are arrived at through discussion.

What led to social inequalities within societies?

These changes led to social inequality. Some families acquired more goods than others. This led to feuds and war: Groups now possessed animals, crop lands, and other material good to fight about. War opened the door to slavery, since people found it convenient to let the captives do the drudge work. Social inequality remained limited because the surplus itself was limited. The change from fewer to more possessions and from more to less equality.

What are secondary groups based off of?

These groups are based on shared interests or activities, and their embers are likely to interact on the basis of specific statuses, such as president, manager, worker, or student. (ex. College classes, political parties)

Describe what it means when it is said that hunting and gathering societies are nomadic

These groups are nomadic; as their food supply dwindles in one area, they move to another location.

Describe hunting and gathering societies

These societies are small (group members do not plant, they only gather what is already there). Usually consist of 25 to 40 people. They place high value on sharing food, which is essential to their survival. Because of disease, drought, and pestilence, children have only about a fifty-fifty chance of surviving to adulthood. Not as common today. (Only about 300); Some were wiped out when different groups took over their lands. Others moved to villages and took up a new way of life.

Describe the role of power in agricultural societies

To protect their expanding privileges and power, the elite surrounded themselves with armed men and began to levy taxes on others. Females became subject to males.

Define Coalations

Triads tend to produce coalations: The alignment of some members of a group against others. The tendency for two people to develop stronger bonds and preder on another leave the third person feeling hurt and excluded.

Define Leadership Styles

Ways in which people express their leadership.

What is considered the first social revolution?

We call the domestication of animals and plants the first social revolution.

Describe what it means when it is said that we have a mirror within

We have deep emotional needs; among them are a sense of belonging and feelings of self-esteem. Primary groups, through face to face interaction, are uniquely equipped to meet these basic needs. They can make us feel appreciated, even that we are loved. When primary groups are dysfunctional and fail to meet these basic needs, they produce dysfunctional adults, wounded people who make life difficult for others. The values and attitudes of your primary group have become fused with your identity. You have internalized their views, which are now lenses through which you view life. Your primary groups become a mirror within.

What two qualities do dyads consist of?

→ Ex. Marriages, love adairs, and close friendships show two distinct qualities. → First, they are the most intense or intimate of human groups. Because only two people are involved, the interaction is focused on both individuals. → Second, Dyads tend to be unstable. Because dyads require that both members participate, if one member loses interest, the dyag collapses. In larger groups, by contrast, if one person withdraws, the group can continue since its existence does not depend on anyone members.