SOCI 1810: Understanding Social Life- CONLEY
historical methods
research that collects data from written reports, newspaper articles, journals, transcripts, television programs, diaries, artwork, and other artifacts that date back to the period under study
Émile Durkheim (1858-1917)
• 'The Division of Labor in Society' (1893), explains the degree to which jobs are specialized; • Argued that division of labor didn't just affect work/productivity but also society and morality (i.e. sense of solidarity) • 'Suicide' (1897), argues this personal act to be conditioned by social forces (social integration and regulation) • considered founding "positivist sociology"
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
• An English social theorist who was the first to translate Comte into English; • Wrote the 'Theory and Practice of Society in America' (1837), describing America's physical and social aspect; 'How to Observe Morals and Manners' (1838), first methods book that also suggests the institution of marriage to be based on the assumption of women's inferiority • Topics of interests: children's education (as restrictive and promoting inequality) and federal and state governments' relationship • Considered one of the earliest English feminist social scientist
Max Weber (1864-1920)
• Disagreed and criticized Marx • Wrote 'Economy and Society' (1922) and "The Protestant Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism" (1904). • Argued that the religious transformations during the Protestant Reformation (late 1700s) laid the groundwork for modern capitalism by upending the medieval ethnic of virtuous poverty and replacing it with an ideology that saw riches as a sign of "divine providence" • important contribution was the concept of *Versteben*; "understanding" in German
Georg Simmel (1858-1918)
• Established "formal sociology" • Worked in "small-group interactions" now known as "microinteractions" • His work was influential to the development of urban and cultural sociology • Provided formal definitions for small/large groups, party, stranger, the poor (antecedents of 'network theory')
C. Wright Mills argues what must happen in order to make sense of one's purpose/"chances in life"?
He argues individuals must become aware of all the individuals in his circumstance, where he lies within his historical period...
George Mead's Theory on the Self proposes that infants know the__________, but though ________ they learn about "me" and the "other"; around the time they learn ______
I; social interactions; language
Self-concept
Mental representation of oneself
What aspect of suicide did Durkheim want to challenge?
Suicide not only as a personal act of deviance but a social one. He sought to explain how psychological characteristics in combination with social forces shape suicide rates.
The Looking Glass Self
The "self" emerges from our ability to assume the point of view of others and imagine how those others see us. *The self is created in part and is modified though social interactions.*
independent variable
a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable
7 Research Methods
experiments, survey research, field research, content analysis, existing data research, comparative research, evaluation research
4 Characteristics of the "Self-Concept"
○ Relatively stable over time ○ Play a central role in the way people process information ○ Unique to individuals ○ Consists of the behaviors and attributes we consider important
What did Marx believe to be the driving force of history that drove social change?
the conflicts between classes
How do functionalists view social inequality?
"a device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are conscientiously filled by the most qualified persons"
An everyday example of us engaging in our social imagination would be ...
"fish-out-of-water" feeling- shifting one's environment/social setting that varies greatly from our normal life
Marx proposed a Communist society in which private probability and the resulting ideology governing the new economy would be "...what..."?
"from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" (1848)
Ethics of Social Research: What're the 3 "golden rules"?
(1) Do no harm (physical or psychological) (2) Obtain informed consent (3) Obtain voluntary participation
Interpretive vs positivist sociology
*Positivist*: mission to reveal the "social facts" that effect, if not govern, social life (like uncovering "laws of physics"); AKA "normal science" model of sociology *Interpretive*: concerned with the meaning of social phenomena to individuals, understand the experience of social groups in various contexts; might object that we can make worthwhile predictions!
What are the 3 historical, epistemological 'stages' that Comte argues human societies have undergone? Briefly explain each.
*Theological Stage*: Explaining feudal systems by consulting the Bible and other ecclesiastical texts. *Metaphysical Stage*: Enlightenment thinkers attributed humankind's behavior to natural, biological instincts/drives. *Scientific Stage*: Modern man would develop "social physics" to identify scientific laws that govern human behavior. By doing so we could understand how social institutions worked/or didn't work, how we relate to one another (individual or group level). and overall societal structures.
What are the 2 major divisions within sociology? Note: these are false dichotomies
- statistical or quantitative researchers (deal with numbers) AND qualitative sociologists (deal with words - theorists AND empiricist
The Research Cycle
-> analysis -> theory -> hypothesis -> empirical observations
*The Looking Glass Self* is a 3-step process that constantly takes place:
1. We imagine how we appear to others (our perception of how others see us) 2. We imagine the reaction of others to our (imagined) appearance 3. We evaluate ourselves according to how we imagine others have judged us
Explain Du Bois' concept of "double consciousness"?
A concept to describe the 2 behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constantly painted by African Americans
Postmodernism
A condition characterized by a questioning of the notion of progress and history, the replacement of narrative within pastiche, and multiple, perhaps even conflicting, identities resulting from disjointed affiliations
Symbolic Interactionism
A micro-level (face-to-face interactions) theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivation behind people's actions. Founded by Erving Goffman
Economics vs. Political Science vs Sociology
Economic: focus on market exchange relations ($$$) in the context that individuals are 'rational utility maximizers' (want the most out of anything) - quantitive discipline, based on numbers --- Focus is only on one aspect of social relations: POWER --- Sociology: has an open view of human motivations (altruism, selfishness, simple irrationality)
Feminist Theory
Idea that emphasizes equality between men and women and want to see women's lives and experiences represented in sociological studies, believing society to subordinate women. NOTE: shares with Marxism the emphasis on conflict and political reform
Does Cooley's Theory generate a *distorted glass*?
It can be distorted because it comes from our imagination, may not accurately reflect other's opinion of us. Regardless of our accuracy, the consequences are just as real as if they were "I don't think they liked me; therefore, they don't like me"
What is so "terrible" about imposing one to practice her 'sociological imagination'? But, what is magnificent about it?
It makes our own lives *ordinary*- see our intensely personal, private experience of life as merely typical of the period and place in which we live... However, this comforts us/ lets us know, we aren't alone.
Explain Weber's concept of *Versteben*
It's the basis of interpretive sociology which researchers imaging themselves experiencing the life positions of the social actors they want to understand rather than treating those people as objects to be examined... So, in order for sociologists to understand the people's behavior they must first understand the meanings people attach to their actions
Who are the founding fathers of sociology?
Karl Marx, Weber, and Émile Durkheim, Georg Simmel
Psychological and Biological Sciences vs. Sociology
Psychologists focus on the individual to explain the phenomenon under consideration (i.e. urges, drives, instincts, or mind that account for human behavior) Biologists attempt to explain phenomena that influence behavior; intra-individual-level causal mechanisms (within an individual) that affect our lives- biochemistry, genes, cellular activity Sociologists focus on 'supra-individual' ( above/ beyond individual) or the group-level dynamics and social structures that influence individuals.
Limitations to socialization
Socialization cannot explain everything about a person's development and personality: - Biology is also a very important component - it's the combination of biology and social interactions that makes us who we are
Conflict Theory
The idea that conflict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general
Charles Horton Cooley
Theory: The Looking Glass Self. Was a Symbolic Interactionist.
macrosociology
a branch of sociology generally concerned with social dynamic at a higher level of analysis- that is across the breadth of a society
microsociology
a branch of sociology that seeks to understand local interactional contexts; its methods of choice are ethnographic, generally including participant observation and in-depth interviews
comparative research
a methodology by which two or more entities (such as countries), which are similar in many dimensions but differ on one in question, are compared to learn about the dimension that differs between them
hypothesis
a proposed relationship between 2 variables, usually with a stated direction
participant observation
a qualitative research method that seeks to uncover the meanings people give their social actions by observing their behavior in practice
spurious correlation
a relationship that seems to appear between two variables, but is actually caused by some external, or intervening, variable
deductive approach
a research approach that starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, makes empirical observations, and then analyzes the data to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory
inductive approach
a research approach that starts with empirical observations, and works to form a theory
anomic
a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable; too little social regulation; normlessness; feeling that you don't have control over circumstances
feminist methodology
a set of systems/methods that treat women's experiences legitimate empirical and theoretical resources, that promote social science for women, and that take into account the researcher as much as the overt subject matter
reverse causality
a situation in which the researcher believes that A results in a change in B, when in fact, it is B causing A. i.e. quality of health & income
Positivist sociology
a strain within sociology that believes the social world can be described and predicted by certain describable relationships (akin to a social physics)
content analysis
a systematic analysis of the content rather than the structure of a communication, such as a written work, speech, or film
Midrange theory
a theory that attempts to predict how certain social institutions tend to function; neither macro- nor microsociology founded by Robert Merton
George Mead theorized...
about how the social self develops over the course of childhood;
population
an entire group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples may be drawn
Social construction
an entity that exists because people behave as if it exists and whose existence is perpetuated as people and social institutions act in accordance with the widely agreed-upon formal rules or informal norms of behavior associated with that entity
case study
an intensive investigation of one particular unit of analysis in order to describe it or uncover it mechanisms
survey
an ordered series of questions intended to elicit information from respondents
reflexivity
analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research
Anthropology vs. Sociology
anthropologists study human relations that are focused on particular circumstances whereas sociologists study by comparing cases
sociology's 'cousins' are...
anthropology, psychology, biology, economics, and political science
research methods
approaches that social scientists use for investigating the answers to questions
observations
collecting data for analysis and interpretation
History vs. Sociology
concerned with explaining unique cases (idiographic) or events that have occurred; What? Why? How? --- Not concerned with uniqueness of phenomena but the *commonalities* that can be abstracted across cases
social integration
how well (the degree to which) you are integrated into your social group or community
interviews
in-person Q/A to gather information; a common form of gathering qualitative data
3 examples of qualitative fieldwork
interviews, ethnography, or participant observations
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
invented "social physics" or "positivism"; saw the need to make moral sense of the social order during that time in history (declining religious authority)- developed *secular morality*
According to conflict theorists, why does inequality exist?
it's a result of political struggles among different groups (classes) in a particular society
is this micro- or macro-sociology? Investigates immigration policy or gender norms or how the educational system interacts with labor market
macrosociology
is this micro- or macro-sociology? Sociology that relies on statistical analysis in addition to qualitative methods like historical comparison and in-depth interviewing
macrosociology
What is the Paradox within sociology? "To think like a sociologist means..."
making the familiar strange
Marx saw history as an account of what?
man's struggle to gain control of and later dominate his natural environment
qualitative methods
methods that attempt to collect information about the social world that cannot be readily converted to numeric form
experimental methods
methods that seek to alter the social landscape in a very specific way for a given sample of individuals and then track what results that change yields; often involve comparisons to a control group that did not experience such an intervention - where independent/dependent variables come in...
quantitative methods
methods that seek to obtain information about the social world that is already in or can be converted to numeric form
is this micro- or macro-sociology? Sociology that relies heavily on data gathered through participant observations and other qualitative methodologies
microsociology
is this micro- or macro-sociology? It's important to understand why people stare at the numbers in an elevator and are reluctant to make eye contact in this setting
microsociology ; this is a 'face-to-face' encounter
The Looking Glass Self is ___________ process and the stages can occur quickly. It can positively or negatively influence ______________
not a conscious; Self-evaluation.
correlation (or association)
simultaneous variation in two variables; or, *relationship between two variables*
What is "formal sociology" according to Simmel?
sociology of pure numbers
anomic suicide
suicide that occurs as a result of insufficient social regulation Example: • 1929 stock market crash - stockbrokers/investors who felt they did everything right but still ended up in destitute and didn't know how to cope with the changes committed suicide • poor man who wins the lottery no longer has the same life structure when it comes to saving money - no meaning to life- depression
fatalistic suicide
suicide that occurs as a result of too much social regulation Example: • same everyday routine; expect no change in years after (no hope) • slaves & prisoners who commit suicide because of the "suffocating tyranny of monotony" • 1950s suburban housewives whose roles in society were tightly controlled
altruistic suicide
suicide that occurs when one experiences too much social integration; he/she feels meaningless aside from this social integration; and/or were under social pressure Examples: *seppuku* (or hara-kiri; dying is better than living in disgrace), *suttee* (or sati; showing wife's devotion by joining her husband in the grave), and military officers
egoistic suicide
suicide that occurs when one is not well integrated into a social group Example: people who aren't religiously affiliated have higher rates of suicide vs people part of a church community
sociological imagination
the ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of an individual's life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces
validity
the extent to which an instrument measures what it is intended to meassure
generalizability
the extent to which we can claim our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied
Self
the individual identity of a person as perceived by that same person
reliability
the likelihood of obtaining consistent results using the same measure
causality
the notion that change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another; or, *a relationship where one variable causes another variable to change*
social regulation
the number of rules guiding your daily life and, more specifically, what you can reasonably expect from the world on a day-to-day basis
dependent variable
the outcome that the researcher is trying to explain; usually just one... the change in this depends on the change of the independent variable
socialization
the process by which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a given society and learn to function as members of that society
operationalization
the process of assigning a precise method for measuring a term being examined for use in a particular study
sociology
the study of human society (or societies)
sample
the subset of the population from which you are actually collecting data
functionalism
the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running; an extension of the 19th-century theory called "organicism"
Normative Theory of Suicide (Durkheim)
to be at a low risk for suicide (and other deviant behavior), you need to be somewhere in the middle: integrated into your community with reasonable (not oppressive) set of guidelines to structure your life
data processing
transforming the collected data into a form appropriate to manipulation and analysis
W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
• First African American to receive a PhD from Harvard • Developed the concept of "double consciousness" • Used Durkheim's 'anomie' to explain crime rates among African Americans • Analyzed the social stratification among Philadelphia's black population; arguing that such class inequality was necessary for progress in the black community-- that the "talented tenth" would lead them • Worked to advance civil rights agenda in the USA • Co-founded the NAACP
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• founded *Marxism* - an ideological alternative to capitalism • writings provided the theoretical basis for Communism • originally a historian, but meanwhile also elaborated a theory of what drives history (aka "historical materialism")
Jane Addams (1860-1935)
• founded Hull House, the first American settlement house, which tried to link the ideas of Chicago school to the poor • Marginalized because she was a woman even by the Chicago school, regarded as a social worker • Prolific author of both the substance and methodology of community studies
