Sociology
**"opting out"**
(Crittenden) **-Perceived trend of mostly middle class women "opting out" of workforce to be full-time wives/mothers** -Some people view these choices as voluntary because they are linking biology to cultural values (women like being caretakers at home with kids), BUT NEED TO USE SOC IMAG AND LOOK AT LARGER HISTORICAL AND STRUCTURAL FORCES (SOCIAL POLICIES) -Opting out probably not voluntary choice, but more of an involuntary choice based on larger structural and historical forces and tensions create by role conflict
One Drop Rule and the Ideology's Legacy
*-Belief that one drop of black blood/ancestry makes a person black (began during Jim Crow era)* -Legacy = today in *US we have a racial binary* -EX: Obama -People in US see him as Black whereas people in LA would see him as mixed race (they have more categories than US), but today we also have multiracial -But way people identify themselves is different than how others observe them (EX: lots of LA people identify by nationality and that is not something we do in US) -Bonilla Silva and the one drop rule: -Says it is very pernicious but *also led to unification of blacks because were bounded together by segregation*, gave them strong group identity, racial binary enforced artificially between whites and blacks
Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Deviance (in general)
*Microanalysis* of the *beliefs and assumptions* that people bring to their *everyday interactions* to find the causes and explanations for deviance
*Credentialism*
*Overemphasis on credentials for signaling social status or job qualifications* -We have had an education boom (1/3 have college degrees and 90% have high school degrees) -^ *Job expectations are higher and creates more competition*
Organizational Culture
*Shared beliefs and behaviors* within a social group (nonmaterial things) Ex: shared belief in respect, monetary gain, community in the Black Kings
Sociology vs. Other Social Sciences
*Sociology = supra-individual level (looking at larger context, above individual) Psychology = Individual level Biology = Intra-Individual level
Stereotype Threat vs Stereotype Promise
*Stereotype Threat* (Claude Steele) = members of negatively stereotyped groups perform worse in social situations in which they fear they may conform to negative stereotypes, but NOT in other situations EX: in Steele's experiment, told one group of black students that was test of their intelligence and one that was just a problem solving test with less significance. They did worse In first case because had taken stigma and internalized it and then it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Happened even in 2nd case when made them check-off box with their race at beginning. *Stereotype Promise*(Jennifer Lee) = Label that asians are intelligent, kids internalize it as the truth, and act in accordance with it to create a self-fulfilling prophecy
Stratification
*Systemic inequalities between groups* of people that arise as intended/unintended consequences of social processes and relationships. In other words... -*Structured social inequality* -Who gets what and why -How resources and outcomes are distributed among groups -How different forms of inequality (race/class/gender) overlap and enforce each other
Bonilla Silva: Racial Binary vs Triracial Pigmentocracies
*USA has racial binary* hierarchy: -whites -Nonwhite others -Blacks (w/ one drop rule applied) *LA has triracial pigmentocracy* -whites -other (many buffering categories) -Blacks -Says this ^ makes it harder for them to unify and challenge the hierarchy because there are less with this identity (conflict theorist POV) -*Some sociologists think that US has this triracial pigmentocracy emerging* -Whites -*Honorary whites (asians and latinos mostly)* -*Collective Black* (not just ancestry, but *darker skin color, lower SES*-note social class flavors what people think people's race is, undocumented status) -As conflict theorist, Silva thinks this is bad because *buffer is used to legitimize white power and makes it harder for Blacks to rise up*
Differences across service economy (high/low)
-Time use: -High working more (infringing on private sector-opposite of Simmel) -Low working less, so cannot get benefits and feel alienated from production process (Marx)
Concerted Cultivation
*orientation that sees kids as projects to be developed in order to prepare them for success in other social institutions* -middle class parenting style -not just the. structured time, but the skills you learn at them. -Leads to *institutionalized cultural capital* (get accepted to colleges, get good jobs) -Learn how to interact with adults/authority and how to bend their will to your needs -Learn confidence and skill for labor markret -Learn how to operate as a team in the labor market (through organized activities)
Industrial Revolution: Agrarian --> Manufacturing Economy
-1700s/1800s -how did It come about? -rise in available labor in Western Europe (serfs) -New farming tech Economic shift? -Agrarian Economy = small handicrafts and subsistence farming. Based on *barter (exchange of goods)* --> -Manufacturing Economy = physical machinery and unskilled factory work. Based on *monetization (use of legal currency to buy/sell goods)*
Emile Durkheim
-A founder of *functionalism* -Theorized that *division of labor* (degree to which jobs specialized in workplace)... -Serves *economic function* (production) -AND serves *social and moral functions* (produces social solidarity-holds people together, makes it so people have to work together) -Study of suicide -Saw suicide as a group level phenomenon (something social) -Said it results from a group-level sense "anomie" Note: Relates to Gaines reading-she had functionalist approach to deviance and looked at it in line with Durkheim's viewpoints-said that not a personal issue, but a group-level one (pacts) that resulted from a sense of "anomie" cause by simultaneous overregulation by parents, teachers, and unstable and quickly changing economic state -*WEB DuBois*
Video "The Racial Wealth Gap Explained"
-All about racial wealth gap -Social reproduction theory -Sociological imagination -Social network theory and social ties (can be harmful when require reciprocity-like having to give relatives money when you become successful) -Your conception and measure really matters -Wealth is compounded overtime, so not enough to just be equal because there is so much financial capital in property and it has been compounded -Black people in America always needing to play catch-up -Get very different pictures of how society is stratified when measure by income vs wealth -Way society is stratified and produced is not a coincidence, but is rather socially constructed *more notes in notebook 11/4
Secondary Groups (Cooley)
-Are key agents of socialization (help form social identity) -Have more members than primary groups -Are more interpersonal *-Group is instrumental (a means to an end)* *-Affiliation is contingent (not enduring)* (Ex: schools, clubs, political unions-influences social identity, but not for a very long time) EX GLFAD: Black Kings can be viewed as a secondary group because JT uses it to go other places-wants to move up in the world and sees this as his way
Primary Groups (Cooley)
-Are key agents of socialization, play an important role in forming social identity -Have limited # of members -Face to face interaction *-Group is an end in and of itself (is not an instrument)* *-Relationships are enduring* -Loyalty is the prime ethic (Ex: Family, close friend group, religions) EX: GLFAD and the Black Kings
The Paradox of Authority
-Authority =/ Coercion -State has authority because of *implicit threat* of physical force (they could use it) -When state actually uses physical force = *coercion* *State has authority because of implicit threat of coercion, but when actually uses coercion, people begin to think of it as unjust/illegitimate/question it* EX: Black lives matter is a movement which is questioning the state after the videos of their coercion against Black citizens is publicized. The coercion was in the first place used to maintain racial inequality and current structures of the state's authority
Racism
-Belief that members of 1) separate biological races possess 2)culturally different and 3)politically unequal human traits -Need to go supra individual and use soc. imagination. -A result of the process of racialization
How would a conflict theorist view a college degree?
-CT perspective = Would see college degree as a credential (badge of elite status), a screening mechanism, not as evidence for true preparation for a job. Many people are too highly educated for their jobs today (because jobs used to only require a HS degree but now require college degree). SO, is college worth it?? functionalist perspective = helping to weed out the most talented and put the most capable into jobs that serve the most of society. (still seeing it as merit based and positively functional for all of society). See it, like tracking, as best preparing people for the fields they want to go into
Karl Marx's View on Capitalism/the 4 types of alienation
-Capitalism creates 4 types of alienation in workers who become dominated by forces of their own creation (EX: making shoelaces, won't become more and more efficient at it, but going to become boring and will feel alienation from the product you are creating and from your own creativity) 4 Types of alienation: 1) From product 2) From production process 3) From each other (infiltrating private life)-note: Opposite of Simmel 4) From themselves (their creativity)
Does type of school matter to performance?
-Coleman report in 1966 says that they do not -BUT from more recent studies, see that smaller class sizes matter (especially for minority and poor students) -Private schools -->.student achievement -BUT this is a *spurious relationship*-it is not the schools themselves, but the *class background and family resources* of the students who attend them -In this way ^, confirms the Coleman report of 1966 -Conclusion: Jury still out, but *not type of school so much as class background/family resources*
1 Latent function of schools
-To sort -To do this, they use *tracking* = a way of dividing students into different classes according to ability or future plans (ex: AP, vocational tracks)
Max Weber
-Conflict theorist, had some differing opinions to Marx -Emphasized subjectivity (what is in people's minds) as a foundation for interpretive micro sociology (the study of social meaning). Then went up to talk about macrosociology -Said world is not just about class/economic conflicts (like Marx), but is also about ideas/nonmaterial culture -One's social position in society has more to do with than just money-level of education, occupation, political affiliations, etc. all play a role
WEB DuBois/View of deviance from a functionalist perspective in line with Durkheim
-DuBois applies Durkheim's concept of anomie to Black people -Specifically after emancipation in US -Crime rates of Blacks went up after emancipation-why? Huge economic and political changes-felt sense of anomie --> increased engagement in deviance -Felt sense of normlessness and alienation and instability after being granted freedom and coming from a system which was so controlling
Adam Smith's view on the transition to capitalism
-Functionalist, saw capitalism shift as a good thing -Saw it as promoting *efficiency* (specialization of labor) and *trust* (money is social, also nonmaterial culture that will help hold society together)
A forms of social groups: Large Groups
-Have face to face interaction *-Multifocal* *-Formal structure (arrangements/roles)* *-Status differentiation ^* (Ex: Formal midterm review-have hierarchy with professor there, people are in their roles as student/teacher)
A forms of social groups: Parties
-Have face to face interaction *-Multifocal* -Lack of formal arrangements and roles -Equality between members (Ex: conversations at a party-each conversation will have different focus)
A forms of social groups: Small Groups
-Have face to face interaction -Unifocal focus -Lack of formal arrangements and roles -Equality between members (Ex: Midterm study group that you form with other students)
Service Economy
-In 1970s, shifted from manufacturing economy --> service economy (high end service economy/low end service economy) -Revolves around providing *intangible services* instead of physical products -High end examples. = "FIRE," lawyer, teacher, healthcare -Low end examples = Restaurant, hospitality & tourism, sales -Service economy is the fastest growing sector (especially for people without a college degree)
Roth: The 7 Different Conceptualizations of Race
-Internal race: race you self-identity as -Expressed race: race you tell other you are -Reflected race: race you think others think you are -Observed race: race others think you are -Could be appearance-based or -Interaction-based -Phenotype: physical appearance
Affirmative Action and Edward Blum (CT and Function perspective)
-Man suing Harvard for allegedly using affirmative action to discriminate against asian-american students -From CT perspective = using asians as a wedge to keep out blacks and latinos (allowing those in power to maintain power and creating tensions_ -From functionalists perspective = manifest function is to promote equality for asians, but latent might be to keep out latinos and blacks
Types of capital
-Material Capital 1) Human capital: Skills people get from formal education and training (ex: schooling/internships) 2)Financial/Physical capital: Resources people get from financial assets (ex: car, home, apartment) Nonmaterial Capital: 3)Social capital: Resources people get from social networks (this type of capital is always outside of you) 4)*Cultural capital*: Resources, (informal) knowledge, and skills that people inherit and use to their advantage (cultural know-how, informal knowledge of how to act in certain situations), dependent on your social class, usually focused on high culture, but all classes have culture capital (norms and scripts) Bourdieu's main concern: How all of these forms of capital *reproduce inequality*
Research Methods
-Participant observation (ethnography) -Social experimentation -Interviews -Ethnomethodology -Survey Research -Comparative research -Content analysis -Historical methods
Follow up to Milgram Experiment at UC Video
-Repeat of the Milgram experiment in modern times Results: -Very similar results -Teachers assume *roles* within their *status* very quickly (work to teach the learner in the way that authority has deemed appropriate) -Women more likely to obey authority figure (experimenter) <-- BUT must note that gender inequality (women socialized to be submissive) could be at play Other examples in video where we see Milgram experiment results play out: -McDonalds manager assaulting employee after fake phonemail from police reporting that employee engaged in theft -Abu Ghraib- US soldiers torture Iraqi prisoners (recruits learning these torture methods from higher-ups)
Role Conflict and Gender Inequality
-Robert Merton -for real mothers, is a real struggle that often prompts them to leave/quite job or be fired -role conflict of working-mom causes opting out-shows it is more involuntary than voluntary -Status of women in the role of caretakers is an expectation we don't have for men Note: Role conflict differs over time and space (in Sweden, do not even have the term working-mother)
Similarities across the service economy (high/low)
-Work many hrs with few vacation days -Stress about losing jobs, downward mobility -Unions on decline
Georg Simmel's view on the transition to capitalism/his 4 types of payment
-functionalist, shift to capitalism is good -shift to money good because will *depersonalize trade*, will help *separate public and private sectors* -4 types of payment 1) In-Kind Payment = direct payment in goods (not money) 2) Piecework Payment = payment per unit or product. (what is produced) 3) Wage Labor = payment per hrs worked 4) Salary = payment for a sum total of services (ex: professor)
Crittenden's study on the "Mommy Tax"
1 million dollars lost over the lifetime of a professional women who opted out Thought: makes women more financially dependent and furthers gender inequalities
Steven Luke's 3 Dimensions of Power
1) 1ST DIMENSION = outright, overt conflict --> one side winds 2) 2ND DIMENSION = power so imposing --> seems pointless to resist 3) 3RD DIMENSION = limiting people's choices (influencing/manipulating their preferences) before-hand --> avoidance of conflict all together EX: People who run for president have to be super rich to run a campaign, so this automatically limits the pool of people we can vote for
*3 Types of Legitimate Authority*
1) Charismatic authority = personal appeal and characteristics -Pros: Infectious and effective -Cons: Hard to maintain and pass on EX: Reagan, Obama, Trump 2) Traditional authority = based on appeals to past of long established way of doing things (how it's always been) Pros: Easy to maintain and pass on Cons: has lots of probs and cannot adapt well to change EX: Monarchy in Eng or Japan 3) Legal-rational authority
Post 1960s Family/Work Revolution
1) Decreasing marriage and fertility rates -Strongest among white/professional women -Rise in childless parents -Rise in cohabitation w/o marriage 2)Divorce rates steadily increase and have now leveled out -Rise in divorce --> more blended families (different family structures) 3)More women in workforce -1/3 in 1950 --> 2/3 in 1990 -2/3 of all mothers work now BUT, can see in media today with shows like Modern Family, that not that modern, women in show are homemakers and consumers, Claire has opted out and Cam, they maintain nuclear family structure. Can even see Bonilla-Silva's honorary whites-no black people, only asian and latino. Maybe Mad Men is in fact more modern?
What made the 1950s an anomaly, but also allowed for the consolidation of the nuclear family?
1) Divorce rates declines 2)Fertility rates increased (baby boom) 3)Women in workforce decreased
Ideas of the Protestant Reformation that led to rise of Capitalism
1) Everyone has *"calling"* that they can fulfill through *disciplined* and *rational labor* (achieve gods glory through work) 2) *Predestination*: People can look for *signs* to see if *have been chosen for salvation by God* (*financial success*, self-discipline, aestheticism are sone of the signs)
process of racialization
1) Identify discrete racial distinctions in biological traits and bloodlines (TAKE BIOLOGICAL VARIATIONS) 2) Link them in ways of being, acting, thinking, looking (DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE) 3) Assign sociopolitical superiority/inferiority (DIFFERENCES IN POWER AND RESOURCES)
Process of Sexism
1) Identify physiological/biological differences (sex/genitalia) 2) Link to differences in culture, behavior, intelligence, appearance 3) Assign these differences economic and political superiority and inferiority EX: Dr. Pepper 10 catered to men and the fact that they changed it from Diet Dr. Pepper (a drink associated with femininity) in order to appeal to males, shows a belief in women's inferiority EX: Rate my professor and our TPS responses-men more likely to be seen as geniuses than men and women more likely to be seen as caring-what most brings up teachers ratings is that they are male and white (*shows that these ratings are not valid or reliable*)
What is the education gap rooted in and what is it not?
1) Intelligence is genetic and linked to racial groups -This is wrong and racist and not sociological 2)Racial minority students fear achievement because do not want to be seen as "white" -Also proved not to hold much weight -In general, educational achievement gap can be explained more by SOCIAL CLASS OVER RACE
Political Realtions in Triads
1) Mediator: Resolves conflicts between the other 2 2)"The third that rejoices": profits from the disagreement of the other two 3)"divide and conquer": Intentionally drives a wedge between the other two people Ex in Gang Leader for a Day: -Autry Harrison, JT, Venkatesh= mediators -Maybe Autry could also be "the third that rejoices" -Police may be all 3
4 Characteristic of Nuclear Family
1) Patriarchal = male bread winner and women/kids are dependent and spend money 2) Empirically dominant = data shows that is the most common family structure in US 3) Normative = What people think it should be, it is the good family, so it is the norm 4) Mythical = Belief about what should be translating down to how people should form families, ex of socialization, almost an ideology
What things does race depend on?
1) Person's own perceptions (self-identification) 2) Eye of beholder (external identification) 3)Many social interactions between the two (symbolic interactionism) -HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHIC, AND POLITICAL CONTEXTS --> determine what structures, ideologies, and categories (like on census) are available -EX: have multiracial today, hispanic/latino didn't exist before 1970, partisanship/political ideology and Obama In general: -Very little scientific consensus on how to conceptualize races -It is therefore not natural or a given in our world, but is socially constructed -BUT this does not mean that it does not have REAL CONSEQUENCES
Functionalist approach to social control (2 types of punishment)
1) Punitive Justice = Making the violator suffer and thus defining the boundaries of acceptable behavior (ex: public executions) 2)Rehabilitative Justice = Tries to rehabilitate an individual transgressor so that they may be reintegrated into society (ex: sustainable prison project) note: Durkheim believed that as society modernized, would go from more punitive-rehabilitative justice, but both are still rampant in US (and in particular, punitive justice)
Takeaways from symbolic interactionist readings: Ferguson #19 Williams "Shopping as Symbolic Interaction: Race, Class, and Gender in a Toy Store" Elijah Anderson "The Code of the Streets" Diana Craine "Men's Clothing and the Construction of Masculine Identities"
1) There are formal and informal ritualized scripts (ex: employee handbook vs. peer pressure) 2) People learn meaning through ritualized scripts 3) Individuals actively interpret, create, and negotiate scripts to create meaning and serve their own interests 4) The larger historical and societal structure affects people's interactions with scripts/symbols (ex: in "the street," walking away from a fight is weak. In other parts of society it would be the normal, and even perhaps honorable, thing to do 5) All show goals of resisting disrespect and having control 6) When scripts break down, misunderstandings can escalate quickly Craine: Clothing is a nonverbal symbol of communication
Media Life Cycle
1)Production-how people create it (research method: ethnography/comparative analysis) 2)Content-How media shapes culture (research method content analysis of media) 3)Consumption-how people consume media (surveys, focus group, observations) *Ask how do individuals and groups use media to shape, change, and redefine culture?
5 Ideal Types of Stratification (5 types)
1. *Estate System* = political, limited mobility -EX: feudal Europe, pre-civil war south, feudal Japan 2. *Caste System* = Religious/hereditary, no mobility -EX: Varna system in India 3. *Class system* = Economic, more open (based on role you play in production process), supposed to be a meritocracy -EX: Modern America (theoretically), Ancient Egypt (an example of a more closed class system) 4. *Status Hierarchy System* = Social prestige, linked to *occupation*, lifestyle, and membership in organizations, no classes or boundaries for classes (only positions). Less about the pure economic system-more finely graded -EX: Doctor --> lawyer --> professor ----> librarian, etc.) 5. *Elite-Mass Dichotomy System* = System of stratification with a governing elite (a few leaders who hold the power of society) -Functionalist Vilfredo Pareto: Masses better off in this system because its a meritocracy, and so the most powerful will govern -Conflict theorist C. Wright. Mills: System is dangerous and harmful. because puts power in hands of a few "power elite" who will act based on their own interests (not the masses). Mills worried about the interlocking of economic institutions (money), political order (power), and military order (prestige)-thought its would disadvantage the masses
Different Visions of the Class System: Marx, Wright, Weber
1. Karl Marx: -2 strict "relational" economic classes (proletariat, bourgeoisie) -They are relational (can't have one without the other) -Zero-sum conflict with each other 2. Erik Olin Wright -Works off of Marx (but sees more mobility) to say that people can occupy *contradictory class locations*-location between two pure classes -EX: Managers/self-employed -Later theorists --> mediated class locations (based on someone else like spouse), temporary distinct class locations, status inconsistencies (ambivalence), being near a class border (ambiguity) 3. Max Weber -*Not just economic inequality that dictates your location in class system, but structural inequality and political power (ex: social prestige)* -Disagrees with Marx (not just about Econ.) -Class more about people's "common life chances and opportunities" in commercial marketplace (lots of variables matter) -About property vs. lack of it, What your worth (prestige/power), class is gradational, not relational-they are not necessarily in direct conflict -Says that there is social class, but they are not fundamentally at war
4 Standards of Equality
1. Ontological Equality = everyone is equal in the eyes of God 2. Equality of opportunity = *Inequality of condition* (your starting point) is okay as long as everyone has the same opportunities to advance and is judged by the same standards (close to capitalism/*meritocracy*-rewards hard work and individual talent/effort) (EX: CRM and what they fought for) 3.Equality of condition (or starting point) = everyone should have equal starting point from which to pursue their goals 4.Equality of outcome = Everyone ends up with the same rewards or outcomes regardless of starting points, opportunities, or contributions Critics of 4. -"Free-rider problem"-a functionalist critique that need to have competition to motivate people (Davis and Moore-ish) -C Wright Mills (conflict theorist critique) says that might need to give more help to some because some inequality is too hard to bypass
4 different "shift" within the chore wars
1st shift = job in formal labor market 2nd shift = unpaid domestic duties at home 3rd shift = unpaid child-related domestic duties 4th shift = unpaid eldercare and related domestic chores
Marx's view on the transition to capitalism
Conflict theorist -would create 4 types of alienation 1)Alienation from product 2)From production process 3)From coworkers (opposite of Simmel-infiltrating private relationships) 4)From self and own creativity EX: Leidner's study
Legal-rational authority/Routinization and Rationalization
= Based on *legal, impersonal rules* that have been *rationalized and routinized* EX: officials elected by voters, rules that are in the constitution, or policies that are written in a formal document. *^ is the ideological basis for bureaucracy *Routinization* = clear, rule-governed procedures used over and over for decision making (think: made into a routine, used over and over) *Rationalization* = Ever-expanding process of ordering or organization (think: in the name of efficiency)
Social Equality
A condition where *no differences* between wealth, power, prestige, or status *based on nonnatural conventions* exist
Definition of Race
A group of people who share a set of *characteristics usually but not always physical ones* and who are said to share a *common bloodline* -Not always physical ones because Jews sometimes considered separate race -Relates to Roth reading: People sometimes conceptualize race differently in different cultures and across different times
Social Institution
A group of social positions, connected by social relations, that perform a social role A social institution socialized the people within it (ex: the family, the government, language, labor marker, legal system)
The Chicago School
A group of sociologists at the University of Chicago -William Julius Wilson, Elijah Anderson (Venkatesh learned from them) -focused on empirical research/use a lot of in-depth interviews -Believe that social and physical environments shape people's behaviors and personality (*social ecology-relationship between people and environments*) -Did a lot of work in early 1900s (prime time to for *microsociological studies* of urbanism, immigration, race, ethnic relations) -Shaped major *symbolic interactionist thinkers* -Environment --> construction and interpretation of meaning
**The State (Max Weber)**
A human community that successfully claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory
Hypothesis
A proposed explanation for a relationship between two variables
Breaching Experiments
A research method that involves controlled social situations that intentionally break social rules, violating basic norms and ritualized scripts Ask: -what conflict/tensions arise form breaching norms/ritualized script? -How to people reestablish the norm? -What symbols/sign/gestures/behaviors are involved in both? To be considered in breaching experiments: -serious/less serious norms -active/passive responses (verbal and nonverbal) -formal/informal sanctions -status and power (hierarchy) always matter in who feels more comfortable breaking the norms and what the repercussions are -proxemic bubble: differs based on culture, genders, etc (ex: class breaching experiments)
Social Tie
A story that explains the "content" of our relationship to other members in a dyad in our social network (ex: Dave and Jenny have been childhood friends for a long time) (ex: STD models, and nazis more likely to become who they are because of their social ties-soc. imagine.)
Ideology
A very strong (causal) belief system that guides our behavior (tells us how to act) Ex: Religion, political ideology, *gender*, science
The Sociological Imagination
Ability to connect individual biography with broader historical and structural forces (economy, politics) Purpose is to "make the familiar strange and the strange familiar" One can use their sociological imagination by engaging in comparisons Ask how individual biography can shape larger historical/structural forces, and how these forces shape individual biography
*Affects of Affirmative Actions (based on empirical data)*
Abolishing it would be a small probability event = If abolished AA, wouldn't change for white students that much. Would help Asian students more, and would severely lower admissions rates for Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans *based on empirical data <- KNOW THIS* -AA is largely debated by whites -Minorities do better in labor market after college, but make less money than whites -Athletes do worse in academics and in labor market, but make more money (better social networks)
What do these early forms of gender inequality produce? (ex: socialization of inequality/gender roles in other institutions like the media/family)
All produce *inequality in the labor market and in politics.* -*Unequal Pay*-women earn *85% of what men do with the same credentials* -Sexual harassment/sexism -*Tracking*-Women tracked into certain kinds of jobs (relates to *pager* article) -*Glass ceilings*-Informal limits to how much women can be promoted up the ladder in their jobs
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
An *individual's position* in a stratified social order How do we measure it? -Education -Occupation -Income
street-level bureaucracies and bureaucrats
An aspect of the modern welfare state = frontline regulating and service providing "arms of the state" -Lareau~Schools (threat of taking kids away), social welfare programs, teachers, doctors -Venkatesh~Police, local gov officials that deal with JT?
Surveys
An ordered series of questions Usually questions are close-ended and quantitative Usually used in macrosociological studies Sometime may be open-ended (ex: other. Please explain) Several large patterns but do not explain their causes/meanings
Mass Media
Any form of media that reaches mass of people *Not only a form of communication, is a SOCIAL INSTITUTION* It comes in a process that is both technological and historical Timeline: Printing press (books), radio, silent film, TV, internet Shapes our non-material culture (ex of mass media: Eric Klinenberg's research on how only 6 media companies are in charge of all media today -> also control our culture (material and non))
Media
Any format/vehicle that carries, formats, or presents information
Organizations
Any social network defined by a common purpose, has boundaries between its members and the rest of the world
Social Deviance
Any transgression of socially established norms
Power Elite: 3 things associated with Upper Class in US
Associated with 1)Economy (income/wealth) 2)Politics (power) 3)Society (Prestige-C. Wright Mills once saw this as military)
Biological Determinism and Essentialism
Belief that an individual's personality/behavior/skills is innate and predetermined by their physiology. *differences in "cultures" of the genders based on biology*. *Stands in contract to the social construction of gender*
Sexism
Belief that members of 1) *separate biological sexes* possess 2) *culturally different* and 3) *politically unequal* traits
Gender Binary
Belief that there are only two genders and that people's sex matches their gender In our society, the gender binary = *ideology* (dominant belief) Breaches to the gender binary test the belief system: Third genders, nonbinary, parents not revealing gender of baby to social institutions, tomboys (people who act like other gender)
Cult of Domesticity
Belief that true womanhood centers on domestic responsibility and childrearing -The *legitimating ideology (term from Bonilla-Silva) for gendered division of labor* -Shift from horizontal kinship networks to immediate vertical ones Note: It is a legitimating ideology because it happens after economic change, not vice versa -It is an *ideology*-firmly held belief that being nurturing is a biological trait of women and they are best at staying home and caring for kids
Ethnomethodology
Breaching experiments! (Garfinkel) Mapping out cultural norms and ritualized scripts Allows us to see the underlying values of ritualized scripts and norms-makes socialization process more visible ex: experiments in class, Lucal, Candid Camera video (shows values of personal space, respect, like in urinals Research method whose purpose is to measure and record: Study of the methods people use for understanding and producing the social order in which they live (relates to deviance as well-deviants breach the norms)
Social Groups
Building blocks for society and interaction -Size is all important to how people will interact (simmel)/*size is what will form social relations, not individual personalities* -Social groups may be either dyads or triads -As group size increases, number of social ties (# of relationships) increases exponentially *-We conform to the groups around us, they shape how we think and act, peer pressure is powerful! -Ex: Adler and Adler social groups of the cliques, Black Kings in Gang Leader for a Day -EX:Asch Test (1940s)-people conform to other people's answers on what color they see EX: Candid Camera (1970s-1980s)-people that had norms/behaviors breached were nervous (facing backward in elevator, putting hat on and off), but all people went along with their strange behaviors because of *desire to conform to groups
Types of Variables
Independent variable = "x," a measure variable that the researcher believes has an impact on the dependent variable Dependent variable = "y," the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain
Harold Garfinkel
Came up with breaching experiments (was his idea for studying social experiments) Saw that responses to breaching were anger, confusion, annoyance, use of humor *Tact: People try to maintain control make behavior, move behavior back in line with social construction*
Sociologist Anne Crittenden's thoughts on solving gender inequality
Cannot look at only income and education inequality, but must focus also on *unequal family responsibilities* that are the product of socially constructed *gender roles* and *social policies* that disadvantage mothers/daughters
Social Capital-individual and group level
Comes out of social networks and social ties (specifically indirect ones according to Granovetter) Individual Level: Resources derived from social networks Pros: Helps individuals enter/gain power in preexisting networks, is built upon trust, values, and norms or reciprocity (Ex: Venkatesh with JT) Cons: can be a liability (responsibility), reciprocity can be an obligation, not just a benefit (Ex: Venkatesh with JT) Group level: High levels-tight knit community and civic activity (ex: Black Kings)
Conflict Theorist vs Functionalist View on Nuclear Family
Conflict Theorist: Is not positively functional for society, there are other structures that could do this too, more inequality and some people's needs are places before others, Marx-born out of economic and political shift (legitimating ideology), empowering to men, not women- replenish nation after WWII to their own detriment, causes role conflict and creates tension Functionalist: Talcott Parsons-helps spread division of labor, is persisting in society so must serve some positively functional role
What is Sociology/What is it Not
The scientific study of human society. It is not an ideology (socialism), or a profession.
Political Economy of Media: Consumerism, Soft Power, Hard Power, and Hegemony
Consumerism: The belief that happiness and fulfillment can be achieved through acquiring material possessions How do people use media to shape culture? Soft Power = persuasive effects of cultural values and ideas Ex: Antonio Gramsci-Hegemony: Voluntary consent of the to be ruled by the dominant culture, transforms values Hard Power: Forceful effects or coercion and military force (useful in politics) Connection between soft power and hegemony: Soft power works so well because of hegemony
Correlation vs. Causation
Correlation: When change is observed in two variables at the same time (shows that they are related) -When both going same way (up/down), are positively correlated -when going opposite direction, are negatively correlated Causation: A change in one variable causes a change in another variable *Sociologists conduct research to prove causation *To have causation, you need: 1) correlation is established 2) Time order is established 3) Alternative explanations are ruled out (spuriousness)
Herbert Blumer: Cycle of Meaning
Created basic idea of a cycle of meaning Cycle of meaning = a meaning gets constructed through shared interactions, and people act in response to the meanings that signs/symbols hold for them (ex: traffic light, business suit)
Hegemony/regemony
Created by Antonio Gramsci Control via voluntary consent, can transform values Gramsci focuses on how governments get people to do what they want by convincing them that their actions are voluntary -People in power have convinced those not in power that it is in their best interest not to rise up (ex: fight against higher taxes when that could maybe help level the playing field) Hegemony is a form of soft power It is very useful in social institutions such as: -Media and culture -religion -labor market (ex: masculinity (transforms how devalue women-Kane, relates to Dyer reading-military resocialization))
Antonio Gramsci-as he relates to Marxism
Created hegemony, conflict theorist, followed in the footsteps of Marx Playing off of his ideas of governmental uprising with the proletariat-saying that gov uses hegemony and soft power to convince people that it is not in their best interest to rise up)
Anomie
Creator = Emile Durkheim Term used to describe alienation, normlessness (not knowing how to behave or act), loss of purpose or direction -May result from overregulation or too little social control -Relates to Durkheim's view of suicides as happening at the group-level as a result of feeling a sense of anomie, relates to Gaines reading
Davis and Moore vs. Tumin
Davis and Moore = functionalists Tumin = Social conflict theorist 1. Davis and Moore say: it is positive for society to have jobs be sorted by level of how much they are needed/valued (ex: doc. > janitor) 1. Moore says: Not necessarily true because you have to think about who they serve (janitor may serve more people) 2. Davis and Moore say: Job sorting is important because it encourgaes people to get the most important jobs and weeds out those with no talent 2. Tumin says: Not true because other factors keep people from getting higher positions, and we are therefore missing out on talent people Tumin says allows people with privilege and power to keep it and creates tension between people
Affirmative Action
Definition: A set of policies that grant preferential treatment to a number of particular subgroups within a population EX: Two groups given most preferential treatment in US higher ed. institutions are athletes and legacies EX: Harvard admissions scandal-7,000 of all students body were athletes or legacies (big %) EX: Preference also given for leadership roles, unique backgrounds, etc. -Studies show that many US students value AA for leveling the playing field Two important things to note with AA: -Only affects about 1/5 of all colleges (top 1/5) -*Not only about race-other things are more important* (more about other types of groups like athletes or legacies)
Georg Simmel
Developed *formal sociology* (concerned with forms of social interaction over content) *Created antecedents of the social network theory* -Created definition for small and large groups -Looked at fundamental differences between a group of 2 (dyad) vs group of 3 (triad) -Said that size was all important to the way in which people interact
How does the nuclear family differ across time and space (how is it actually atypical and not normative) *There is no typical family structure or right family structure*
Differs across space: -adoptive families, extended families, outside of US, some tribes don't even have the concept of marriage Differs across time: -Preindustrial family = functioned like mini economy, everyone does work inside/around house (so not really gendered division of labor), had both *horizontal and vertical kinship networks* -Industrial Revolution = *Creates gendered division of labor*, men move out into factory work and women stay at home and become dependent consumers with their kids, kids sent to school and are no longer producers --> cult of domesticity
Direct vs Indirect Social Tie
Direct: Know each other directly Indirect social tie: Are connected only though another person (ex: Jim-->Andre<--Lily) Lily and Jim would have indirect social tie
Race and sociological imagination
There are different definitions of race based on sociological imagination (moment in time, geographic, economic, political place) *Time and place*
Functionalist Approach to Deviance (Emile Durkheim)
Durkheim: -Deviance exists because serves a function for all of society 1)Helps people maintain *social cohesion* 2)Creates a sense of *moral unity* -When someone violates norms, offense a society's *collective conscience* (set of established social norms) -SO...main purpose (but latent function) of punishment for deviance is to reestablish and reinforce the norms; hold society together
Dyad vs Triad
Dyad: -Mutual dependence (ex: husband and wife, slave and slave owner) -Symmetry of dependence even when there is unequal power (example: slave owner would not be slave owner without slave) -To have a pure dyad, has to be voluntary (ex: most wives and husbands) -No supra-individual group force -Politics of *consensus* over conflict Triad: -Similar to dyad except... -Supra-individual group force is present (if a member leaves or if members change, will still be a group) -Politics of *conflict* over consensus *Important Point*: Has to do with structure and size of the group more-so than the individuals personalities (ex: Alder and Alder school clique reading-conflict between those in the group) (ex: Tufts needs to consider Simmel's thoughts when making more triples than doubles-could lead to more conflict?)
Donna Gaines "Teenage Wasteland"
Employs sociological imagination Kids seeking groups and connection with others (to commit suicide)-shows that it is a public issue, not just a personal trouble Does not just look at kid's personal lives, but "looked up and out" at broader social structure and history -Negative labeling -Drugs -Over-regulation in larger society, but society changing quickly -Reagan era economic inequality -In general, instability
3 Types of Cultural Capital
Ex: Pretty Woman clip, Princess Diaries Dinner Scene, the Wire (cultural capital does not equate to financial capital) 3 Distinct Types of Culture Capital: 1)Embodied Culture = Skill in the body-like informal human capital (ex: ability to play piano) 2) Objectified cultural capital = Physical object that requires significant investment of time and money (ex: the piano) 3) Institutionalized cultural capital = When embodied and objectified capital becomes institutionalized-when it is legitimized by a major social institution (ex: piano playing abilities on your piano are praised by a major conservatory and you gain admittance)
Roth "Racial Mismatch The Divergence Between Form and Function in Data for Monitoring Racial Discrimination of Hispanics"
Findings: With Caribbean hispanics in the US, self-identified race in the US census (x) is poorly correlated with real experiences of discrimination (y) They interpret and answer census question using very different aspects of race Phenotype is what really matters for racial discrimination, but is not captured well by the US census
Unions
Formal organizations of workers that can bargain with employers as a group
Talcott Parsons
Functionalist If a social institution is passed on through generations, it must be positively functional for society
Tracking from Functionalist and CT Perspective
Functionalist perspective = Help students tailor path most closely to their future goals, helps weed out the most talented, sorting people efficiently and effectievly (Davis and Moore POV) CT perspective = schools *do not sort based on merit/talent* but class, status, and often use race (process of racialization) to make assumption of behavior and talents, minorities upset about being tracked into vocational careers-too much class/race segregation so don't even offers APs at some schools (shifting standards). With concerted cultivation methods, sometimes kids are placed in tracks only because of parents intervention (again see how gives them an advantage). (RELATES TO Tumin and Roth) In sum: Tracking produces and reproduces inequality
Venkatesh Gang Leader for a Day
Functionalist perspective: provides incentive to people who otherwise wouldn't have it, serves as a political organization, provides social institutions (like policing) to areas where don't have it Conflict theory perspective: take resources from surrounding community, encourage deviance, reduce quality of life, put power in the hands of a few
Social Construction of Gender
Gender changes over time and space EX: Plump used to be considered the ideal feminine body shape, not it is skinny and tones-this is how we know that gender and the values we assign to it are socially constructed (our ideals have changed overtime) While gender is socially constructed, like race, it has real consequences *Gender inequality. --> Gender differences in social life* -Unequal socialization occurs early on in other social institutions: 1)Families (begins as early as in the womb) EX: *Maglaty article* 2)Schools 3)Media EX: Pottery Barn Kids magazine assuming behaviors based on biology-ads for girls with cooking and cleaning supplies/baby dolls. Shows values as girls being nurturing/caring/mothers/caretakers of home. can see that with girls being socialized with these ads and being shows this gender inequality, will later produce gender differences in social life (they have been socialized to act this way) 4)--> Labor market
Gender Socialization
Gender is a powerful *social institution* because... 1) Socializes the individuals and groups within it 2)It is supported and legitimized by other social institutions (ex: family, schools, government) Sex does not equate to gender Gender is *socially constructed* (and politically): It is constructed, taught, learned, enforced, and challenged; takes your sociological imagination to see it (Maglaty)
Erving Goffman: Dramaturgical theory of social interaction
Goffman = symbolic interactionist, micro sociologist Social life is a theatrical performance in which people are actors on a metaphysical stage. People use verbal and nonverbal devices to present a "front stage" and "back stage" version of themselves for others Impressions management = Control over how one presents themselves to others (lucal, crane, Williams, granfield) Face/saving face= The esteem in which people are held by others/trying to preserve that (Lucal) (ex: social media = front stage version)
Agents of Socialization
Groups or social contexts within which processes of socialization take place Ex: Families, schools, peers, religions, labor markets, governments, the media, etc.
Formal Organizations vs Informal Organizations
Have set of governing rules and rules for their internal set-up Informal Organizations: Do not Ex: Black Kings could be considered either
Social Identity
How individuals in relationship to groups (includes ones they are a part of and one's they are not/choose not to be part of) Note: Social identity can change overtime, as it is contextual
Resocialization
If culture is learned, then it can be unlearned and relearned (ex: military-Dyer)
one-drop rule
In Jim Crow Era, in census, forced all groups (mulatto, etc.) into the Black category as it was now the only option note: The way we format our census is dependent on time, place, and values
How does the nuclear family come about?
In response to specific *time and place* -Post WWII economic boom (40s-60s) -^Gave fans ability to attain it
Income vs Wealth: 2 ways we conceptualize and measure economy
Income = Money received by a person for work (wages) or returns on investments Wealth/Net Worth = Bigger than income, includes more *(total assets-total debts)* -Can be financial capital (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) -Or physical capital (housing, car, real estate, business assets) -Different groups of Americans derive their income from different places -Bottom 90% hold 3/4 of countries total depth-this is also racially divided-African Americans have to borrow more loans -Davis and Moore vs Tumin debate still very relevant -C. Wright Mills would call this a public issue
2 Types of Social Deviance
Informal Social Deviance = Minor transgressions of the norms (does not break any formal laws, such as our in class breaching experiments) Formal Social Deviance or Crime = Violation of *formal* laws (so considered more serious) Note: What we consider to be a formal crime/formal social deviance will differ across time and place (soc. imag.) EX: Blacks and whites mingling used to be formal social deviance. Driving under the influence is today considered formal crime.
Labeling Theory as it Relates to race and education
Leads to internalization of negative stereotypes *Stigma --> labeling process --> self-fulfilling prophecy* Labeling theory: 1) student notices the assigned label (stigma based on race) 2) Student internalizes this label as the truth 3) Students acts according to this label (self-fulfilling prophecy)
Bureaucracy
Legal-rational authority is the legitimating ideology behind it = a *legal-rational organization* or mode of administration that governs with references to *rules and roles* and emphasizes *meritocracy*
Sociologist Tom Shapiro's thoughts on solving racial inequality
Like solving gender inequality, cannot focus on income and education along, but look at *wealth differentials* between blacks and whites that are the product of *social policies* -These policies overtly disadvantaged blacks in the past and have compounded financially overtime (like starting a race when everyone else has already begun)
Conflict Theory
Major Thinkers: *Karl Marx, *C. Wright Mills, *Pierre Bourdieu, *W.E.B. Du Bois, Annette Lareau Sees world as being in a continual struggle and social behavior as tension for resources and power A macrosociological approach Impressed with social change, not endurance Does not see imbalance/dysfunction as returning to normal Sees people as being driven by individual interests, not values
Functionalism
Major Thinkers: Auguste Comte, *Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, *Robert Merton Sees society as sum of parts that work together to maintain and restore equilibrium and stability A macrosociological approach Impressed with the endurance of social institutions, as opposed to their change Sees temporary imbalance/dysfunction as returning to normal Emphasizes value consensus over conflict
Symbolic Interactionism
Major thinkers: George Hubert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley, Herbert Blumer, *Erving Goffman, *Elijah Anderson A microsociological approach Sees world as unpredictable, and that people are active and creative agents Sees people as driven by learned values Sees society as being made up of meaningful objects (material and non) which have shared meaning (symbols-negotiated through interaction)
Cult of Domesticity and Karl Marx vs. Talcott Parsons
Marx (CT): This legitimating ideology arises after the economic and political switch of the Industrial Revolution Parsons (F): nuclear family is good because have distribution of labor in family (man is breadwinner and woman is homemaker and nurturer)
Karl Marx/his classical sociological theory
Marx = conflict theorist./macrosociologist, theory of historical materialism, marxism
Marx vs Weber's views on the rise of capitalism
Marx: -Material culture (economic/material structure-industrial rev) --> nonmaterial culture (capitalist beliefs) Max Weber: -Not just material culture that led to capitalism, but also nonmaterial culture (ideas/beliefs of the protestant reformation) For Weber: *Religious ideas* --> *rational thought* about time use and capital accumulation -*Rational bookkeeping* = earn money and save (would be sign that are chosen for predestination -Capitalism is unintended consequence of of these religious beliefs -*Weber's warning:* religious undertones (morals) could fall away leaving people who are obsessed with goal of earning money (Note: Opposite of alienation from the system that Marx worried about) -relates to UC~middle class parents scheduling time most efficiently in quest for capitalism (don't waste any time)
material vs. non-material culture
Material culture = things and technology Nonmaterial culture = ideas and beliefs; note: can be an ideology (ex: language, class, inequality, ownership) (ex: Lincoln memorial/emojis are both)
5 characteristics of bureaucracy-Max Weber
Max Weber came up with this 1) Hierarchical structure 2) Specialized tasks/positions 3) Impersonal organization and structure (personalities of individuals detached from their roles) 4) Meritocratic roles and organizations (supposed to be related to talent and effort, not personality or who you are) 5) Efficient operation ^This makes it sound pretty good!
C.H. Cooley
Member of the Chicago School -Developed idea of primary and secondary groups
Social Mobility
Movement between different positions within a system of social stratification -Can take place at *individual or group level* -Can be either *horizontal or vertical* (EX: horizontal: changing jobs from one type of teacher to another EX vertical: Meghan Markle) Using soc. imagination = Decline of manufacturing economy and rise of service economy has led to a "generational march forward"-men now aren't guaranteed to earn as much as fathers. *Big shifts usually happen because of economic/technological development* Social Mobility in US vs Europe: -Social mobility also differs between cultures. -EX: In Britain, people have the idea that you are born into your social class and cannot move much, BUT in US class system, actually more likely to stay where you are than the "elite-mass dichotomy" in Europe <-- Is US really land of opportunity? -We don't have more mobility in the US because we don't want to admit that we don't have a meritocracy and so we don't put money into social welfare programs which help people move up Lareau on Social Mobility: -We have a myth of classless society but we really do have one (we just don't admit it)
Hidden Curriculum
Nonacademic socialization and training (one of the manifest functions of schooling) From a CT perspective: -Creates tension -Unfairly imposes cultural values of people -Forced assimilation of immigrant students or kids of from different cultures/ethnic backgrounds (relates to "Civilize Them With a Stick" reading -Also unfair to poor children because use concerted cultivation so they are often not rewarded because not parented in this same style, so do not learn the specific skills that are rewarded in this institution
Nuclear Family/Traditional Family
Only a mother, father, and biological children
Natural Growth
Orientation where let the kids develop skills more organically (not up to the parents, they let them develop on their own) -Parents style of working class/poor families -You grow up in the way that suits you -Kids do their activities because they enjoy them-not because of where it may get them
Ritualized Scripts
Patterns of behavior that become regularized (ex: not taking too much time to choose your sandwich ingredients at a sandwich shop/not ordering an abundance of things on your sandwich)
Personal Trouble vs. Public Issue (using your sociological imagination)
Personal struggle=can be fixed through personal change (ex: anxiety, you're poor, etc.) Public Issue=Issue that is one which many experience. it cannot be fixed through personal change, but a larger, structural change needs to occur Note: Public issues can feel very personal
The 2 Approaches to Sociology: Positivism & Macrosociology vs. Interpretivism & Microsociology
Positivism & Macrosociology = Breadth over depth (uses big picture approach to look at all of society, usually uses quantitative research methods, starts from theory step) Interpretivism and Microsociology = Depth over breadth (looks at small/local level to understand the larger picture, start from empirical observations step and builds up, based more on observations than hard data, looks at *specific meanings)
Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Deviance-Primary and Secondary Deviance and Stigma
Primary Deviance = first act of rule breaking, before label is applied, may or may not lead to being considered deviant, does not yet affect person's self-identity (may even be just extreme conformity like with eating disorders) Secondary Deviance = second act of rule breaking, acts committed after label is applied, occurs as a direct result of the deviant label Stigma = if *label is so strong and enduring* that one can never thwart it and it becomes their master status, have a stigma -Changes how people behave toward you -Changes sense of self and social identity -*Self-fulfilling prophecy* (act in accordance with the labels placed on you)
Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Deviance-Labeling Theory
Process through which deviance is socially constructed 1) Unconsciously notice a label 2) Internalize this label as "truth" 3) Behave according to the label's expectations (can see in McLorg and Taub and Rosenhan readings)
Pros and Cons to Legal-rational authority (Max Weber)
Pros = easy to maintain, pass down, considered to be fare (meritocracy) <-- these would be derived from the ideal characteristics Cons = Workers not responsible -- > separation of morals from duties (relates to authority and obedience like with Milgram experiment), loss of empathy, mechanization of workers (soul-crushing) EX: Letter from department of homeland security, article about muslim travel ban (show Weber's fear that legal-rational authority would lead to separation of duties from morals "im just doing my job"
2 ways of collecting data
Quantitative Methods: Numeric data Qualitative Methods: Non-numeric data
2 manifest functions of schooling
Quick Review: Manifest/latent functions developed by Robert Merton who was a functionalist 1) To educate -teach general skills -teach specific or vocational skills = Human Capital 2) To socialize you -transmit values, beliefs, attitudes that are important to a society and its members = "Hidden Curriculum"
Subculture
Related to, but distinct from a larger culture Is not oppositional to the larger culture it is a subset of, but might be considered deviant or be marginalized Influenced by larger historical, economic, and political structure (ex: hook-up culture inside courtship culture)
Michael Hout "How Class Works"
Research Method: Large national survey -Argues that if know level of education, income, and occupation, you can predict how someone will identify their SES -^ This is a reliable/valid way to operationalize and measure class -2/3 say they are working of middle class in major national surveys (he argues that people are *class aware*) -How much money you make (income) is the measure with the most predictive power
The Milgram Experiment
Research Method: Social experiment to test why good, normal people do horrible things (like with Nazis). How far will people got to obey an authority figure? Set-up of Experiment: Subject assigned role as teacher. Learner misses word pairing exercise answers (subject thinks they are testing learner, not them). As punishment, teacher keeps going up shock voltage until deadly shock is delivered. Some resisted, but upon verbal encouragement by authority figure (experimenter said - "please continue", "the experiment requires that you continue"), many did so even though there would be no repercussions if they refused. Expected results: 10% would go all the way Results: Over 2/3 did *Shows:* -*Good people can be made to do bad things simply when told to do so by authority* -*OBEDIENCE IS POWERFUL MECHANISM OF SOCIAL CONTROL* -disproves *dispositional hypothesis*-not only extremely evil, but ordinary people can commit horrible crimes -Relates to Stanford Prison Experiment. According to Zombardi, *environment shapes people*, not vice versa. SO, *if want to reform in the system, need to alter the bigger structure*
Scott Jaschick Academically Adrift
Research Methods: Content analysis of another book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses Types of Data: Qualitative and Quantitative Connections to Main Concepts: -*The social institution of education* -Socialization: *Schools socializing students to be competitive in the labor market instead of good learners* -Conflict theory: Universities are essentially negatively functional for all of society because they are producing ill-informed citizens Main Arguments/Ideas: -Data shows that Americans are not learning that much -Colleges do not teach that much -Kids coming to have fun instead of learn -Students learn less when: -Study in groups, are studying a professional track (like business where there is not much reading or critical thinking), are in social groups (like frats), clubs do not yield positive or negative results -Learn more when: -Have rigorous course load -Read and write a lot -Use critical thinking skills BUT-we need to push back on his arguments a bit -Great rewards come from social network groups
Aspects of Survey Research
Response Rate = number of surveys completed/total number fo surveys Selection Bias = when respondents who fill out a survey differ in nonrandom ways from those who choose not to Repeated cross-sectional survey = repeated with a new group of people each year (Longitudinal) panel survey = uses the same group of respondents each year (ex: could track how one's racial identity changes overtime based on the environment that are in)
Robert Merton: Manifest and Latent Functions
Robert Merton = Functionalist who came up with manifest/latent functions Manifest Functions = Stated, conscious functions of institutions (ex: College -> produce informed citizens) Latent Functions = Unconscious, unintended functions that may reflect the hidden purposes of an institution (ex: College -> keep people out of workforce for a few years)
Cultural Relativism
Ruth Benedict (1930s) recognize differences across cultures without passing judgement or assigning value to the differences
Culture
Set of beliefs, traditions, and practices (stand apart from the physical environment) -Nature-Man -(superior) man-(inferior) man -Man-machine
Social Network
Set of relations *(dyads)* held together *by social ties between individuals* A social network becomes a social institution when there is a socializing role (ex: Black Kings)-teaches behaviors and norms
Pretty Woman Clip
Shows cultural, economic, and social capital He, as a successful business man, has social capital because of his social ties with the other men. Also has cultural capital, while Vivian does not-she doesn't know the norms and scripts of the the high culture of the business dinner Economic capital-he has it and Vivian doesn't, contributes to why he has cultural capital and social capital (all are interrelated) Social and cultural capital all covert into economic capital
Functionalist Approach to Social Control/2 types of social sanctions
Social Control = Set of mechanisms that created formative compliance in individuals (how society uses control to get people to comply with expected norms) 2 types of social sanctions: 1) Informal social sanctions = unspoken rules/expectations that enforce social norms (ex: giving weird looks, laughing, moving away when someone steps closer, neighborhood watch groups) 2) Formal social sanctions = Formal punishment (ex: go to jail)
Total Institution
Social institution in which one is completely immersed that controls all the basics of day-to-day life Ex: Alcatraz, prisons, military, universities(ish), nursing homes, convent, mental institutions, casinos, "Its a Mall World"
Spuriousness
Some other factor could be causing change in x and y (ex: the more Nick cage movies that come out, the more swimming pool deaths. Have to look at the fact that a lot of blockbusters come out in the summer. Also in this example, time order is not established) Ex: The marshmallow test
Robert Merton/Role Theory
Status = Recognizable social position that an individual occupies (ex: husband, wife, parent) Role = Duties/expectations that come with the status (also about how that person should behave) Role Strain: Tensions among roles within one status (ex: professor-teacher, researcher) Role Conflict: Tensions among roles for different statuses (ex: student-athlete, working-mom) Ascribed Status: Status you are born into, no choice (son/daughter) Achieved status: Status you enter and choose in at least some sense (mother/father, new social class-granfield) Master Status: One status that outweighs all others (ex: Being Black in the US-Pager's study) Status Set: All the statuses that a person holds at the same time
Consequences of the Chore Wars
There are many consequences of this gender inequality -"bitter women and puzzled men" -From a position of advantage and power, men cannot see the inequality in the gendered division of labor and so don't understand why the women are upset --> Can lead to anger and divorce
Narrative
Sum of the stories contained in a series of social ties (ex: group of friends at tufts who know each other through Dave and Jenny)
Media Commercialization of Culture
Taking a culture and turning it into profit Can be viewed through symbolic interactionist or conflict theory perspective Commercialization does not equate to acceptance of a culture Typically does not destroy culture's traditional meanings, but can alter them
Politics
The *power relations* among people. Ranging from macro governmental level to micro interpersonal level
Socialization/Socialization of Culture
The *process* by which a person *internalizes the values, beliefs, and morals* of a society and learns to *function (behavior norms)* as a member of that society. *(values/belief --> behaviors and norms)* Learning the expected social norms of a group/society through social interaction to learn how to behave How any society or culture learns or teaches its members its values and creates scripts (behavior)
*Power*
The ability to carry out your will despite resistance
Embeddedness
The degree to which social ties are reinforced through *indirect paths* within a social network (ex: why military recruits young men-they are less embedded, have less social ties, more easy to resocialize)
*Authority*
The justifiable right to exercise power
Operationalization
The process of specifying the terms and methods that will be used in a study. Methods must be valid and reliable. (ex: Pager, et al: first had to define discrimination, then specify how would measure it)
Welfare State (a modern day state)-definition by Theda Skocpol
Two components of a social welfare state: 1) REGULATION~Any organization that tried to use coercion and political authority over a certain territory and people in it <-- Weber 2) SERVICE~extracts resources through *taxation* and has responsibility for serving *welfare of citizens*
Social Experiments (social experimentation)
Two types: Both have independent and dependent variables with correlation test a human's reaction to certain situations or event. (Ex: Haney) 1) Natural experiments = event that occurs naturally in the real world, and affect an independent variable, which then affects the dependent variable (event cannot affect the outcome, just the factor that affects the outcome-why these are so rare to find) (ex: Marielitos sent from Cuba by Fidel and could see in real world whether immigrants negatively impacted economy-they don't) 2) Audit study = Pair of similarly matched people are put in the same situation to see if they fare differently (ex: Paget-controlled what they said, how they dressed to test the variables of race and criminalization)
Lareau's argument regarding unequal distribution of wealth
Under a condition of equality, we should see a random distribution of economic resources and opportunity BUT...this is not the case. In fact, in the last century, we. are getting more and more economically stratified.
Interviews
Used to understand social action from the subjects own viewpoints and memories Can range from a structured interview (formal survey) to an unstructured one (informal conversation), but it usually semi-structured *(in-depth interview) In-depth interviews use probes to get *the reasons and meanings* behind one's experiences ex: Roth
Participant Observation (ethnography)
Uses qualitative methods Seeks to observe social actions in practice Can range from pure observation to pure participation, but is usually a "participant observation" mix (people who conduct research observe and participate) (ex: Venkatesh, Williams)
Validity and Reliability
Validity = Extent to which a instrument measures what it is supposed to measure Reliability = The likelihood to getting consistent results Note: Microsociologists normally more concerned with validity than reliability (they are not repeating the experiment and looking at the big picture over the years)
Marxism
View that capitalism has two groups 1) Bourgeoise = the capitalists, own the means of production 2) Proletariat = the workers, are owned by the means of production Predicted that economic/class tension would shape all interactions between the two groups, and lead to a revolution and new economic order (current order couldn't last) Saw class tension as causing social change Saw economy as shaping everything else (politics and ideas)
W.I Thomas: The social construction of reality
W.I Thomas = symbolic interactionist, micro sociologist, talks about how people teach and learn symbols and their meanings to create behavioral norms An entity or artifact that is socially constructed exists because 1. people agree to behave as though it exists 2. agree on following certain results 3. behave as if an agreement or rule exists Ex: Red light = stop
Organizational Structure
Ways in which *power* and *authority* are distributed in an organization (hierarchies) Note: Organizational culture and structure are distinct, but related. For example, if an organization's structure is very formal and hierarchical, its culture will be more autocratic Ex: Have whole hierarchy, similar to a university or government -Board of Directors all the way down to Foot-soldiers
Mark Granovetter: "The Strength of Weak Ties"
Weak/indirect social ties are what one can convert into social capital (ex: job opportunities) -Weak ties can spread media and activism today (through social media), but certain activist projects, like the CRM, were so successful because of direct social ties-such as those that people had in the Black churches of the south
Conflict theorist perspective on working mothers-stigma, deviance, and opting out
Women not even allowed to say that childcare is not fulfilling because there is a *stigma* and your will be considered *deviant* and *sanctioned* -women not allowed to say that they are upset about opting out, so mothers might not be able to see what they have lost financially/emotionally/career-wise/etc.
How has whiteness varied over time/space? Blackness? (SOC IMAG)
When sociologists compare, they find... -Concept of race varies over *1)Time* *2)Space* (EX: Roth reading) EX: *Whiteness in the US* -Socially considered a somewhat inclusive category in the late 18th century -Became more narrow definition in late 19th century (people distancing themselves from new eu immigrants) -White people simonized Irish, Italian, Chinese comparing them to Africans, Irish not considered socially white by WASPS (contrast to Lee's reading that Chinese are honorary whites like they are today) -Shifted back to broader definition in 20th century (when great migration happened, expanded definition because wanted to separate black from white) -Today have multiracial as an option *-All serves to show that race is not "real" or biological, but socially constructed* EX: *Blackness varies over time and space* -one-drop rule during Jim Crow of early 1900s (1900-1930) -Bonilla-Silva's argument: Pre-1960s, overtly racially unequal political/economic structure, overt biological racism was the legitimating ideology-one drop rule really polices and restricts the idea of blackness -All shows that *no category in the census is natural/biological* but are socially constructed -- > evidenced by the way they have changed overtime. -*RACE IS NOT A RELIABLE MEAUSURE ^, as places and time result in different definitions of blackness* -In LA, people manipulate definitions to be identifies more with white, like reverse of one-drop rule. LA countries have more definitions of race
Structural Hole/Structural Entrepreneurs
When two networks are separate (not connected in a place), have a structural hole Structural Entrepreneurs-people who link the structural hole and the two networks together Ex: GLFAD -Venkatesh links gang to academic world -JT links gang to politics -Autry links gangs together -Mrs. Bailey links tenants and gangs
The Chore Wars
Who does what and how much? (around the household) -Women spend much more time than men with housework (1.8 hrs to every 1 hr) -Gendered division of labor has gone down since 60s, but is still very much there -Men do more masculine coded housework like yard-work and mowing lawn-even time spent with kids is more recreational -This gendered division of labor is even seen by kids (boys have more leisure time than girls on average-girls spend more time with hw, grooming, etc.) *3 Components:* 1) Amount of time spent 2)Types of tasks (gendered division of labor)-when and how often are they performed temporally 3) Ways tasks or work are perceived-women are expected to do these tasks and when men do them, women "feel lucky"
Larger structural forces that prompt "opting out"
Women making choices in the face of gendered constraints in the labor market (US lacks gov support) -Has no paid leave and other countries have almost a year -If one has paid leave, likely because in better job at big corp. = *disproportionately affects women of lower social class* -*opting out connected not just to gender, but class*
Capitalism
an economic system in which *property and goods are privately owned*; *investments are determined by private decisions*; and prices, production, and the distribution of goods are determined primarily by *competition* in an free/private marketplace
Pierre Bourdieu
conflict theorist, recognized that there are different forms of culture capital (specifically focused on cultural capital) His main concern: How all of these forms of capital reproduce inequality, patterns of inequality in class/gender, how elites use their cultural capital to maintain higher status (ex: elite may judge if person doesn't know norms and scripts at fancy restaurant)
Validity and Reliability in Race
ex: Marrow's class survey on race Validity: Have to recognize that survey might not be valid, as it was only addressing self-identified race. But this does not include any of the other types identified in the Roth reading. Reliability: The way people self-identity race is dependent on what social institution they are in (ex: home/school). *Race differs across time and place
Ferguson #8 Haney et al "Interpersonal Dynamics of a Simulated Prison"
example of an audit study (type of social experiment) Findings: How people act as prisoners and guards has less to do with the individuals' personalities and more to do with the structure of the prison environment itself *More about the systems than the individuals
Pager et al. "Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market"
example of audit study (type of social experiment) Findings: *Racial discrimination is related to employment outcomes in hiring White with a criminal record just as likely, if not more likely to be called back than Blacks with no record-shows that racial bias even more important than criminal records *How does this discrimination take place? 1) Categorical exclusion 2) Shifting standards 3) Race-Based job chanelling
Karl Marx: Theory of historical materialism
identifies class conflict as primary cause of social change-later became known as Marxism
Cultural scripts
modes of behavior & understanding that are not universal or natural, but that may strongly shape beliefs or concepts held by a society (ex: Lucal's piece on gender roles-they are not biologically based, but have ritualized scripts)
Cultural Jamming
the act of turning media against itself (ex: wearing a Ronald McDonald costume to a anti-meat/animal welfare protest)