Sociology Midterm

"W. E. B. DuBois (1869-1961)

Double consciousness: the souls of black folk- be conscious of how others see oneself

Consequences of Socialization

Establishes self-concepts Creates the tendency for people to act in socially acceptable ways (for good and bad) Resocialization involves adopting new norms/values Creates the ability to role take (to sympathize or take the perspective of someone else, or to successfully pretend to be someone else)

A sociological eye/perspective:

Helps us make real sense of 'common sense' • Helps us see the opportunities and constraints in our own and others' lives • Helps us live in a diverse and ever-changing world • Helps us be active participants in our society

Stereotype

Judgmental Tends to be an absolute category (no exceptions) Overshadows all other categories describing that person Is not carefully created Does not change with new evidence Not interested in cause

Cultural Relativism

Looking at/taking into account norms and differences across cultures without passing judgment or saying something is good or bad

Sanction

Negative = a penalty or threatened penalty

Example of social fact

Political Party System, climate change, obesity and overweight rates

Group Cohesion

Sense of solidarity or loyalty that individuals feel toward a group to which they belong

Social Fact

Social patterns that are products of group or collective actions, not individual activities or goals Often they are unanticipated consequences of history and group behavior

Sociological mindfulness

The practice of tuning-in to how the social world works.

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

The question of social solidarity: Where do shared norms and culture (collective consciousness) come from?

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Theory of historical materialism (economics drives society) Who controls the means of production? (land; factories; computer networks; information)

Deviance

a behavior, trait, or belief that departs from a norm and causes a negative reaction (sanction) in a particular group.

status

a position in society that comes with a set of expectations.

social network

a set of relations, held together by ties between individual parties

Master status

a status that seems to override all others and affects all other statuses that one possesses.

Crowd

a temporary gathering of people in a public place - might interact but do not identify with each other

Role conflict

occurs when the roles associated with one status clash with the roles associated with a different status

ascribed status

one we are born with that is unlikely to change

achieved status

one we have earned through individual effort or that is imposed by others.

Control Theory

our connections to others in society lead us to systematically conform to the norms of our society

Category

people who share one or more attributes but who lack a sense of common identity or belonging

Socialization

process by which a person internalizes the values, beliefs, and norms of society and learns to function as a member of that group or society.

Structural-Functionalism

social system contains norms, values, and institutions; people take on roles to maintain social order)

Causation

the idea that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another factor.

Social capital

the information, knowledge of people, and connections that help people enter pre-existing networks or gain power in them

Manifest functions

the intended, obvious consequences of activities

Correlation

two (or more) things are observed happening simultaneously

Role strain

occurs when roles associated with a single status clash with each other.

"The Meaning of Culture"

1 - culture as an activity 2 - culture as a process of personal growth 3 - culture as a group's way of life

Small group

1 - face-to-face interaction 2 - unifocal (one purpose at any given time) 3 - lack of formal roles 4 - certain level of equality (but not full equality)

Why look at names as indicators of culture and cultural change?

1) Everyone has a name 2) there's good data available 3) Companies trying to sell you stuff don't really care about your name

Organic solidarity

"modern societies", Extensive division of labor, Specialization of tasks

Statistics

"numeric statements about social life"

Mechanical solidarity

"primitive societies", Minimal division of labor, Little specialization of tasks

The Late 19th and early 20th centuries (Europe and U.S.)

1. agricultural -> industrial economies 2. Growth of cities (migration from rural areas) 3. Government - monarchies democracies (empires nation-states) 4. Decline in religious influence in public and political life; rise of science and scientific thought 5. New technologies!

Theory

A framework that suggests certain assumptions and assertions about the way the world works

Sociology

A social science - the scientific study of society, social life, and social change A way to understand social groups, processes and patterns A way to think critically about the social world and how it shapes our lives

Symbolic Interactionism

Attempts to understand society through examining the micro-level interactions of people as individuals, pairs, groups, or communities Society and groups are 'socially constructed' based on how everyday experiences help construct and maintain culture

How do social roles develop? a. Each person develops one social role they use for all situations b. People use different social roles each day based on different social expectations c. Society assigns social roles based on socio-economic status d. Social roles are developed based on our true selves and self-identities

B

Systems and structures that persist over time and help organize group life are called: a. Social controls b. Social institutions c. Secular actions d. Government e. Manifest functions

B

Why look at names?

Baby names follow socially structured patterns

The Socialization Process

Begins at birth and occurs throughout the life course Different based on race, gender, class, nationality, belief systems, etc. Other important factors: the roles of others, reference groups, context (time and place), and routines

Extra credit

Bourgeoisie

We can all be described as "everyday sociologists" because: a. sociology is a part of human nature. b. our parents taught us to be sociologists when we were young c. we are all members of society and therefore we have a great deal of background knowledge about how society works. d. sociologists are really just observers of conventional wisdom.

C

When students are tested and the test results are used to place them in a certain category of classes (remedial, advanced, college prep, etc.), this process is called: a. The hidden curriculum b. Socialization c. Tracking d. Charter schooling

C

You are doing a research project on the effects of contemporary media. If your hypothesis is that "watching violence on television causes an increase in violent behavior," then what is your dependent variable? a. violence on television and violent behavior b. watching television, violence on television, and violent behavior c. violent behavior d. violence in the media

C

Sociologists would argue that "size matters" in a group primarily because the number of people in a group determines: a. how large the group can become. b. what people think about others. c. what people will say. d. the structure that social relations in the group will take.

D

Which of the following is an example of using one's sociological imagination? a) being in unfamiliar surroundings and imagining being in a more comfortable place b) creating different hypotheses to explain a person's behavior c) creating a story to explain unfamiliar social customs d) being puzzled by how people in another country greet one another and then thinking about how people in your own country greet one another and why they do it the way they do

D

Generalization

Describes a category Is rarely, if ever, absolute Subject to change Created through carefully gathered evidence Categories are not assumed to be all-important for understanding an individual Interested in cause - why a category of people tends to have a certain quality

Research

Systematic process of data collection

Social control

Techniques and strategies which aim to prevent deviant behaviors in a society

The Sociological Imagination

Term coined by C. Wright Mills (1959), this tool helps us to: 1. connect our personal experiences to society at large and greater historical forces 2. "make the familiar strange," or to question things that seem "natural" to us

innumerate

The mathematical equivalent of illiteracy; it is "an inability to deal comfortably with the fundamental notions of number and chance."

A sociological perspective:

To see how our individual lives are both related to, and affect, the social forces that exist beyond us

Conflict Theory

Views the structure of society as a source of inequality that benefits some groups at the expense of other groups Conflict theorists see society not in terms of stability, but in terms of conflict and struggle. Social order arises from dominance, oppression, and coercion.

Cultural capital

a type of capital related to cultural tastes and background: consumption, education, style, appearance, and dress that: - helps people in groups interact with each other - gives information about social group boundaries - promotes social mobility

Anomie

alienation and loss of purpose resulting from weak social bonds

Idioculture

an 'idiosyncratic culture' that grows and evolves over time and represents the group

Roles

are the behaviors expected of individuals in that status.

Generalizability

can you claim your findings apply to other groups? This one is not always necessary

Reliability

can you get the same result again? Consistency is key!

Formal social control

carried out by authorized agents

Obedience

compliance with authorities in a hierarchy

Qualitative

data cannot be readily converted to numeric form. Often, interpretive in nature - focuses on meanings Gives you depth

Quantitative

data is in, or can be converted to, numeric form that can be studied mathematically Often, systematic observation of social behavior Gives you breadth

Labeling theory

deviance is a consequence of external judgments (labels) that change a person's self-concept and the way others respond to him or her

Validity

does it accurately measure what you intended to measure?

Non-Material (or Symbolic) Culture

encompasses ways of thinking (values, beliefs, assumptions), and ways of behaving (social norms, interactions)

Material Culture

everything that is a part of our constructed environment; artifacts and objects such as books, clothes, machines, tools, and buildings.

Organizations

formal (bureaucracy) and informal

Norms

formal and informal rules - how values tell us to act appropriately. Expectations of norms guide interactions with others

Conformity

going along with those who have no special right to direct our behavior

Informal Sanction

gossip, stigma, someone giving you the finger

Large group

has a formal structure that mediates interaction

Human capital

investments in individual skills

Formal Sanction

law, financial penalty, grade penalty

Social forces: Cultural

norms, values, beliefs

credentialism

reliance on academic/formal qualifications (diplomas and degrees) as the best measure of a person's intelligence or ability to do a particular job

Values

shared ideas about what a group views as desirable, good, and important

Research Methods

standard rules and processes that sociologists follow when trying to establish a relationship between social elements

Social forces: Structural

statuses, groups, institutions

social tie

the connection/relationship between two people that varies in strength

Embeddedness

the degree to which ties are reinforced through indirect paths within a social network

Latent functions

the unintended, sometimes unrecognized, consequences of actions that coincidentally help the system

Culture

the way of life for a group (helps people define themselves) - loosely defined as a set of beliefs, traditions, and practices (the distinguishing characteristics) It is hard for us to see our own culture, so we may not recognize the extent to which it shapes and defines who we are

Capital

things of economic value that people can invest in, assuming economic returns

Informal social control

used casually to enforce norms

Beliefs

what we deem to be true (reflect the culture you were raised in)

Ethnocentrism

when people use their own culture as a standard to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view, that cultures other than their own are abnormal and bad/worse.

Above all, sociologists are interested in:

• empirical findings •theoretical explanations of those findings (the how and why) •Accurate generalizations about groups of people