Introductory Principles of Sociology

I. Sociology: systematic study of human behavior and social life as shaped by groups/collectives. A. Behavior is a result of groups, categories, social structures and shaped by social contexts.B. Social life/social fact: our feelings and interactions that are a result of society and our own personality. a. Social life is constructed through social interaction C. Example: Student behavior a. social fact: student b. social interaction: with students and non-studentsc. social life: going to parties w/ students, studying when w/ professor D. Sociology is systematic and uses the scientific methoda. The scientific method involves 1) questioning2) development of theory to explain how 3) empirical: gathering data 4) analysis of the behavior and the cause 5) reassessment E. Sociological Imagination: the ability to see the impact of massive cultural systems on private lives (Mills)a. Need to assess history, biography, and social structure to form the basis of sociological imaginationb. Personal troubles: circumstances of difficulty within individuals lifec. Public troubles: social context/and larger society

Sociological Perspectives

I. Perspective: a statement that makes an assumption about the nature of society that gives an explanation for a range of behaviors A. All perspectives aim to ask1) How society is organized?2) Main factors that lead to organization?3) Focus of the inquiry?4) What level of analysis is used in examining social phenomenon?II. Levels of Analysis A. Macro-sociology: focuses on structure and the impact of groups and large societies on human behaviorB. Micro-sociology: examines the role of everyday interactions on human behavior

III. Main PerspectivesFunctionalismConflictInteractionism

Nature of Society- Society is a system of parts that all create a whole.

- Strive towards stability

- Structure is functional when it contributes to having a stable society- society is made of parts but some parts benefit certain categories of people more than others

- conflict is inevitable bc there are scarce resources/social inequality

- conflict due to inequality leads to social change- basis of social life is interaction

- interaction is a result of symbolic communication that shows shared meanings- individual views of reality are changeable

Basis of InteractionShared values and consensusStruggle for control through conflict/powerShared meanings associated with symbols

Focus of InquiryThe extent of social order and how its maintainedCauses of inequality and social changeEveryday nature of social life and how individuals adapt to it

Level of AnalysisMacro-levelMacro-levelMicro-level

Advantages/Disadvantages+ Explains origins of behavior

- Stability and integration rather than looking at inequality - doesnt realize that what is structurally functional for one is dysfunctional for another

+ notices instability

- focus on conflict and change rather than stability and ignores how shared values/interdependence creates unity in society.+ Focus on how individuals experience society- ignores the impact of larger social structures

Research Process

Step 1: Select Topic Step 2: Define Problem Step 3: Review LiteratureStep 4: Formulate a hypothesisStep 5: Research MethodStep 6: Collect DataStep 7: Analyze the resultsStep 8: Share Results

Social Construction of Reality: process through which members of society discover, make known, reaffirm and alter a collective version of facts/truth

Theory: set of statements that seek to explain an aspect of social life

I. Forms of ResearchA. Qualitative ResearchB. Quantitative Research

Social Structure

I. Society: population of people living in the same area who hare a cultura and common identity and fall under the same political authority A. Social structure: the regularity/pattern of social behavior B. The parts of social structure provide a framework II. Components of Social StructureA. Institutions: meet the basic needs of society a. Ex/ family, economic institution, government, education, religionB. Organizations: large complex network of positions created to fulfill a purpose and has division of labor a. Ex/ College, Microsoft, Red CrossC. Groups: interactions among individuals based on concern/relationship or issuea. Primary: a group that is together over a long period of time and members have emotional attachment to each other ex/ family, friendsb. Secondary: impersonal group that are established to perform a task ex/ work environmentD. Status/Roles: a. Status: positions based on certain skills, honors, and social beliefsi. Achieved: status due to persons efforts ii. Ascribed: status that you are born with ex/ race, genderb. Role: expectations for behavior and obligations based on a status E. Individuals/Interactions: the interaction of individuals is the basis of social behavior and occurs in all levels of social structure

Socialization

I. Socialization: the process of learning values, norms, behavior in order to participate in society and a way of learning culture. A. Research (Spitz) shows that humans need contact in order to be properly socialized a. Seen through the impact of isolation on feral children B. Goals of Socializationa. control impulses and development of conscienceb. role preparation (gender roles, marriage, jobs)c. provide understanding of what should be valued/lived forC. Characteristics of Socializationa. socialization happens through social interaction b. its a lifelong processc. its culturally relative D. Example: Unequal Childhoodsa. Concerted cultivation: parents foster childrens talents through organized activitiesb. Natural growth: Parents in working class give their children more unstructured time and create their own activitiesE. Types of Socializationa. Primary socialization: takes place in early life and basic core of individualb. Secondary socialization: takes place through out life, and when someone joins a new group that requires more socializationc. Re-socialization: process of learning new values/norms when adult leaves an old role and enters a new oned. Anticipatory socialization: people gain values and orientations in statuses they will enter in the futureThe Self

I. Self: unique set of traits, behaviors, attitudes that distinguish one person from the next A. The self has reflexive behavior: can perceive and evaluate oneselfII. Differentiation of Self/ Acquisition A. Must identify yourself as a distinct beingB. Looking glass self: we use the reactions of others to help us determine our own self-worth (Cooley)C. Also about internalizing the role system (Mead)D. Significant others help shape important values and beliefs, language developmental skills, and are related to looking glass. a. Generalized Others: what we believe the attitudes and expectations held in common by the members of society areIII. Role TakingA. Looking at oneself as an object from the perspective of the otherB. Play Stage: mimic the behavior of others, and without rules or expectations ex/playing houseC. Game Stage: understanding the roles of others and your own purpose in the systemIV. The Self as StructureA. Identities: self-conceptions about who we area. A result of roles/expectations of behaviorb. Personal qualitiesc. How we evaluate our own identityB. Identity Salience: importance of an identitya. Implies a hierarchy of identitiesb. Motivates social behaviorC. Self Esteem: evaluation of the selfa. Family Experiences: early family support or lack of impacts self esteemb. Performance Feedback: responses to your actions from othersc. Social Comparison: how we view ourselves in comparison to othersd. We protect our self-esteem and try to enhance our self-esteem as wellD. Self-Efficacy: a persons belief in their ability to succeed

Culture

I. Culture: shared ideas and products of a society in regards to what is true, right and beautiful. Its a map for living that is created by a group or societyA. Products: ideas that are transmitted material (fashion) and nonmaterial (language)B. True: perceived reality/beliefs Right: morals Beautiful: idealsII. Acquisition of CultureA. Physiology: inherited through genetics B. Culture: learned through socializationIII. Function of Culture1. Shapes our behavior2. Evaluate the behavior of others (ethnocentrism: using our values to evaluate others)3. Provides meaning 4. Differentiates IV. Elements of CultureA. Values: shared ideas about what is moral/goodB. Norms: rules that govern behaviorC. Rituals: activities or pattern ways with symbolic significance that express the norms/values of a social groupV. Subculture: variation in values/behaviors that distinguish members from the larger cultureVI. Counterculture: group that actively opposes the values and behavior patterns of the dominant cultureVII. Cultural Relativism: principle that peoples beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture