Sociology - Social Behavior Study Guide Part 2

 Labeling Theory (SI & Conflict): Howard S. Becker & Edwin Lemert o The explanation of deviant behavior that stresses the importance of society in defining what is illegal and in assigning deviant status to particular individuals, which in turn dominates their identities and behaviors  All “do” deviance  Rule breaking not deviant  Need label  Speaks to issues of power  Powerful can avoid criminal label  Primary and Secondary Deviance o Primary Deviance  The original illegal act proceeding the successful application of the deviant label  An act committed by someone where:  Self not seen as deviant  Not viewed by others as deviant o Secondary Deviance  Deviant behavior that is a consequence of the successful application of the deviant label. It is behavior results from the labeling process  Label of a deviant is attached  Others see you as deviant  You see yourself as deviant  You act the deviant  Thomas Theorem  Forces Transforming the Economy o Technology  Robots, ATM, voicemail, software (word processing, computer assisted design, medical diagnoses, payroll, inventory control) o Globalization  Expanding markets worldwide o Capital Flight  Investment choices that move money from one place to another  Offshoring  Outsourcing – medical care b/c it’s cheaper o Shift to service and information jobs  Agriculture  Manufacturing  service and collection, storage and dissemination of information o Contingent Employment  Permanent, life-time  temporary, contract, part-time  No expectation for life-time jobs anymore o Other trends a.k.a. “doing more with less”  More overtime  Part time  Experience workers let go and replaced with lower wage new people  Replacing workers with temps no benefits  Older worker let go  rehired through work agencies for less money  System Blame vs. Person Blame o Doing person blame  Frees system from blame (justice, economy, education), don’t look at the big picture  Established order protected from criticism  Systems of inequality go unexamined and unquestioned o Doing system blame  Social problems have systemic AND individual origins  Equates people to robots which we aren’t  Absolves the individual from responsibility for his/her actions o Why put more focus on system blame?  Person blame is the prevailing notion  Sociology deals with the social determinants of behavior NOT the individual  Consequences of the concentration in media ownership o Poor  government, criminal justice system o Criminals or anyone who has had a criminal record – jail, jobs o Mentally or developmentally impaired – institutionalization o Political dissidents – MLK Jr, monitoring, gays, lesbians, transgender, bisexuals, housing, civil rights o Please note: in as much as we experience social control to varying degrees, we can also exercise social control as well  Social and Personal Consequences of Economic Transformation o Millions of workers and families affected each year o Job and benefits insecurity o “replacement” jobs usually less money, fewer perks o Decline of middle class (mfg. job-less) o Loss of status, self-esteem o Divorce rate increases o Increases likelihood alcohol, spouse and child abuse o Health issues o Scapegoating: blame people for the problems and don’t take into account the system o A dollars and cents approach to the economy is not enough. Economics issues need to be understood in their social context  Changes in Demographics o Immigration  New immigrants: history of being seen as a threat  Fears increase during hard times  Negative impact on low wage earners/poorly skilled workers  In the long run: good investment for society  Generally: “illegals” here looking for work  No work  they go home o Aging population  Growing population  Inadequate income from pension  High cost of healthcare  Social Differentiation o Categorizing by some personal attribute o NOT ranked  Seated by hometown  Social Stratification (decidedly MACRO) o Ranking in a hierarchy o Superior or inferior o Refers to structured social inequality  Four Principles of Social Stratification o 1. SS is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences  Tied to privilege  Life chances: chances (throughout one’s life) to experience the good things (of life) o 2. SS persists over generations  Parents pass positions to children  Social Mobility: change in one’s position in the social hierarchy o 3. SS is universal but variable  It’s everywhere  WHAT and HOW much vary  Caste vs. class system o 4. SS involves beliefs  That legitimate inequality  Order Model: Davis and Moore (1945) o Stratification is functional o Incentive and rewards o Positions differ in importance o If important = more rewards o Unequal rewards = right people in right jobs  Conflict Model: Melvin Tumin (1953) – critique of Davis and Moore o How do we assess importance of any occupation? o Do rewards reflect the contributions to society?  Oprah Winfrey o We are born into inequality = consequences for people o False consciousness =  System as is should be Are the most important jobs the most highly rewarded? Deficiencies Theories of Stratification  Biological Inferiority (poverty, social policy, and Social Darwinism) o Mental Inferiority = based on I.Q. testing o Problem – I.Q. testing not a legit measure  Overlooks contribution of social class  Person-blame approach o Poor people are poor because there is something wrong with them  Cultural Deficiency o Poor = different norms and values o Socialized differently o Person-blame approach o Research shows this is a myth o Note: most people are temporarily poor  E.g. widow, divorce, remarriage o Solution to poverty = change the opportunity structures in society Structural Theories  Institutional Discrimination o Unequal treatment structured into society’s institutions  E.g. Polity-poll tax, Education-school funding, Economy-glass ceiling, Family-DOL  Political Economy of Society – Capitalism is not a neutral system o Issue is with the primacy of maximizing profit  Pay < value of labor = profit  Profit  Investment = more wealth - $$makes$$  Profit enhanced by a surplus of labor  depresses wages  Replace workers with robots/move offshore Final Exam Study Guide  Class o Order Model  Income, occupation, and education (central role)  Class specific preferences  Upper upper – “old rich”, exclusive o Keep wealth in the family o Marry other wealthy people  Lower upper – “new rich”, self-made o Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates o Have money but don’t have the bloodline  Upper middle – high prestige, professional, execs o Not necessarily wealthy but well educated o College Professors  Lower middle – white collar, clerks, police  Upper lower – blue collar, high school education  Lower lower – unskilled, less than a high school education o Conflict Model  It’s about power and money (where you live, education)  Domination and subordination  Control one has over one’s work, the work of others, decision making, and investments  Race o Order Model (give the “nod” to the conflict model)  As groups assimilate = racism will “correct itself”  Focus on orderly integration  Concerned with minorities adaptation into society o Conflict Model (look at economy & polity)  Structural factors that exclude/restrict racial minorities (look at the roots)  Who benefits from racial stratification? o Symbolic Interactionism (day to day environment)  Daily interactions = social reality  Beliefs and behaviors are learned  unaware how behavior creates inequality  we don’t examine everyday assumptions, attitudes, and behavior  can challenge behaviors that perpetuate racism o Social Construction of Race  Physical differences were used to group individuals and then meaning was attached to each group o The Bias Theory  A theory that blames prejudice for the secondary status of minority groups o Cultural Deficiency Theory  Minority groups inferior cultural values lack of acceptance of mainstream values explain their lower social setting o Biological Deficiency Theory  Minority groups lower social standing is explained by their genetic inferiority when compared to the dominant group – no scientific evidence to support this theory  Gender o Definitions  Sex = biological, born with  Gender = the personal traits/social positions o Order Model  Emphasis on gender roles and functionality  Over time: sex-based division of labor institutionalized  Gender is constructed  Talcott Parsons: Gender & Complementarity  Socialization teaches gender identity and skills needed for adult life  Instrumental jobs/roles  Boys = rational, competitive  Providers  Roles and jobs more highly rewarded (public sphere)  Expressive jobs/roles  Girls prepared for child rearing  Emotional work (bond groups, make connections)  Not so highly rewarded (private sphere)  Integrates society: structurally (what people do) and morally (what people believe)  Parsons assumes:  Females better at expressive functions  Males are better at instrumental functions  Ignores personal strains/social costs of rigid gender roles (tough guise) o Conflict Model  Emphasis on gender structure  External factors  Gender  division and tension  Gender roles = unequal in power, resources, and prestige  Men control valued resources (public sphere)  Women = limited public sphere participation  US = capitalist patriarchy – means of production and attendant wealth, power, and decision making capabilities are primarily owned/held by men o Symbolic Interactionism  Focus on gender socialization, interaction (beliefs and meanings)  Gender is learned/enforced through  Early interaction at home  Play patterns  Toys, books  In educational practices  Language  Interpersonal behavior problems o Gender Inequality in the Workplace  Gender Segregation: patterns whereby women and men are situated in different jobs throughout the labor force  Not changed much since 1900  About half of working women in PINK COLLAR jobs o 99% of secretaries are women o 95% of engineers are men  Glass Ceilings: invisible barriers that limit women’s equality  The greater a job’s income and prestige, the more likely it is to be held by men o The “mommy” track  Executives by age 40  90% men vs. 35% women have at least one child  The second shift: women’s housework, childcare, and home management done in addition to paid labor o Biology or Culture? Margaret Mead (1935)  The Arapesh: men and women = feminine  The Mundugumor: both masculine  The Tchambuli: behavior “reversed” (from the US)  Majority & minority o Pluralism  Minorities = distinct with social parity  Share sources equally o Assimilation: minorities adopt dominant culture o Segregation  Voluntary – Amish  Exclusionary practices  De jure segregation – segregation by law  De facto segregation – by fact, not by law o Genocide  Holocaust – 6M European Jews, Romany, homosexuals, disabled  US – Native Americans and Blacks  Trail of tears  Lynching  Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda & Burundi  Darfur  Ethnicity: a social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, and language  Institutional Racism: when social arrangements and accepted ways disadvantage a racial group o Bias inherent in the system  Institutional Discrimination: unjust and discriminatory mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals  Feminisms o A social movement that struggles against sexism: the individual actions and institutional arrangements that discriminate against women  Liberal Feminism  Accepts the basic organization of society  Assimilate women into world of men – allow access to power  Change laws  allow access  Socialist Feminism  Capitalism = root of inequality  Women = domestic sphere and dependent on men  Gender oppression outgrowth of class oppression  Need economy to meet the needs of all  Racial Feminism  Inequality caused by male domination  Patriarchy shapes society and institutions  Consciousness – raising of women  Myths about Poverty o The poor just don’t want to work  30M poor Americans who work  Many of the poor who do not work are too young, too old, or too disabled o Welfare is too generous; it encourages dependency  Ohio Works First assistance for a family of 2 is $575 a month below the federal poverty line  40% of poor quality to get cash payments  Average recipient on welfare for less than 2 years  Welfare encourages out-of-wedlock births and larger families  Fact – the average welfare family is no bigger than the average non-welfare family  A chunk of my tax dollars supports welfare recipients  Fact – welfare for the poor costs about 1% of the federal budget