Summary The Real World - Introduction to Sociology

Group- or social group, a collection of people who not only share some attribute but also identify with one another and have ongoing social relationships Crowd- such as the throngs of sightseers at a tourist attraction or people who gather to watch a fire, would not usually be considered a group in the sociological sense- they don't have a sense of common identity, and they rarely assemble again once they disperse. -collections of people such as crowds, audiences, and queens are known as aggregatespeople who happen to find themselves in a particular physical location -people in aggregates don't form lasting social relations, but people in groups do -category- everyone eighteen or all owners chevy trucks, don't regularly interact with one another or have any common sense of connection other than their status in the category Primary groups- groups in which we are intimately associated with the other members, such as families and close friends --typically involve more face to face interaction, greater cooperation, and deeper feelings of belonging -members often associate w each other for no reason than to spend time w each other -charles horton cooley introduced the term primary for this type of group because such groups have the most profound effect on us as individuals -they provide most of our emotional satisfaction through interaction with other members, are responsible for much of our socialization, and remain central to our identities throughout our lives -we measure who we are and perhaps how we've changed by the way we interact w primary group members =they represent the most important looking glass in the formation of our social selves- they constitute our significant other Secondary groups- less intimate groups, these include coworkers, college classes, athletic organizations, labor unions and political parties -interaction is more formal and impersonal -usually organized around a specific activity of the accomplishment of a task -membership is often temporary and does not usually carry the same potential for emotional satisfaction that primary group does -a great deal of what we do involves secondary groups -membership can be completely anonymous -secondary group membership often generates primary group ties as well -close personal relationship can begin w the more impersonal ties of secondary groups (the friends u make at work) and are sometimes a direct outgrowth of our attempts to counteract the depersonalizing nature of secondary groups Social network- you and your family, friends peers colleagues, teachers, and coworkers -social ties- sociologists who study networks call the connections between individuals ---they can be direct, such as the tie between you and your friend, or indirection such as tie between you and your friends who you've never met -to understand how a social network works, think of yourself at the center of the lines connecting you to everyone- these lines represent direct ties -now think about all the family, friends etc who belong to each of these people-these lines connecting you to this second group must pass through the people in your first network: the lines connecting you to this second group must pass through the people in your first network; the second set of lines represent indirect ties -indirect ties can include business transactions= flow of goods= services- materials -they can even represent the flow of ideas -social networks can help us understand everything from the spread of fads and fashions to the way people hear about job openings - etc -the question that remains for the network theorist is whether winning or losing is an effective way to measure influence -americans centrality- a network analysis term that means an actor with the most ties in a given network, is what gives it powerful influence and not the actual outcomes of the dispute -all social networks have a connection, there is a contagion, which refers to what flows through social ties -while we may have complete control over whom we are connected to directly, we exert little control over our indirect connections Anomie- normlessness term used to describe the alienation and loss of purpose that result from weaker social bonds and increased pace of change Group dynamics- the patterns of interaction between groups and individuals Dyad- the smallest possible social group consists of only 2 members- a romantic couple, 2 bffs, or 2 siblings- they are fundamentally unstable because if one person wants out its over -triad- more stable because of the addition of the 3rd person means that conflicts between 2 members can be refereed by the third person. -the smaller the group is, the more likely it is to be based on personal ties; larger groups are more likely to be based on rules and regulations In group- is a group a member identifies with and feels loyalty towards, Out groups- members usually feel a certain distinctness from or even hostility towards other groups -in group can be a source of prejudice and discrimination based on class, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or political opinion -out groups become exaggerated “all irishmen are drunks” Reference group- when a group provides standards by which a person evaluates his own personal attributes Exp: family -we often try to live up to the standards of our parents, siblings, extended family and compare ourselves -if we don't see ourselves as having the same qualities we might a negative self image Group cohesion- a basic concept in the study of group dynamics, the sense of solidarity or team sport that members feel toward their group -the force that binds members together -cohesion is enhanced in a few ways: it tends to rely heavily on interpersonal factors: shared values, race, age, gender, or class Groupthink- highly cohesive groups may demand absolute conformity and punish those who threaten to undermine the consensus -it maintains solidarity it can also short circuit the decision making process, letting a desire for unanimity prevail over critical reasoning. -groups may begin to feel invulnerable and morally superior Exp: frats, or private clubs -social influence- peer pressure -in general we conform because we want to gain acceptance and approval -social psychologist have determined that social influence produces one of 3 kinds of conformity: compliance, identification, or internalization -compliance: means going along with something because you expect to gain rewards or avoid punishment -identification- is induced by a person's desire to establish or maintain a relationship with a person or group Internalization- when an individual adopts the beliefs of a leader or group of his own The Asch experiment -a study on compliance- gathered groups of 7 or 8 students pr participate in which he called an experiment on visual perception -only 1 of the students in each group was real research subject, the others knew ahead of time how they were supposed to act -look at lines and match the length -some people knew the answers but were scared they were wrong cuz of the others- it's hard to maintain independence in a group sitch -his studies showed that some people will go against the evidence of their own sense if others around them seem to have different perceptions Milgram experiment: -to test the lengths to which ordinary people would follow orders from a legitimate authority figure -3 roles: the experimenter, teacher, and a learner -the stated goal of the experiment was to measure the effect of punishment on memory and learning -a subject will often rely on the expertise of an individual or a group, when faced a difficult decision -few people have the personal resources to resist authority even when it goes against their consciences The stanford prison experiment: -conducted by milgram's classmate philip zimbardo, examined the power of authority -24 students deemed psychologically healthy and stable were recruited to participate in a 2 week mock primson simulation -of the way situational dynamics, rather than individuals personal attributes, can determine behavior -patterns of behavior can change over time and that separate generations may respond differently to social pressures Teamwork: -that both the nature of the task and the characteristic of the group have a lot to do w the comparative advantage or disadvantage of working in a group -when we measure productivity- groups almost always outperform single individuals -two major sources of inefficiency: come with the group process, and both get worse as group size increases -one source is organization: coordinating activities and delegating tasks Another source of inefficiency is social loafing: which means that as more individuals are added to a task ,each one takes it a little easier -social identity theory- involves thinking and feeling like a representative of a group, you have a real desire to belong to, not simply keep company with, the group -the most efficient teams are characterized by the greatest shared social identity among their members; such social identity increases motivation and places the needs of the group above purely personal concerns. Power- the ability to control the actions of others Coercive power- backed by the threat of force Influential power- supported by persuasion -leadership involves getting people to do things they might not want to do -authority- the legitimate right to wield power 3 types of authority that might be found in social organizations Traditional authority- based in custom, birthright or divine right, is usually associated with monarchies and dynasties Legal-rational authority- is based in laws and rules, not in the lineage of any other individual leader -modern presidencies and parliaments are built on this kind of authority Charismatic authority- is based in the remarkable personal qualities of the leader -neither rules or traditions are necessary for the establishment of a charismatic leader- the leader can be a revolutionary, breaking rules and defying traditions Exp: jesus christ instrumental - they are task or goal oriented -an instrumental leader is less concerned w people's feelings than we getting the job done Expressive- or concerned with maintaining harmony within the group -conveys interest in group members emotions as well as their achievement -we often consider leadership styles through the lens of gender, expecting men to be more instrumental and women to be more expressive Bureaucracy- a specific type of secondary group, are everywhere in your life -your university, employer, etc -are designed to perform tasks efficiently and they approach their tasks, whatever they are, with calculations designed deliberately to meet their goals Bureaucracies traits that help operate efficiently 1) Specialization: all members of a bureaucracy are assigned specialized roles and tasks 2) Technical competence: all members are expressed trained and and qualified for their specific roles within the organization 3) Hierarchy: bureaucracies always feature the supervision of subordinates by higherranking managers and bosses 4) Rules and regulations: these are meant to make all operations as predictable as possible 5) Impersonality: rules come before people, no individual receives special treatment 6) Formal written communication: documents such as memos or emails are the heart of the organization and the most effective way to communicate -the rules of bureaucracy trumped your individual needs: no matter how deserive you thought you were, you are treated like a number Mcdonaldization- the spread of bureaucratic rationalization and the accompanying increases in efficiency and dehumanization