Sociology Exam 1 -- Study Guide

Soc Exam 1 -- Study guide The above list should give you a general outline of course content. However, please note that you are responsible for all class materials: all lectures, book chapters, films, short videos, & examples cited in class lectures—it’s all fair game. The pre- and post-tests offered by the online text book (Pearson study resources) will be helpful in studying for the exam. Ch. 1:  What Is Sociology? o The study of social life, social change, and social causes and consequences of human behavior  Sociological Imagination o C. Wright Mills  ‘the sociological imagination (perspective) enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography  History – each society is located in broad stream of events  Biography – experiences within the historical settings, which gives us our orientations in life  Emile Durkheim/ Suicide/ Types Of Solidarity o First goal –get sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline o Second goal – to show how social forces affect people’s behavior o Comparison of suicide rates of several countries revealed an underlying social factor  People are more likely to commit suicide if their ties to others in their community are weak o He identified social integration – the degree to which people are tied to their other social groups  Social Integration o the degree to which people are tied to their other social groups  Social Facts o the patterns and behaviors that characterize a certain group  Example: in the US, June is the most popular time to have weddings  Origins Of Sociology As A Discipline o Natural sciences are the intellectual and academic disciplines that are designed to explain and predict the events in our natural environment o Social sciences – the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by means of controlled and repeated observations  Industrial revolution  Political revolutions  Imperialism  Social Darwinism/Herbert Spencer      o Second founder of sociology o Disagreed with Comte saying that sociologists shouldn’t guide social reform o Believed that sociologists should keep their hands off society because societies go through natural evolution o Believed helping the poor was wrong because you’d be helping the less fit survive Auguste Comte /Positivism o Positivism –applying the scientific method to the social world (first proposed by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) o He wondered what holds a society together o He named the study of society SOCIOLOGY Karl Marx / Types Of Alienation o Believed that the roots of human misery lay in class conflict, the exploitation of workers by those who own the means of production o Social change- workers over throwing the capitalists was inevitable o He didn’t think of himself as a sociologist but his ideas influenced many sociologists, especially the conflict theorists. Max Weber / Protestant Ethic & Capitalism/ Verstehen o Used cross cultural and historical materials to trace the causes of social change and to determine how social groups affect people’s orientations to life o Believed that sociology should be value free  Value free –the view that a sociologists’ personal values or beliefs should not influence social research  Values –the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly  Objectively –value neutrality in research o Verstehen –German word used by Weber that is perhaps best understood as ‘to have insight into someone’s situation’ o Subjective meanings –the meanings that people give their own behavior  How people interpret their situation in life Symbolic Interactionism / Dramaturgy/ Goffman o Verstehen –German word used by Weber that is perhaps best understood as ‘to have insight into someone’s situation’ o Subjective meanings –the meanings that people give their own behavior  How people interpret their situation in life Functionalism (Aka Structural Functionalism Or Functional Analysis) o Manifest & Latent Functions; Dysfunctions  Functional Analysis  Is that society is a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together  Functions  Beneficial consequences of people’s actions  Dysfunctions  Harmful consequences of people’s actions Manifest Function  Action is intended to help some part of a system  Latent Function  Unintended consequences that help a system adjust  Latent dysfunctions  Human actions that hurt a system (usually unintended)  When family loses functions, marriage becomes more fragile and divorce more inevitable Conflict Theory o A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources  Karl Marx  Conflict is central in society  Inequality will lead to competition for resources o Macro Level Analysis  An examination of large-scale patterns of society o Micro Level Analysis  An examination of small-scale patterns of society; such as how members of a group interact o Social interaction  One person’s actions influencing someone else; usually refers to what people do when they are in one another’s presence, but also includes communications at a distance o Nonverbal Interactions  Communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on W.E.B. Dubois o Spent his lifetime studying relations between African Americans and whites o Du Bois combined the role of academic sociologist with that of a social reformer o Du Bois, Jane Addams, and others from Hull House were founders of the NAACP o Embraced revolutionary Marxism Jane Addams o Was a member of the American Sociological Society o Recipient of the Nobel Prize for peace for working on the behalf of poor immigrants. o Founded the Hull House with Ellen G Star  Hull House – center to help immigrants in Chicago o Leader in women’s rights and a peace movement of World War 1 o Cofounded the American Civil Liberties Union Applied Sociology o the use of sociology to solve problems       from the micro level of classroom interaction and family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution Ch. 5:  Steps Of Conducting Research o Selecting a topic  Select a topic o Defining the problem  Specifying what you want to learn about the topic o Reviewing the literature  Must read what has been published on your topic  This helps you narrow down the problem, identify areas that are already known, and learn what areas need to be researched o Formulating a hypothesis  Predicts the relationship between or among your variables  Operational definitions –precise ways to measure the variables o Choosing a research method  7 different research methods  Surveys o Collection of data by having people answer a series of questions  Participant observations (fieldwork) o Research in which the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting  Case studies o An intensive analysis of a SINGLE event, situation, or individual  Secondary analysis o The analysis of data that have been collected by other researchers  Analyzing documents o Studying documents or recorded sources  Experiments o The use of control and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation  Unobtrusive measures o Ways of observing people so they don’t know they are being studied o Collecting the data  Gather your data  Assure validity and reliability  Meaning if other researchers use operational definitions then they should find the same things o Analyzing the results  Analyze your data Statistical techniques  Using software system that provides advice for collecting data and even about ethical issues o Sharing the results  Write a report to share your findings  Findings will be available for replication so others can repeat your study to see if they come up with similar results Operational Definitions Of Variables o The way in which a researcher measures a variable Variables o A factor thought to be significant for human behavior, which can vary from one case to another Hypothesis o A statement of how variables are expected to be related to one another, often according to predictions from a theory Validity o The extent to which an operational definition measures what it is intended to measure Reliability o The extent to which research produces consistent or dependable results Correlation Vs. Causation; Spurious (Cause, Effect, And Spurious Correlations --Text) o Causation  The change in one variable is caused by another variable o Spurious  Cause may be some underlining third variable o Correlation  When two things have no relation to each other  People who have big feet tend to read betterconflict How To Read A Table (Text) o Read the title  Title tells you the topic o Headnote (optional)  Located below title  More detailed information about how the data was collected o Headings  What kind of information is contained on the table o Columns  Information vertically o Rows  Information arranged horizontally o Source  Listed on the bottom  Provides information on where the data on the table is presented How Not To Do Research (Text) o Choose a biased sample                   o Ask biased questions o List biased choices o Discard undesirable results o Misunderstand the subjects’ world o Analyze the data incorrectly Different Research Methods Population Vs. Sample o You choose a SAMPLE to help you narrow down your research and help you make inferences on the larger population o POPULATION is the target group you are going to study Representative Sample Random Sample, Stratified Random Sample, Snowball Sample o Random sample  A sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in a study o Stratified Random Sample  A sample from selected subgroups of the target population in which everyone in those sub groups has an equal chance of being included in the research o Snowball Sample  Technique where existing study subjects recruit future subjects from among their acquaintances. Importance Of Wording & Ordering Of Survey Questions Response Bias Pager’s Experiment (“Mark Of A Criminal Record”) (Class Lecture & Text) o Pager set out to examine how having a criminal record would prevent getting a job o White male with criminal records were more likely to be called for an interview than a black man without one Ethical Issues In Sociological Research o What Is Unethical In Sociological Research?  Research ethics require honesty, truth, and openness  Falsification of results are clearly forbidden  Condemn plagiarism  People should be informed that they are being studied and that they should never be harmed during the research  Sociologists are also required to protect the anonymity of those who provide information Brajuha Research (Text) – ETHICAL RESEARCH o Mario Brajuha worked as a waiter at a restaurant until it was burned down o He did participant observation of the people who worked there o The police asked for the notes that he took o He refused o Was threatened to jail by the DA and the noted were subpoenaed o Got threats from people who also wanted to see them     o Refused to hand over his notes for over 2 years  Sociologists applaud his determination for holding on to his information Tuskegee Syphilis Study o They didn’t tell the very poor African American men that they had syphilis (no consent at all and deceived them) o There was no cure but they were subjugated to tests like spinal tests o Penicillin was shown to benefit syphilis, but the researchers absolutely did everything in their power not to give it to them o The GOVERNMENT fully endorsed every step of this research Milgram’s Obedience To Authority Study o Study to see if people follow orders not matter how unethical it is o People are given slips of ‘teacher’ or ‘learner’ o ‘Shock’ was given to the learner if they didn’t do what the ‘teacher’ taught them o Shots kept getting stronger and stronger as they went on Zimbardo’s Simulated Prison Study o They wanted to see the behavioral and psychological effects of being a prisoner or prison guard Laud Humphrey’s Study Of Gay Sex In Public Bathrooms – UNETHICAL STUDY o Looked for tearooms  Tearooms were public restrooms where men go for quick and anonymous oral sex with men (this was for both straight and gay men)  Became the ‘Watch Queen’ and took field notes of the encounters Ch. 2:  What Is Culture? o Language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects  Material Vs. Nonmaterial/Symbolic Culture o Material  Jewelry, weapons, hair styles etc. o Nonmaterial Culture/Symbolic Culture  Forms of interaction, beliefs, ways of thinking, etc.  Ethnocentrism o The use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of another individuals or societies, generally leading to a negative evaluations of their values, norms, and behaviors  Positive o Reinforce mechanical solidarity  Negative o Prejudice o Discrimination between groups  Justification for some inequality  Cultural Relativism o Not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms    o moving away from your own cultural lens and taking in another in their own individual way  Positive  Being to understand other cultures  More respect for the people in other cultures  Negatives  Losing perspective  Moral issues arise – ex. female genital mutilation Different Facets Of Symbolic Culture (Gestures, Language, Values, Norms, Sanctions) o Gestures  Using your body to communicate with each other o Language  Basis of culture  Constantly changing –ex. African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or ‘Ebonics’  Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis –language can (at a soft degree) help shape the way we think about the world o Values, Norms, and Sanctions  Indicate what is worthy and unworthy in your culture –ex. woman’s weight  Norms are the expectations or the rules of behavior formed out of one’s culture/values –ex. France with the how to be a millionaire  Sanctions  Prescriptive – positive sanctions norms that people follow  Proscriptive sanctions – you not following the norms o 3 types of norms  Folkways –small norms –slamming door in a library  Mores –large norms –law breaking, indecent exposure to murder  Taboo –these are the norms that so strongly engrained in a culture that even the thought of violating the norm is met with revulsions and collective cultural horror o Cannibalism and incest Subcultures o Groups of people whose values and behaviors are distinct from dominant culture  Thousands of subcultures in American society today:  Some are connected to occupations (cops in the city)  Social interests and activities (fraternities and sororities)  Religious affiliations (Muslims, Jews, Baptists)  Ethnic and racial groups (Irish Americans or Native Americans) Countercultures   o Groups of people whose values and norms place them in opposition to the dominant culture o Generally resists dominant culture in some way and as a result, countercultures often encounter resistance or negative sanctions form the dominant culture for their norm violations  Negative way of looking at them:  Gangs  Satanists  Scary cults  Positive way of looking at them:  Amish Chicago School Vs. Birmingham School Approach To Studying Subcultures o Chicago School  Developed in the early 20th century at the University of Chicago  Subcultures are linked to deviance. They are a violation of conformity –a troubling violation of norms – and therefore can promote delinquency and crime o Birmingham School Approach  Developed in the 1960s at the University of Birmingham (UK)  Subcultures are seen as engaging the dominant culture in some way  They challenge, resist, reinvent, or even contribute to the dominant culture, even as they are also distinct from dominant culture  Examined the youth of subcultures called ‘youth formations’  They studies the music, fashion, language, gestured, and hairstyles of the 1960’s youth  Said that they weren’t being deviant, instead they were creating their own subculture style and identity rather than simply adopting the mainstream cultural styles  Birmingham school notes that subcultures may engage in a process of BRICOLAGE (means to tinker or to fiddle)  Processes by which people use objects or material culture to create new cultural identities Cultural Diffusion / Cultural Lag / Cultural Leveling o Cultural Diffusion  The spread of cultural traits from one group to another; includes both material and nonmaterial cultural traits  Groups are most open to changes in their technology or material culture o Cultural Lag  Ogburn’s term for human behavior lagging behind technological innovations  not all parts of a culture is changing at the same pace  points out that a group’s material culture usually changes first, with the nonmaterial culture lagging behind  o Cultural Leveling  The process by which cultures become similar to one another; refers especially to the process by which Western culture is being exported and diffused into other nations Values (Clusters, Contradictions, Clash o Core Values  The values that are central of a group, those around which it builds a common identity o Value Contradiction  Values that contradict one another  To follow the one means to come into conflict with the other o Value Cluster  Values that together form a larger whole Chapter 4  Social Structures And Social Institutions [Definitions] [What Are The Institutions?] o Social Structure - The framework of the society that surrounds us - Consists of the ways that people and groups are related to one another - This framework gives direction to and sets limits on our behavior o Social Class - Large numbers f people who have similar amounts of income and education and who work at jobs that are roughly comparable in prestige o Social Status - The position that someone occupies in a social group  Social Facts o On the one hand, social facts exist outside of the individual o On the other hand, they profoundly influence the individual by shaping their behavior - Women make up 4.8% (24 out of 500) of CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies - (ex. gender, race, class, etc.)  Social Location  Macrosociology [Functionalism, Conflict Theory] Vs. Microsociology [Symbolic Interactionism] o Macrosociology - Focuses on broad features of society - Analysis of social life that focuses on broad features of society such as social class and the relationships of groups to one another  Usually used by functionalists and conflict theorists o Microsociology - The focus is on social interaction, what people do when they come together - Analysis of social life that focuses on social interaction  Typically used by symbolic interactions    Examples Of Social Structures Shaping Individual Behavior: o Zimbardo, “Quiet Rage” - Prisoners/Prison Gaurds o Edin & Kefalas, Promises I Can Keep - Why do poor teen girls have babies?  Considered unplanned young pregnancy as a smart decision  The girls believe that getting married was a luxury and that you needed to be ready and money in order to get married, while having a child was a necessity.  These babies provided for the young girls to step up and prevent them from doing drugs etc.  Saw abortion was a very negative thing, they said it was only to be used as a last resort o Chambliss, Saints & Roughnecks - Saints : Students, wealthy –causing horrible trouble - Roughnecks : Students, poor –causing the same trouble, but constantly harassed by the police  People were looking for the good in the saint kids and trouble from the roughnecks Components Of Social Structure: Culture, Social Class, Social Status, Roles, Groups, Social Institutions (Know Each) o Culture - Group’s language beliefs, values, behaviors, and even gestures o Social class - Social Class = income + education + occupation + wealth o Social status - Ascribed Status - Achieved Status - Master Status o Roles o Groups o Social Institutions Status (Occupy A Status) o Status Set - All the statuses or positions that an individual has  Student at school, employee at job, daughter/sister at home o Master Status - A status that cuts across the other statuses that an individual occupies - No matter what you do people will look at you through a lens  Sex offender, gender, etc o Achieved Status - Positions that are earned, accomplished or involve at least some effort or activity on the individual’s part  Spouse, lawyer, friend, school dropout etc.        o Ascribed Status - A position an individual either inherits at birth or receives involuntarily later in life  Race, ethnicity, sex, etc. o Status Inconsistency You OCCUPY a STATUS, but you PLAY a ROLE Roles (Play A Role) o Role Conflict - Going to work while your child is sick (multiple roles are affected) o Role Strain - Being friendly and authoritative as a manager (one role is being compromised) o Role Exit - Leaving a role that is very important in shaping your life  Leaving an Amish Community/ nun leaving her duty Gemeinschaft And Gesellschaft (Text) o Gemeinschaft - Type of society in which life is intimate - A community in which everyone knows everyone else and people share a sense of togetherness o Gesellschaft - A type of society that is dominated by impersonal relationships, individual accomplishments, and self interest Stereotypes (Text) o Assumptions of what people are like whether they are true or not Goffman, Dramaturgy (Text) o Erving Goffman - Added a twist to microsociology and recanted the term dramaturgy - Dramaturgy  An approach pioneered by Goffman, in which social life is analyzed in terms of drama or the stage o Can be also called dramaturgical analysis o Said when we are born it ushers us on a stage of life - Front stages  Places where we perform o Wedding day, teacher lecturing a class - Back stages  Places where we can retreat and put our hair down o Bedroom/bathroom relaxation Ethnomethodology (Text) o The study of how people use common sense understandings to make sense of life - ‘the study of how people do things’ Social Construction Of Reality (Text) o They believe that we actively create your reality by interpreting symbols and taking symbols -    Films:     The use of background assumptions and life experiences to define what is real  Getting money as a gift –tacky or helpful Total Institutions (Text) o Concept developed by Erving Goffman, is an isolated, enclosed social system whose primary purpose is to control most aspects of its participants’ lives. Functionalism And Social Institutions; Functional Requisites: o Replace Members - If a society doesn’t replace members then it can’t continue to exist - Need to protect the young so they can continue the lineage  family o Socialize New Members - Each baby must be taught what it means to be a member of the group it was born in o Produce And Distribute Goods/Services - Every society needs to produce and distribute goods and services - Need to establish an economic institution o Preserve Order - Need to protect themselves from 2 threats - Internal threat  Police themselves through informal (gossip) and formal (armed groups) means o Provide A Sense Of Purpose - Need to yield self-interest for the good of the whole group  religion Conflict Theorists And Social Institutions: o Institutions Preserve Privilege Split Horn Quiet Rage Devil’s Playground Jesus Camp In Class Review    Functionalism- all the parts of society has a function Mills is a conflict theorist Know the critiques of functionalism o Makes it difficult to make one set of critiques  Cheating is very frowned upon in society, yet people do it all the timeb