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C. Wright Mills

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must be able to view sociology humanistically. (understanding motives & human nature) "the sociological imagination".

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Sociological Imagination

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expresses the humanistic aspect (motives & human nature)

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Auguste Comte (1838)

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3 stages of scientific development and coined the term sociology.

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Theological stage of scientific development

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religious view

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Metaphysical stage of scientific development

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abstract, human nature

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Positive stage of scientific development

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pinnacle of social development, society governed by reliable knowledge and understood by facts. (When people can predict and change their own destinies.)

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Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)

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observed English social patterns.

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Karl Marx (1818-1883)

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"the theoretical giant of communist thought: whose prophecies are still hotly debated.

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

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society follows a natural evolutionary progression toward something better.

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

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statistical study of suicide

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Max Weber (1864-1920)

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sought to explain the origins of capitalism. And developed the method of verstehen.

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Lester Ward & William Graham Sumner

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caused American sociology to experience a loss of interest in the larger problems of social order and change, focusing on specific problems.

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George Herbert Mead

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originated the field of social psychology.

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Robert Park & Ernest Burgess

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were concentrating on the city and on such social problems as crime, drug addiction, prostitution, and juvenile delinquency.

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Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)

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advocated grand theory.

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Grand theory

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based on aspects of the real world forming a conception of society as a stable system of interrelated parts.

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Robert Merton (1910-2003)

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proposed building middle range theories from a limited number of assumptions from which hypotheses are derived. -also distinguished between intended and unintended consequences of existing elements of social structure which are either functional or dysfunctional.

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Deductive theory

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general ideas used to form logical, testable theories.

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Inductive theory

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using concrete observations to form general conclusions through a process of reasoning.

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Interpretive Sociology

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whereby humans attach meaning to their lives and shape their actions based upon both the real and anticipated responses of others.

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Symbolic interaction

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human beings shape their world and are shaped by social interaction.

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Dramaturgy

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humans play roles to present a certain image of ourselves, manipulate our audience, protect/hide ourselves, and amplify the rules of conduct that circumscribe our daily encounters.

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Conflict paradigm

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views society as being characterized by conflict and inequality. (Whose interests are expressed, and who benefits/suffers from social arrangements).

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Functionalism

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each part of a society serves a function necessary for the survival of the system as a whole.

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Quantitative methods

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use statistical and mathematical techniques of measurement to describe and interpret observations.

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Qualitative methods

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relying on personal observation and description to explain behavior.

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Verstehen

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using empathic understanding to characterize and interpret human behavior.

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Survey method

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subjects are asked about their opinions, beliefs, or behavior, such as how they have behaved in the past or how they intend to behave in the future, in a series of questions.

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Independent variable

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influencer (cause)

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Dependent variable

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influencee (effect)

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Correlational control

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doesn't cause change in another variable, and causal does.

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Systematic sampling

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i.e. every 50th person in the phone book is selected, thus assuring everyone in the in the population is guaranteed the same chance of being selected for study.

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Stratified sampling

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uses the differences that already exist in a population, such as between males and females, as the basis for selecting a sample. (f/m = % in the given population)

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Hawthorne Effect

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the very presence of a researcher affects the subject's behavior.

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Unobtrusive observation

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observation from a distance.

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Participant observation

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aka field research, researcher is part of the group he/she is studying.

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Secondary analysis

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using information gained from past recorded experiments. (like official government statistics)

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Content Analysis

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the study of recorded human communication such as books, paintings, and laws.

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Stages of research

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ID the problem, research, hypothesis, test, conclusion.

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Ethical problems

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harm subjects? Privacy? Right to be informed that they are being studied? Consent? How research is used? When is deception justified?

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Socialization

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process in which we learn to be members of society and develop a personality.

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Primary socialization

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initial socialization that a child receives.

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Secondary socialization

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an additional socialization experience into a new sector of society by an already socialized person.

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Resocialization

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discarding previous behaviors for new ones as part of a transition in life. (becoming a parent, for example)

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Total institution

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a complete break from the past to allow for the rebuilding of personality and the learning of norms and values of a new, unfamiliar social environment. (prisons, mental hospitals & the military)

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Sigmund Freud

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founder of psychoanalysis, and considered biological needs as the human drive; socialization and repression forms personality (ego, superego, id).

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Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1924)

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self-concept, formed in childhood is reevaluated and adjusted every time the person enters a new social situation. See Looking-Glass-Self. also distinguished between promary and secondary groups.

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Looking-Glass-Self

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self-conception based on other's reactions. (Cooley)

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George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

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theory of the genesis of the mind and self. The outcome of socialization is the ability to anticipate the reactions of others and to adjust our behavior accordingly.

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theory of the genesis of the mind and self

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a single act as a part of a larger social act or communication. "Me"=ID, "I"= ego.

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Erving Goffman (1922-1983)

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the self as a reflection of others. See Role-Distance.

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Role-Distance

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the gap between the ID and the ego.

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Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

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cognitive development: sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage.

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Cognitive Development

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describes the changes that occur over time in the ways children think, understand, and evaluate a situation.

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Sensorimotor stage

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infants are unable to differentiate themselves from their environment.

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Preoperational stage

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the child begins to use language and other symbols, and learn to differentiate reality from fantasy.

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Concrete operational stage

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logic, cause and effect, attaching meaning or significance to an event.

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Formal operation stage

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the child develops the capacity for thinking in highly abstract terms of metaphors and hypotheses which may or may not be based in reality.

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Erik Erikson

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8 stages of psychosocial development: Nurture, shame, initiative, focus shifts from family to school, ID confusion, relationships, social contribution, and lastly finding meaning at the end of one's life.

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Lawrence Kohlberg

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given the proper experience and stimulation, children go through a sequence of six stages of moral reasoning: right & wrong, social order, considerations toward the welfare of the community, the rights of the individual and ethics.

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Carol Gilligan

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women have a different (though essentially the same) set of values and judgments of right and wrong. Men asked whether or not it's wrong to steal to save a life in terms of ultimate ends. Women contemplated how it would affect the entire family, the goal being to find the best solution for everyone involved.

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culture is

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social heritage of beliefs, customs, skills, traditions, and knowledge that members pass on to one another.

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material culture

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consists of things that people attach maning to and use: cars, clothing, books, and burial sites

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Nonmaterial culture

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abstract terms for defining, describing, explaining, clarifying....what they do & how they live (languages, ideas, belief systems, rules, customs, politics).

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Culture includes

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the tools we use, the rules we live by, the ideals to which we are committed, and the ideas we express.

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Norms

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rules whose violation results in some form of punishment.

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Values

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represent things of meaning and the ideas that make such things so important to us.

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Folkways

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are the usual customes and conventions of everyday life. differs from values in the lack of a moral component) antonym: eccentric.

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Mores

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are Norms of such moral & ethical importance as to be punishable by institutionalization.

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Cultural universals

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are the basic elements essential to idevidual and collective survival.

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Cultural Variability

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the variety of things human beings have devised to meet their needs.

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Ethnocentrism

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the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture.

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Cultural Relativism

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refers to scientists' efforts to be objective in their observations by avoiding attaching meaning to observations, only why and how.

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Countercultures

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people/cultures whose values, beliefs, and ways of life do not conform to the norm. Characterized by unconventional or eccentric behavior.

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sociocultural evolution

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refers to the tendency for society as a system to become more complex over time.

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Horticultural and pastoral societies

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use domestic animals and hand tools to cultivate plants for their source of food.

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Agricultural societies

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are more complex than horticultural & pastoral societies in the level of technology used to support crops.

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industrial societies

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uses complex machinery and energy sources are used for production.

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postindustrial

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information is created, processed, and stored.

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Karl Marx (1818-1883)

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coined the term "class" in which people are organized in social ranks.

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

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Sociology as a separate science on the grounds that it has both an object (patterned reularities as a group distinct from that of individuals) and a substratum (society as a whole).

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social structure

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the way in which people's relatioins in society are arranged to form a network

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Max Weber (1864-1920)

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Verstehen; Protestant Catholicism "produced the spirit of the modern form of industrial capitalism.

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structure

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composed of positions, roles, groups, and institutions.

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ascribed status

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is a label by which a person is identified without choice. (son, widower, american indian...)

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achieved status

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by choice, (husband, rock star, english major...)

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Master Status

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by which a person is most identified. (its the most important)

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Status set

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all the statuses of a person. ie: wife, mother, teacher, coworker)

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roles

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expected behavior for a status.

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role strain

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conflicting expectations exist for a status. (a teacher being friends with students outside the classroom)

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role conflict

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a person with statuses that contradict.

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association

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formed of the basis of common interest or agreement.

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communal relationship

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is formed on the basis that "they belong together"

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peer group

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an association of self-selected equals

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aggregate

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people who happen tho be in the same place at the same time

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social category

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people with certain characteristics in common

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social group

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people interact with one another in an orderly fashion.

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primary group

answer

direct interaction, with intimate warm and personal relationships.

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Secondary groups

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interaction is anonymous, impersonal, and short-lived.

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Ferdinand Tonnies (1853-1936)

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distinguished between gemeinschaft and gesellschaft.

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gemeinschaft

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(community) small communities characterized by tradition and united by common ancestry or geopgraphic proximity.

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Gesellshcaft

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(society) contractual relationships of a voluntary nature of limited duration and quality, based on rational self-interest, and formed to achieve a particular goal.

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control variable

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held constant

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spurious relationship

answer

variables appear to be related but are actually related to a third vaiable which explains both of them.

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symbolic interatction

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society is the result of an individual's interactions

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structural structural functionalist perspective

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how society's parts fit together to maintain stability.

question

generalized other

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Mead's term for thhe cultural norms and values we use as references when evaluating ourselves.

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informal sanction

answer

direct social pressure from those around us to conform.

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formal sanction

answer

pressure to conform that is enforced by a formal institution

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Norms

answer

rules of behavior

question

values

answer

ideals and goals.

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mechanical solidarity

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Durkheim's term for social bonds that are based on shared moral sentiments.

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organin solidarity

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(durkheim) bonds thatunite members of indestrialized nations.

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rigid endogamy

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marriage within one's only group.

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caste system

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a system of stratification where groups are strictly ranked on the basis of thnic group.

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class system

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based on achievement

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closed systems

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have clear, rigid, and impermeable boundaries between classes.

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Normative theory of prejudice

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states that individuals become prejudiced when such attitudes are so ingrained in their society's norms and values that they get passed on from generation to generation without question.

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power=conflict theory of prejudice

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focuses on the power dynamics between those who are prejudiced and those who are against prejudice.

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authoritarian-personality theory of prejudice

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sees prejudice as stemming from certain personality characteristics.

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gentrificatioin

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a rundown section of a city has been repaired and revitalized and das become attractive to a middle class population.

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suburbonization

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the movement of people to areas surrounding the urban region.

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George Simmel (1858-1918)

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distinguished between dyad & triad

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dyad

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marriage; duo

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triad

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addition to the dyad (mediator: a baby; nonpartisan: a judge)

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J.L. Moreno

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developed sociometry (who is interacting with whom)

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Interaction process

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the ways role partners agree on goals, negociate reaching them & distribute resources.

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reference groups

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include people that provide standards by which we judge ourselves

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group conformity

answer

individual compliance with group goals.

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group think

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members begin to think simalarly and develop a narrow view

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instrumental leaders

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task-oriented

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expressive leaders

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emotional support

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laissez-faire leadership

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Lazy boss who does nothing.

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organization

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membership is either limited or closed to outsiders.

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formal organization

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characterized by formality, hierarchy, large size, and complex division of labor.

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Bureaucracy

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a rationally designed organizational model whose goal it is to perform complex tasks as efficiently as possible.

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characteristic intitution

answer

kin/clan/siblings now known as a bureaucracy.

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characteristics of a bureaucracy

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1) paid officials (main income) 2) officials have privileges 3) seniority rights and salary increases 4) degrees or vocational training 5) responsibilities rigidly defined by the organization 6) separation of funds & files from their personal ones.

question

self-rationalization

answer

how an official observes & calculates how he/she must change their personality to meet the 'market's' demand.

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Parkinson's law

answer

(C. Northcote) given too much time for a job will make the job seem much bigger than it is.

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Peter's Principle

answer

employee's are promoted until they reach a position in which they cannot work competantly

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Inon law of Oligarchy

answer

small # of specialists hold sway over the entire organization.

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Deviance

answer

unexpected behavior.

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stigma

answer

a mark of social disgrace

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social control

answer

ensures that people conform to norms.

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Anomic suicide

answer

norms of society are suddenly altered, resulting in confusion (large structural changes)

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Altruistic suicide

answer

individual over-identifies with a group & is willing to die for them.

question

egoistic suicide

answer

isolation & weak social ties.

question

social stratification

answer

structured inequality (our place among the ranks)

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polyandry

answer

one woman marrying more than one man

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polygamy

answer

one spouce marrying more than one person of the opposite sex.

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exogamy

answer

marriage outside one's ethnic group.

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polygyny

answer

one man with multiple wives.

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cultural transmission theory

answer

crime is learned through cultural norms.

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Strain theory

answer

crime as the result of structural constraints, blocking means for achievement.

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Labeling theory

answer

one is labeled & defined as a criminal

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control theory

answer

everyone deviates.

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sapir-whorf hypothesis

answer

people think through language.

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negative correlation

answer

as one increases the other decreases.

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spurious relationship

answer

explainable by a 3rd variable

question

positive correlation

answer

both variables either go up or down.

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pluralist movement

answer

minority groups try to maintain their own distinctive cultural features.

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primary deviance

answer

violates a norm

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secondary deviance

answer

the social response to primary deviance.

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Cesar Laombroso

answer

criminals bore a greater resemblance to apes than non-criminals.

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Wiliam Sheldon

answer

classified people by their body type, psychological state, and criminal behavior.

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the unconscious

answer

where the unpleasant, or perhaps antisocial memories of experience are stored.

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conformist

answer

accepts goals and means offered for attainment.

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the innovator

answer

may continue to accept the goal while seeking new, and illegal revenues for the attainment of these goals.

question

the ritualist

answer

bureauscrat who is more concernedwith following the rules and keeping his job than personal achievement.

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the retreat

answer

rejects both means and ends by drug use, mental illness, alcoholism and homelessness.

question

the rebelious

answer

reject both by seeking alternatives.

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Edwin Sutherland, theory of diffential association 1939

answer

criminal behavior is learned through social interaction in primary groups.

question

nuclear family

answer

made up of extended family members.

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patrilineal/matrilineal

answer

indicates lineage from father or mother.

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serial monogamy

answer

divorce...rmarriage.

question

group marriage

answer

more than one of each.

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patrilocality

answer

newlyweds live with the husbands extended family

question

matrilocality

answer

newlyweds live with the wife's extended family.

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neolocality

answer

newlyweds live in a new or seperate residence.

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leirate

answer

man must marry his brother's widow or suffer disgrace.

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primogeniture

answer

property goes to eldest son.

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ultimogeniture

answer

property goes to youngest.

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primary sector of economy

answer

involves the extraction of raw materials & resources.

question

secondary sector

answer

involves turning the raw materials into manufactured goods.

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tertiary sector

answer

provides services in areas such as health, & education.

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traditional authority

answer

based on sacred customs (blood lines)

question

rational-legal authority

answer

elected officials

question

charismatic authority

answer

elected officials

question

charismatic authority

answer

based on the :extroardinary, uncanny or supernatural powers: or abilities of or associated with a person.

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authoritarian gov

answer

rulers tolerate little of no opposition to their rule.

question

Totalitarian

answer

rulers have no limits to their power.

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democratic

answer

authority ultimately lies with the people.

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"The power elite" (1956)

answer

(Mills) consists of military leaders, politians & business leaders (warlords, corporate chieftans & the political directorate) are responsible to no one but themselves.

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David Riesman's pluralist vision

answer

the system of rule is made up of sectors fo power that balance each other.

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religion

answer

linked with ethics, personality, historical condition, & theodicy.

question

profane

answer

objects, persons, & behaviors capable of being understood and altered.

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"The Elementary Forms of Religious life" (durkheim)

answer

religion as a means of validation the existance of society.

question

cult

answer

small group of followers with a charismatic leader.

question

sect

answer

is a cult minus the charismatic leader.

question

church

answer

voluntary

question

social stratification

answer

structured inequality

question

social mobility

answer

ability of a given individual or group to move through social levels.

question

relative mobility

answer

when the son's education, occupational prestige, and income exceeds that of his father.

question

Davis & Moore

answer

argue that some stratification is necessary. (so that the most able will be in the most demanding positions.)

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collective behavior

answer

short, spontaneous burst without clear goals or longer lasting with goals. (mass hysteria, panic, craze, fad, fashion, and rumor.)

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masses

answer

don't have to be in proximity to each other, just have similar goals.

question

audiences

answer

passive crowd

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mob

answer

easily aggrivated into violence

question

riot

answer

is larger and longer lasting than a mob, but not as spontaneous.

question

propaganda

answer

attempts to change public oppinion

question

contagion theory

answer

Gustave Le Bon; a crowd is made up of numerous anonymous individuals, & therefore frees pople of personal responsibility & social restraints.

question

convergence theory

answer

when a # of like-minded individuals converge, they are likely to generate a collective action.

question

emergent-norm theory

answer

certain individuals construct new norms that are quickly adopted by the collective. (rocks/copycat)

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craze

answer

wanting something because everyone else has it

question

fad

answer

short-term obsessions with a behavior that is unexpected and widely copied like streaking.

question

fashion

answer

widely held beliefs, styles, and attitudes toward dress, hair, music....

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