Sociology Exam

• the scientific study of social structure and human groups
• relationship between social institutions, society, and people's attitudes and behaviors

past cultures, preindustrial societies, origins of humans

production and exchange of goods and services

past people and events and their influences on us today

organization, administration and theory of government

development and function of mental and emotional processes in human beings

• scientific observation (positivism)
• "Father of Sociology"

• British scholar who translated Comte into English
• Lost hearing as a child
• Wrote Society in America (1837)
• Pioneering feminist theoriest
• "Mother of Sociology"

• History of class conflict
• Bourgeoisie and proletarist
• critiqued capitalism
• called for revolution
• The Communist Manifesto (1848)
• Capita (1867)

• Harvard Professor
• Functionalism (theory)
• Proposed Grand Theory (big enough to explain everything)
• Leading figure in American sociology during the middle of the 20th century

• Expanded functionalism
• Student of Parson
• Studied deviant behavior and crime

• Harvard, First Black to earn Ph.D. there
• Focused on conditions for Black Americans
• NAACP founded 1909

• a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior
• an abstract predictive statement that explains why and how certain things happen

functions, order and integration, stability and cooperation

Europe, 1800s (Spencer & Durkheim)

Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert Merton, Herbert Spencer

too conservative and protects the status quo

Inequality, stratification, competition, conflict, power and oppression change

Europe 1800s, (Marx and Weber)

Karl Marx, W.E.B. DuBois, C. Wright Mills

All of life is viewed as a struggle for power and money

ideas that are seen to protect the interests and actions of those in power

a branch of conflict theory focusing on inequality and oppression among women

Everday life, face-to-face interaction, symbols, roles, personal experience and interpretations 

America, early 1900s (Univ. of Chicago)

George H. Mead, Herbert Blumer, Erving Goffman

Focused more on individual (psych) than society

representation of something else (an object, word, gesture, sound, etc)

are varied, depnding on the behaviors and situations they observe

where sociology and psychology overlap

study of entire societies and their social structure

study of people as they interact in daily life

• used by all branches of science
• a systematic, organized series of steps that uses careful observation and consistent measurments to research a problem

People's way of life that is passed on from generation to generation consistency of physical objects as well as patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving

group of poeple living in a defined territory and participation in a common culture

discovery/ invention

spread of an item or idea from one society to another

worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through contact and trade

abstract system of word, meanings, and symbols (including gestures and other nonverbal communication) for all aspects of culture

rules defining appropriate or inappropriate behaviors maintained by society

norms written into laws or rules

widely understood, but rarely recorded

punishments or rewards used to encourage conformity to norms

broad cultural principles that most people in society consider desirable

viewing one's own culture as superiors to all others

viewing one's culture as inferior to others

viewing people's behaviors from the perspective of their own culture

• "The process of learnign to participate in group life through the acquisition of culture
• process of being made social; learning the norms of society

How do we develope a self-concept

Looking-glass self, wherein we develop our sense of self through social interactions with others. We preceive or imagine, how others judge us

How we learn to interact with others

• Roles taking, which results from a 3 stage process
• Imitation Stage
• The Play Stage
• The Game Stage

Children, approx age 2, imitate significant others and begin to udnerstand symbols such as language and gestures

children, approx. age 3 or 4, pretend to be another person to act out that role

children, at 8 or 9, begin to understand several other's roles and responsibility making games possible

how we present self to others in "every day life" situations

Dramaturgy, wherein human interaction is seen as theatrical performance on a stage, and we are the actors with roles

The manipulation of scenery, props, costumes, and behavior to convey a particular role image to others

pretending not to notice mistakes people make in their role performance

Career Criminals with status among peers

the coordination of work between various criminal groups

illegal acts committed by affluent people in their business activities

when willing adults exchange desired, but illegal goods or services

soft and round

muscular and hard

lean and fragile

• Travis Hirschi
• Attachments and commitment (investments) to other people lead us to conform to society's norms
• we are socialized to conform
• Deviance results from lack of socialization or lack of attachments
• Weakness: all longer are not deviant

• Edwin Sutherland
• One learns deviant behavior through interactions with others
• also known as Deviant Attachment Theory
• Weakness: where does it begin

• Robert K Merton
• People want success and have goals
• No legitimate means to reach those goals results in strain, thus they turn to crime
• Weakness: white collar crime

• Deviance results when one is labeled and stigmatized as deviant
• Weakness: all labels don't lead here

• means for promoting conformity to the norms
• all collective efforts to ensure conformity to society's norms

• Jack Gibbs
• The more rapid, certain, and severe the punishment for a crime, the lower the rate at which such crimes will occur
• The goal is to punish as a lesson and vivid reminder to others

The aim is to change the behavior and resocialize the criminal to become a productive citizen

repeat offenders who when released from prisons are sentenced to prison once again (usually within 3 yrs.)

having different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power in society

The creation of layers (strata) of a population who possess unequal shares of income, wealth, power, and prestige

• group of people who share a similar economic strata, values, and lifestyle
• also used for those who share a common position in any social stratification system
• primarily an econimic term

movement of individuals or gourps within a stratification structure

movement to another occupation at the same general status level

movement up or down in job status

changes in status from one generation to the next

changes in one's own career

• critque on capitalism
• Economics is society's independent variable, influnceing all alse
• rich exploit poor
• revolution is needed
• utopia will result (classless society)

• 3 factors: class, status, power
• Economics is society's dependent variable, the consequence of other factors

stratification is inevitable because certain jobs are more important and require more training. Thus, those jobs promise higher rewards

Stratification isn't inevitable, but results from capitalism and the misuse of power. Those in power protect the status quo

a group with similar biological and visible physical characteristics

sharing common origins, culture, and language

a group with less power than the majority

• Distinctive physical or cultural traits
• Less access to power and resources
• Unequal treatment, usually measured by economics and education
• Shared identity due to discrimination
• Ascribed status

a negative or biased attitude toward an entire group and it's members

a type of prejudice that maintains one race is superior and its members

a behavior that denies equal treatment, opportunities and rights based on minority membership

the result of unfair practices that are part of the structure of society and have become traditionally accepted behaviors

• Contact alone is not enough
• Equal status is necessary
• Cooperation, not competition is required

prohibits discrimination in public accomodations and services on the bases of race, color, creed, national origin, and gender

efforts to recruit minorities for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities

all groups combine to form a new group

giving up one's cultural traditions to conform to the dominant group cultures

all groups coexist with mutual respect

the number of males per 100 females in society

biological difference

social or cultural differences

• Provide
• Protect
• Build

• Bearing and caring for children
• Care of home
• food preparation

the family into which a person is born and/or raised

the family one establishes upon marriagw

 parents and children (2 generations)

nuclear family and their blood relatives (more than two generations)

a gorup of 2 or more related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and residing together

• Functions and norms of family
• Social stability

Inequality, injustice and male dominance

Family interactions, roles and socialization

socially-sanctioned monogamous and heterosexual union that is intended to be permanent

boyfriends, cohabitors, ex-spouses, and same-sex partner are all included

the process by which religion gradually disappears and religious organizations become more worldly

a count of the population

• assess tax revenue
• determine military strength
• Determine government representation (in the U.S.)

the number of live births in a year per 1,000 people in the population