SOC 100 (1)

the systematic study of social behavior in human societies

face to face, individual interactions

institutions, social organizations

• patterns of behavior, how society is organized
• shapes and constrains our choices
• can be understood thru social theory

• our capacity to think and act
• constrained by structure, but also able to effect change

established sociology as a discipline

what results when there is a lack of collective consciousness, or no united code of right and wrong

• seeks to identify the basic functions that must be fulfilled in all societies
• ex. if something like religion or sports exists in society and persists over time, it must perform some necessary function that is important for the reproduction of society

its "mode of production"

products of their labour

• rise of rationally organized society
• contemporary society: viewed as shift in power from traditional (customs) to processes of legal-rational authority (bureaucracies)

calculating most efficient means to achieve a goal

institution where power rests in the position, not the person

understanding the meanings carried by actors that lead them to make decisions

• focus on individuals and their interactions
• a bottom-up approach focused on communication and interpretation

• individuals orient their behaviour based on what they think (subjectively) others think
• ability to "stand in others shoes" increase as we are better socialized

• focus on power: top-down domination and resistance from the bottom
• how different groups struggle against each other
• conflict theorists pay attention to power and social control created by socialization

process of translating theories and concepts into hypotheses that are an observable (testable) statement of the main claims of the theory

• empirical and observable equivalent of theoretical concepts
• must be observable and capable of taking on a range of different values

• deals with numbers
• answers coded into numerical form

would be a survey question w/an open-ended question, researcher would read and try to understand question

surveys

using a small sample of a larger population to make statements about the large population

you design an experiment/survey and you collect the data

• re-analyzing existing data collected by others
• easier than developing new data
• but data may be imprecise for your project

examination of newspapers, magazines, TV shows, case records

acquisition of knowledge, skills, and motivations to participate in social life

behaviour is determined by biological forces

behaviour is influenced by the (social) environment

classical or instrumental conditioning

stimulus -> response, then becomes associated with a different stimulus

learning to make a certain response because of the outcome that the response produces

• study interactions with others and environments
• the human infant is asocial at birth
• a socialized being is an actor as well as a reactr

• development through interaction with others
• different statuses and roles with related expectations
• constantly changing through significant/referent others

• emphasis on the role and importance of socialization
• examine how conformity helps to create adn preserve social harmony
• intergenerational knowledge fosters solidarity and cooperation (passing down of values and norms)

expectations related to masculinity and femininity

expectations related to biology

• primary source/agent of socialization
• earliest source of emotional attachments
• shape our values and beliefs (trust, limits)

• age at which parents have children
• social class
• ethnicity
• family size

socialization is a two-way process

• often seen as second most important agent of socialization
• allows us to experiment and try on new roles

• try to anticipate what roles and responsibilities we will have later in life
• ex. household chores, childhood jobs, sports, dance lessons, dating

• events, social movements, technological developments affect our behaviours, relationships, and self-images
• occurs throughout life

• elements of social life that have meanings social actors can interpret and also convey
• ex. languages, symbols, discourses, texts, knowledge, values, attitudes, beliefs, norms, worldviews, folkways, art, music, ideas, ideology

• enduring patterns of social relations and social institutions through which society is organized and through which behaviour is carried out
• ex. political and school system, taxes, free market financial system

• structural in nature
• nature of society largely determined by the economic mode of production (econoic base of society)
• everything else is known as the "super structure"

• believe that ideological (super-structural) forces accompany the economic mode of production
• the dominant ideology legitimates and perpetuates the existing order (minimizes criticism of capitalism and maximizes participation in and support of capitalism)

• culture manipulated by dominant (hegemonic) groups to reproduce inequality, by portraying it as natural and inevitable 
• differs from marxism by seeing class conflict as just one kind of ideological dominance

• base their claims on the work of Emile Durkheim
• focus on the integrative aspects of culture
• culture reflects the needs of a society
• culture is a functional social production

• culture is a vehicle that transmits meanings to people
• culture is generated by individuals in fact-to-face encounters

• Goffman
• sending and receiving of signals and messages is central to the overall organization of society
• people are like actors in a play (follow scripts, carry out role performances)

• a way of talking (writing, communicating) about something.
• a set of ideas, concepts, and vocabulary routinely used together

• subset of cultural traits of the larger society
• incl. distinctive values, beliefs, norms, style of dress, behavior

• often the expression of a nation culture
• form of cultural and political practice that ties symbols and values to the nation-state

generally refers to the fact that goods, services, information, people can move more easily from nation to nation

• rare or infrequent behavior 
• outside of "the norm"

not inherent in certain behaviours or physical features, but how these are treated on society

social control

• the ways in which individuals, groups, and institutions express their disapproval of people and behaviors
• intended to produce conformity and compliance with rules, norms, laws

focuses on how the law operates as part of society

• Merton
• deviance as the result of strain caused by mal-integration of cultural and social structures of societies
• aka lack of fit bw the cultural goals people are encouraged to seek and the means available to achieve these goals

innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion

• Agnew
• looks at other kinds of strain, like negative conditions (abuse), or loss of something that is valued (bad breakup)
• anything that makes someone feel under pressure

juvenile offenders

• considers how cultural beliefs create and sustain deviant behavior
• we learn how to be deviant from our culture

• 1. people learn how to engage in crime
• 2. this learning comes about through interaction with others who have already learned criminal way
• 3. learned: criminal technique, motives, attitudes, rationalizations

• human beings are neither good nor evil
• asks: why don't we all commit deviance?
• focuses on: why we refrain from deviance, the processes that bind ppl to the social order
• social bonds have a controlling effect, deviance result of weak bonds between ind. and the larger society

• the social bond
• attachment: affective ties with others, you care about ppl so you don't wanna hurt or embarrass them
• commitment: degree to which an individual pursues conventional goals, more committed to traditional goals, more likely to achieve them
• involvement: degree to which an individual is active in conventional activities, too busy for deviance 
• belief: in conventional values and legitimacy of the law

• symbolic interactionist
• attention should be directed to situations rather than individuals
• murder is the result of situations in which people feel offended and turn to violence
• driving force is emotional rather than rational