Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Sociology Exam 1
- Sociological Imagination &
theoretical perspectives
- 3 Tenants of Sociological
Imagination
- Making the
familiar "strange"
to view our
culture from an
outsider's
perspective to
understand
nuances &
patterns
- Recognizing the
difference between
personal troubles &
societal issues (e.g.
unemployment)
- Connecting personal
experiences with
societal history to
understand how
society influences our
lives & vice versa
- Feminism
- Advocate for equality of
women & men, mainly
politically (e.g. suffrage)
- 1st wave:
political rights
incl. suffrage,
property rights,
etc.
- 2nd wave:
reclaiming
sexuality,
deconstruct
gender roles,
reduce derogatory
terms towards
women
- 3rd wave (present):
deconstruct binary
genders,
intersectionality,
further reclaim
sexuality
- Liberal: work w/
inst. & gov. (e.g.
suffrage &
property ri.)
- Radical: critiques
categories of
gender, gender
roles, support
non-binary, = pay,
soc. issues
- Essentialist: inherent
differences between
men & women that
should be
acknowledged
- Critique: 1st (& 2nd?) wave(s)
focused on oppression of rich,
white women, while ignoring
experiences of people of color,
poor women, & non-cis
- Conflict Theory
- Inequality due to capitalism,
proletariats must revolt to
change system to socialism
- Marx: bourgeoisie vs.
proletariat; the owners of
property exploit those who
don't own any
- Critique: theory too narrow
as it mainly focuses on
econ.; doesn't account for
fact that econ. systems in
soc. haven't changed much
(e.g. CEOs vs. workers)
- Example: in simpson's video, we see
family enjoying show, meanwhile
sweatshop shows exploitation of
people to create products for
consumers
- Functionalism
- Can study societies
the same way we
study human
bodies
- Every part of society
(e.g. religion, schools)
is needed for soc. to
function, like organs
are needed in body
- Critique: theory doesn't account
for fact that things in society have
changed over time; if every part
worked the way it should (as
human body), wouldn't need to be
removed/changed. Plus, no critical
lens applied to view society
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Reality & meaning created
through interactions
between ppl; social reality
is created & reenacted
- Example: if person
deems what the
experience as reality,
they will interact with
others as if it is all real &
prescribe meaning to
interactions themselves
- Max Weber: ppl act
according to how
they perceive
reality/the world
- Critique: theory is too narrow
(inspects interactions too
closely) & allows for too
much interpretation in
relationships/interactions, so
no est. meaning
- Levels of analysis
- Micro
- Individual level; example:
interactions between
couples, self perception, etc.
- Meso
- group level;
example: comparing
behaviors in
different work
places, how
children's sports are
organized
- Macro
- structural level (social
structures & institutes);
example: interactions
between countries
- Positivism
- Belief that thru
research, logic &
meaning can be
prescribed to
everything
- Society acts according to
laws just as the physical
world does; assumes
objectivity
- Critique:
antipositivism; doesn't
make sense as theory
rejects intuitive
knowledge; no
meaning to anything
- Functions of Society
- Manifest: intended
function (e.g. purpose
of tailgating is to eat
& party)
- Latent: unintended
function (e.g.
tailgating leads to
binge drinking &
drunk driving)
- Postmodernism
- Who produces
knowledge? Why? Who
benefits, what
institutions? The creator
influences the masses
- Questions binary thinking,
all-encompassing logic,
criticizes theories that attempt
to explain everything under one
single reason. Instead, logic
should come from each
persons' indiv. exper.
- Critique: undermines
educational endeavors,
vague, promotes deviant
behavior, no intellectual
contribution
- Social Construct Theory
- Do things have
inherent existence?
Or do they exist b/c
we prescribe value
to them?
- Example: currency
only works b/c we
believe it has value,
when it's just paper
- Critique: even if nothing has
inherent value, still has real
implications, e.g. if you flip
off someone, they'll take
offense & hate you
- Culture, Structure, & Groups
- Ethnocentrism: belief that your
culture is superior others & to
view them thru the standards
of your own culture
- Mindful skepticism: treat
current beliefs as provisional
& explore alternative ways of
making sense of things b/c
one of the ways might come
in handy
- Culture: a collection of
abstract beliefs and norms
that dictate how a society
functions; shared
understandings that ppl use
to coordinate activities
- Values: abstract
beliefs held by a
culture/society
- Norms: how values are
carried out in society; soc.
expectations that guide
behavior
- Example: the value of
privacy is maintained
through the norm of
giving people space in
public
- Cultural scripts: "rules" (norms)
ppl follow in situations
that go along with social
norms (e.g. bathroom)
- Sanctions: punishments
for breaking script. Can be
informal (stigmatization)
or formal (jail)
- Xenophobia: dislike of
things perceived as
foreign/different
- Cultural relativism:
taking into account
differences across
cultures w/o judgement
or assigning value
- Socialization: process of indiv.
internalizing values, beliefs,
norms of society & learn to
funct. w/in that society
- Primary Socialization
- 1st process of learning
social norms; shape
behavior & beliefs based on
culture, typically in infancy,
done by primary group
- Primary group:
unspecialized, intimate,
enduring relationships;
group spends lots of
time together
- Example: family
- Secondary Socialization
- Later processes of
shaping behavior
based on culture &
norms of surroundings;
takes place each time
we join new 2ndary
group
- Secondary groups:
larger, impersonal,
specialized,
temporary groups,
have 1-2 goals
- Example: classrooms,
friends, workplaces
- Resocialization
- deliberately
re-engineered beliefs,
norms, etc. thru intense
social processes
- Total Institution:
secondary group that
fully changes behavior
& beliefs, controls day
to day life
- Example: military,
boarding school
- Social Deviance
- Stigma: label of
actions/behaviors that go
against cultural norm;
labeled ppl demoted from
"normal" to "discredited"
- Status: recognizable
social positions that an
indiv. occupies
- Master status: main
status ppl identify others
by based on
appearances/perceptions
- Example: Asian
- Achieved status: status
that one earns in life thru
work or just thru life
experience
- Example: professor
- Ascribed status: status
one is given @
birth/born into
- Example: daughter
- Status set: set of
statuses each indiv.
holds (unique combo
for each)
- Role: duties that a
person has that
come with their
status
- Role strain: conflict
due to different
demanding duties of
the role under the
same status
- Example: As a student at
UIowa, have to study,
but also join student org
- Role conflict:
conflict between
competing roles a
person has
- Example: as a student
& a mom, a person
would have to
compete between
taking care of their
kids & doing
homework
- Deviance:
behaviors/actions that go
against social norm
- Primary deviance: defying
social norms, yet not
prescribing to identity of
one who does such things
- Example: a person with
an eating disorder
exhibits behaviors of
such, yet does not
identify as "anorexic"
- Secondary deviance:
identifying w/ label of
deviant behavior after
others' reactions
- Example: person w/ eating
disorder recognizes self as
"anorexic" after family &
friends point out disorder
- Informal deviances have
no formal punishment
(e.g. farting in lecture)
while formal deviances
have real punishments
(e.g. jail)
- Reality: collection of
beliefs bound by
time, space, &
location
- Label theory: ppl take on
identities based on labels
given to you & your reactions
to that label
- Research
- Q's sociologists can
ask
- Empirical
- Example: "What are
the effects of working
during high school on
GPA?
- Q's of interp
- Example: "What does
'family' mean to
intended parents &
surrogates?
- Q's sociologists
cannot ask
- Aesthetic
- Example: "Is this painting
beautiful?"
- Moral
- Example: "Is it morally
permissible to smoke
around other
people?"
- 3 ethics of research
- Do no harm
- Informed consent
- Voluntary
participation
- Example: Tuskegee syphillis study
- Qualitative v. Quantative
- Deductive
- theory/hypothesis -->
experiment -->
observations-->
confirmation
- Inductive
- Observations
--> pattern -->
tentative
hypothesis -->
theory
- Data collection
- observations, diaries,
newspapers, interviews,
surveys
- comparative research,
experimental methods,
content analysis