Exam 2 Flashcards
Status Characteristics
oRelational
oIndependent
oRoles
oManifest and Latent
How one behaves in any particular status changes with a change in their role partner:
oDoctor/Patient
oDoctor/Nurse
oDoctor/Doctor
oDoctor/Significant Other
oDoctor/Parent
oImportance: Statuses are independent of who we are as individuals
Mechanical and Organic Societies
Mechanical Solidarity
●Found in pre-industrialized societies
●An undeveloped division of labor generates similar life experiences
●A strong common culture based on religion & tradition
●Family/clan/village identity
Organic Solidarity
●Found in industrial societies
●A specialized division of labor generating different experiences, values and norms
●Does not create a strong common culture, but individualism
●Interdependence among individuals, groups, and organizations
Sui Generis
●Society exists beyond the individuals that make it up
-Sui Generis
Social Institutions
•A web of social relations
•The relatively permanent structural arrangements centered around the tasks of meeting the important material and nonmaterial requirements of a society
•Institutions contribute to the maintenance and continuance of any society
The Building Blocks of Society
oSocial statuses (positions) are the building blocks of social relations
oSocial relations are the building blocks of groups, networks and institutions
Webs of social relations
oGroups, networks, and institutions are the building blocks of society
The Generalized Other
George Herbert Mead’s (1863–1931) term for expected behaviors, norms, and values considered the standard in one’s community or society; “what is expected of you”.
oIt is in the last stage that children (7-12) begin visualize the the generalized other and adapt their behavior
oThe ability to step into a social status (parent, peer, teacher, coach, employer, etc.) and see the “game” from the perspective of the group
oPerspective of society in general
oWhen incorporated into one’s self-concept = ME
The Looking-Glass Self
oIs not we we actually are
oNor is it how other people actually perceive us
oInstead, it is our perception of how others see us
oOur perceptions of how our significant others perceive us is most important to our self-concepts
Mead’s “I” and “me”
oThere are two parts to the self:
o“I” is the part of self that responds directly to outside events
oSubjective
oImpulsive
o“Me” represents the society within us
oObjective
oSelf-reflective
oReflects the internalization of values, beliefs and norms of the group
Material and Symbolic Culture
Material culture—refers to the relationship between artifacts and social relations
Symbolic (or nonmaterial) culture—refers to the ideas, beliefs, values, or norms that shape a society.
Strain Theory Characteristics
proposal that pressure derived from social factors, such as lack of income or lack of quality education, drives individuals to commit crime. The ideas underlying strain theory were first advanced in the 1930s by American sociologist Robert K.
Social Structure
the distinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society interact and live together. Social structure is often treated together with the concept of social change, which deals with the forces that change the social structure and the organization of society.
Examples: economics, racial groups, religions, political parties
Social Systems
a relational bond of personal or environmental roles that are a part of a whole, larger community.
This social system also includes a larger society that works together and functions as a connection between community organizations and larger institutions.
The main premise of a social system is to fulfill the needs of the larger unit of society. Communities, schools, religious buildings, and businesses are all examples of the units of society.
The Dramaturgical Approach
Our definition of the situation helps us to determine which social system we are in and which of the many social statuses we occupy will actually apply
A social system is a set of interrelated social statuses that can be thought of as a whole:
For example, people who sell cars may want to portray themselves as knowledgeable and professional. This behavior represents an attempt to nullify the negative connotations sometimes associated with people who sell cars.
Manifest and Latent Statuses
oDefining the situation helps to establish which status, and corresponding role, will apply
oManifest statuses—are those statuses and their roles that are the focus of attention at any one time
oLatent statuses—are those that make-up the rest of our status set
oThey are important because although they may be socially irrelevant in a particular situation, they often affect how people are perceived and treated
oThey may also influence a person’s action making the person’s behavior seem odd at the time
Collective Representations
concepts, ideas, categories and beliefs that do not belong to isolated individuals, but are instead the product of a social collectivity
Rituals
●Routinized and highly important group activities
●Foster shared meanings and create community
Social Realism
the assumption that social reality, social structures and related social phenomena have an existence over and above the existence of individual members of society, and independent of our conception or perception of them.
Everyone has a status set. What are the main components of a status set (define and
provide an example)? Explain the importance of one’s master status.
oPositions and relations are involved in any social system
oEach social system has a different set of social statuses associated with it:
oPositions in a social system:
oFamilies: Parent(s), child(ren), grandparents, aunts, uncles, honorary members
oSports Team: Owner, manager, coaches, trainers, players, benchwarmers
oSociety: Class (upper, middle, lower classes), Race (Whites, Blacks, Asians, Latinx, Indigenous), Sex/Gender (male, female, intersex, trans, masculine, feminine, androgynous)
oAscribed Social Statuses
oStatuses we are born into:
oSex
oRace/Ethnicity
oClass
oAble-bodied
oReligion
oEnduring
oAchieved Social Statuses
oStatuses that we achieve throughout our lifetime:
oGender
oEducational
oMarital
oFamily
oOccupational
oChanging
Master Status
oWhile we all occupy a variety of statuses, the most socially important is called a master status because it affects almost everything we do
Drawing on either Cooley or Mead, explain how is the “self” social?
George Herbert Mead proposed a three-stage role-taking process to explain how the Self emerges. The language stage, play stage, and game stage are all included here.
What is the meaning of self-socialization?
The conceptual notion of self-socialization implies that a person can reflect on themselves, establish a vision of a prospective self, make objectives, and begin actions to generate or alter their formative pattern. In the context that it is molded by engagement with other individuals, the Self is socially crafted in this way.
How is socialization connected to the self and what is the self?
Self-socialization is the procedure through which individuals exert influence throughout their social development. Self-socialization occurs as a result of selective awareness, in which individuals intentionally choose to focus on specific objects or signals in their surroundings. Self-concept refers to how individuals interpret their activities, abilities, and distinguishing qualities.
Drawing on his biography and the historical context, why might Durkheim have
developed an interest in how societies function?
Biography
●Early small-town upbringing v. University life in Paris
●The brightest to being one-of-the-crowd
●Cooperation v. Competition
●Real-life practicality v. Esoteric subjects
History
●The French Revolution
●Social Relations
●The Guilds
●The Family
●The Church
●Education
Influenced by Enlightenment Thought
●Eliminating the power of the Church and the aristocracy
●Replacing religious myths with rational thought and science
●Believed personal freedom would produce greater individual happiness and better societies
His primary concern was that the cultural glue that held society together was failing, and people were becoming more divided
Identify the major components of Durkheim’s model. What term did Durkheim use to
describe this model and why?
Society - the model
See gallery
Identify and explain (with an example) the major components of the collective
conscience. What is its importance?
●The beliefs, values, and norms that make-up a society’s culture
●Form a united sets of social rules and ways of understanding the world
●Beliefs
●What is real
●Constructs reality
●Provide us with “obvious” facts
●Values
●What is important
●Identifies what is preferable and desirable
●Abstract ideas about our goals
●Influence our choices
Using Durkheim’s normative theory of suicide, discuss the role of integration and
regulation in the pact suicides discussed in “Teenage Wasteland.”
According to Durkheim, suicide is not a personal act. It is caused by a power beyond the individual or the super individual. He believed that “we know the consequences of all kinds of deaths, either directly or indirectly, resulting from the victim’s own positive or negative behaviour.” After defining the phenomenon, Durkheim rejected the psychological explanation. Many doctors and psychologists theorize that the majority of those who take their lives are in a morbid state. However, Durkheim emphasised that the power to drive suicide is social rather than psychological. He concluded that suicide results from social turmoil or lack of social integration or social solidarity.
Durkheim’s theory of suicide greatly contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon because it emphasises social factors rather than biological or personal factors. However, this is also the main drawback of Emile Durkheim’s suicide theory. He overemphasized only social factors and overlooked other factors. Therefore, his theory of suicide is said to be highly flawed and unilateral.
According to Philip Zimbardo, why do good people do bad things? Provide an
example drawn from the video (to be viewed Monday).
When people have an ideology to justify their actions
