Midterm 1 Flashcards
1
Q
What does sociology as a discipline try to understand?
A
Sociology is a discipline that tries to understand why our social world is the way it is
2
Q
What are the origins of sociology?
A
-Sociology was the first discipline within the social sciences
August Comte: French philosopher of science coined the term in 1838
3
Q
Who are the founding sociologists?
A
Emile Durkheim: French sociologist who founded the first sociology department at the University of Bordeaux in 1895
Along with Karl Marx and Max Weber, considered one of the three main founding figures of sociology
4
Q
What propagated sociology as a discipline?
A
The Scientific Revolution and major social changes going on in the 19th century pushed people to try to understand what was going on
eg. State building, industrialisation, rise of nationalism, urbanizatisation, democratisation
5
Q
Define sociology
A
“The social science that studies the development, structure, and functioning of human society”
6
Q
Define the two main components of sociology
A
Society: “A distinct group of humans with mutual interests and shared institutions and culture”
Usually used to designate country-level groups
Problems:
Disagreement about groupness
Boundaries between societies are very blurry
Most sociologists avoid using the term and use instead societal relations
7
Q
What makes sociology different from the other social sciences?
A
Breadth (takes on broad view and analyzes all types of social relations
Focus ( focuses more on relationship between individuals and social structures -> patterns of social relations)
8
Q
How does the Tim Hortons example presented in the book use the scientific method?
A
Question: Who buys Tim Horton’s at the drive thru?
Observation: Watch people who go through drive thru
Analysis: Analyse data on the characteristics of the people
Testing: See if people using the drive thru have the same characteristics elsewhere, interview people to ask them why they use the drive thru
9
Q
What are three scientific assumptions?
A
(1) We live in an external, objective world (not a dream)
(2) It is possible to gather accurate information about this world (w/ our sense)
(3) There is order and regularity in the world (not random, there are causes)
10
Q
What do most sociologists have as a goal?
A
Since sociology is not like most science, sociologists aim to come up with a better understanding of our social world (not laws - no controlled environment and no generalized rules)
11
Q
What does Steckley and Letts say about definitions of sociology?
A
that definitions of sociology aren’t as valuable as knowing what sociology does
Instead they say sociology analyzes patters of social relations
12
Q
What would be an example of analyzed social patterns?
A
Types of people who are opposed gay marriage : Elderly, Anglophones, men, fundamentalists
e.g. used in class of education levels of KKK members in 1920’s
13
Q
What is the the unifying element of sociological perspectives?
A
it looks at the relationship between the individual and social structure
14
Q
What is C.Wright Mills sociological imagination?
A
“the capacity to shift from one perspective to another and see the relationship between the two”
15
Q
Why does Mills suggest using the sociological imagination?
A
Claims that growing individualization prevents people from seeing how the social and historical settings shape us
-Causes angst, as people feel helpless, are confused
Mills urges the “sociological imagination” as cure
16
Q
What are the five main theoretical perspectives in sociology?
A
Structural-Functionalist, Conflict, Symbolic Interactionist, Feminist, and Postmodern
17
Q
What is the gist of the functionalist perspective?
A
Founders: Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, and Talcott Parsons
18
Q
What is the gist of the conflict perspective?
A
Prominent Figures: Karl Marx, Max Weber, C. Wright Mills
Conflict: Interested in domination, inequality, violence. Believe that conflict is common and has a major impact on the form of social relations and important to understand
Class Conflict: driving force behind social relations and social change. Struggles between classes to resist and overcome the opposition of other classes According to Marx, nearly all societies have a dominant class that exploits a subordinate class Capitalism: the capitalists controlled society, exploited the workers
19
Q
What is the gist of the Symbolic Interactionist perspective?
A
- microsociological
- Interested in individual-level human interactions
- Looks at the meaning of the daily interactions
- Believes that our interactions make us who we are
- Still, suggests we have some agency in these interactions, aren’t simply passive actors determined by structure
- socialization
20
Q
What is the gist of the feminist perspective?
A
focused on how societies are gendered; how one’s gender affects life chances, how societies are stratified based on gender
At the same time, they see it as an example of conflict theory
Explores the extent to which societies are dominated by males, how gender inequality is reproduced or alleviated
21
Q
What is the gist of the Postmodern perspective?
A
Focuses on discourses as a basis of power and domination (conflict theory)
Discourse: “A conceptual framework with its own internal logic and underlying assumptions. Different disciplines have their own discourses.”
Edward Said’s Orientalism: Describes orientalism as a Western discourse that depicts the Orient in simplified and biased ways
Very powerful, difficult for Middle Easterners to escape
22
Q
How would each of the sociological perspectives explain suicide?
A
Functionalists: suicide is most likely when societies are breaking down, not properly integrated and no norms to make people part of collective
Conflict: suicide is shaped by inequalities and domination
Symbolic-Interaction: the meaning and value of our lives results from our social interactions (self esteem and value of life)
23
Q
How can we establish causation?
A
(1) Sequence: effect must follow cause
(2) Correlation: effect must be related to the cause
(3) Test Spuriousness: Correlation does not mean causation, as the relationship might be spurious
(4) Discover Mechanism: the reason cause and effect are related
24
Q
Define positivism
A
Believe that there is one scientific method that can be used in all natural and social sciences to establish causation
Believe we can only use the scientific method on things that are directly observable
At the extreme, believe we can discover scientific laws, can make predictions
25
Define interpretivism
Interpretivism: calls for the rejection of the scientific method in the social sciences
Believes establishing causation is hard/impossible
Subjectivity: No common reality, everything subjective
Cannot be certain why humans act, so can’t gain insight into causation
Wink example
At the extreme, knowledge is impossible
We can only interpret people’s actions
26
Define critical realism
somewhere in the middle of positivism and interpretivism, there is a real world out there that can be observed
We can get knowledge about social causation
Two factors make knowledge acquisition problematic
Problem 1: our observations are incomplete and inaccurate
We therefore cannot be certain about our findings
Problem 2: the social world is damn complicated
Laws and accurate prediction are impossible
27
What are the six steps of a sociological analysis?
(1) formulate question, (2) review existing literature, (3) select method, (4) collect data, (5) analyze data, (6) report results
28
What are some sources of collecting data?
Observations, interview, survey,statistical data sets, archival documents, books, journals and other secondary sources
29
What are the Four Main Methodological Traditions in Sociology ?
Statistical (defining relationships between variables)
Ethnographic (qualitative interviews and participant observation and text analysis -> greeks and turk war)
Comparative-Historical (to answer big questions about large processes that occurred in the past
How did Europe become a political and economic powerhouse over the past 500 years?)
Experimental(Social scientific method that comes closest to a controlled experiment
Assign people to different groups randomly
Treat groups differently
Measure the impact treatment had on people)
30
Define culture
Popular Definition: a way of life
Authors’ Definition: “A social system comprising behaviour, beliefs, knowledge, practices, values, and material such as buildings, tools, and sacred items”
- makes us perceive things, tells us whats important (language in MTL)
- macro (large societies and communities) and micro (individual)
31
What are some elements of culture?
Language, religion, technology, values, beauty, gender, charter of values
32
What are the differences between norms, mores, folkways, taboos and laws?
Norms: accepted way of doing things, can be related to values. Few are universal and most are omnipresent
Mores: strong norms, very rude to break
Example: Swearing in front of children, public nudity
Folkways:weak norms without serious sanctions
Example: farting or burping in public
Taboos:strongest norm, causes revulsion, punishment
Example: Incest, touching the bodily fluids of others, murder
Laws:rules that are enforced by authorities, very commonly norms
Might be mores or taboos: public nudity
Might not be mores or taboos: parking laws
Many mores and taboos aren’t laws: swearing
33
What are the different was sociology analyzes cultures?
Ethnographies: Try to document cultures, subcultures, and countercultures; Micro view
Alijah Anderson: Analyzes inner-city culture
Cultural Change: explore the causes of cultural change
Technologies: Impact of TV on social relations
Globalization: Spread of cultures throughout world
Impact of Culture: Analyze causal impact of cultural
Different gender norms affect the life chances of women
Protestant ethic promoted capitalist development
34
What is socialization?
a learning process (learn norms, values, perspectives, language) through interaction
```
Broken down into :
Primary socializers (first years of life -> parents day care)
Secondary socializers (development of more complex and subtle knowledge-> peers, education, religious state, mass media, economic institutions)
-also bring on self-socialization (choosing our own socializers)
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35
What is resocialization?
Process of trying to break-down effects of past socialization and socialize in a different way
eg. Education: from kindergarten to graduate school
eg. Military: boot camp is designed to break-down the individual and build them up as the military wants
Total Institution
36
What is virtualsocialization?
new phenomenon where researchers looks at the relationships over the internet such as Facebook and wether these relationships can resocialize you
37
Who is Charles Horton Cooley and what was his theory? (socialization)
(Symbolic Interactionst) American sociologist most famous for his concept “Looking-Glass Self”
Suggests our identities emerge from interaction, reflect our surroundings
Three step process of Looking-Glass Self:
(1) We imagine how we appear to people
(2) We judge how they evaluate us (try to get in their heads)
(3) Based (2), we develop a self-concept
Suggests we don’t have control over who we think we are, our relations do
38
Who is George Hebert Mead and what was his theory? (socialization)
Claims all people have two components to who they are
I: Impulsive aspect of self, present at birth
Your biological self
Me: the part of self that emerges from our social interactions
Your social self
Generalized Other: helps form “Me”
Through interactions, we learn how people behave—norms, values, cognitions, etc.
From this, we construct an idea of how people are supposed to be
This is the ‘generalized other’ (central to socialization)
39
Who is Erving Goffman and what was his theory? (socialization)
-more emphasis on our agency
Life as a Stage: humans are constantly presenting themselves in the most favorable light, change their role depending on the social context
We act differently if among friends, family, professors
Socialization: involves learning the appropriate scripts/props for the different contexts and deciding how to play the role
We learn how we are supposed to act in certain circumstances
We learn the different actions we can employ
Yet we are able to innovate
40
How does functionalist theory explain socializations?
Macro focus, not micro
- Socialization fulfills two basic functions
Consensus: Socialization passes on norms that help limit conflict, promote social consensus
Skills: Socialization provides the skills and norms needed to effectively participate in social institutions
Example: Durkheim described how “modern” society required general norms and laws to survive
41
How does the conflict theory explain socialization?
-macro focus
Suggests that socialization reinforces the power of dominant groups and help maintain the subordinate positions of others
Marxist: suggests major social institutions legitimize and strengthen dominant class through socialization
Elite taught to be assertive, dominate
Masses taught to accept their position
Feminist: girls and boys socialized in ways that limit self-esteem and assertiveness of girls
Carol Gilligan
42
Who coined the term nature vs nurture?
Sir Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin
| he took an extreme nature perspective
43
How does sociology use notions of Nature?
Unifying Nature: Sociologists use biological arguments to explain commonalities, not differences
Sugguest our nature is nurture
Interaction: Sociologists consider how nature and nurture affect one another
Suggest nurture and nature reinforce one another
44
Whats is sociability and how does it relate to nature?
The notion that human beings are social creatures (unlike tigers who can live in solitaire)
Without interaction we can suffer mental trauma -> leads to question the ethics surrounding solitary confinement
(this would be considered our biology, shows the importance of nature)
45
What are some aspects of instinct?
Rules are not instinct for us (unlike bees and ants)
action that is (a) relatively complex, (b) unlearned, (c) species-wide, (d) manifest when maturity is reached and triggered by stimulus
can be linked to drive
46
What is creative intelligence?
based on biology its the explanation to our problem solving skills
Caused by our large brains, forward vision, dexterous hands, upright walking, vocal capabilities
Allow us to:
Solve problems and adapt to changes
Manipulate objects and our environment
Communicate complex thoughts and transmit knowledge from generation to generation
47
What is meant by "the nature of nurture"?
most sociologists believe that our nature is the base of nurture’s influence
Our main instinct is to learn and adapt
This is why socialization is so important
-sees nature and biology as a basis for our nurture
48
What is the link between the nature and nurture debate and the prefrontal cortex?
-to show how both interact reinforcing one another
25% of Americans on death row have damaged PFCs
Studies of people who injured this area also show proclivities to violence
->Damaged PFCs do not likely promote violence unless combined with violent upbringings
49
What can be drawn from the feral children example?
Rene Spitz: Studied orphans in orphanage to children living in prison daycare
Orphans lacked social contact, not prison children
Prison kids walking & talking by 3, only 8% of orphans
Suggests our biology doesn’t allow us to be truly human if we aren’t socialized as children
50
What are social networks?
One of the most basic patterns of social relations
a set of individuals linked by the exchange of material, informational, or emotional resources
All of the people you know and interact with are part of your network
An individual’s broadest social network is usually between 250-400 people
-how you find jobs
51
What is a status and what are the different types?
a recognized social position that an individual (or groups) occupies
Status Set: All statuses that one possesses
Two basic types of status:
Ascribed: status you were born into (son) or entered involuntarily (brother)
Achieved: Status you were NOT born into, needed to act in some way to achieve (husband, father, hockey)
Master Status: A status that dominates all other statuses in most social contexts
(can be context dependant)
52
What is a social organization?
“the social and cultural principles around which things are structured, ordered, and categorized”
Theocratic social organizations: Religious beliefs and rules basis of social organization
Weber: Patrimonial vs. legal-rational social organization
53
What is an organization?
group of people who follow formal rules and procedures to collectively pursue a specific set of goals
Allows a number of people to work together and combine their knowledge and effort
Technology: Organizations are phenomenal technologies that allow us to accomplish things we couldn’t as individuals
54
What did Weber believe the emergence of organizations contributed to?
Believed the emergence of powerful political and economic organizations contributed to the rise of Europe as the world’s leading power
Mainly militaries, corporations, and states
55
What is the link between organizations and institutions?
Organizations are particular types of institutions, BUT institutions are not social organizations
Most institutions differ from organizations in that they are less formal, pursue broader goals
56
What are the four characteristics of an institution?
1-sets of norms/rules/ideas that prescribe how individuals are supposed to act in a set situation
2-endure over time
3-enforced by some sort of sanction
4-organize human relations in pursuit of some goal
57
What are some types of institutions?
(1) Religious/Cultural: Transmission of meanings, values, and beliefs
(2) Educational: Transmission of knowledge (as well as meanings, values, and beliefs)
(3) Family: Reproduces social relations, child care
(4) Economic: Governs the production & exchange of goods
(5) Political: Enforces order through coercion, group decision making
58
What are social structures?
Relatively stable patterns of social relations
Institutions, organizations, social organizations are all particular types of social structures
Networks can be social structures
Statuses help us understand the particular social structures, constitutive parts of them
59
What can promote social structures?
culture and socialization
60
What is a role and who came up with the theory?
The function assumed or the part played by a person holding a particular status
Thought of by Goffman who saw everyday life as taking place on a state in a theatre
61
What is the general concept of Goffmans role theory?
suggests we aren’t always playing roles
Front Stage: Public displays where we actively play the role
Back Stage: Private displays, personal time where one doesn’t have to actively play roles
can experience role conflict
62
What is the gist of West and Zimmerman :Doing Gender"?
- talks about roles
- differences between sex, sex category, and gender
- influenced greatly by Goffman’s dramaturgical approach but claim his roles are too rigid ->gender is acted out through interactions bot just displays
- (props) how you wear your hair etc
63
What is the gist of Walton's "My Secret Life as a Black Man"?
describes the discrepancy between how people see him and how he sees himself
He wants to assert his non-racial self, but others pigeonhole him as a black man
-racial role
The racial role isn’t important for him, and it conflicts with the roles that are more central to his identity
(master status)
64
Define deviance
Actions that break norms, that stray from the usual
| So many norms, so we can act deviantly in so many ways
65
What can be said about universal deviant behaviour?
Because norms vary from place to place, there are few if any universally deviant behaviors
Because norms change, ideas of deviance change
66
What are the different types of punishment?
Informal Punishment: Mild punishment that is a socially accepted response, not formal
Different ways to show disfavor: verbal critique, facial expressions, ostracism, gossiping
Example: Picking nose
Formal Punishment: Established rules to punish
Judicial system, McGill Administration, Family
Example: Giving racist lecture
67
What are some causes of deviance?
Choice: Choose to be part of a deviant subculture
Goths, punks
Pressure: Individuals might act deviantly because of pressure from others
Peer pressure to be part of a gang, to skip school
Ignorance: Individuals might simply not know norms
Using left hand for eating in Morocco
Socialization: Individuals might be socialized by family to act deviantly
Roma, minority religious communities
68
How would symbolic interactionist define deviant behaviour?
We learn what is acceptable and what is deviant from our social interactions
Authority figures tell us something is deviant
We can tell by reactions of others if something is deviant
69
How would functionalist define deviant behaviour?
Dangerous, promotes social break down
At the same time, deviance can be useful, promote social integration
Observing deviance can affirm one’s values, push observers to unite to fight deviant behavior
Durkheim: Saw deviance as caused by anomie, egotism
Functionalists suggest actions become deviant when these actions hurt society
70
How would conflict define deviant behaviour?
Suggest that the elites declare subordinate lifestyles, views, etc. as deviant
Conflict view links deviance to inequality
A number of communities have historically been subordinate, and many of their characteristics labeled deviant
Gender: According to authors, what is male is treated as normal, what is female is treated as deviant
71
What is crime and how does it relate to deviant behaviour?
behavior that is punishable by the criminal justice system
Most crimes are deviant behaviors—murder, rape
Yet most deviant behaviors are not crimes—farting
And some crimes are not deviant—parking violation
72
What would be some patterns of crime explored by sociologists?
Explore characteristics of people who commit crimes
Age, race, sex, education, wealth, etc.
Explore environmental conditions that affect criminality
Broken windows, poverty, lack of police, gangs
Explore types of people stopped by police
Age, race, sex, education, wealth, etc.
73
What is strain theory?
-theory of crime that was popularized by Robert Merton, influenced by functionalist view
Strain exists when popularly defined goals are unattainable for people
Pushes them to crime as means of attaining goals
Poverty: Suggests the reason the poor are more likely to commit crimes is because they are unable to attain popular goals legally
74
What is the conflict perspective on causes of crime?
Conflict perspective suggests that crime is the result of power struggles between groups
Looks at causes of inequality in incarceration, with powerful avoiding incarceration
(1) Legal system focuses on the crimes committed by subordinate groups
More attention to street crimes than white-collar
(2) Powerful able to avoid prosecution
Lawyers, contacts, crimes occur in private
(3) Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
(4) Defiance: Crime sign of defiance to system
75
What is control theory?
One particular conflict theory suggesting that powerful groups control laws, have means of getting around law
Sees legal system as creating laws that benefit the powerful, control the subordinate
Examples: Legal system enforces capitalism in Canada, legal system promotes male domination in India
76
What is the symbolic interactions perspective of causes of crime?
Suggests your interactions with others promote criminality
Subcultural Theory: Your interactions cause your “generalized other” to have deviant traits
Learning Theory: Your interactions cause you to accept criminality as an acceptable option
One learns the benefits of criminal activities through observation and trial and error
Purposive: Unlike subcultural theory, actors recognize that activities are deviant
77
What is labelling theory?
-falls under symbolic interactionist
Deviance results not so much from the actions of the deviant as from the response of others, who label the rule breakers as deviant
Cooley’s Looking-Glass Self: Great influence on Labeling Theory
78
What are the three ways in which labelling theory promotes criminality?
(1) When people are labeled as delinquents, they are watched more closely by the authorities
(2) When people are labeled and treated as delinquents, they might not be accepted by people who aren’t labeled as deviant
Only able to interact with other so-called deviants
(3) When people are labeled as deviant, the people they interact with treat them as deviants (looking-glass self)
Causes people to believe they are deviant, so they act deviantly
79
What is the gist of Chambliss' "Saints and Roughnecks"?
Well-known example supporting labeling theory
Saints: thought of themselves as good, treated by others as good, given opportunities, not bothered by police
Nearly all went to college, became doctors, lawyers, etc.
Roughnecks: could not shake their label as “deviant”, treated as bad, constantly monitored by police, came to view themselves as bad
Most resorted to a life of crime, two jailed for murder
80
What are the Top 1% of canada and USA?
Top 1% of Canadian earners made 12.4% of total Canadian income in 2007, and this share is increasing
Up from 7.4% in 1982
Top 1% of Americans make 24% of total US income
Up from 9% in 1976
Differences are even more extreme if you consider wealth instead of income
Top 1% in US has 40% of wealth, bottom 80% only 7%
Top 1% owns half of stocks bonds, mutual funds; 0.5% for bottom 50%
81
Define stratafication
structuring of social relations by layers
Refers to hierarchical social relations
One group has greater power, influence, resources, prestige than another
Stratification refers to collective inequality, such as class, gender, education, or ethnicity
82
What is mobility and what are its two types?
Ability to move between different societal levels, focus is usually on economics
Sociologists are interested in two related types:
Individual/Intra-generational: people can work their way up over time
Sociologists generally find that one’s position within the stratification system changes during the life course
Inter-generational: children are able to work their ways up to a higher level than their parents
83
How does symbolic interaction perspective view stratification?
consider how inequalities shape social interactions, perceptions of self, etc.
84
How does functionalist perspective view stratification?
claim stratification is necessary for society to function properly
If people with elite positions aren’t given more wealthy, power, and status, they wouldn’t make the investments needed to hold the positions
85
How does conflict perspective view stratification?
See stratification as cause and consequence of conflict
86
What are Weber's three types of stratification (conflict)?
1-Class
2-Parties
3-Status group
87
What is the gist of Porter's Vertical Mosaic?
Porter found that power was ethnicized in Canada
British: Finds British Canadians control these organizations
Other communities found themselves further down the hierarchy
Enormous stratification
French in the middle, more recent immigrants on the bottom
Suggests there are problems with the Canadian mosaic
88
What is the gist of Lian and Matthews Article?
Test whether inequality is still based on ethnicity
Methods: Use census data to see whether different ethnic communities have different incomes
Control for a number of factors and check whether ethnicity still helps explain income inequality
Example: Control for level of education so ethnicity isn’t spuriously related to income via education
Difference with Porter: Porter was interested in the organizational elites, not income inequality per se
Article therefore isn’t reproducing Porter’s findings
Francophone Canadians: have higher returns from education relative to British Canadians
Controlling for a number of factors, French Canadians earn more than British Canadians
Other European Canadians: are doing basically as well as the British Canadians, some better
Conclusion: The Vertical Mosaic as described by Porter is no longer there
Porter might disagree—power, control of orgs. vital and might still be under British Canadian control
89
What are the three types of capital?
Human capital, cultural capital and social capital
