Social Theory Exam 1 Flashcards
What is a Theory?
- explanations of observable phenomena
- consist of causal relations & mechanisms
Causal relation
- outcome Y depends on some factor X if by modifying X one can affect Y
Causal mechanism
- tells us how X produces Y
Situational Mechanism
one’s environment may affect what people believe, what they know, what they expect, what consequences they expect to result from action
Behavioral Mechanism
how what one believes, knows, wants, and expects affects one’s behavior
Transformational Mechanism
how individual actions combine to produce group-level phenomenon
Instrumental Rationality
- shaped by anticipated consequences
- calculate the cost and benefits
- selfish
Value Rationality
- choose a course of action because they believe in it “for its own sake…independently of its prospect of success”
- “he believes it is the right thing to do”
- absorb values from community
- considers the morality of the decision
Affective
- behavior driven by emotion rather than rational calculation
- emotional behavior
Traditional
- act out of habit
- unconscious behavior
homo-economics
- “a creature who is rational and purely self-interested”
- Independent with total agency
- “under-socialized” conceptualization of the human
- selfish
Homo-sociologicus
-“ a creature who follows prevailing social norms without regard to self-interest”
- Dependent without agency
-“over-socialized” conceptualization of the human
- groupish
What is culture?
systems of meaning
What is structure?
patterns of relationships
What describes social reality?
structure and culture
Conflict Theory
- Marx coined the theory
- class based welfare; rich get richer
- only can get fixed through revolution
- It seeks to explain political and economic events in terms of an ongoing struggle over finite resources.
Marx
- follow the money
- structure determines culture
- explains inequality
- economic structure determines morality
Durkheim
- follow the crowd
- organic fluid
- explain loyalty & belief
- social solidarity determines faith
Mead
- “the generalized other”
- father of social psychology
- the self is a social construct
The generalized other
- concept by Mead
- organized community of or social group which gives to the individual his unity of self
- attitude of the generalized other is at the attitude of the whole community
Legal-Rational Authority
- rests on the belief in the legality of enacted rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands
- bureaucratic in nature
- belief “laws are fair and equally applied”
Traditional Authority
- resting on an established belief in the sanctity o immemorial traditions and the legitimacy of those exercising authority under them
- belief “things have always been and will always be this way”
Charismatic Authority
- resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him
- belief “I love our leader”
Weber’s Legitimacy Types
- legal rationality
- traditional
- charismatic
Weber’s Ideal Behavior Types
- instrumental rational
- value rational
- affective
- tradition
What two behavior types do social theory’s stem from?
- traditional
- value rational
Moral Authority
social integration and authority
