Creation of Sociology
desire to improve the world and apply scientific methods to society
Origin of Sociology
industrial and french revolution. emerged in 19th cent b/c of social upheavals and advancements in natural science.
Foraging Society
original human society
little trade
no state
little leadership
egalitarian
Pastoral
animal herding
surplus
constantly moving
warlike
religious
Horticultural
small scale farming
growing plants
surplus = inequality
doesn't move
Agricultural
organized state
heredity leadership
written language
first cities
organized warfare
Industrial
High role specification
market exchange
democratic govt
urbanization
rapid communication
social inequality
mass education
Post-Industrial
mature industrial society
larges jobs = service
Functionalism
Focuses on social order
each part of society performs functions for all = social consensus
Functionalism Founders
Spencer/ Durkhelm
Conflict Theory
society is always changing
more powerful groups gain more
world always changing
Conflict Theory Founder
Karl Marx
Feminism
conflict theory focuses include sexual orientation, race, economic status, and nationality
historical superiority of men, challenges status quo
Interactionism
people respond to our interpretations of things
human behavior always changes
alters by others reactions
Interactionism Founder
George Mead
Two Major types of research
Descriptive and Causal
Descriptive Research
describing the phenomena (what happened)
Causal
explaining the phenomena (how it happened)
Logic of Causality
examining correlation between variables
Spurious Correlation
no causal relationship
"ice cream sales are best when drownings are at peaks
Experiments
Do something and see what happens
Surveys
ask questions
Durkheims Methodological Contribution
applied scientific method to sociology- suicide study
Cultural Relativism
belief that culture should be understood on its own terms
Globalization
interrelationships between worlds economies
Ethnocentrism
attitude that ones own culture is superior to those other people
Cultural Diffusion
spread of cultural items between individuals or cultures
Cultural Diffusion Founder
Alfred Kroeber
Multiculturalism
a state in which subcultures in a society are equal
Cultural Universals
practices found in all cultures as means for meeting human needs
Class Conflict Founder
Marx
Class Conflict
struggle between capitalists and proletariats
Control Group
group that is not exposed to the independent variable
Dependent Variables
effect
Independent Variables
cause (independent caused dependent)
Cross-Cultural Morality
Kluckholn's Study
Norms
a social rule that specifies how people should behave
Values
socially shared idea about what is good, desirable, or important
Sample
a small number of people selected from a larger population
Role Specialization
...
Subculture
culture within a culture
Economic Determinism
Marx: economic structure over politics, determines societies values, beliefs, etc
Value Free Sociology
concepts should be free of bias
Reciprocal Exchange
Trading
Social Institutions
Family, education, religion, government, economic
set of widely shared beliefs, norms, and procedures necessary for meeting the needs of society
Social Class
category of people with about the same income, power, & prestige
Society
group of interacting individuals sharing territory
Culture
all the shared products of human society
Groups
collection of people who interact with one another, feeling of unity
Material Culture
every conceivable kind of physical object produced by humans
Non-Material Culture
intangible aspect of culture
Industrial Revolution
chaos and confusion
agricultural societies have become industrialized, began in England about 250 years ago
Social Roles
Set of rights/duties associated with particular social status
Ascribed status
status no one has control over (gender)
Achieved status
attained by ones actions
Role conflict
conflict between 2 roles begging played together.
(judge who's daughter is being convicted: judge, father)
Role Strain
stress caused by incompatible demands from roles of 1 status
Social statuses
position in a group or society
Rationalization
process of replacing informal ways with planned/formal ways
Rationalization Founder
Max Weber
Social Darwinism
nature forces in societies, survival of fittest
Social Darwinism Founder
Herbert Spencer
Anomie
Social condition where norms are absent
Proletariat
laborers
Bourgeoisie
owners of capital
The Sociological Imagination
Mill's term from the ability to see the impact of social forces on individuals, especially on their private lives
Random Selection
random sample
observational studies
watching & participating
Existing data
historical & comparative
Common Errors in Evaluating Research
ethical problems, violating law, welfare of participants, responsibility to public, leave out info, sampling errors, measurement errors, overstatement, failure to disprove alternate explanations
Social Evolution
Changing from technologically simple to more complex w/ social consequences
The Importance of Language
enables us to communicate, influence the way we perceive the world around us
Emile Durkheim
social integration and suicide
sociologists must not be subjective, applied scientific methods
August Comte
French intellectual, 1st sociologist, named 'sociology', sociologists as decision makers
Confucius
social philosopher, believed society is created like big family: hierarch, obedience, mutual protection
Max Weber
value free sociology
put self in others shoes
rationalization
Karl Marx
saw social conflict in every society, economic determinism, bourgeoisie vs proletariat
C. Wright Mills
understand the social forces that create our personal problems
George Herber Mead
American sociological tradition
behaviorism
W.E.B. DuBois
African Am, focused on racial problems, advocated force to fix inequality
Clyde Kluckholn
...
Herber Spencer
laws of nature, founder of social darwinism, organic analogy, survival of fittest, if gov interferes society suffers
Jane Adams
founder of US Soc & social work, solve social problems with research established many govt programs
Patriarchy
system where men have power over women