C. Wright Mills: Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills – The Sociological Imagination

• Sociology should help people connect personal experiences to broader social structures.
• The sociological imagination bridges personal biography and historical forces.
• Personal troubles are issues experienced on an individual level.
• Public issues are problems stemming from larger societal forces.
• If a national recession causes widespread job loss, it is a public issue.
• A small group of political, military, and corporate leaders make decisions that shape society.
• These decisions are often made without democratic accountability.
• Laws favoring large corporations over workers’ rights reflect elite power in government.
• Life choices are shaped by historical events and societal norms.
• A woman in the 1950s had fewer career opportunities than a woman today due to shifting gender norms.
• Mills’ work remains influential in critical sociology, social justice movements, and critiques of power structures.

Émile Durkheim – Suicide & Social Integration

• Conducted one of the first empirical sociological studies.
• This study used quantitative data to analyze the relationship between society and individual behavior.
• Suicide rates are linked to the degree of integration (belonging) and regulation (social norms) in a society.
• Egoistic suicide occurs when individuals feel isolated due to weak social ties.
• Elderly people living alone are more susceptible to Egoistic suicide.
• Altruistic suicide happens when individuals are too integrated and sacrifice themselves for the group.
• Suicide bombers and soldiers can be examples of Altruistic suicide.
• Anomic suicide results from sudden disruptions in social order.
• Financial collapse can be an example of Anomic suicide.
• Fatalistic suicide occurs when excessive social regulation leaves individuals with no sense of freedom.
• Prisoners and enslaved people can be examples of Fatalistic suicide
• Durkheim’s study laid the foundation for modern suicide prevention research.
• Social connections protect against mental health struggles.

Karl Marx – Communism & Class Struggle

• Focused on the economic foundations of society and how capitalism creates inequality.
• Society evolves through economic conflicts between different social classes.
• Feudalism transitioned into capitalism due to economic shifts.
• The bourgeoisie (owners of production) profit by exploiting the proletariat (workers).
• Low-wage workers making products for billion-dollar corporations exemplify class exploitation.
• Workers under capitalism become alienated from their labor, the product, themselves, and other workers.
• Alienation from labor refers to repetitive, unfulfilling jobs.
• Alienation from the product means workers don’t own what they create.
• Alienation from themselves means a lack of personal fulfillment.
• Alienation from other workers consists of competition rather than solidarity.
• Marx’s ideas influenced labor movements, socialism, and critiques of capitalism in modern economics.

Pierre Bourdieu – Cultural Capital & Social Reproduction

• Explored how non-economic resources contribute to social inequality.
• Embodied cultural capital includes knowledge, language, manners, and education acquired through socialization.
• Objectified cultural capital includes physical cultural items like art, books, and instruments.
• Institutionalized cultural capital includes formal qualifications like degrees and certifications.
• Elite families pass down advantages, maintaining class differences.
• A child of wealthy parents who attends elite schools has an unfair advantage over a lower-income student.
• Bourdieu's ideas are used in education studies, social mobility research, and discussions on privilege.

Erving Goffman – The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

• Used a dramaturgical approach, likening social interaction to theater.
• Front stage is the public self we perform.
• A politician giving a speech is an example of front stage.
• Back stage is the private self where true emotions emerge.
• The politician relaxing at home is an example of back stage.
• People control how they are perceived by adjusting behavior, clothing, speech, etc.
• A job interviewee dressing formally and speaking confidently to make a good impression.
• Goffman’s ideas are influential in psychology, marketing, and social media research.

Robert Merton – Manifest & Latent Functions

• Expanded functionalism by distinguishing between intended and unintended social effects.
• Manifest functions are intended and recognized consequences.
• Schools educating students is an example of a manifest function.
• Latent functions are unintended but beneficial consequences.
• Schools teaching social skills is an example of a latent function.
• Latent dysfunctions are unintended harmful consequences.
• School stress causing anxiety is an example of a latent dysfunction.
• Merton’s ideas are used in policy analysis, education reform, and institutional studies.

Talcott Parsons – Gender Roles & Structural Functionalism

• Argued that stable societies rely on gender role differentiation.
• The instrumental role (men) involves breadwinning and rational decision-making.
• The expressive role (women) involves emotional care and household duties.
• Parsons was criticized for reinforcing traditional gender roles.
• His work helped shape early sociological views on family structures.

Betty Friedan – The Feminine Mystique & Feminism

• Critiqued the societal expectation that women should find fulfillment solely in homemaking.
• Advocated for women’s rights in work, education, and politics as part of second-wave feminism.
• Described women’s dissatisfaction with restrictive gender roles as "the problem that has no name".
• Friedan’s ideas led to legal reforms.
• These legal reforms included equal pay and workplace rights.

B.F. Skinner – Operant Conditioning Theory

• Studied how behavior is shaped by rewards and punishments.
• Positive reinforcement involves rewarding behavior to increase its likelihood.
• Giving a child candy for good behavior is an example of positive reinforcement.
• Negative reinforcement involves removing discomfort to strengthen behavior.
• Taking aspirin for a headache is an example of negative reinforcement.
• Punishment discourages unwanted behavior.
• A speeding ticket is an example of punishment.
• Skinner's theory is applied in education, therapy, and behavior modification programs.

Albert Bandura – Social Learning Theory

• Showed that people learn behaviors through observation and imitation.
• Modeling is learning by watching others.
• Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to succeed.
• Bandura’s theory is used in media studies, parenting, and social behavior research.