Introduction to Sociology

Sociology

• Systematic study of human society, time, and place-related
• Offers a way of understanding the world

Object of Sociology

• Some define it as the study of society to understand its functions and structures
• In social interactions, what are patterns?
• Nation-State, region, locality, continent, culture/civilization are all levels of analysis
• The historical context is key to understanding the evolution of society
• Others define it as the science of "the Social", focusing on social relations and interactions
• The "social" is when several individuals mutually orient their actions
• Aims to discover patterns in social interaction
• Terminology must differentiate the sociological perspective
• Economics, Law, and History also study human actions described as "social"
• Sociologists study economic, judicial, and historical phenomena, and examine human relations/interactions which transform the economy through: judicial relations or historical processes

Sociology as Human Observation

• How human activity is conditioned and sustained socially is observed
• It's observed what the social consequences it has both foreseen and unforeseen, intended and unintended, consequences
• Consequences condition or maintain human activity

Concept of Sociology

• Compte coined the concept, developing research methods similar to natural sciences
• Referred to as "social physics"
• Various "branches" or perspectives have since appeared

Rise of Sociology

• Emerged during the Industrial Revolution, marked by industrialization, urbanization, and demographic transition
• New political ideas, such as the French Revolution, liberalism, and socialism, also influenced its rise

Sociological Perspective

• Distancing from personal interpretations
• Using a wider, global perspective
• "Seeing the unfamiliar in the familiar" and "Seeing the general in the particular"
• Analyzes how social and historical backgrounds condition personal experiences and viewpoints

Sociology as the “Art of Debunking”

• Sociological awareness means analyzing beyond generally accepted or officially defined goals
• Unmasks official reasons and explanations
• Challenges preconceived ideas, false beliefs, and common sense
• Examines ideology
• "Society" or the "Social" as the hidden structure, both for passers-by and its inhabitants of a “building”
• Examples including:
  • Religious movements.
  • Hierarchy in companies.
  • Love
• Unforeseen/unintended consequences of human actions is examined
• "Streisand effect" and "Cobra effect"
• Suicide showcases society as reality sui generis
  • Functionist approach: higher for men than for women, in urban versus rural, and among protestants compared to Catholics

Ideology

• An ideology presents the interests of a certain group in a "rational" manner
• It generally includes bias and distortion of social reality, and "us" vs. "them" mentality
• Official explanations are valid inside these groups
• Those who don't subscribe are marginalized/expelled

Debunking

• True, often unrecognized, motives for actions are found

Sociology as the Discipline of the “Unrespectable"

• Every society has a formal, official sector with "respectable" manners/behavior that align with beliefs/values
• There exist sectors of symbols, manners, and behaviors not generally accepted
• Relates to front stage vs. backstage

Sociology as the Discipline of Relativization

• Every culture presents their vision of the world as natural
• Refuted by sociology, social anthropology, ethnology
• Values and norms are radically relativized
• Pre-modern identities were well-defined/permanent
• Modern identities are uncertain/fluid
• Social mobility is incomparable, making biographies fluid and unstable
• Awareness of the relativity of views is feature of general culture

Sociological Research

• Linked to philosophical, methodological, political, and ethical questions
• Major paradigms include:
  • Functionalism
  • Critical sociology
  • Interactionism

Concepts, Variables and Measures

• Concepts are mental constructs schematically representing a part of reality
  • Society
  • Family
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Suicide
  • Class
• Variables are concepts that change from case to case
• Function to observe empirically by measuring a theoretically defined phenomenon
• Measurement: a procedure to determine the value of a variable in a specific case
• Not all variables can be measured
  • General/concrete variables
  • Operationalization

Reliability and Validity of Measures

• Only scientifically useful if reliable and valid
• Reliability: consistency in measurement, obtaining the same results after measurements
• Validity: instrument measures exactly what is intended

Relationships Among Variables

• Aim to find a casual relationship between variables: changes in the independent variable cause changes in the dependent variable
• Enables making predictions
• Starting point: existence of a correlation where changes in one variable relate to changes with another
• Spurious correlation: false association caused by the presence of another variable
• Detected by a control variable to check if the association changes when modifying one variable

Existence of correlation means variables change together

• The casual relationship exists if
  • There is a correlation
  • The independent variable precedes the dependent variable in time
  • There’s no evidence of a spurious correlation

Methods of Sociological Research

• Systematic plans to investigate using two types:
  • Quantitative: aims to obtain/analyze numerical data in surveys or secondary data
  • Qualitative: aims to obtain “subjective” data through deep interviews, group discussions, images, or videos
• No methods are “better,” only more appropriate for specific topics

Experiment

• Verifies hypothesis of the relationship between variables
• Other factors are controlled by dividing participants into experimental and control groups
• Changes of the D.V are measured in both groups
• The control group rules out influence of external factors
• Realizing they are being observed can modify behavior (Hawthorne effect)

Survey

• Obtaining answers to a series of questions that appears in a questionnaire Objectives: explanatory or descriptive
• Involves using populations/samples and questionnaires/interviews

In-Depth Interviews

• Qualitative methods Objective: gain special insight into a social phenomenon from people in a position
• Information helps to understand the meaning of actions/attitude
• The interviewees are asked to speak freely about their experiences/opinions
• The outline of principal subjects aren't planned in detail because the conversation is needed to be spontaneous and recorded
• Analyzed in detail later

Focus Groups

• Qualitative method
• Procedure to obtain information consisting of people with certain characteristics who maintain a debate on a topic by a chairperson Depending on research, there should be 8-10 people for communicative reasons The debate is analyzed after being recorded
• Starts with reading of transcripts and listening/viewing of the tapes
• Details of variable, topics, and keywords are noted down
• Interpretation of discourse/text is recorded in a report

Participant Observation

• Observing people systematically by participating in their lives
• Methodology used in social and cultural Anthropology
• Acquire the same perspectives as the people sharing their day-to-day lives which requires immersion
• Maintains some distance as a researcher
• Observation ensures objectivity
• Tension between participating and observing is possible

Interaction Between Theory and Methodology

• Theories are constructed using inductive and deductive reasoning
• Observations made to falsify theories for the constructed theories

Position

• Expectations, responses and roles

Roles

• Typical response to an (equally typical) symbolic expectation
• Society provides the 'story line' of all roles
• The role is an interaction pattern we should follow for different ways to interact
• Each role has internal discipline with prescribed actions and corresponding emotions/attitudes

Performance

• A role: seldom deliberate, derives its power from unconscious/unreflective character

Dramaturgical Metaphor

• Used to understand social interactions
• The presentation of self in everyday life occurs
• Credibility of the character/performance and communication (verbally/ non-verbally) is key
• Attempt to present an idealized version, being more consistent with society’s values

Non-Verbal Communication

• Body language varies according to culture
• Basic emotions are represented by facial expressions: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, surprise, sadness
• The factor evokes each emotion may vary

Front stage vs. backstage

• Front stage: shows ourselves to the audience
• The stage allows others to define the situation for interaction
• Here, investment in “impression management" occurs

Impression Management

• Transmitting a desired impression through clothes, voice, gestures, and language
• Example: surgeon or lawyer using image of knowledge, and authority

Idealization

• Occurs with our intentions, for example, choosing a profession
• Often aware of false images presented by others, yet choose not to expose

Embarrassment and Tact

• Arise as performance is not always perfect
• Provokes audience reaction like avoiding exposure or having tactful criticism

Backstage

• Where we can be “ourselves”
• Dissidence dissociates oneself from norms is manifested

Social Media

• Self-presentation happens on social media
• What's excluded/included from/in the profile?
• Instagram can portray a different 'self'

Ethnomethodology

• Studying the ways people make sense of their everyday life
• The Thomas Theorem: situations that are defined as real are real in their consequences
• Underneath our interactions are suppositions that make it possible to develop

Harold Garfinkel

• Demonstrates the existence of suppositions
• Break social norms of greetings and distance to see reactions

Socialization

• Society defines the situations, positions, and the roles of each person
• Our identity and ideas transmit socially and are maintained or transformed socially
• Socialization: process through which we learn to become competent members of society and reproduction of society

Primary Socialization

• It is different across societies and cultures
• George H. Mead: Theory of Self
• You become aware of "Self” when you discover society
• Learn to perform assigned roles correctly and learn to “take the role of the Other"
  • Crucial function of child's play discover the importance of reactions from interactive learning
• Adapt to roles in face-to-face interactions (“significant others”) and feedback
• Find positive feedback
• There also exist negative feedback
• Then, discover the “generalized other” with positive and negative feedback
• Discovering the generalized other established ideas of who we are
• Discovery of the generalized other concludes the method of primary socialization
• Acquired in acts of social interaction, personal identity is known

Personal Identity and Social Recognition

• Charles H. Cooley: Theory of the Looking-Glass Self
• You observe yourself being observed by others and are like mirrors
  • Others are the image we shape into a specific personal identity
• Socialization agents include: family, peer groups, school, media, and religion
• Varies according to social class, race, religion, and political sympathies
• Society (given): family, when and where you are born, 1st language, culture, ethnicity, religion, school
• Chosen (You): friends, what you study, your clothes, more languages, religion, BUT in a social context

School

• First contact with a formal institution (“bureaucracy”). Not only formal knowledge, but it involves hidden curriculum with social relations, discipline, evaluation, meritocracy
• Industrial society needs values/morale such as work, discipline, striving for success
• Evaluation is based on standards and gender roles becoming more complex, schools more important for socialisation

Peer Groups

• Similar ages, positions and interests
• Traditional societies can last a lifetime, but are more fluid now
• Games and play leads to learn roles, empathy and predicting behaviour of others
• This lears to solidarity, competition, and abilities
• This can contrast family values in adolescence

Media/Social Media

• Has no interaction with traditional media
• More passive "absorption" of information with interaction to send/receive media, but they create information bubbles

Personal Identity and Social Recognition

• Need others to recognize us as such as a person
• Human beings must be seen and distinguished as human beings
• Need external/internal pressures to establish compatibility with different identities

External Pressures

• What people want us to be, with a consistent image

Internal Pressures

• Deeply felt need to be a consistent person
• Done for sincere beliefs without pre-meditation in our own performance

Secondary Socialization

• Complex societies need specific knowledge for roles in different situations for different professions
• Incorporation in political movements
• Work environment
• Creating your own family

Total Institutions and Resocialization

• Prisons, hospitals, extremist movements
• Institutions isolate people from society, manipulated by staff
• Change a person’s environment
• Resocialization occurs as people go through this
• Done to reduce one’s old/new self: ties with friends, and build new selves with rewards and punishments
• Readmission after leaving is hard and impossible

Stereotypes and Socialization

• Over-generalized popular beliefs about features of a group
• A large share of the population agrees
• Cognition components always negatively affect prejudice
• Functions to help better understand world
• Allows us to “predict” future behavior and events which can lead to stereotyping

Society and Social Evolution

• Technological changes are industrialization/urbanization
• Political changes are democratic and from bourgeoise revolutions
• Sociology began in the 19th century to transformations
• Group of people who are in a place together with the same culture
• Identity of space and time, values, technology and association/social system
• Social change: process of structure, institution, culture and factors of change Technology Conflict Ideas

4. Culture
5. Natural
6. Demography

Characteristics of Social Change

• Affects societies with varying rhythm/speed and historical moment
• Is always changing
• Can be intentional, but has unplanned or conflict that can reject all
• Modernization declines traditional communities and makes diversity more towards the future

Types of Society

• Acquire knowledge from technological resources
• Dissemination spreads quicker and evolution is shorter
• Quality changes depending on what there is
  • Progress
• Capacity to support an even larger population
• Wealth/inequality, differentiation and greater speed of change

Types of Society: Non Linear

• Though "primitive" society can still have complex technology
• Ex: Nazi Germany, Coexist and over lap

Types of Society: List

• Gatherer
• Agriculture
• Complex Agriculture
• Industrial societies
• Post-Industrial

Gatherers

• Hunting using simple tools
• Nomadic tribes that are non/sedentary
• Social organization is simple based on kinship, age or gender
• Political leaders without rewards

Agriculture

• 12000 years ago until 3000 BC
• Agriculture and sedentary settlements lead to complex organizations, and class from privileged members
• Governments are formed at the local levels

Complex Agriculture

• 5000 Years ago
• Agriculture's revolution leads to more production
• Sedentism lead into the process of political control
• Economic and political control

Industrial

• From 18th century
• Sources of energy were used to create strong capacity
• Technology made the industry what we see today
• Transport and exodus has occurred
• Education and political freedom has been recognized
• Fordism: mass production as assembly lines and mass consumption of products
• Loss of old social structures for new second groups

Post Industrial

• About 20th century
• Communication for all that has transformed society
• Job training still and innovation continue on
• Economy based on assets
• The stagnation leads to change in women, and in occupation too
• The internet connects the world while it also declines

Karl K, Conflict

• The relation of economy depends on relation too
• Society owns what they have/don’t have in the form of power for what they want
• The industrial economy’s model is based on power

Structural Conflict

• Of interest between labour and classes

Emile

• Societies structure with a way to build the people in them
• Every society and action has social control
• Traditional agrarian societies have similar beliefs
• Modern Societies have division, dependency and solidarity
• Lack of trust is common
• Behaviours lack moral compass

Anomic

• Is from the strict restriction/desire for limits
• Consequence, high risk or suicide

Social Change

• Between what is equal and what is not

Social

• Society has a different system depending on what that may be

Weber

• Society builds how they view the world, not what they have

Max Social

• Modern and old have different styles now
• Old is how the time can build to the new better things

Modern Society

• The ethic determines to the modern society today
• From traditionalism to capitalism’s growth
• Assessment to what it is to the rational

Feredinand

• Socially goes in to modern, between them
• Old society is lost, from people to town

Community

• Small connections with many people

Society

• Many random people form an artificial construction

Social Stratification

• Social is when people act on to what a society it's on to
• Any society consists of strata that has to achieve
• Personal society

Intrinsic Feature

• Not individuals that is in society
• Pass on to different generation with slow mobility
• Universal through values for groups/cohesion

Social

• Stratification affects for prestige for an area
• Class impacts if their lifestyle doesn’t match the expectation
• Conspicuous consumptions from status

Factors

• Racial
• Socio-economic status
• Politics related
• Inequalities based on age

Sociology

• Basic foundation as open and closed mindsets

Systemic

• Caste
• Feudal
• class

Characteristics

• Not recognizing
• Rights on some bodies
• Low mobility

Castes

• Adscripted
• Basis as a rural
• The society restricts relations with communities
• Traditions

Weber Definition

• Power to society to give back what is to be given
• Change what the new society is
• Inequality is calculated

Levels

• Deprivation/cultural reasons makes for resources

Age

• A race groups has to do to it 0 The wealth for one can show disparity 1 In 2022
• <60% it will double so don’t go

2nd

• Part time working
• What they get for having work

Relative Deprivation

• Others wealth of a kind has to depend on who they are
• Social movement and society is based on who
• It is calculated out

The Law

• Under class citizens act and are pushed to there through this and what they depend on and think
• Public can change with providing for people and safety

Right

• Social 8 Welfare helps fix this
• Welfare changes and the goal is to fix what market has
• Social demo, substitute the market and what it gives

Mega Cities

• City is calculated by its size

2 Types Population

• mortality
• Migration 3 Transition to what has to come and expect
• In 2100 there will 100 billion in it

Why has Population reduced

• The reason, better products and help to not rely on population, TV

Myths of Migration

• Asia is getting richer because of its culture

To End the Century

• Will population in that area be growing??

What are good and bad pushes?

• What do you have to say what bad

Why don’t people migrate

• Small amounts is what makes you wealthy

Children Born?

• Contrareptitives are a new way to raise the child survivor, where contraceptives are new forms of women

Culture

• Complex in its idea that has been around
• Consistent over the eras

The Law

• By those that have share those symbols

Why Don’t Culture

• Don’t accept new letters due to what it can offer

Value

• People have standards to what serves as standards

Believes

• What it might not be proven or disproven

Rules

• Are given on how to act to be moral

Norms

• Cultural/shock value vs new culture
• Ethno to act on yourself

Religious beliefs

• Value is that the culture itself can choose
• There is more to be had than what they seem

1 What

• Is a value? Sacredness that creates it
• All the 3 concepts are given
• Where is an authority, those without are less
• They reject these concepts

Secularization

• Has less for religion but gives the freedom
• The religious acts on what is blasphemy

Society

• has been a taboo here today so not
• The world act like they are in the way

Superdiversity

• Has changed for the better

Multicultural

• All societies want and depend on this fact to get through a globalized setting

Probs

• Is parent/parents giving new societies
• The tension increases when they arrive
  • Some are left winged
• Left vs right = vs elite
  • To be good elite

Political Values

• Have always a clear side

Social Mobilization

• Those that may favor what and how it may play out