SOCI 1301 Midterm Review PDF

SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 I. Introduction to Sociology Sociology: The scientific study of human social relationships, groups, and societies Scientific approach Rigorous research methods Principle of social embedded...

SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 I. Introduction to Sociology Sociology: The scientific study of human social relationships, groups, and societies Scientific approach Rigorous research methods Principle of social embeddedness The Sociological Imagination: The ability to grasp the relationship between individual lives and the larger social forces that shape them. – Relationship between private troubles and public issues – Where biography and history intersect Agency: The ability of individuals and groups to exercise free will and to make social change whether on a small or large scale Structure: Patterned social arrangements that have an effect on agency Critical Thinking: The ability to evaluate claims about truth by using reason and evidence – Recognizes poor arguments – Rejects statements not supported by evidence – Questions our assumptions The six rules of critical thinking – Be willing to ask any question, no matter how difficult. – Think logically and be clear. – Back up your arguments with evidence. – Think about the assumptions and biases (including your own) that underlie all studies. – Avoid anecdotal evidence. – Be willing to admit when you are wrong or uncertain about your results. Development of Sociological Thinking The origin of sociology is rooted in four interrelated historical developments: – Scientific Revolution – The Enlightenment – The Industrial Revolution – Urbanization Norms Anomie 19th century founders: – Auguste Comte, founder, coined term sociology Social statistics Social dynamics Positivism 1 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 – Harriet Martineau, first female sociologist Societies must ensure social justice for women, enslaved people, and other oppressed groups. – Émile Durkheim, pioneered early research on social solidarity and suicide; he introduced the key concepts of: Social facts Social solidarity Collective conscience – Karl Marx, economic and political thinker Class conflict Proletariat and bourgeoisie Means of production – Max Weber, German sociologist Verstehen Formal rationality Study of bureaucracies Significant founding ideas in U.S. sociology: – Robert Ezra Park, Chicago sociologist Pioneer of urban sociology and race relations Studied “social ills” of urban life – W. E. B. Dubois, sociologist and civil rights leader Double consciousness – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, novelist, feminist, and sociologist The Yellow Wallpaper Sex roles in the family – Robert Merton, American sociologist Theory of deviance Theories of the middle range – C. Wright Mills, Columbia University sociologist Sociological imagination Power elite Women in early sociology – Sociology emerged during first modern flourishing of feminism in 19th century in Europe and North America. – Women were excluded from public life and universities and their writings and ideas were often ignored (or co-opted) by White male scholars. – Notable contributors: Jane Addams (Hull House founder), Mary Wollstonecraft, Flora Tristan and Aline Valette Major Paradigms in Sociological Theory Theories are logical, rigorous frameworks for the interpretation of social life that make particular assumptions and ask particular questions about the social world Macro-level paradigm: Large-scale patterns and institutions Micro-level paradigm: Social relations and interactions in specific, individual situations 2 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 The Functionalist Paradigm Structural functionalism explains social organization and change in terms of the functions performed by different social structures, phenomena, and institutions Émile Durkheim Talcott Parsons Robert Merton – Manifest functions: Obvious and intended functions of a given phenomenon or institution – Latent functions: Functions that are not recognized or expected The social conflict paradigm Explains social organization and change in terms of the conflict built into social relationships – Karl Marx – Critical theories of culture & media – Feminism – Post-colonial & critical race theories Symbolic interactionism – Symbols, communication; micro-social focus II. Sociological Research Methods Sociology vs. Common Sense Scientific method: A process of gathering empirical (scientific and specific) data, creating theories, and rigorously testing theories. Deductive reasoning: The process of taking an existing theory and logically deducing that if the theory is accurate, we should discover other patterns of behavior consistent with it. Hypotheses: Ideas about the world, derived from theories, which can be disproved when tested against observations. Inductive reasoning: The process of generalizing to an entire category of phenomena from a particular set of observations Quantitative research: Gathers data that can be quantified Qualitative research: Uses data that cannot be quantified Common wisdom: Widely held beliefs or perceptions that people repeat are often inaccurate and unsupported by sociological research Research & the Scientific Method Scientific theories: Answer questions about how and why scientific observations are as they are. – Characteristics of a good theory It is logically consistent. It can be disproved. Concepts: Ideas that describe a number of things that have something in common. 3 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Operational definition: A definition of a concept in such a way that we can observe and measure it. Relationships between variables – Variable: A concept or its empirical measure that can take on two or more possible values – Quantitative variables: Factors that can be counted – Qualitative variables: Variables that express qualities and do not have numerical values – Correlation: The degree to which two or more variables are associated with one another. – Causal relationship: A relationship between two variables in which one is the cause of the other. – Spurious relationship: Correlation between two or more variables caused by another factor that is not being measured. Testing theories and hypotheses – Researchers create and test hypotheses to explain positive or negative correlations. – Positive correlation: A relationship showing that as one variable rises or falls, the other does as well. – Negative correlation: One variable increases as the other decreases. – Karl Popper – Principle of falsification – Falsifiability Validity and reliability – Validity: Concepts and measurement accurately represent what they claim to represent. Our observations adequately reflect the real world. – Reliability: The extent to which the findings are consistent with different studies of the same phenomenon or with the same study over time. – Bias: A characteristic of results that systematically misrepresent the full dimensions of what is being studied – Social desirability bias: A response bias based on the tendency of respondents to answer a question in a way that they perceive will be favorably received. Objectivity in scientific research – Objectivity: Ability to represent the object of study accurately – Value-neutrality: Researcher’s personal beliefs do not interfere – Validity: Actually accurately measuring what you think you are measuring – Replication: Repetition of a previous study using different sample or population to verify or refute results Common Research Methods Survey research – Survey: A research method that uses a questionnaire or interviews administered to a group of people in person or by telephone or e-mail to determine their characteristics, opinions, and behaviors – Sample: A portion of the larger population selected to represent the whole 4 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 – Population: The whole group of people studied in sociological research – Random sampling: Everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being chosen for the study – Stratified sampling: A sample divided into a series of subgroups subject to random sampling Fieldwork – Fieldwork: Uses in-depth, often extended study to describe and analyze a group or community – Interview: A detailed conversation designed to obtain in-depth information about a person and his or her activities. – Leading questions: Questions that tend to elicit particular responses Experimentation – Experiments: Research techniques for investigating cause and effect under controlled conditions – Independent/experimental variable: Variable changed intentionally – Dependent variable: Change as a result of alterations to independent variable – Experimental group: Subjects exposed to ind. variable – Control group: subjects not exposed to IV Working with existing information – Statistical data: Quantitative information obtained from government agencies, businesses, research studies, and other entities that collect data for their own or others’ use – Document analysis: The examination of written materials or cultural products: previous studies, newspaper reports, court records, campaign posters, digital reports, films, pamphlets, and other forms of text or images produced by individuals, government agencies, or private organizations Participatory research – Participatory research supports an organization or community trying to improve its situation when it lacks the necessary economic or political power to do so by itself III. Culture & Mass Media Culture: Key Concepts Culture: Beliefs, norms, behaviors, and products common to the members of a particular group Culture is deeply social, but also influences our individual development. – We are products of our cultural beliefs, behaviors, and biases. Material and nonmaterial culture – Material culture: Physical objects/artifacts created, embraced, or consumed that shape peoples’ lives. 5 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 – Nonmaterial culture: Composed of the abstract creations of human cultures, including ideas about behavior and living. Nonmaterial culture includes: – Beliefs: Particular ideas that people accept as true – Norms: Common rules of a culture that govern the behavior of people belonging to it Folkways: Fairly weak norms that are passed down from the past; violation is not considered serious Mores: Strongly held norms; violation seriously offends standards of acceptable conduct Taboos: Powerful mores; violation is considered serious and even unthinkable Laws: Codified norms or rules of behavior that formalize and institutionalize society’s norms Values: General standards in society that define ideal principles, like those governing right and wrong Ideal and real culture in U.S. society – Ideal culture: Values, norms, and behaviors that people in a given society profess to embrace – Real culture: Values, norms, and behaviors that people in a given society actually embrace and exhibit – Cultural Inconsistency: Contradiction between goals of ideal culture and practices of real culture Ethnocentrism – Ethnocentrism: Worldview whereby we judge other cultures by the standards of our own – Doxic: Taken for granted as “natural” or “normal” in society – Etic perspective: Perspective of the outside observer – Emic perspective: The perspective of the insider, belonging to the cultural group – Cultural relativism: Worldview whereby we understand the practices of another society sociologically, in terms of that society’s own norms and values and not our own Subcultures – Subculture: Culture that exists within a dominant culture but differs from it in some way Ethnic subculture Counterculture Culture and Language Language: A system of symbolic verbal, nonverbal, and/or written representations rooted within a particular culture. Language is a key vehicle of culture. – Sapir–Whorf hypothesis: Our understandings and actions emerge from language. Words and concepts structure our perceptions of the social world. Language and social integration: – According to Functionalism, language is vehicle of social integration “English-only” movement in U.S. 6 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 – Multiculturalism: Respect cultural differences rather than submerge them into larger, dominant culture Culture & Mass Media High culture: Music, theater, literature, and so on held in high esteem in society Popular culture: Entertainment, culinary, and athletic tastes shared by the masses Mass media: Medium of public communication intended to reach and influence a mass audience Some important theorists of mass media: Jürgen Habermas (1962/1989) – The public sphere is a fundamental part of social life that emerged only with the rise of industrial society and mass circulation of newspapers, TV, and Internet. Marshall McLuhan (1964) – “The medium is the message” and global village impact of TV. Douglas Kellner (1990) – Modern technology and media--and particularly TV--constitute a threat to freedom of thought and action. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer – “Culture” v. “culture industry Culture, media, and violence – Rape culture: A social culture that provides an environment conducive to rape Legislative and judicial culture Popular culture promotes violence against women and that forced sex is “no big deal” – Victim blaming: Focus on the victim’s actions and behaviors rather than the perpetrator’s Culture, Class & Inequality Social class reproduction: The way class status is reproduced from generation to generation (Pierre Bourdieu) Cultural capital: Wealth in the form of knowledge, ideas, verbal skills, and ways of thinking and behaving Habitus: Internalization of objective probabilities and the expression of those probabilities as choice Culture & Globalization Global culture: A type of culture—some would say Americanized—that has spread across the world, e.g., in Hollywood films, fast-food restaurants, and popular music heard in virtually every country – Glocalization: Ability of a local culture to absorb influences that fit in and enrich, resist those that are alien, and compartmentalize those that are different, but can be enjoyed and celebrated as different – Grobalization: Desire of imperialistic nations to see their power, influence, and profits grow throughout the world 7 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 IV. Socialization; Social Interaction Origin of the Social Self Socialization: Process by which we learn and reproduce the culture of our society – Constructs a sense of who we are, how to think, and how to act as members of a culture – Primary way of reproducing norms and cultural values – Principal agents of socialization exert major influence Nature versus nurture – Interaction exists, but which is more influential? Nature: Genetic inheritance and biological predispositions Nurture: Cultural and social experiences – Capacity for behavior may be biological, but little of human behavior is “natural”; it is learned Behaviorism and social learning theory – Behaviorism: Psychological perspective that emphasizes effect of rewards and punishments on human behavior – Social learning theory: People adapt their behavior in response to social rewards and punishments – Behaviorist theories may violate Popper’s principle of falsification Socialization as product of symbolic interaction Symbolic interactionism: Views the self and society as resulting from social interaction based on language and other symbols Looking-glass self: The self-image that results from our interpretation of other people’s views of us Looking-glass self: your self is not fixed, but is in constant (re)creation through interaction with others Primary groups: Small groups characterized by intense emotional ties, face-to-face interaction, intimacy, and a strong sense of commitment. Secondary groups: Groups that are impersonal and characterized by functional or fleeting relationships. Reference groups: Groups that provide standards for judging our attitudes or behaviors. Socialization as symbolic interaction G.H. Mead: Self and society shape one another The self comprises two parts I: The part of the self that is the impulse to act; it is creative, innovative, unthinking, and largely unpredictable Me: The part of the self through which we see ourselves as others see us Role-taking: The ability to take the role of others in interaction Mead’s 4 stages of socialization 8 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Preparatory stage Play stage Game stage Adult stage Stages of human development (Jean Piaget): Cognitive development: The theory, developed by Piaget, that an individual’s ability to make logical decisions increases as the person grows older Egocentric: Experiencing the world as if it were centered entirely on oneself Theory of moral development Stages of human development (Kohlberg): – 3 stages of moral development: – Preconventional stage – Conventional stage – Postconventional stage Gilligan’s critique of Kohlberg’s concept of moral development Freud: Biological Needs Versus Social Constraints – Psychoanalysis: Psychological perspective that emphasizes the complex reasoning processes of conscious and unconscious mind – Three components of the mind Id: Basic biological drives and needs, sexual energy Ego: The “self,” core of a person’s personality Superego: Internalized values and norms of society, conscience Agents of Socialization The Family – Primary socialization group and key in transmitting norms, values, and culture – Stereotypical gender roles and behaviors – Childhood experience linked to homicide, suicide, aggression, drug use, educational attainment, and mental health – Typical child-rearing practices vary by ethnicity, class, and marital status Schools & Teachers – Hidden curriculum: Unspoken classroom socialization to norms, values, and roles of a culture Peers – Peers: People of the same age and, often, of the same social standing – Adolescent subculture – Anticipatory socialization: Adoption of the behaviors or standards of a group one emulates or hopes to join Organized sports – Fundamental to lives of millions of U.S. children – Participation presumed to “build character” and to contribute to hard work, competitiveness, and ability to perform in stressful situations Religion – Central part of many lives worldwide 9 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 – Teaches fundamental values and beliefs that contribute to a shared normative culture Mass media and social media – Mass media: Medium of public communication intended to reach and influence a mass audience – Unprecedented levels of Internet use Positive: Anonymity, bridge distance, form new relationships, build diverse communities, and freedom from stigmatization Negative: Decline in face-to-face communication, depression, loneliness, Internet addiction, poor socialization, and cyberbullying Work – For most U.S. adults, postadolescent socialization begins with entry into the workforce. – Expectations at work differ from those experienced in family and peer groups. – Even “occupations” outside the bounds of legality are governed by rules and roles learned through socialization. Socialization and Aging People do not stop changing once they become adults. – Work, relationships, and the media, for example, shape socialization over the life course Anticipatory socialization happens again as people near retirement and grow old, learning how to behave as elderly people. – May start to pay attention to their treatment, representation, benefits as a group Total Institutions & Resocialization Total institutions: Institutions that isolate people from the rest of society to achieve administrative control over most aspects of their lives. – Prison, military, mental hospitals, and rehab centers Resocialization: Process of altering an individual’s behavior through total control of environment Social Interaction Social interaction: Guided by ordinary, everyday rules that enable people to live, work, and socialize together – Spoken words, gestures, and body language – Requires conformity to social conventions – Differs across cultures; e.g., eye contact, standing close, or displaying intimacy Studies of social interaction – Draw on symbolic interactionist perspective to study how we exchange & manage meanings The dramaturgical approach: Erving Goffman – Dramaturgical analysis: Study of social interaction as if it were a theatrical performance – Presentation of self: Creation of impressions in the minds of others to define and control a social situation – Techniques employed by social actors Dramatic realization 10 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Idealization Misrepresentation Mystification Ethnomethodology & conversation analysis of interaction – Ethnomethodology: Study of commonsense knowledge and procedures by which ordinary people make sense of social circumstances and interactions – Conversation analysis: Study of the way people recognize and produce coherent conversation V. Social Groups & Organizations Humans are social animals who live our entire lives in the company of others—e.g., family, friends, teammates, peers, coworkers  Social groups: Collections of people who share a sense of common identity and regularly interact with one another based on shared expectations  Types of groups differ in degree of intimacy and social support o Primary groups: Characterized by intense emotional ties, intimacy, and identification with membership in the group; family, intimate friends, & couples satisfy personal needs of belonging and fulfillment o Secondary groups: Large, impersonal groups with minimal emotional and intimate ties—e.g., business organizations, schools, work groups, athletic clubs, governmental bodies  Join to achieve some specific goal: earn a living, get a college degree, compete in sports, etc. The Power of Groups Groups provide standards by which we make self-evaluations  Cooley's looking-glass self: we judge ourselves by how we think we appear to others.  Merton's reference groups: provide a standard for judging our own attitudes or behaviors by comparing ourselves to others.  Family has greatest impact on how we shape our view of ourselves.  Peer groups replace and compete.  Social media creates virtual reference groups.  Can be primary, secondary, or imaginary—e.g., media and advertising create an image of how women are "supposed" to look Does group size matter? Georg Simmel: Group size affects quality of interaction and effectiveness in accomplishing tasks  Dyad: Group of two persons is the simplest; dyads are both intense and unstable. To survive, it requires the full engagement of both parties, & may dissolve when one person leaves.  Triad: Group of 3 people; is more stable than a dyad—the presence of a third person relieves the pressure on the other 2 members to always get along; any one member can serve as mediator between other two.  Alliances or coalitions: Subgroups that form between members, enabling them to steer the group in their own interest 11 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 o In "revolutionary" coalitions, the weaker members may form an alliance to overthrow the stronger ones  Moving from a dyad to a triad illustrates a sociological principle identified by Simmel: as group size increases, the intensity of relationships within the group decreases, while overall group stability increases.  Larger groups make for less intense relationships by providing more outlets or alternatives for interaction; they are more stable because withdrawal of some members does not threaten the survival of the entire group.  Cliques form around social characteristics such as age, gender, class, race, or ethnicity (e.g., fraternities and sororities).  Cliques illustrate social closure: the ability of groups to strategically exclude outsiders or those deemed "undesirable" from participating or enjoying the group's resources—e.g., opportunities, prestige, or even just companionship.  Closure may cause group homogeneity, leading to prejudice against "outgroups" of different race, ethnicity, religion, and social class. But groups can gain cohesiveness from diversity in members. Types of Group Leadership All groups tend to have leaders, even if the leader does not have a formal title.  Transformational leaders are able to instill in group members a sense of mission or higher purpose, thereby changing (transforming) the nature of the group itself. This may lead the group to extraordinary accomplishment—e.g., Nelson Mandela  Transactional leaders: concerned with accomplishing the group's tasks, getting group members to do their jobs so that the group achieves its preestablished or routine goals.  The effectiveness of leaders depends on either (1) her/his ability to coerce people into compliance & subordination, or (2) by convincing people to willingly comply.  Power: the ability to mobilize resources and achieve a goal despite the resistance of others.  Legitimate authority: power exercised over those who recognize it as deserved or earned.  Why do people go along with authority when not overtly compelled to do so? People often regard authority as legitimate when it seems to naturally accompany the leadership position  Positional power stems from an official leadership position that is considered "official"—it depends on the leader's established role in the group.  Personal power is derived from the leader's personality—it depends on the ability to persuade rather than command. Personal power is more likely to result in highly motivated and satisfied group members than positional power. Conformity to Groups Sociologists and social psychologists have long sought to understand why or why not people tend to go along with others. Asch experiment of matching the lines of equal length— 1/3 of subjects gave the same wrong answer as that put forth by Asch's accomplices 12 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Obedience to Authority Another classical study of conformity was Milgram's (1963) research. Participants were told to administer electric shocks by a "scientist" to an unseen "learner" being tested on memorization. More than half the participants in the study obeyed the commands to keep going despite cries of pain and help. (See this explanation of the Milgram experiment: https://youtu.be/xOYLCy5PVgM ) From this and other studies we learned that ordinary people will conform to orders given by someone in a position of power or authority, even if those orders cause harm. Groupthink: phenomenon where members of a group ignore ways of thinking and plans of action that go against the group consensus.  Decisions may be based on how members will react rather than on ethical, professional, or legal considerations.  Potential dissenters may be embarrassed into conformity.  Groupthink creates a shift in perceptions so that alternative solutions are ruled out without before being considered seriously.  Example: Kennedy administration's Bay of Pigs incident. Economic, Cultural & Social Capital Structuralism proposes that there exist overarching structures within which culture and other aspects of society must be understood—similar to the rules of a language. P. Bourdieu: several forms of "capital" (or resources) stem from our membership in different groups.  Economic capital: money and material resources that can be used to produce goods and services.  Cultural capital: includes informal, interpersonal skills, habits, manners, linguistic styles, tastes, and lifestyles.  Social capital: personal connections and networks that enable people to accomplish their goals and extend their influence. Social capital confers benefits to individuals at least in part through their membership in particular social groups—e.g., college alumni associations, fraternities, churches, or an exclusive golf club.  One's social capital is strongly influenced by socioeconomic class status; may also be related to one's gender, race and other traits, and to combinations of these.  Your personal network may contain much or little social capital, depending on the people you are connected to and who they know personally Organizations People typically band together to pursue activities or goals by forming organizations: groups with an identifiable membership that engage in concerted collective actions to achieve a common purpose. These can be small primary groups, but are more likely larger, secondary ones—e.g., universities, churches, armies, businesses. Formal organization: rationally designed to achieve particular objectives by means of explicit rules, regulations, and procedures Types of Formal Organizations  Utilitarian organizations: people join primarily because of some material benefit they expect to receive in return for membership.  Coercive organizations: those in which members are forced to give unquestioned obedience to authority. E.g., Prisons, mental hospitals, drug treatment centers, military, 13 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 and other total institutions. One may initially join voluntarily, but not have the option of leaving at will.  Normative organizations: voluntary associations that people join of their own will to pursue a morally worthwhile goal without expecting material rewards. These voluntary associations are a common feature in U.S. culture—e.g., charities, church groups, YMCA, civic leagues. Bureaucracies The authority structure of most large organizations is bureaucratic. Max Weber was the first sociologist to examine the characteristics of bureaucracies in detail. Bureaucracy: type of formal organization based on written procedural rules, arranged into a clear hierarchy of authority, and staffed by full-time paid officials. E.g., banks, corporations, government agencies, non-profits. Bureaucracies became a dominant form of social organization in modern society, where they came to touch all aspects of our daily lives. They are devised to achieve complex organizational goals with greater efficiency than traditional or informal groups. Rational: based on knowable rules and regulations that lay out a particular path to a goal rather than on general or abstract principles or ideologies; bureaucracies may be rational in the pursuit of goals, but are not necessarily reasonable. Max Weber's "ideal type" narrows down the key characteristics of real existing, bureaucracies: Bureaucracies: A Critical Evaluation  Large bureaucratic organizations create a sort of "iron cage," or a prison of rules and regulations from which there is little escape—thus denying individuals their creativity, autonomy, or even humanity.  The rules and regulations and their enforcement may become the end in itself, rather than means to an organization's goals.  Irrationalities of the rational bureaucratic order o Waste and incompetence may creep up when members lose sight of whether the organization as a whole is performing effectively o Trained incapacity: a learned inability to exercise independent thought, loss of the ability, and flexibility to respond to new situations. o Goal displacement: lose sight of the original goals they were created to accomplish. 14 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Bureaucracy and Democracy Weber believed that bureaucracies were an inevitable consequence of modern mass society. But Robert Michels argued that bureaucracy and democracy are fundamentally at odds. Michels feared an iron law of oligarchy: an inevitable tendency for large-scale bureaucratic organizations to become ruled undemocratically by a handful of people:  Bureaucracies concentrate power in the hands of those near the top. Some people may reach the top of an organization because they are ambitious, driven, and effective in managing others, but also because they trade economic and social capital for power.  Bureaucratic leaders increase their social capital through specialized access to information, resources, and influential people, and this access reinforces their power.  They tend to appoint subordinates who are loyal supporters and further enhance their own position. Moreover, they may use their considerable means to meet their own needs or those of their associates.  In the long run, the purportedly democratic ends of an organization become subordinate to the needs of the dominating group.  Example: U.S. Congress stalling on disaster or unemployment relief bills to confer political advantage to his/her party and not the citizens. Alternative organizational forms have been sought by people who value cooperation & service over competitive and materialistic values. E.g., food cooperatives, free schools and worker- owned businesses were becoming more common in the 1960s & 70s. However, these experiments have had mixed results—such groups are able to maintain their founding values mostly when they remain small & don't compete with large established organizations. Global Organizations Organizations of international scope have existed since the early modern era. Today we have a rapid proliferation of multinational groups, from global companies and NGOs to the United Nations. International Governmental Organizations  IGOs are established by treaties between governments for purposes of commerce, security, promotion of social welfare and human rights or environmental protection. Some of the most powerful IGOs today were created to unify national economies into large and powerful trading blocs, such as the European Union and NAFTA.  Other IGOs are organized to wield military power—e.g., North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the UN sent troops and military resources into war zones in Iraq, Afghanistan.  These groups may reflect power inequalities between their member nations—e.g., the UN has 190+ member nations but, by design, only 5 are permanent members in the Security Council: U.K., U.S., China, France & Russia International Non-governmental Organizations  INGOs are established by agreements between the individuals or private organizations making up the membership and existing to fulfill an explicit mission. INGOs have less power over state actions and policies since legal power & enforcement ultimately lies with national governments and treaties between states.  Employees of global business organizations often interact and communicate with people from other nations and cultures, facilitated by technology and online networks. 15 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023  Non-profit NGOs pursue various interests globally by influencing the UN, other IGOs or individual governments. Primarily interested in promoting non-business interests of members, international non-profits may engage in research and education or in humanitarian relief—e.g., the Red Cross, Islamic Relief Worldwide & Doctors without Borders VI. Deviance & Social Control What Is Deviant Behavior? Deviance: Any attitude, behavior, or condition that violates cultural norms or societal laws that results in disapproval, hostility, sanction if becomes known Crime: An act, usually considered deviant, that is punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both Pluralistic societies: Societies made up of many diverse groups with different norms and values Capital offenses: Crimes considered so heinous they are punishable by death Explaining Deviance Biological perspectives – Early theories argued deviant behavior caused by biological or anatomical abnormalities – Phrenology: A theory that the skull configurations of deviant individuals differ from those of nondeviants Atavisms: Throwbacks to primitive humans – Early theories disproven, but some research persists on brain function, physiology, and neurological response – Modern approaches: Product of an interaction between biological and environmental factors – Question of nature (inheritance) vs. nurture (socialization) Parent Child studies Twin studies Functionalist perspectives – Deviance and social solidarity Too much deviance is an abnormality that society seeks to eliminate, but a certain amount is functional Durkheim – Deviance contributes to social solidarity by enhancing the sense of what is right and wrong – Anomie: relative lack of consensus on norms & values, seen in modern pluralistic societies – Structural strain theory Structural strain: In Merton’s reformulation of Durkheim’s functionalist theory, a form of anomie occurs when a gap exists between society’s 16 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 culturally defined goals and the means society provides to achieve those goals. Strain theory: The discrepancy between the cultural goals for success and the means available to achieve those goals promotes crime – Illegitimate opportunity theory (Cloward & Ohlin): people differ not only in their motivations to engage in deviant acts but also in their opportunities to do so – Control theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi): The cause of deviance is rooted in social controls and, specifically, the life experiences and relationships that people form Social bonds & commitments to conventional goals and engagements Conflict perspectives – Subcultures and deviance: Subcultural theories explain deviance in terms of the conflicting interests of more and less powerful segments of a population – Class-dominant theories (Chambliss): propose that what is labeled deviant or criminal—and therefore who gets punished—is determined by the interests of the dominant class in a particular culture or society – Structural contradiction theory: conflicts generated by fundamental contradictions in the structure of society produce laws defining certain acts as deviant or criminal – Feminist theory Feminist perspectives on deviance pose that studies of deviance have been subject to gender bias and that both gender-specific cultural norms & the particular ways in which women are victimized by virtue of their gender help account for deviance among women Feminist theories take into account how men & women are stigmatized, and also victimized, by virtue of their gender. Stigmatization: The branding of behavior as highly disgraceful Interactionist perspectives – Deviance is “socially constructed,” e.g., through our culture or by powerful institutional actors – Labeling theory: A symbolic interactionist approach holding that deviance is a product of the labels people attach to certain types of behavior Labeling theory proposes that an act or person only become “deviant” because of how others react – Primary deviance (Lemert): the first step in the labeling of deviance, it occurs at the moment an activity is noticed by others as deviant. – Secondary deviance: In the next step, a person labeled deviant accepts the label as part of her/his identity and, as a result, begins to act in conformity with the label. Differential association theory: – Deviant and criminal behavior results from regular exposure to attitudes favorable to acting in ways that are deviant or criminal 17 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 – Subcultural element: deviance can be explained by the socialization within a group or subculture where norms differ from the mainstream Types of Deviance Everyday deviance – Commonplace activities that break some norm—e.g., white lies, smoking Sexual deviance – Sexual practices, orientations, or identities Deviance of the powerful – Ubiquitous and wide ranging, & often escape punishment, but may still be subject to public shaming Crime types – Violent crimes—involve force or threat of force, including robbery, murder, assault, rape, carjackings – Property crimes: Crimes that involve the violation of individuals’ ownership rights, including burglary, larceny/theft, arson, and motor vehicle theft – Organized crime: committed by criminal coordinated groups that provide illegal goods and services Crime types – White-collar crime Crime committed by companies, agencies or people of high social status in connection with their work – Police corruption and police brutality May be linked to distinct subculture within police force – State Crimes Criminal or other harmful acts committed by state officials in the pursuit of their function as representatives of the government Social Control of Deviance Social control: The attempts by certain people or groups in society to control the behaviors of other individuals and groups to increase the likelihood that they will conform to established norms or laws Social power: The ability to exercise social control 18 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Informal social control: The unofficial mechanism through which deviance and deviant behaviors are discouraged in society; most often occurs among ordinary people during the course of their interactions Formal social control: Attempts to officially sanction certain behaviors and visibly punish others Schools and discipline: – School to prison pipeline: The policies and practices that push students, particularly at-risk youth, out of schools and into the criminal justice system – Zero tolerance policies: School or district policy that sets predetermined punishments for certain misbehaviors and punishes the same way no matter the severity or the context of the behavior Imprisonment in the United States – What accounts for the unprecedented rise in imprisonment? Mandatory minimum sentences: Legal requirements that persons found guilty of particular crimes must be sentenced to set minimum numbers of years in prison “Three Strikes” Laws: State and federal laws that sentence an individual to life in prison who has been found guilty of committing three felonies, or serious crimes punishable by a minimum of a year in prison “War on drugs”: Practices of U.S. state and federal governments intended to curb the illegal drug trade and reduce drug use 19  SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 The lifelong consequences & stigma of imprisonment – Array of laws and policies ensure continued punishment – Denial of political voice – Significant barriers to housing – Difficulties with finding a job The death penalty in the United States – Capital crime: A crime, such as murder or treason, which is severe enough to merit the death penalty (capital punishment) 41 offenses punishable by death according to the federal government – Human rights concerns & international stigma – Racial biases in capital punishment – Evidence that capital punishment is no deterrent VII. Social Class & Inequality in the U.S. Social Stratification in Traditional & Modern Societies Stratified social systems are characterized by hierarchical positions among social categories that tend to change slowly over time. Social inequality: A disparity in income, wealth, power, prestige, and other resources Social stratification: The systematic ranking of different groups of people in a hierarchy of inequality. Stratification systems considered "closed" or "open" depending on how much mobility between social classes is available to groups and individuals within a society.  Caste societies: A system in which social positions are closed, so that all individuals remain at the social level of their birth throughout life and for generations—e.g., India's traditional castes, South Africa's Apartheid regime & the U.S. slave system  Class societies: A system in which social mobility allows people to change socioeconomic position—more common in societies with modern economies based on open wage labor markets  Social mobility: Upward or downward change in social status of individuals, families or social groups over time 20 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Elements of Social Class Stratification  Social categories: people sharing common characteristics without necessarily identifying with one another  Achieved status: social position linked to one's acquisition of socially valued credentials or skills.  Ascribed status: social position linked to characteristics that are socially significant but cannot generally be altered (such as race or gender).  Class: Person's economic position in society associated with differences in income, wealth, and occupation  Life chances: Opportunities and obstacles encountered in education, social life, work, and other areas critical to social mobility—influenced by class Social classes in the U.S.: Elements of Social Class Stratification Income: Amount of money a person or household earns in a given period of time  Sources may be wages, salary, investments, social security benefits, business revenues Wealth (a.k.a. net worth): Value of everything a person owns, minus total debts  Net financial assets: Measure of wealth that excludes illiquid personal assets such as home and car Occupation: Person's main vocation or paid employment. We can broadly categorize social class by descriptive occupational categories  Blue-collar: primarily manual labor—e.g., factory workers, agricultural laborers, truck drivers, miners  White-collar: require mainly analytic skills or formal education—doctors, teachers, lawyers, business managers, etc. 21 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023  Pink-collar: jobs that primarily employ women in semiskilled, low-paid service positions— salesclerks, waitresses, receptionists Status: Relatively high or low prestige associated with social position. Status is a stratifying factor associated with qualities other than money, such as family background or occupation. Political power: Ability to exercise influence on political institutions and/or actors to realize personal or group interests Inequality in the U.S.—lncome Households can be ranked by annual income and then categorized into quintiles (fifths) to evaluate inequality trends. In 2018, e.g.,  The bottom quintile (bottom 20%) takes in just over 3% of the aggregate income, while those in the top quintile get more than half  The top 20% of earners make more than the bottom 80% combined  The top 5% take in more than 22% of the total income, more than the bottom 40% combined From World War II until the mid-1970s, the top quintile earned less than 1/3 of the national income pool. Since then, the incomes of people near the top have risen far faster than those of earners at the bottom or middle of the income scale; the top 20% now makes more than half of all income. 22 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Most jobs created in the last few decades are in service sectors that are highly unequal, and many new jobs now come with low wages, few benefits and poor hours. The stagnation of wages is illustrated by the trend among young high school and college graduates. The economic position of college graduates is significantly better than that of high school graduates, though wage growth has been slow for both groups. (A gender income gap also persists among young adults.) Average hourly wages of U.S. college & H.S. graduates, ages 21-24 23 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 Inequality in the U.S.—Wealth Distribution of wealth is even more unequal than the income gaps, and the wealth gap is also growing. The share of household wealth owned by the top 0.1% has tripled over the past three decades, from 7% to 22%. For the bottom 90% of U.S. families, a combination of rising debt, the collapse of the value of their assets during the 2008 financial crisis, and long-stagnant real wages have led to the erosion of wealth. Minority groups hold far fewer net financial assets than whites. The median household wealth of whites is at least 10x greater in white households than among blacks or Hispanics, depending on the year measured. … Inequality in the U.S.—Health Care Health-care coverage for workers in the bottom quintile of earners fell from a rate of 41% coverage in the 1980s to just 32% in the 1990s. In 2011, about 25% of those living in households earning less than $25K a year were uninsured, along with over 21% of those in households earning $25K-$49K. More than 15% of the U.S. population (48.6 million) was without health insurance, including 7.0 million children under age 18. Access to health insurance improved after the Obama administration's 2010 Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act expanded insurance coverage for the working poor. More than 8 million people signed up, 57% of whom were uninsured before enrolling. Since then, insurance coverage has also grown with expanded access to Medicaid, a government health insurance program that primarily serves the poor, who largely do not have employer-provided insurance and cannot afford to purchase private insurance. Beyond access to health insurance, there exist a strong relationship between health outcomes and class status: those with greater income and education are less likely than their less well-off peers to suffer from, and die of, heart disease, diabetes, and many types of cancer. The physical & mental health of children in disadvantaged families is more likely to be poor than better-off peers due to lack of health insurance, physical activity, and adequate nutrition. Moreover, poor Americans are likely to live in food deserts—i.e., sites bereft of places selling competitively priced, healthy and fresh foods. Why Has Inequality Grown? Demand for labor over the past several decades has been differentiated based on education and skills—workers with more education have become more highly compensated, while those with little education keep losing ground. The "postindustrial economy " now focuses on the production of knowledge & information and the provision of services such as law, engineering, business, and technology. Before 1980, the U.S. industrial economy had a manufacturing foundation. Today, the nation manufactures a smaller proportion of the goods it consumes and fewer goods overall. Many manufacturing jobs have since been either mechanized or have been exported abroad, as U.S. industries shift manufacturing to lower wage areas of the world. This trend also contributed to the loss of unionized jobs, which tend to protect worker wages & benefits. 24 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 For the working class, the fastest-growing employment sector has been low-skilled services— e.g., food service, retail sales, health care, janitors & house cleaners, security guards. These jobs have been abundant but do not require advanced education or technical skills; they pay poorly and offer weak job security and benefits. … Poverty in the U.S. Following L.B. Johnson administration's War on Poverty, the number of poor Americans dropped significantly from 36m to ~23m in the 1970s. Today, the numbers are 40+ million. However, estimates are debatable since the criteria for poverty status set at the federal level do not take into account local variations in housing, health & food costs. Official poverty line: Dollar amount set by government as minimum amount needed to meet basic needs for a family. Some yearly income thresholds in 2017 were:  1 person under 65: $12.8K  1 adult w/ 2 children: $19.1K  2 adults with 2 children: $25.3K  2 adults with 3 children: $30.5K To be sure, poverty levels vary widely according to race, age group and gender. Community-Level Poverty: Neighborhood poverty is a distinct problem from low income in families or households. E.g., even if poor, a family is less exposed to negative social, economic and educational effects when living in mixed-income areas than in poor isolated neighborhoods. Impoverished areas (defined as census tracts featuring 20% or more households under the poverty line) are more common in central cities, but 28% are found in suburbs and about 20% in rural areas; these areas are currently growing in numbers across the country. In 2000, just about 18% of Americans lived in high-poverty areas with 40% of households under the poverty line; by 2010, nearly a quarter did. Female-headed households are more likely (38%) than other family types to live in impoverished neighborhoods. In terms of race, "more than 1 in 4 of the black poor and nearly 1 in 6 of the Hispanic poor lives in a neighborhood of extreme poverty, compared to 1 in 13 of the white poor" (Jargowsky 2015). 25 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 … Theories of Social Stratification—Why Does Stratification Persist in Class Societies? The Functionalist Explanation: Durkheim's division of labor ideas suggest that modern social classes work like the different organs in the human body, so that different positions in the class hierarchy serve different yet indispensable economic functions for society's survival. Davis & Moore: Back in the 1940s, Davis & Moore proposed that the most "functionally important" occupations require more skill, talent, and training than others. Such positions are difficult to fill and may suffer a "scarcity of personnel." To ensure they get filled, societies offer valued rewards, such as money, prestige & leisure, to induce the best and brightest to make "sacrifices," such as getting a higher education, and to do these important jobs conscientiously and competently. According to them, stratification is an "Unconsciously evolved device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are conscientiously filled by the most qualified persons."  Meritocracy: a society in which personal success is based on talent and individual effort. Critiques of Moore & Davis' functionalism: This view has been much criticized for apparently justifying broad social & class inequalities. E.g., it is difficult to argue that the unequal rewards & privileges that exist in society are necessarily (or automatically) a measure of relative individual contributions to society. Moreover, people who acquire socially important status positions by virtue of their skills and efforts are able to pass along economic privilege, educational opportunities and social connections to their children, even if their children are not bright, motivated or qualified. In fact, stratification may limit the discovery of talent in society rather than ensuring it by creating a situation in which those who are born to privilege are given fuller opportunities and means to realize occupational success, while others are limited by poor schooling, little money or lack of networks. (To be sure, the Moore & Davis thesis has now been largely discarded by social scientists.) Another critique (H. Gans) questions the very idea that poverty is positively functional in U.S. society. Instead, vastly unequal compensation ensures that:  There will be low-wage laborers to do society's "dirty work."  Large pool of laborers remain desperate for jobs, pushing down wages.  A layer of jobs for professionals who help the poor (e.g., social welfare workers) is created, thus protecting society from those poor people who transgress the boundaries of the law (e.g., police & prison guards), or profit from them (e.g., owners of welfare motels or secondhand shops).  The underprivileged serve as scapegoats for society's problems and help preserve higher status for those who are not poor.  Needy people give the rich socially valued reasons for running prestigious foundations and their lavish charity functions.  Those who are better off in society are not motivated to comprehensively fight poverty because its existence is demonstrably (even if ironically) functional for them. Class Conflict Perspectives K. Marx divided society into two broad classes: workers and capitalists—a.k.a. the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The workers possess nothing of real value except their ability to work. The 26 SOCI 1301 midterm review Spring 2023 capitalists own the means of production but require the labor of the workers to stay rich; they are able to exploit the labor of workers through control of political power & ideological domination. In the modern economy based on labor, the bourgeoisie & proletariat are interdependent: capitalists need the labor of the workers and the workers depend on the wages they earn to survive. However, capitalists have exclusive control of society's production through a private ownership system that is secured & enforced by the state (government). In this view, the capitalist order is the dysfunctional opposite of meritocracy—instead of creating conditions that would give equal opportunity to all, it keeps power concentrated in the hands of the few. While it creates unnecessary exploitation, it is also undemocratic. The mass media owned by capitalists are instruments of domination used to socialize & pacify populations. 27