Sociology Midterm Topics Overview - Understanding Society

**Midterm Topics Revised:** **Chapter 1: Overview** What is Sociology? a. Study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior b. Sociology applies to Group Dynamics, Social institutions, Structures and Society Norms: How society expects you to...

**Midterm Topics Revised:** **Chapter 1: Overview** What is Sociology? a. Study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior b. Sociology applies to Group Dynamics, Social institutions, Structures and Society Norms: How society expects you to act, think, and look Normative Behavior: Behaviors and appearances that correspond to society's norms. a. Example: Difference in behavior in Canada and Japan when it comes to respect and seniority Micro Level: Individual choices and experiences Macro Level: Broader societal choices, some individuals may not agree with but adhere to Agency: People's capacity to make choices, which then have an impact on other people Empirical Methods: Data collection that is carried out using systematic procedures **The 3 approaches to Theory:** 1. **Positivist:** Focuses on objective explanation and prediction a. An example would be if there are certain factors that contribute to hate crime, it can lead to development of effective preventions 2. **Interpretive:** Focuses on the ways people come to understand themselves, others, and the world around them 3. **Critical:** Explores the role of power in social processes and emphasizes on how knowledge is tied to emancipation Note: The following 5 MAIN theories also are tied with the approaches above 1. **Functionalist Perspective:** A positivist approach, Macro Level a. Focuses on the structures/institutions of society, such as education, government, economy, and family b. Manifest Functions: The intended purpose of an institution c. Latent Functions: Unintended purpose of an institution d. Dysfunctional: When one of society's structures fails to serve its function e. Anomie: A feeling of normlessness 2. **Conflict Perspective:** A critical approach, Macro Level f. Focuses on power and emancipation through 'groups' and 'classes' of people and scarce resource competition g. Comes from Karl Marx h. Bourgeoisie: The owns of the means of production i. Proletariat: The people who work for the owners of production j. Praxis: The responsibility of scholars to provide subordinated groups with the knowledge to end their powerlessness 3. **Interactionist Perspective:** Micro level, Interpretive approach k. Focuses on communication between people, how they interact with each other, and how they interact with society l. Also emphasizes how people interpret 'communication' personally i. Some symbols include, words, facial expressions, gestures m. Believes that social interaction shapes society 4. **Feminism:** A macro/micro level n. Focuses on the system of ideas that women are equal to men o. There are 4 waves of feminism ii. First Wave: 1792, published a book about the rights of women iii. Second Wave: Around mid 1900's? Looking at how women were perceived, where was the inequality rooted in. As well as boy autonomy iv. Third Wave: In the 90's, looking at gaining more rights and more power for the 'minority' groups, as well as further autonomy. Some people think we are still in this wave. v. Fourth Wave: Focuses on how technology is impacting feminism as well. How the 'pick me' movement, as well as criticizing white feminism. As well as bringing in trans rights. p. Androcentric: Male centered, failing to account for women's experiences q. Patriarchy: Legal and/or social power that is vested in males 5. **Postmodern Perspective:** Macro Level r. Focuses on how our lives have changed post world war 2 s. Discourses: Ways of understanding a particular subject or social phenom **Shortened Version of the 5 main perspectives:** 1. **Functionalist:** (Structures) a. A macro level approach that views society as a number of structures and institutions, each of which fill a particular role to keep society running smoothly 2. **Conflict Perspective:** (Conflict) b. A macro level approach that describes society that is characterized by conflict over scarce resources and inequality among the 'people' 3. **Interactionist Perspective:** (Communication) c. A micro level approach that depicts individuals engaged in various forms of communication that come to have a particular meaning 4. **Feminist Framework:** (Gender) d. A mirco/macro level approach that assumes society is structured on gender 5. **Postmodern Framework:** (If none other is applied) e. The nature of social change after WW2 Lower order thinking: Based on memory, recall, and paraphrasing Critical or Higher order thinking: Extrapolate information from one domain and apply it to another Strange in the familiar: Instead of assuming that people's actions are determined by choice, looking for the way's society shapes those choices General in the particular: The broader social patterns that are reflected in a person's actions Life Chances: The opportunities a person has based on race, gender, ethnicity, inequality Sociological Imagination: The ability to perceive the connections between individual experiences and larger sociological forces Empirical methods: Data collection that produces verifiable findings and is carried out in systematic procedures Significant other: An individual which has played an important role in our socialization, a lifelong process by which we acquire the knowledge and skills for everyday life Generalized other: An overall sense of people's expectations **Chapter 2: Sociological Research Methods** **Deductive Reasoning:** (Top Down) - Starts with theories and then solidifies them with research findings **Inductive Reasoning:** (Bottom Up) - Starts with research findings and then forms the theories Participatory Action Research: A field method involving stakeholders as co-researchers Operationalization: Whereby variables are defined in a manner that is measurable Reliability: Refers to the consistency of the measure Validity: How well the measure represents the objective Debriefing: The disclosure of information that the participants in the research cannot know **The 5 Research Methods:** 1. Experiments: Quantitative research method 2. Surveys: Quantitative and Qualitative 3. Interviews: Qualitative 4. Ethnography: Qualitative, where a person immerses themselves within a 'different' culture or area in order to get a better understanding. More hands on. Hiding the fact you are 'inflitrating' 5. Systemic and Participant Observation a. Where a person immerses themselves in a 'different' culture or area, but this time it is known why you are there and acting as a bystander Types of research: Exploratory Research: Explores an area of interest that very little is known about Descriptive Research: Describes features of a group, event, activity, or situation Explanatory Research: Clarifies aspects or a particular phenomenon Evaluation Research: Assesses the need or effectiveness of a social program Empowerment Research: Examines social settings and conditions to identify key issues and involves stakeholders for the purpose of improvement Participatory Action Research: A field method involving stakeholders as co-researchers in a collaborative process designed to improve outcomes Operationalization: The process whereby variables are defined in a precise manner that is measurable Components of research: Reliability: Consistency in the measure for a variable of interest Validity: A measure that is a good indicator of the intended concept Hypothesis: A testable research statement Research Design: A detailed outline of all the proposed components in the study Grounded theory: A systematic strategy for moving specific observations to general conclusions about discourses, practices, actions, and interactions Rigour: Trustworthiness of a qualitative research process and the data collected Triangulation: The use of multiple data gathering techniques within the same study Secondary Analysis of existing Data: A research method to examine information on a topic of interest that was collected or created by someone other than the researcher Content Analysis: A secondary analysis technique used to systematically examine messages contained in text or portrayed in images Ethnology: Fieldwork designed to describe everyday behavior in natural settings Discourse analysis: The use of multiple methods to critically examine the ways in which language is used to convey social constructions and social relations Historical Analysis: The examination and interpretation of historical forms of data Convergent Design: Employs at least one qualitative and one quantitative method at the same time in order to compare different perspectives **Chapter 3: Canadian Culture** **Material Culture:** Tangible items that give meaning to a culture **Non-Material Culture:** Intangible things that have cultural meanings, the use of artifacts is included **Culture Shock:** A sense of confusion when placed in an area where the material and non-material culture is unknown **Cultural Diffusion:** Taking a bunch of cultures and mixing them together, like a big melting pot Language: - Mother Tongue: The first language learned by an individual - Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: The assertion that language shape reality **Prescriptive Norms:** Things you should be doing **Proscriptive Norms:** Things you should not be doing **Types of Norms:** - Folkways: Informal norms, minorly insignificant - Like jaywalking in Japan - Mores: Usually expressed in laws, majorly insignificant - Like theft of a bank, or drunk driving - Taboo: Mores that are considered wrong in of themselves - Like eating people, or incest Emblems: Gestures with direct verbal equivalents **High Culture:** Shared activities among the social elite **Popular Culture:** Shared activities among the 'common folk' Ideal Culture: Values shared amongst the majority of people in a given area Real Culture: Actual practices that are engaged in by the majority of people in a given area Cultural Relativism: The ability to understand another culture sympathetically a. Durkheim: Norms and values are social facts that are internalized by people in society and create a collective conscience b. Parsons: norms and values work together to keep society running smoothly Cultural Universals: Practices shared among all cultures Social Facts: Observable social phenomena external to individuals that exercise power over them **Chapter 4: Socialization, The self and Social identity** Auxiliary Traits: Characteristics presumed to accompany a concept - Example: Patience is a characteristic with Parenthood Self-Concept: An individual's sense of who he or she is Socialization: The process of which people learn about themselves and their roles within society Social Identity: Derived from membership's in social groups, how people perceive you Personal Identity: Derived from the actual individual, how they perceive themselves Biological Determinism: The belief that human behavior is controlled by genetics Sociobiology: The belief that social behavior evolved from the need to reproduce and survive Behaviorism: School of thought that claims that all behavior is learned from the environment Looking Glass Self: The sense of ourselves that we develop based on how others perceive us Recidivism: Committing further crimes after having been convicted of a crime Agents of Socialization: The groups, institutions, or social settings, that have the greatest influence on developing oneself Interpersonal trust: The perception that another person can be relied upon and has your best interests at heart Social Comparison: Refers to how individuals evaluate themselves based on appearance, behavior, of other people Social Structure: The framework of cultural elements and social patterns in which social interactions take place Status: A recognized social position that exists independently of any individual that occupies it Role: The behavior component of any given status Anticipatory Socialization: The process by which individuals learn about the roles associated with a particular status before taking them on Status set: The sum of all statuses held by a person Ascribed Status: A social position conferred at birth Achieved Status: A social position gained through personal actions Master Status: The most influential status in an individual's status set Social Facilitation: The tendency for people to do better on simple tasks, but worse on complex tasks, when they are in the presence of other people Groupthink: Where people in a group favor consensus over rational decision making, leading to poor outcomes Chapter 6: Mass Media One of the common threads in media is that there are no new ideas, just recycled or redesigns The seven traditional forms of mass media 1. Movies 2. Books 3. Newspapers and magazines 4. Cinema 5. Recordings 6. Radio 7. Television New Media Forms 1. Youtube 2. Cell Phones 3. Apps Marshall McLuhen: A Canadian media scholar in the 70's, one of the most influtiental media scholars. -Most famous saying or theory: "The medium is the message" Where medium means the 'form', what 'medium' you are consuming is the message The form of medium needs all aspects of it in order to work, example; a music video without music will cause the 'message' to be distorted Representation Matters: The lack of diversity in television in the past, for example if a certain group was portrayed a certain role or class in a bunch of movies, represents them as that. Another example would be 'Apu' from the simpsons All representations is not based on race, another could be weight based. It all comes down to how a 'group' is represented in media. For media assignment, doesn't have to be specifically movies or t.v shows, but can also be part of the seven traditional forms of media From a functionalist perspective: All in relation to media and the respective function -Political Functions -Economic Functions -Making money and other stuff though media -Cognitive functions -Learning -Social Integrative functions -Tension Reducing Functions Note: Explains how media contributes to society in those 5 ways, and functionlist says if it didn't it wouldn't exist Conflict Perspective: -Concentration and Conglomeration in Media Ownership -Media Supports Consumerism Looks at how not how we consume media, but how media controls us. Those who own media have the power to manipulate those that don't. Interctionist Perspective: -Understand that we are not only consumers of media but also producers. More micro level, how individual groups or people consume media, then digest it, then give back In relation to this perspective a. Agency: Who is at fault? Specifically looks at one or two words that shift blame. b\. Identification: How you feel about the central people in the news story, the words that humanize or dehumanize the central person. Either you see yourself or identify yourself in the story, or you do not c\. Categorization: The overall framework the media uses to label the event. Is this the sadness box? The anger box? It also depends on an individual's personal perspective. d\. generalization: The extent to which the media story is generalized to a larger system. Feminist Persepctive: How media stereotype males and females. Stereotypes of women: -Victims, Consumers, Sexual objects Stereotypes of men: -Jocks, jokers, action heroes, buffoons. The difference between feminist and conflict perspective is that gender is involved. Postmodern Perspective: How our lives change with each new media form. An example can be the White House rush a couple years back. Emphasizes the importance of media literacy as mediums change, AI on the rise, and biases that exist within media. Media Literacy: The ability the think critically when it comes to media 1. Media are constructions a. People who made the video made conscious and unconscious decisions while they made the video 2. Audience negotiate meaning b. Although the creator intended one meaning, the audience may interpret the other way 3. Media have commercial implications c. 4. Media have social and political implications d. It can convey ideological messages about power and authority, who was included? 5. Each medium has a unique aesthetic form e. The medium is the message. The content of the media is dependent on the 'technique' of the medium Guest Lecture: Semiotics: The study of signs or images that convey meaning - An example would be a stop sign without the words, just the shape and color Intertextuality: One text referring to another Fandoms: Groups of individuals that come together to support and talk about a certain form of media Cultural Currency: Someone's ability to understand cultural references