Sociology Book Notes Chapter 1 Auguste Comte invented word sociology Believed scientific method could be applied to study of human behavior and society Sociology The scientific study of patterns of human interaction that take place within the context of groups aggregates organizations institutions and entire societies Sociological Perspective Peter Berger ability to see the general in the specific Sociological Imagination The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions Someone using SI thinks himself away from the familiar routines of daily life Social Structure The underlying regularities or patterns in how people behave and in their relationships with one another Socialization The social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self Although socialization processes are particularly significant in infancy and childhood they continue to some degree throughout all phases of life Globalization The development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide Emergence of a world system For some purposes we need to regard the world as forming a single social order Ex labes of where your clothes were manufactured food producers on other ide of world Social Facts Emlie Durkheim social life can be analyzed as rigorously as objects or events in nature defines the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals believed that social facts could be studied scientifically Organic Solidarity Emlie Durkheim Like biology society has a set of independent parts heart lung liver etc each of which contributes to sustaining the life of the organism These parts work in harmony with one another if not life of organism is under threat MAIN POINT Continuation of a society depends on cooperation all aspects must function as an integrated whole Social Constraint Emlie Durkheim The restrictions placed upon our behavior of the groups and societies of which we are members Division of Labor The specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system people more dependent on each other organic solidarity Anomie Emlie Durkheim a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior Materialist conception of history View developed by Marx saying material or economic factors have a prime role in determining historical change Capitalism Marx Rather than being cohesive society is divided by class differences Bureaucracy Max Weber although these large organizations can run efficiently it poses problems for effective democratic participation in modern societies an inevitable feature of our era Rationalization Weber precise calculation and organization involving abstract rules and procedures increasingly come to dominate the social world Symbolic Interactionism George Herbert Mead emphasizes the role of symbols and languages as core elements of all human interaction Meaning we assign people rises with interaction of people can be modified through an interpretive process with ourselves Looking Self Glass We developed a concept of ourselves based on our perception of how other people view us Media makes this possible Ex Internet To understand behavior of other people we have to be able to put ourselves in their place and see the world through their eyes P1 exchange for resources P2 assuming exchange is voluntary it will not be repeated unless all parties proceed what they are getting is at least equal to what they give bargaining P3 In the absence of the strength cheating is predicted to occur Failing to reciprocate at all Reputation of cheater Societies depend on accountability and honor of obligations so cheating cannot become norm without havoc Structural Functionalism Comte notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform That is the contributions they make to the continuation of society P1 Societies are systems comprised of interrelated structures ot parts each of which performs some positive function for the society as a whole P2 Some of these functions are manifest others are latent Manifest functions Intended functions Ex Internet automobile Latent Functions Unintended functions Ex changes in dating patterns due to cars highway system some are positive some are negative Marxism Marxists lay more emphasis on conflict class divisions power and ideology Power The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold The capability to make own interests count even when others resist Ideologies Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups Feminist Theory A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the uniqueness of the experience of women Rational Choice Approach If you could have only one variable to explain society self interest would be the best one Postmodernism The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress Microsociology Focus on patterns of interactions that occur within small groups face to face interaction Macrosociology The study of large scale groups organizations or social systems Theories attempt to explain particular social conditions or types of conditions How can Sociology help us 1 Awareness of cultural problems seeing the world from different perspectives If we properly understand how others live we better understand their problems 2 Sociological research helps in assessing the results of policy initiatives Chapter 2 Theoretical approaches Perspectives on life derived from particular theoretical traditions Ex Functionalism Symbolic Interactionism Marxism Empirical Investigation Factual inquiries carried out in any area of sociological study Hypothesis Educated guesses put forward as bases for empirical testing Causation The casual influence of one factor or variable upon another Correlation The regular relationship between two variables often expressed in statistical terms Don t confuse with Causation Steven D Levitt Ethnography The firsthand study of people using participant observation or interviewing Participant Observation A method of research widely used in sociology and anthropology in which the researcher takes part in he activities of the group or community being studied Ex those tribal shows where white guy gets ghetto tattoo Pilot study A trial run in survey research Sample