SOCIOLOGY “THE BARE BONES” “must haves” for EVERY STUDENT!!!

SOCIOLOGY
“THE BARE BONES”
“must haves” for EVERY STUDENT!!!
CHAPTER 1
THE SOCIOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW
Sociology: the social science that studies human society & social behavior
How does Sociology compare/contrast with other Social Sciences?
• Anthropology: the comparative study of past & present cultures
– leans to past/uncivilized instead of present/advanced
• Psychology: behavior & thinking of organisms
– individual behavior over group behavior
• Social Psychology: study of how social environments affect
individual’s behavior/personality
• Economics: study of how people make efforts to satisfy needs & wants
– leans towards impersonal data
• Political Science: examination of the organization/operation of
governments
– Sociology leans towards effects of governments on people
• History: study of past events
– past overall instead of past’s effects on people
The Founders of Sociology (Quick History!)
• Auguste Conte: founder of sociology (coined term)
– applied methods of physical science towards study of social life
• Herbert Spencer: applied teachings of Charles Darwin towards
society
• Social Darwinism: “survival of the fittest” amongst societies
over time
• Karl Marx: society’s structure directly defined by the economy
– bourgeoisie: capitalists
– proletariat: workers
• eventually, workers will rise up & create classless society
• Emile’ Durkheim: the observation of society based purely on
observable data/statistical analysis
• Max Weber: understand individual by putting them into the group
– Verstehen: puts oneself in the shoes of another
– Ideal Type: the combination of society’s ideal characteristics
CHAPTER 2
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Culture: all the shared products of human groups
Material Culture:
physical objects that people create & use
Examples:
automobiles, books, buildings, clothing,
computers & cooking
Nonmaterial Culture:
abstract human creations
Examples:
beliefs, family patterns,
ideas, language, political &
economic systems & rules
Components of Culture
• technology: culture’s physical objects & rules to use
• symbols: represents something else
• language: organization of written or spoken symbols into standardized system
• values: shared beliefs about right/wrong, good/bad, desirable/undesirable
• norms: shared rules of conduct in specific situations
Examining Culture
• culture traits: individual tool, act or belief related to particular situation/need
• culture complexes: cluster of interrelated traits
• culture patterns: combination of a number of culture complexes into
interrelated whole
Cultural Universals: features common to all cultures that must be met to ensure fulfillment
George Murdock (1940s): 65 cultural universals
• body adornment, cooking, dancing, family, feasting, forms of greeting, funeral ceremonies,
gift giving, housing, language, medicine, myths/folklore, religion, sports, toolmaking
Ethnocentrism
the tendency to view one’s own
culture & group as superior
to other different cultures
Examples vary:
labeling another culture as
inferior based on technology
Cultural Relativism
belief that a culture should be
judged by its own standards
rather than by those of a different culture
Examples vary:
examining how another society
views its dress or diet
Culture
Subculture
groups that share values, norms
& behaviors not shared by entire
population
---age, gender, ethnic, religious,
political, geographic, social-class,
occupational
Counterculture
group rejecting mainstream values,
norms & practices & adapting a
new set of beliefs
---cyberpunk movement,
anarchists, organized crime
families, hippie movements of the 1960s
CHAPTER 3
CULTURAL CONFORMITY & ADAPTATION
Robin Williams: Traditional American Values
• personal achievement
• individualism
• work
• morality & humanitarianism
• efficiency & practicality
• progress & material comfort
• equality & democracy
• freedom
– nationalism & patriotism
– science & rationality
– racial & group superiority
Enforcement of Social Norms
Internalization
how a norm becomes a part of a person’s
personality, thus conditioning the person
to conform to society’s expectations
Positive
action that rewards a particular
kind of behavior
Formal
reward or punishment by a
formal organization or regulatory
agency, such as government
Source of Social Change
Example
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sanctions
rewards or punishments
used to enforce conformity
to norms
Negative
punishment or the threat of
punishment to enforce conformity
Informal
spontaneous expression of
disapproval or disapproval by an
individual or group
Social Consequences
values & beliefs
technology
population
diffusion
physical environment
wars & conquests
CHAPTER 4
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
social structure: the network of interrelated statuses & roles that guide human interaction
status: a socially defined position in a group or in a society
role: the behavior (the rights & obligations) expected of someone occupying a particular status
Status
Examples of Roles
Examples of Conflict/Strain_______
firefighter
putting out fires, saving lives,
voluntarily puts self in danger but
wearing a uniform
has loved ones who need him or her
mother
providing food & shelter,
work fatigue & long shifts make
nurturing family, disciplining
household tasks & interactions
children
difficult
P.T.A. president
running meetings, recruiting
has trouble getting members to
new members, planning
attend & follow through on promises
activities
Reciprocity
Exchange Theory
Types of Social Interaction:
1) exchange
2) competition
3) conflict
4) cooperation
5) accommodation
group: a set of people who interact on the basis of shared expectations & who possess some degree
of common identity
subsistence strategies: the way a society uses technology to provide for the needs of its members
Types of Societies:
Preindustrial: hunting & gathering; pastoral; horticultural; mechanical solidarity
→ agricultural
Industrial: manufacturing
→ urban; technology; organic solidarity
Postindustrial: information; provision of services
The Continuum of Primary-Secondary Relationships
Primary Group Relationships
Secondary Group Relationships
family
groups of friends
school club
classroom
job
Group Functions:
1) define boundaries
3) set goals
5) make decisions
2) select leaders
4) assign tasks
6) control members’ behavior
formal organization: a large, complex secondary group that has been established to achieve
specific goals
bureaucracy: ranked authority structure that operates according to specific rules & procedures
rationality: subjecting every feature of human behavior to calculation, measurement & control
SAMPLE BEAUCRATIC HEIRARCHY
Head of the Bureaucracy
(CEO, superintendent, president, etc.)
↓
VP/department head
↓
↓
(subordinates)
↓
↓
VP/department head
↓
↓
↓
CHAPTER 5
SOCIALIZING THE INDIVIDUAL
personality: the sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs & values that are
characteristic of an individual
Factors That Shape
Individual Personality Development
heredity
birth order
____________
physical traits, aptitudes, inherited
if they have siblings & if so, order of birth
characteristics, biological drives
compared to him or her
parents
cultural environment_________________
parental characteristics: such as age,
determines the basic personality types
education, religion & economic status
found in society
??? NATURE vs. NURTURE ???
socialization: the interactive process through which people learn the basic skills,
values, beliefs & behavior patterns of a society
Name
Process of Socialization Theory
_____
John Locke
Tabula Rasa: each person is a blank slate at birth, with no personality
People develop personality as a result of their social experiences.
Moreover, infants can be molded into any type of person.
Charles Horton Looking Glass Self: infants have no sense of person or place.
Cooley
Children develop an image of themselves based on how others see
them. Other people act as a mirror, reflecting back the image a child
projects through their reactions to the child’s behavior.
George Herbert Role Taking: people not only come to see themselves as others see
them but also take on or pretend to take on the roles of others
through imitation, play & games. This process enables people to
anticipate what others expect of them.
agents of socialization: the specific individuals, groups & institutions that enable
socialization to take place
i.e. the family, the peer group, the school, the mass media
Mass Media as a Socialization Agent:
 mass media includes books, films, the Internet, magazines, newspapers, radio
& television
 television probably as the most influence on children
 the effect of television on children is an ongoing debate
CHAPTER 6
THE ADOLESCENT IN SOCIETY
adolescence: the period between the normal onset of puberty & the beginning of
adulthood
puberty: the physical maturing that makes an individual capable of sexual reproduction
Prior to 1860s
adolescence did not exist as a separate life stage.
children were treated as small adults.
Education
Work
Courts
children stay in school
laws restricted child
juvenile-justice
longer; extended period
labor, also increasing
system legally
of dependence
length of dependency
distinguished b/w
youth & adults
Effect
development of adolescence as a distinct life stage b/w childhood & adulthood
Characteristics of Adolescence:
• biological growth & development
• undefined status
• increased decision making
• increased pressure
• the search for self
dating: the meeting of people as a romantic engagement (in societies that allow
individuals to choose their own marriage partners)
courtship: express purpose is eventual marriage
→dating may lead to marriage, but casually for, entertainment & amusement
Cause
Effect
Industrial Revolution
people moved from the farms to the cities, where
young adults could gain more economic freedom &
their own homes. as a result, parental control over
young adults & courtship decreased
Public Education
by the 1900s, most secondary-school students attended
coeducational public schools, which increased
interaction between boys & girls
Automobile
young adults had more freedom of movement away
from parents
Telephone
young adults could more easily talk to members of the
opposite sex
Equality of Women
more women entered the workforce & took on more
active community roles, which increased the
interaction b/w single adult men & women
Problem
Causes
Teenage Sexual Behavior loosening of norms concerning
sexuality; low-income, one-parent
families
Teenage Drug Use
Teenage Suicide
Consequences________
teenage pregnancy;
exposure to or
acquiring STDs
such as syphilis or AIDS
dropping out of school; having
increase in the use
friends who use drugs; social &
of some drugs
academic adjustment problems; among teens;
hostile & rejecting family settings increase in drugrelated violence
alcohol or drug use; triggering
death; possible cluster
events such as family crisis or
effects leading
to other trials of adolescence;
teenage suicides; rise
being female; social isolation;
in U.S. teenage
living in an underpopulated area; bad family suicide rate;
teen environment; cluster effect suicide rate now
from publicized suicides
exceeds that for adults
CHAPTER 7
THE ADULT IN SOCIETY
life structure: the combination of statuses of roles, activities, goals,
values, beliefs & life circumstances that characterize an individual
Ages:
Early Adulthood Era
17-22
Early Adult Transition
– Entering the Adult World
– Age 30 Transition
– Settling Down Period
Middle Adulthood Era
40-44
Midlife Transition
– Entering Middle Adulthood
– Age 50 Transition
– Culmination of Middle Adulthood
Late Adulthood Era
60-64
Late Adult Transition
65-75+
Late Adult Transition
Phases of Adult Female Development
Phase 1: Leaving the Family
characteristics: young women leave home, break from their parents & form a
life plan with an emphasis on marriage over establishing a career
Phase 2: Entering the Adult World
characteristics: many women, often in their 20s, marry & have children. More
than ½ combine work & motherhood. Others leave work, which limits later job
opportunities
Phase 3: Entering the Adult World Again
characteristics: many women, often in their early 30s, return to work after
their children start school. They then pursue their career goals, similar to men
in their 20s
Percentage Distribution of Working Women by Marital Status, 2000
•
53% Married
•
27% Single
•
20% Widowed, Divorced or Separated
CHAPTER 8
DEVIANCE & SOCIAL CONTROL
deviance: behavior that violates significant social norms
stigma: mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society
Perspective
Functionalist
Theory
Questions
_____
Strain how do individuals respond to culturally approved
goals & the legitimate means of achieving them?
(conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion)
Conflict
Conflict what is the result of competition & social inequality?
(deviance) who decides what is deviant? (ruling classes)
Interactionist Control why do people conform to norms? (the strength of social
ties determines conformity)
Cultural
how do people learn conformity or deviance? (through
Transmission
socialization, or interaction with others)
where does this learning mainly occur? (primary groups)
Labeling
how do people become identified as deviant? (through
secondary deviance, or labeled as deviant)
crime: any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law & is
punishable by the government.
American Criminal-Justice System
Police
have the most control over who is arrested
for crimes; use police discretion, which has
raised the controversial issue of racial
profiling
Corrections
includes probation, imprisonment, parole;
serves 4 functions: retribution, deterrence,
rehabilitation & social protection
Courts
determines the accused’s guilt
or innocence in a court trial &
then assigns a punishment;
actually settles 90% of cases
through plea bargaining
Juvenile-Justice System
applies to offenders younger
than 18; guarantees juvenile
defendants the same legal
rights & privileges as adults;
often provides more services
CHAPTER 9
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
social stratification: the division of society into categories, ranks, or classes
social inequality: the unequal sharing of scarce resources & social rewards
The Caste System in India
Caste
Brahmans
Kshatriyas
Vaisyas
Sudras
Harijans
Occupations
priests, scholars
rulers, nobles, soldiers
merchants, bankers, businesspeople
laborers, artisans
outcastes, limited to the most undesirable tasks
Theory
Functionalist
Cause of Stratification
stratification is needed to help
society function smoothly by
ensuring that specific roles are
performed. higher rewards
guarantee that important
roles that require more skill
are filled
Conflict:
---Marxists
---American
Theorists
---the bourgeoisie exploit &
control the proletariat to
maintain wealth & power
---groups compete for scarce
resources. those w/ power use
it to maintain their position
Criticisms of Theory
---society does not
provide equal access to
education & jobs
---rewards do not
always reflect the social
values of roles
it fails to recognize that
unequal rewards are
based in part on
differences in talents,
skills & desires among
people
AMERICAN CLASS SYSTEM
Upper Class
1%; prestigious schools;
heirs, investors, large business owners & top executives
Upper Middle Class
Lower Middle Class
14%; college or university business executives
30%; high school or college; lower-level
& professionals
managers, skilled craftworkers, supervisors
Working Poor
22%; some high school;
laborers, service workers: gardeners,
house cleaners, etc.
Working Class
30%; high school;
factory & clerical workers, lower level
salespeople, some craftworkers
Underclass
3%; some high school;
undesirable low-paying jobs,
unemployed, or on welfare for some time
poverty: the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society
Characteristics of Poor Americans
Sex:
Age:
---women are the largest segment (57 %)
---children are the largest group (37%)
---female-headed households account for about ½ of all poor families
---3X more African-American & Hispanic children are poor than white
children
Race & Ethnicity:
---African-Americans & Hispanics are far more likely than white Americans to be poor
Poverty Level by Family Size, 2000
1 person (<65 years)
$8,794
2 persons (<65 years)
$11,590
3 persons
$13,738
4 persons
$17,603
5 persons
$20,819
6 persons
$23,528
7 persons
$26,754
8 persons
$29,701
CHAPTER 10
RACIAL & ETHNIC RELATIONS
race: category of people who share inherited physical characteristics & whom others see as being a distinct group
ethnicity: the set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes 1 group from another group
minority group: group of people who b/c of their physical characteristics or cultural practices are singled out &
unequally treated (Louis Wirth)
Prejudice
→unsupported generalization
about a category of people
Discrimination
→denial of equal treatment
based on group membership
→can be individual or societal
→involves attitudes
→involves behaviors
→sociological, psychological
→can be in favor of a group
____________
No
Discrimination
Yes
Merton’s Patterns of Prejudice & Discrimination
Prejudice
Yes
No
Timid Bigot
All-Weather Liberal
prejudiced person who
nonprejudiced person
does not discriminate
who does not discriminate
____________________________________________________________________
Active Bigot
Fair-Weather Liberal
prejudiced person who
nonprejudiced person
discriminates
who discriminates
A Continuum of Intergroup Relations
Acceptance
Rejection
Cultural→Assimilation→Legal→Segregation→Subjagation→Population→Extermination
Pluralism
Minority Groups
African-Americans
Hispanics/Latinos
Asian-Americans
Native Americans
White Ethnics
Protection
Transfer
Conditions/Concerns
making gains towards equality, but statistics still show
members are lagging in education, employment & income;
becoming more politically active
rapidly growing population; trailing in income & education;
diverse population
contrast b/w 1st-generation immigrants, who are often poor,
& 2nd generation, many of whom succeed educationally &
financially; viewed as a “model minority,” although this
term is resented
often live on reservations; high poverty & poor education;
encouraged to assimilated; taking steps to establish sources
of income & better schools
includes some who assimilate quickly & others who remain
victims of prejudice & discrimination; making gains in
religious tolerance; good education level
CHAPTER 11
GENDER, AGE & HEALTH
gender: the behavioral & psychological traits considered
appropriate for men & women (sex = the biological identity of
that person)
gender roles: the specific behaviors & attitudes that society
establishes for men & women
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Sexism
• people who see women as incapable of holding positions of
power make choices based on this belief
• men who see women as inferior oppose women entering
powerful positions
• women who accept an inferior role do not pursue
traditionally male roles
• thus, not enough women are in positions of power to push
for greater success
• the fact that few women hold positions of power is used to
justify the opinion that women must be incapable of holding
such positions
ageism: the belief that one age category is by nature superior to another age category
“the graying of America”: 2000: 12%, 2010: 12%, 2025: 19%, 2050: 20%
Effects of an Aging Population on American Society
• Economic Effects → rising cost of health care; cost of Social Security; burden to family &
younger workers; living longer in retirement
• Political Effects → becoming a stronger political force; organized voting bloc (AARP, etc.)
focusing on health care, retirement & Social Security
Medicare: the government-sponsored health-insurance plan for elderly Americans & Americans
with disabilities
Medicaid: the state & federally funded health-insurance program for low-income individuals
Segment of Society
Special Health-Care Concerns
poor people
often not insured; have difficulty accessing & paying for care; cannot afford
prescription drugs; have few doctors in poor communities
elderly individuals need more care than general population; often poor or on strict budgets;
sometimes refused insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions
AIDS sufferers
need constant care in advanced stages; sometimes refused care by
caregivers because of fear of infection; often not covered by insurance
people suffering from
often refused insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions;
chronic illnesses
life-long care of illness is often extremely expensive
alternative medicine: treating illness with unconventional methods such as acupuncture,
acupressure, biofeedback, massage, meditation, yoga, herbal remedies & relaxation
techniques
CHAPTER 12
THE FAMILY
family: a group of people who are related by marriage, blood or adoption & who often live together & share
economic resources
nuclear family: consists of one or both parents & their children
– family of orientation
– family of procreation
extended family: consists of 2 or more generations
kinship: a network of people who are related by marriage, birth or adoption
Marriage-Partner Patterns
1. monogamy
2. polygamy
a. polygyny
b. polyandry
Descent Patterns
1. patrilineal descent
2. matrilineal descent
3. bilateral descent
Residential Patterns
1. patrilocality
2. matrilocality
3. bilocality
4. neolocality
Authority Patterns
1. patriarchy
2. matriarchy
3. egalitarian
Functions of the Family:
• regulation of sexual activity
• reproduction
• socialization
• economic & emotional security
homogamy: marriage between individuals who have similar social characteristics
heterogamy: marriage between individuals who have different social characteristics
Trends in American Family Life:
• delayed marriage
• childlessness
• dual-earner marriages
• delayed childbearing
• remarriage
• one-parent families
CHAPTER 13
THE ECONOMY & POLITICS
economic institution: to satisfy people’s needs & wants, every society develops a system of roles & norms
that governs the production, distribution & consumption of goods & services
factors of production:
1) land
2) labor
3) capital
4) entrepreneurship
Economic Models
Capitalism
1. factors of production owned
by individuals
2. forces of profit & competition
regulate economic activity
3. minimum government interference
1. industrial &
postindustrial
2. “pure” forms are
ideal types
Socialism
1. factors of production owned
by the government
2. economic activity regulated
by the government
3. pure form is communism
power: the ability to control the behavior of others with or without their consent
→the primary political authority in society = the state
political institution: the system of roles & norms that governs the distribution & exercise of power in society
legitimacy: whether those in power are viewed as having the right to control/govern others
yes? Authority
1) traditional authority
2) rational-legal authority
3) charismatic authority
no? Coercion
Types of Governments
Democratic systems
Authoritarian systems
1) democracy
2) monarchy
3) constitutional monarchy
4) democratic socialism
1) authoritarianism
2) absolute monarchy
3) dictatorship
4) junta
5) totalitarianism
Major Characteristics of the U.S. Political System
• dominated by 2 major political parties: Democrats & Republicans
• consists of 3 branches of government: the executive, legislative & judicial
• includes interest groups & PACs, which help groups with minority views influence
government decisions
• includes public participation, although voter participation varies & is relatively low
overall
• has proportional representation, but debate exists over who holds power
CHAPTER 14
EDUCATION & RELIGION
education: the roles & norms that ensure the transmission of knowledge, values & patterns of
behavior from one generation to the next
schooling: formal education, which involves instruction by specifically trained teachers who follow
officially recognized policies
•
The Functionalist Perspective on Education
•
The Conflict Perspective on Education
•
The Interactionist Perspective on Education
---Teaching Knowledge & Skills
---Transmission of Culture
---Social Integration
---Occupational Placement
---Social Control
---Tracking
---Education & Socioeconomic Status
Current Issues in American Education
• educational reform → to address a decline in the level of the quality of education; has led to
some improvements
• educational alternatives → provides school choice through vouchers, charter schools & options
such as homeschooling
• violence in the schools → has led to the use of security measures, zero tolerance policies &
conflict-resolution programs
• bilingual education → controversial, particularly in states with many Hispanics; has led to “English
Only” movement
sacred: anything that is considered to be part of the supernatural world & that inspires awe,
respect & reverence
profane: anything considered to be part of the ordinary world & thus, commonplace & familiar
religion: a system of roles & norms that is organized around the sacred realm & that binds
people together in social groups
ANIMISM: spirits active in influencing human life but not worshiped. Rituals thank or win spirits’
good will.
Shamanism: spirits communicate with one person (shaman). Shamans can heal sick, predict
future.
Totemism: kinship between humans & animals/natural objects: totems
THEISM: belief in god or gods. God is divine power worthy of worship.
Monotheism: belief in one god
Examples: Judaism, Islam, Christianity
---organized structure, priesthood, rituals
Polytheism: multiple gods
Example: Hinduism
---usually one powerful god & lesser gods
ETHICALISM: based on set of moral principles with sacred quality
Examples: Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism
---involve meditation & purity of thought & action
CHAPTER 15
SCIENCE & THE MASS MEDIA
science: the pursuit of knowledge through systematic methods
sociology of science: the sociological investigation of how scientific knowledge develops
scientific method: an objective & systematic way of collecting information & arriving @ conclusions
Norms of Scientific Research
•
universalism
•
organized skepticism
•
communalism
•
disinterestedness
•
counter-norms
Although many scientists
try to or would like to
Merton’s norms, reality
often falls short of this
ideal.
Realities of Scientific Research
{} fraud
{} competition
{} Matthew effect
{} conflicting views of reality
mass media: instruments of communication that reach large audiences w/ no personal contact b/w those sending the information & those receiving it
information society: a community in which the exchange of information is the main social & economic activity
Print Media; Audio Media; Visual Media; Online Media; Convergence
Contemporary Mass-Media Issues
•
children watching too much television
•
violence on television
•
ratings systems & parental controls
•
advertising targeting children
•
disengagement from direct social contact
•
decline in social capital
•
Internet causing decline in face-to-face relationships
•
the power of the media; agenda-setting
•
•
•
•
•
•
TV-Y: children of all ages
TV-Y7: children, ages 7 & older
TV-G: all ages
TV-PG: parental guidance suggested
TV-14: ages 14 & older
TV-MA: adults only
CHAPTER 16
POPULATION & URBANIZATION
population: the # of people living in an area @ a particular time
demography: the area of sociology devoted to the study of human populations
Birthrate
=
live births
X
1000
total population
Death rate
=
deaths
X
1000
total population
Infant
=
deaths among infants
X
1000
mortality rate
total live births
Region
North
South
East
West
RATES OF POPULATION CHANGE
Total Population Live Births Deaths Birthrate Death Rate Growth Rate (%)
443,592
10,983
5,940
25
13
1.2
373,022
5,842
2,957
16
8
0.8
672,184
13,401
8,022
20
12
0.8
801,835
27,477
10,026
34
13
2.1
Malthusian Theory
{vs.}
Demographic Transition Theory
→the population would soon reach
→population patterns are tied to society’s
astronomical numbers
level of technological development
Stage 1 = HIGH birthrate + HIGH death rate = SLOW population growth
Stage 2 = HIGH birthrate + LOW death rate = RAPID population growth
Stage 3 = LOW birthrate + LOW death rate = SLOW population growth
urbanization: the concentration of the population in cities
city: a permanent concentration of a relatively large number of people who are engaged
mainly in non-farming activities
over-urbanization: a situation in which more people live in a city than can be supported in
terms of jobs & facilities
MODELS
1) Concentric Zone
→ city spreads outward from center, resulting
of circles, or zones
2) Sector
→ city grows in wedge-shaped sectors
center to edges of city
3) Multiple-Nuclei
→ city develops around several centers of
devoted to specialized land use
THEORIES
1) Anomie
→ city is anonymous & unfriendly in a series
carries negative consequences for residents
2) Compositional
→ greater diversity of city outward from
residents leads to greater variety of lifestyles
3) Subcultural
→people can find activity, or “nuclei,”
others with similar interests in diverse cities;
some people form close ties
CHAPTER 17
COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR &
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
collective behavior: the relatively spontaneous social behavior that occurs when
people try to develop common solutions to unclear situations
collectivity: gathering of people who have limited interaction, unclear norms &
limited unity
Types of Collective Behavior:
1. crowds (casual, conventional, expressive, acting)
2. mass hysteria
3. fashions
4. fads
5. rumors
6. urban legends
7. public opinion (propaganda)
8. panics (moral panics)
9. riots
10. mobs
• Gustave LeBon (contagion theory): the hypnotic power of a crowd encourages
people to give up their individuality to the stronger pull of the group
• Ralph Turner & Lewis Killian (emergent-norm theory): the people in a crowd
are often faced with a situation in which traditional norms of behavior do not
apply
• Niel Smelser (value-added theory): predicting the direction of collective
behavior, by steps
Type
Reactionary
Conservative
Revisionary
Revolutionary
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Description & Example
try to prevent a type of social change & return society to a past way
of being; often use fear & violence
example: Ku Klux Klan
try to protect prevailing values from what are seen as threats to
those values
example: the religious right
try to improve some part of society through social change; usually
use legal methods & focus on a single issue
example: women’s suffrage movement
seek a total radical change of existing social structure, overthrow
existing government & replace it with their own version; often
involve violent or illegal methods
example: the American Revolution
Life Cycle: Agitation → Legitimation → Bureaucratization → Institutionalization
• relative deprivation theory: people join social movements because they feel
deprived relative to other people or groups with whom they identify
• resource-mobilization theory: not even the most ill-treated group with the most
just cause will be able to bring about change without resources
CHAPTER 18
SOCIAL CHANGE & MODERNIZATION
social change: alterations in various aspects of a society over time
THEORIES OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Theory
Cyclical
Evolutionary
Equilibrium
Conflict
Description
Criticisms
→ Spengler: 4 stages (childhood,
→ focused on describing what is,
youth, adulthood, old age)
instead of why things happen
→ Sorokin: fluctuation between
ideational culture (spiritual) & sensate
culture (scientific) with idealistic culture in the middle
→ early: the progress through distinct
→ biased toward the West; does not
stages toward complexity
explain why change occurs
→ modern: tendency to go along many
→ does not explain short-term changes
paths toward increasing complexity
or wars
→ Parsons: occurs as society adapts to
→ does not explain widespread social
maintain stability after a change in 1
change within or between societies
area; involves differentiation &
integration
→ Marx: results from class conflict &
→ does not always lead to revolution
revolution
→ Dahrendorf: results from social
→ does not explain change without
conflicts of all forms
conflict
modernization: the process by which society’s social institutions become increasingly complex as the society moves
toward industrialization
Characteristics of Modernized & Non-modernized Societies
Characteristics
Non-modernized Societies
Modernized Societies
family
extended
nuclear
family size
larger
smaller
population
rural
urban
life expectancy
lower
higher
infant mortality
higher
lower
religious orientation
more
less
formal education
little
widespread
technology
simple
complex
division of labor
simple
complex
statuses
mostly ascribed
mostly achieved
social stratification
rigid
more open
social change
gradual
rapid
Effects of Modernization
Positive
→ increase in standard of living
→ longer life expectancies
→ lower birthrates
→ higher rates of literacy
→ decrease in economic & social inequality
→ more personal comforts
→ improved infrastructure
→ electricity & communication technology
→ establishment of educational institutions
Negative
→ loss of some traditional authority for the
family & religion
→ weaker social relationships & increased
feelings of social isolation
→ moral & ethical questions
→ some environmental problems
→ some health problems